The end of another Tomato Growing season and this year, one that has been very successful!
On the subject of success, it would be useful for us all to know the varieties that did well in the UK. Below are three polls, each with a list of varieties in the cherry, salad and beefsteak categories.
If you would like to take part by voting on the ones in each category that were most successful for you this season, it will show which plants did best and suggest which ones to grow again next year.
Please vote for up to three varieties in each category, if they did well in your garden.
Sorry, voting now closed.
The “Tom-Tato” – tomatoes and potatoes from the same plant!
The new tom-tato is a grafted plant with (obviously) the tomato part above ground grafted onto the potato plant below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24281192
Grafted plants have been around for some time and grafted tomato plants could be found in many garden centres at the beginning of this season. However, a tomato and potato from the same plant is new!
Advantages
Two crops from one plant.
Good for small plots if you grow tomatoes in a lot of soil.
Fun and a great talking point.
Disadvantages
Timing – you would have to wait until the tomatoes were ready before you could lift the potatoes.
Feeding – should the plants be fed according to tomato or potato requirements?
I read somewhere that the price for each plant will be expensive – a bag of maincrop potatoes is not expensive. If grafted to first early potatoes, the potatoes would be ready as the tomatoes were just setting fruit.
Last thoughts on this season
There is nothing like first hand experience. Each season there are many new tips to pick up – some of them discovered by accident rather than design!
I lost the labels on two plants in the early spring and grew two piccolo’s as bush varieties – they did very well!
My intention next season is to grow less plants but produce the same amount of tomatoes. This is easily achieved with the quadgrow and easy2grow systems but designing less expensive alternatives are on my “to do” list over the winter period.
Also, taste optimisation – testing the difference in taste between organically grown tomatoes and those that have been fed with synthetic feed. There is no doubt that what they receive effects their taste.
Thank you
A big thank you to Rhys, Steve, Alan and many others for their tips, suggestions and comments this season.
Next season the newsletter will be accessed through the home page of the Tomato Growing website. Look out for “Tomato Newsletter 2014”.
Let’s hope that the weather next season will be favourable and stress-free for the plants and us!
Back again in February,
Regards,
Nick