Kitchen Garden Forum

Primrose wrote:i don't know OH apart from having more money than sense. I can,t believe the flavour or the quality of the grafted one ever be commensurately better than an ordinary variety. The same goes with those paying good money for the latest oddity - a tomato plant which also grows potatoes from its roots. It surely stands to reason that any plant is going to be so physically stretched trying to produce fruit at both ends thar none of them are going to be up to much when it comes to quality.

oldherbaceous wrote:Just a quick question, what sort of money do people pay for a grafted tomato plant? I do mean a full plant and not just a rootstock.

I have not tried the potato/tomato type plants but a couple of years ago I did come across some 'Manager Special' grafted tomato plants, each plant was two varieties. They were labelled as being supplied by 'Suttons'

Like Primrose I was sceptical but at .50p each clear out price I threw caution and expense to the wind and saved 6 from what appeared to be certain death.
The potted plants were poor weak leggy specimens. At times they had obviously suffered lack of water whilst awaiting being sold. There was an element of risk of losing my huge investment.

I gave two away (hang the expense) and planted the other four out on the plot.

I was rewarded with plants that grew strong and produced the most delicious tasting toms, the volume of fruit on each plant was consistently amazing.

I still look back in my mind to those grafted tomato plants, never grown any like it before or since.
Why not since ? because to answer OH's question I would not pay the prices I have seen grafted tomatoes being offered at.
This year was anything between £4.99 and £7.99 per plant.

If you ever see any at a bargain basement clear out price then give them a go, feed them well and from the experience I had they will more than repay you in crop volume and taste.

The flesh on a good Crown Prince or Sweet Dumpling squash is probably the most adaptable of all vegetables as when served roasted, it can also double up as dessert served with baked apples and sultanas, and a dollop of cream .

It mist be really annoying when you sow your seeds and the fruits don't come true . I wonder how they cope with this on the commercial farms where they grow multiple varieties. I suppose they just live with (and sell) the end result, but it's hard luck when you intend to grow a specific variety.

If the trees follow the lead of my Euonymous it is going to be an Autumn to remember. I always thought a good Summer was needed to produce the colour.

Geoff, that sight is definitely worth waiting for. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Lavatera looks as if it's still going strong too!

Evening Pa Snip, thank you for the prices, i thought i was going to have a look on google......gosh they are expensive.

So if i did them for around the £2.50 mark, that wouldn't be too expensive....

What a beautiful sight, Geoff. If the weather carries on like this a bit longer, we'll surely have a colour bonanza this autumn! Our two bird cherries are just starting to turn and look lovely in the evening sunshine.

Did anybody see a horizontal rainbow right overhead this afternoon? Apparently, this is called a circumhorizontal arc and occurs when the sun shines through very high ice-crystal laden cirrus clouds. It was certainly something totally new to me to see a rainbow right overhead in an almost cloudless sky!

OH.

I paid £3.99 per plant for my grafted beefsteak tomatoes. I only brought 2, but grew them in previous years with great success (when they were actually more expensive), but somehow with normally seed raised beefsteaks they don't crop as well or ripen in time for me so it is a worthwhile investment in my mind! (Especially if you consider some F1 or new seed varieties can cost as much for 6 or so seeds).

They do get the greenhouse treatment though & not in the allotment to tough it out!

Westi

What is the average number of tomatoes you can expect to get from from a beefsteak tomato plant? I always find I often only get a couple of decent sized fruits from the first truss and then the plant gives up on me. This is a big deterrent to growing too many of them when.you have limited space.

Is there a trick to getting decent size fruit on a second truss as well?

Thank you for the reply Westi, it looks as if some companies are making a lot of money on them.

oldherbaceous wrote:Thank you for the reply Westi, it looks as if some companies are making a lot of money on them.

OH A comment which ties this thread to my 'Are suppliers taking the P.....roverbial' thread

I guess some of the pricing structure allows for the failures they have whilst trying new things.
I wish they would get a move on launching the self weeding soil

Afternoon Pa Snip, the self weeding soil, is another service i supply and at a very competitive rate.....

You should all move closer.....

oldherbaceous wrote:Afternoon Pa Snip, the self weeding soil, is another service i supply and at a very competitive rate.....

You should all move closer.....

A man of such versatility.
Now I can see just how hard you graft, no wonder you reckon you could offer cheaper Toms,

Primrose I got 6 - 8 mega sized tomatoes off each plant, when held in your hand you needed your fingers outstretched to grip them, about a dozen of normal sized ones per plant & am now on the little ones which I managed to ripen.

They don't keep too long but that was fine by me as I used them all for sauces for the freezer as they are so fleshy & red so you get a lovely thick sauce which can be further diluted to go further. The littlins are for salads & sarnies.

Mind they were the pampered divas in the greenhouse. I put them on my birthday list as I don't think asking for something that is £3.99 is extravagant. This is the first year I have seen them sold as single plants, they first couple of years you had to buy 3 plants. (I also got a sweet red pointed grafted pepper as well) - the fruit is just starting to turn red and some look as perfect as shop bought, although most are odd shaped but full size & somewhat cuter for it!

Westi

Weati, at £3.99 a plant, for that number of tomatoes is not as extravagant as I thought but I've always I always imagined these varieties probably needed to be grown on their own manure heap to produce that prolifically. Perhaps our light stoney soil here is part of the problem.

I was in an Italian restaurant recently and had a tomato salad for a starter. Three slices of a beefsteak tomato with three wilted basil leaves on top. Absolutely tasteless. There is always a feeling these giant tomatoes should be full of flavour but that isn't t always the case. Depends on the amount of sun I suppose.

First ground frost here this morning