Hi all
I'm growing GD for the first time and although I have masses of fruit they are smaller than I expected. As they ripen they are only reaching what I would call cherry tomato size and I expected them to be bigger.
I guess the largest is about an inch across and they then taper off in size as they get down the truss.
Is this right?
Thanks
David
ps I'm very careful with watering and am feeding once a week with liquid feed.
Gardeners delight question
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Hi David,
I have come across this before and they were plants raised by me and given to a friend who was advised to keep them in the warm for some time and he totally disregarded what was said and put them straight into an unheated greenhouse and just covered them with newspaper at night. Although my Tomatoes grew quite normally his were decidedly different to the point that you would have thought they were a different variety. His plants were chosen at random from my stock yet the result was entirely different and we can only assume that it was because of the cold period they endured.
Perhaps your Tomatoes had a similar chilling experience.
I have come across this before and they were plants raised by me and given to a friend who was advised to keep them in the warm for some time and he totally disregarded what was said and put them straight into an unheated greenhouse and just covered them with newspaper at night. Although my Tomatoes grew quite normally his were decidedly different to the point that you would have thought they were a different variety. His plants were chosen at random from my stock yet the result was entirely different and we can only assume that it was because of the cold period they endured.
Perhaps your Tomatoes had a similar chilling experience.
JB.
Carry on please, this looks interesting. I got 2 plants from a GC,they unexpectedly turned out at cherry size. Do you know which seed merchant the seed came from?
Another puzzling factor, I have a catalogue that describes them as semi-determinate, never heard that one before.
Allan
Another puzzling factor, I have a catalogue that describes them as semi-determinate, never heard that one before.
Allan
Hello David and All
We have also grown GD for the first time this year and we are very pleased with it. But then we bought it because we wanted a cherry tomato(?!) I've just done a google search on GD and the various results have unanimously described it as, 'cherry', 'small', 'smallest' and 'bite-sized'. It is certainly the smallest of the varieties we have grown this year (others being Sweet Million and Sweet Olive) and is the smallest we have ever grown. But then we chose it because in the past our cherry tomatoes have become rather large and we wanted one that was a proper cherry. Got sick of having to cut them in half for salads! Not sure why the expectation GD should be anything other than cherry? To put it into perspective, our Sweet Million tomatoes are on average, about twice the size of a GD.
We have also grown GD for the first time this year and we are very pleased with it. But then we bought it because we wanted a cherry tomato(?!) I've just done a google search on GD and the various results have unanimously described it as, 'cherry', 'small', 'smallest' and 'bite-sized'. It is certainly the smallest of the varieties we have grown this year (others being Sweet Million and Sweet Olive) and is the smallest we have ever grown. But then we chose it because in the past our cherry tomatoes have become rather large and we wanted one that was a proper cherry. Got sick of having to cut them in half for salads! Not sure why the expectation GD should be anything other than cherry? To put it into perspective, our Sweet Million tomatoes are on average, about twice the size of a GD.
The cow is of the bovine ilk
One end is moo, the other, milk.
One end is moo, the other, milk.
My GD are small, cherry size. They are from Mr Fothergill's and probably came free (on KG?).
I started mine in the propagator 9th March, pricked these out into small modules (24 to standard seed tray - limited windowsills) and then potted up late April early May into 8cm Square pots, then out into polytunnel end of May & early June. Some I have left to grow as bushes and some I am growing as cordons. So far no difference in size of fruits between the two types, they are both small!
Mr F's description says "A favourite, especially with children! Heavy crops of small fruits with a particularly delicious, sweet flavour"......"Growing tip: Alternatively, grow unsupported in large containers which keep trusses clear of the ground, do not pinch out side shoots.
However, I have started to pinch out new developing side shoot, before the bushed take over the Polytunnel, I have also had to tie them up, just to get round them to pick the fruit. I don't think I'll grow bush type in the polytunnel again, too much spread and not using the height!
I am sure that GD USED to be bigger, this is the first year that I grown cherry toms and I know I've grown GD before.
I started mine in the propagator 9th March, pricked these out into small modules (24 to standard seed tray - limited windowsills) and then potted up late April early May into 8cm Square pots, then out into polytunnel end of May & early June. Some I have left to grow as bushes and some I am growing as cordons. So far no difference in size of fruits between the two types, they are both small!
Mr F's description says "A favourite, especially with children! Heavy crops of small fruits with a particularly delicious, sweet flavour"......"Growing tip: Alternatively, grow unsupported in large containers which keep trusses clear of the ground, do not pinch out side shoots.
However, I have started to pinch out new developing side shoot, before the bushed take over the Polytunnel, I have also had to tie them up, just to get round them to pick the fruit. I don't think I'll grow bush type in the polytunnel again, too much spread and not using the height!
I am sure that GD USED to be bigger, this is the first year that I grown cherry toms and I know I've grown GD before.
I don't suffer from insanity .... I enjoy it!
Vivianne
Vivianne
Hi Vivianne,
I grow GD for a great number of people each year and
results vary according to the treatment they are subjected in their early life. I have already described what happened when they were grow in their formative period at too cold a temperature.
Those were grown on by removing the side shoots but I have one person who doesn't remove the side shoots and her fruits and my fruits are entirely different from the common source of plants.
I have measured mine in the greenhouse this morning and they are in trusses of eight with a few exceptions. the size of the largest is 1.5" and the smallest almost .75" with a great many falling between those sizes.
I cannot remember a year that I have not grow GD and certainly I should hazard a guess at around 40 years.
They behave the same now as they always have. My plants are never subjected to a temperature of less than 10C and for Richards benefit I do not pamper plants in any way but what I do is grow them properly. I never raise my plants too early which is the most common of growers faults and they are never allowed to become leggy and they are planted direct into the greenhouse soil at the earliest opportunity. I remove the side shoots until 5 trusses have set and then I no longer bother and allow the growth to grow up into the greenhouse canopy and they produce very small Cherry type tomatoes and as was mentioned before on an earlier thread I have picked and eaten scrumptious fruits on Christmas Day. The growth in the canopy resembles a thick jungle after a few weeks after letting them go.
GD never were a cherry type although I suspect somebody has tampered with the seed line in order to try and get a cherry with the superb taste of GD and this is why there are now so many variations.
I grow GD for a great number of people each year and
results vary according to the treatment they are subjected in their early life. I have already described what happened when they were grow in their formative period at too cold a temperature.
Those were grown on by removing the side shoots but I have one person who doesn't remove the side shoots and her fruits and my fruits are entirely different from the common source of plants.
I have measured mine in the greenhouse this morning and they are in trusses of eight with a few exceptions. the size of the largest is 1.5" and the smallest almost .75" with a great many falling between those sizes.
I cannot remember a year that I have not grow GD and certainly I should hazard a guess at around 40 years.
They behave the same now as they always have. My plants are never subjected to a temperature of less than 10C and for Richards benefit I do not pamper plants in any way but what I do is grow them properly. I never raise my plants too early which is the most common of growers faults and they are never allowed to become leggy and they are planted direct into the greenhouse soil at the earliest opportunity. I remove the side shoots until 5 trusses have set and then I no longer bother and allow the growth to grow up into the greenhouse canopy and they produce very small Cherry type tomatoes and as was mentioned before on an earlier thread I have picked and eaten scrumptious fruits on Christmas Day. The growth in the canopy resembles a thick jungle after a few weeks after letting them go.
GD never were a cherry type although I suspect somebody has tampered with the seed line in order to try and get a cherry with the superb taste of GD and this is why there are now so many variations.
JB.
i guess a lot depends on what we mean by a cherry tomatoe. ive always thought of money maker and ailsa craig giving normal tomatoe sized tomatoes, things like mamade being large beefstake types and gardeners delight being small cherry types. then of course there are plum types aswell. we all grow differently and it can well be that some of us get large gd which are approaching a small normal tomatoe , whilst others will get small gds which are cherry tomatoe sized. over the years ive grown gd from bought seed , home saved and neighbours plants they have all given a range of sizes, i think the final size of any individual tomatoe is influenced by alot of factors, position on the plant, amount of sunlight, watering , growing medium etc , personally i prefer a normal sized tomatoe but somehow seem always to end up with a couple of gds out of habit
Thanks for all your replies.
I thought GD was larger as I was trying to grow tomatoes of different sizes to suit all of the family and friends. I have Garden Pearl (which arnt pearls at all and in most cases are bigger than the GD - they also have an odd sort of dusky pink colour rather than the vibrant red of most tomatoes), the GD, followed by Marmande and finally Legend as a beefsteak. So the size I am missing is a 'normal' kind of sized tomato.
Of all the seed packets I still have, the GD one is missing but it would have been from one of the larger suppliers such as T&M or Suttons for instance rather than from the market in a twist of newspaper.
The actual GD plants are massive and as earlier advised I have let them bush out after about the fourth truss as John boy has done. My greenhouse is only 7ft tall and I am 6' 2" so it is very up close and personal!
Most of the single trusses have between 14 and 18 fruit on them but many have branched, either just after they leave the stem giving two 18 fruit trusses or they branch once or twice after the 5th or 6th fruit so they go down in tiers which make them difficult to count.
Thanks
David
I thought GD was larger as I was trying to grow tomatoes of different sizes to suit all of the family and friends. I have Garden Pearl (which arnt pearls at all and in most cases are bigger than the GD - they also have an odd sort of dusky pink colour rather than the vibrant red of most tomatoes), the GD, followed by Marmande and finally Legend as a beefsteak. So the size I am missing is a 'normal' kind of sized tomato.
Of all the seed packets I still have, the GD one is missing but it would have been from one of the larger suppliers such as T&M or Suttons for instance rather than from the market in a twist of newspaper.
The actual GD plants are massive and as earlier advised I have let them bush out after about the fourth truss as John boy has done. My greenhouse is only 7ft tall and I am 6' 2" so it is very up close and personal!
Most of the single trusses have between 14 and 18 fruit on them but many have branched, either just after they leave the stem giving two 18 fruit trusses or they branch once or twice after the 5th or 6th fruit so they go down in tiers which make them difficult to count.
Thanks
David
Hi David,
What you are describing is exactly what happened with the plants that I described in my first reply.
Those plants were taken at random from about 200 tomato plants all from the same seed batch and mine were taken at random from that same batch yet the two sets of plants produce entirely different crops. From this I have found that the only difference in their treatment was the temperature they were grown-on at in there formative stage.
Mine were never subjected to a temperature of less than 10F but the others considerably lower even to dangerously low temperatures. I think I am fairly safe to assume that the lower temperatures affects the basic metabolism of the plant and causes them to mutate. The large trusses of cherry type tomatoes are the mutation.
What you are describing is exactly what happened with the plants that I described in my first reply.
Those plants were taken at random from about 200 tomato plants all from the same seed batch and mine were taken at random from that same batch yet the two sets of plants produce entirely different crops. From this I have found that the only difference in their treatment was the temperature they were grown-on at in there formative stage.
Mine were never subjected to a temperature of less than 10F but the others considerably lower even to dangerously low temperatures. I think I am fairly safe to assume that the lower temperatures affects the basic metabolism of the plant and causes them to mutate. The large trusses of cherry type tomatoes are the mutation.
JB.
David, this may be more what you want. From Mr Fothergill. I have it this year, definitely more next year.
Tomato 'Chelsea Mini' F1
A very sweet tomato with lower acidity and firm, juicy flesh. Heavy yields with clusters of large cherry size bright red fruits.[Seeds by Size quote 1.5 cm.] Plants have excellent resistance to disease. Grow indoors or outdoors.
When to plant outdoors: March to April
How to grow outdoors: Outdoor Plants: As for greenhouse crops, except that sowings should be made in an unheated greenhouse in March-April. Harden off and plant out in early June. Pinch out growing tips of plants once 4-5 trusses have set. Outdoors crops can be harvested from August.
When to plant indoors: January to March
How to grow indoors: Greenhouse Plants: Sow 0.25in (0.5cm) deep in pots or trays of seed compost, at approx. 18C (65F). Transplant to individual pots when large enough to handle and reduce to approx. 16C (60F). Plant out to large pots, growing bags or the greenhouse border in late April-May. Support plants and pinch out side shoots as they appear. Water daily, and when the first trusses have set apply a liquid feed every two weeks.
Harvest: June to late October.
Tomato 'Chelsea Mini' F1
A very sweet tomato with lower acidity and firm, juicy flesh. Heavy yields with clusters of large cherry size bright red fruits.[Seeds by Size quote 1.5 cm.] Plants have excellent resistance to disease. Grow indoors or outdoors.
When to plant outdoors: March to April
How to grow outdoors: Outdoor Plants: As for greenhouse crops, except that sowings should be made in an unheated greenhouse in March-April. Harden off and plant out in early June. Pinch out growing tips of plants once 4-5 trusses have set. Outdoors crops can be harvested from August.
When to plant indoors: January to March
How to grow indoors: Greenhouse Plants: Sow 0.25in (0.5cm) deep in pots or trays of seed compost, at approx. 18C (65F). Transplant to individual pots when large enough to handle and reduce to approx. 16C (60F). Plant out to large pots, growing bags or the greenhouse border in late April-May. Support plants and pinch out side shoots as they appear. Water daily, and when the first trusses have set apply a liquid feed every two weeks.
Harvest: June to late October.
Thank you Allan.
Johnboy,
I didnt address the temp point last time but I think you are right. The greenhouse was new and I was very eager to get it into use so its very very likely that the seedlings that I raised in a C heated bedroom and then potted up in the hot and steamy laundry were then put into the greenhouse too soon.
If cold weather was forecast I threw a piece of fleece over everything but never had anything more than that.
Incidentally all of the GD are doing it both inside and outside.
How very interesting that this should occur and thank you very much for your insight, I wonder if the breeders know?
DAvid
Johnboy,
I didnt address the temp point last time but I think you are right. The greenhouse was new and I was very eager to get it into use so its very very likely that the seedlings that I raised in a C heated bedroom and then potted up in the hot and steamy laundry were then put into the greenhouse too soon.
If cold weather was forecast I threw a piece of fleece over everything but never had anything more than that.
Incidentally all of the GD are doing it both inside and outside.
How very interesting that this should occur and thank you very much for your insight, I wonder if the breeders know?
DAvid
I have measured my GD tomatoes. Widths range betweeen 0.9 and 1.3". the majority are very close to 1". I suppose it depends what size you want and whether you want a spread of sizes or not. T&M speak about the flavour of tomatoes 100 years ago, I don't know how one can check that out seeing that none of us presumably have been growing them for that time.
60 years ago everybody seemed to grow Market King and nobody complained.
Who has the biggest and where were the seeds from?
60 years ago everybody seemed to grow Market King and nobody complained.
Who has the biggest and where were the seeds from?