Tomato seeds are sown
I finally got round to sowing the tomato seeds yesterday. All this wind and rain had put me off going into the garage where I’ve got my potting area. The pots are now sitting in the heated propagator.
This year I’m growing,
- Sungold – a small orange cherry tomato. Prolific, superb flavour.
- Andean Horn – medium to large red tomato. Sort of plum shaped but very broad at the shoulders and pointed at the end. Prolific, fairly seedless and good for cooking and sauces. Ok flavour but better for cooking in my opinion – I use tomatoes a lot for cooking.
- Auriga – medium sized tomato, yellow ripening to orange. Good flavour and very prolific
- Juliet F1 – smallish, red plum tomato (a larger version of Santa). Very good flavour. Also prolific
- Costoluto Fiorentino – medium to large red tomato, heavily ribbed. Good for cooking and eating raw. (See picture from last year)
I like tomatoes to have a balance between acidity and intense sweetness. That elusive “tomato taste”. For eating raw I like the balance tipped towards acidity. Last year “Sungold” had that perfect balance. Cooking tomatoes, on the other hand, can have less acidity as this increases on cooking.
What I don’t like are varieties which taste bland. This of course all depends on the tomato variety and that variety’s response to the weather. Some just don’t develop the flavour I expect and this can vary from year to year using the same seeds. Let’s hope that we have lots of sun this summer, to encourage earlier ripening and to keep the dreaded blight at bay.
Thinking of next year when I’ll be buying new seed – I’ve grown green varieties and even a white cherry variety before but never a dark or wine coloured tomato. Have any of you? Could you recommend one and do they have a good flavour?
5 comments
My lottie neighbour grows Black Krim tomatoes, sort of beefsteak thats also quite salty. Me, well, im just hoping mine dont get wiped out by blight again this year.Then maybe next year ill get a little more adventurous..
You have a nice blog. I’m seriously thinking about planting a small garden this year. (I live in the U.S. – Texas)
Last season, I tasted late summer Cherokee Purple and Black Krims from my aunt’s garden in coastal Maryland. They were awesome.
Our favorites from our lot were Pink Ladies. The Beefsteaks we grew were kind of watery and disappointing.
I just noticed that I chose this seasons tomato prospects all based fancy colors like Plum Lemons and Fancy Hillbilly Potato Leaf. Now I’m worried I’m going to miss out on the big reds. Guess we’ll have to get some more seeds!
BTW, those ribbed lovelies in your photo look divine. My partner thinks that ribs are bad but I think they’re gorgeous and make the slices extra beautiful. Maybe I’ll try to scare up some Costoluto Fiorentino seeds as well.
Regards!
XXKHT
Thanks to you all for the comments. Looks like Black Krims and Cherokee Purple are possible choices for a dark coloured tomato.
Too many tomatoes, so little space :-)
Thank you for describing the Costoluto Fiorentino variety as I am looking for a tomato to grow this year. I think I might give them a go and, if they grow, put them in a pasta sauce.
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