Tomato & Peppe Inspration

[loznkate]

Hey Forum,

Just a quick line or two on your tomato and pepper successes.

I grew a variety of yellow toms last year for the visual impact and was v. dissapointed with the flavour. What vars give the best flavour?

Also what variety of peppers has the best flavour? Shape and size unimportant.

Thanks all.

Loz

[Kerrij]

Hey Forum,
I grew a variety of yellow toms last year for the visual impact and was v. dissapointed with the flavour. What vars give the best flavour?

That happened to me with yellow toms too - I think they were "sungold" - looked good - tasted of nothing.

Last year I grew Tom Shirley and Harlequin - both of which were very nice to eat.

I've grown peppers - but nothing exciting so would also be interested

[alan refail]

Yellow tomatoes look good but can taste bland and wooly. Sungold, on the other hand, I find, always tastes good, especially if ever so slightly under-ripe. Taste can be ruined by overwatering.

The problem with Sweet Peppers is the length of season reuired to ripen. Last year, after years of failure I grew Antohi Romanian from www.realseeds.co.uk It's a semi-long yellow pepper which ripens to red. It is very early to the yellow stage, and delicious then. For a big choice of peppers and advice try www.simpsonsseeds.co.uk

Have fun

Alan

[Lyn]

Hi -
I grew tomato "Ildi" last year from some free seeds I got, and was really impressed - they are a small yellow "pear-shaped" cherry size - very, very prolific and in my opinion one of the best tasting I have come across, easily rivalling "Gardeners Delight" for taste.
Regards

[Primrose]

I also tried Sungold and was very disappointed with the flavour. Luckily I only grew one plant as an experiment as we purree down most of our surplus tomatoes with onion & basil to use in sauces and I was very glad that I hadn't wasted some of my limited growing capacity. Now when I experiment with new varieties I do so on a very small basis to avoid disappointment.

[loznkate]

Thanks guys,

Some good suggestions and thanks for the seed web links. This year I have time to order some rather than run round the shops in March panicking that I've got nothing started, usually ending up with a crappy selection pack from a DIY store.

Keep 'em coming, I've got lots of greenhouse to fill!

Loz

[Mole]

We always grow 'Sun Baby' nowadays - it's a yellow cherry. (Tuckers)

I agree that 'Ildi' is good too.

'Sweet 100' and 'Gardeners Delight' always do well.

I don't bother with bush types anymore as the fruit all seem to crop at the same time and I find it a greater hassle to put straw under or stake them as training the vine type.


Peppers we grow which do well in tunnel or started under a cloche

Gypsy f1 (but no more as Suttons have put the price up and reduced the amount of seeds this year - tight****s)
California Wonder -
Trying 'Lipstick' this year - looks good (Real Seed Co)
Cubanelle
Corno di Toro - sells well
Hungarian wax
Fresno Supreme (chile)
Early Jalapeno
Pizza (jalapeno)

[Johnboy]

Hi Loz,
The lest Pepper that I grew was California(n) Wonder
and I had a wonderful crop and grew 6 plants and had enough to keep my friends supplied as well as myself.
I prefer Gardeners Delight (original variety with larger fruits) Tomatoes to any other that I have tried.
My preferred variety for growing outside is Harbinger which ripens very well hereabouts and those that do not ripen go into making green tomato chutney to which I am particularly fond.
JB.

[Allan]

I grew Harbinger for many years, good for earliness and flavour but it is very prone to greenback so I went to Craigella of which Harbinger is one of its parents, problem solved

To Primrose I say it is not valid to condemn Sungold merely from the results of one plant. No tomato will give its best flavour if it gets too much water, not enough potash and not enough light. Sungold is generally agreed to be highly rated on flavour so give it another try before you condemn it.
Allan

[Primrose]

Allan, yes you're quite right about not condemning a variety on the strength of one plant, but when you have very limited growing space, it has to work hard for you to be productive and give the best results. I did share the seeds with somebody else who also grew some and expressed the same disappointment. Perhaps we've just grown so used to the flavour of red tomatoes that psychologically any deviant seems a little strange.

[Chantal]

I have been growing Sungold for several years and have never been disappointed with the taste. Fabulous. I also have to grow plants for my parents and sister who refuse to grow anything else! Growing conditions last year were difficult so I'd give it another go if I were you.

[vivie veg]

I would like to praise Ferline Tomato (available from T & M catalogue) Its fruits are large salad size (or small beefsteak if you restrict the truss to four fruits) and taste delicious. My plants lasted until the heavy frost at the end of October and the remaining fruits were left on the plants and I was taking them off into December, I finally used my last a few days before Christmas. I will definately be growing angain this year...must sent off for a couple of packets today while I remember!

I was growing them in a drafty polytunnel.

[Piglet]

Lipstick are good Mole, we are growing them again this year.

Tomato wise its Sungold, gardeners delight and tropical ruby which we have always found fabulous.

On reccomendation we are growing ferline and bloody butcher this year