Gransnet forums

Gardening

First tomatoes very nearly ripe!

(40 Posts)
Craicon Sat 15-Aug-20 10:13:28

I’ve got about 30 tomato plants in the Polytunnel and a few outside and will be making batches of my yummy chutney again this year. I’m growing several varieties of cherry, beefsteak and plum tomatoes and a few additional plants have self seeded in the central raised beds alongside other plants!

@Witzend
The taste will depend on the variety planted, not the fact that they’re home grown. Maybe buy some tomato seeds from your local garden centre to plant next year and look for a variety that is especially sweet and tasty?

Ellianne Sat 15-Aug-20 09:47:53

Success!

Witzend Sat 15-Aug-20 09:36:48

Oops, despite being staked, one of my plants had fallen right over this morning - sheer weight of the fruit, plus presumably added weight of rain on leaves.
I’ve just been out with a stout stake, scissors and twine - fingers Xed.

seacliff Sat 15-Aug-20 09:22:31

I am checking mine everyday, still green. I put them in a bit late, first time I've grown them for some years. Must do it earlier next year, the taste of tomatoes straight off the plant is so lovely.

However, our peacocks have also been checking them, so need to get there first!

Witzend Sat 15-Aug-20 08:37:40

It was just a few days after mine evidently stopped swelling that they started to change colour, and then it took 2-3 days.

Ellianne Wed 12-Aug-20 17:38:29

So roughly how much longer before mine ripen please?

Lisagran Wed 12-Aug-20 15:53:55

These are from our allotment greenhouse today smile. Greek salad latersmile

Ellianne Wed 12-Aug-20 13:36:23

Oh no, Witzend, how annoying, but at least the sauce suggestions here sound yummy. Mine have still a way to go.

Oopsadaisy3 Wed 12-Aug-20 13:24:43

Well done, mine all collapsed with some brown spotted virus thing 3 weeks ago, they were huge beefsteak tomatoes too.

Oh well, maybe next year.....

craftyone Wed 12-Aug-20 13:23:30

take them off when just turning ie slightly yellowish. Wrap each in paper eg amazon packaging paper and keep them inside. Mine are are ripening beautifully like this and the taste is incredible. If they are too tiny to wrap then put them into a dish with something dark and airy on top like a plate. Mine are all oudoor tomatoes

Witzend Wed 12-Aug-20 13:19:21

Might have known there’d be a catch!
We ate the first 2 last night, taste was disappointing, a bit nothing-y, not the lovely sweet flavour I’d been expecting.

I can see myself still buying tomatoes to eat raw - and using mine to make a lot of tomato/onion/celery/pepper sauce for the freezer.

Chewbacca Tue 11-Aug-20 10:59:52

My hanging basket tomatoes (Tumbler) have been ripening for about 10 days now but the beauty of that variety is that you can move it around the garden so that it gets maximum sunshine to ripen them. The Alicante and Gardener's Delight in the greenhouse have only started to ripen this week and I've cropped a handful so far but there are many more to come. The cucumber plant is weighted down with far more cucumbers than I know what to do with. Recipes anyone?

WOODMOUSE49 Tue 11-Aug-20 10:51:40

Well done with your toms.

Just been to look at mine. 12 plants in polytunnel. So sad. 2 have blight. Got 3 outside so fingers crossed for those. They are beefeater variety.

Ellianne Tue 11-Aug-20 10:48:27

Mine too Witzend. I've never grown any fruit or vegetable before so I am excited too. I have no idea what type they are, the tiny original plant was a freebie from someone's garden wall.

Witzend Tue 11-Aug-20 10:11:15

Daft to be so excited, I know. There are masses coming - I counted 42 on just one truss - a multi-fingered truss, that is, from one stem.

They’re somewhat bigger than the cherry tomato I squished the seeds from, so as a pp said, presumably not breeding true from a commercial F1 hybrid.
I hope the taste will match up to the anticipation!