Saved seed from Ferline F1 tomatoes.

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Primrose
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I've mot saved seed from an F1 tomato before but last year as an experiment I did save some Ferline seeds just to see what their "babies" turned out like. I've got 2 plants. One is producing tomatoes which resemble their parents. The other plant is producing distinctly plumlike tomatoes nothing like the fruit of the original parent. Can't wait for them to mature and see if there are any differences in taste.

I won't be able to tell whether they are any more Blight resistant thouigh. It's been very humid here for a couple of days, with touches of drizzle, so this morning I chickened out, and gave all my tomatoes a first spraying with Dithane. Has anybody else started to spray yet?
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F1's are a cross between at least two varieties Primrose, so offspring could be like either parent. No not spraying and no sign of blight yet, even the ones I put out early in a large pot are producing ripe fruit now despite their leaves going rather purple from the cold, the ones in the mulched beds are looking lush with large fruit still growing and yet to ripen
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Johnboy
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Hi Primrose,
What would be even more interesting would be for you to save seed from the plant like the original F1 and see if they replicate again. It does happen but whether the resistance to blight is still there is something you probably wouldn't be able to say. Hope both types are tasty!
JB.
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Primrose
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Alas I fear I'll never be able to test out the Ferline blight resistant properties of the saved seed 'children and grandchildren' of original Ferline plants because if there's any hint of blight now, I start spraying. It seems a better option than risking the loss of all my plants. Think I'll leave the blight resistant properties of later generations of saved F1 seed to the RHS to test out!
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Might be worth persevering. Dithane 945 is no longer available for amateur use.
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Primrose
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Oh, that's a blow. When was it withdrawn? I bought some last year from my local garden centre and have 3 packets left which I'm assuming will still be effective if needed. What can I use instead? I've heard of Bordeau mixture. Is it actually sold under that name, or something else?
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Tony Hague
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It is listed by the RHS here, with a note that the active ingredient (mancozeb) has not been withdrawn, but is no longer marketed. Elsewhere I've seen it said it was withdrawn June 2010, with 12 months to use up. Bayer's replacement is Copper Oxychloride.
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