Tomato Varietys

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4 french hens
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Tomato Varietys

Post by 4 french hens »

Hi all.
Over here in France we grow different varietys to England.
One that I've never grown before is Andes. At the moment they are up to 6-7 inches long and grow with a blunted point, and we ate the first of them today, much,much sweeter than even the sweetest cherry toms that I've ever grown. I've got 1/2 dozen plant of this type and they each have about 20 toms on them.
I have another different variety called Roma and these are very large plum shaped toms and have yet to grow full size. I tried some a neighbour gave me last year and was impressed enough to grow my own this year.
All my excess toms will be frozen for use during the winter months, but once we have got the house built, we will keep them in Kilner type jars under vacuum.

Mike
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
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Johnhson
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Post by Johnhson »

Roma are best cooked - they're similar to those toms in the tins.

I've not grown Andes but Sungold are really sweet. Incidentally, try a carotte called Touchon. Excellent shape and flavour.
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4 french hens
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tomatoe varietys

Post by 4 french hens »

Hi,
nice to have the contact with someone a lot more expert than myself.
The Andes are starting to ripen and are proving to be a whole lot sweeter than than any cherry tom's that I have ever grown. I bought these as plants, but they must surely be available as seed.
Some of my tom's have developed black bottoms. Have you any idea what the cause of this might be? Another problem I've had is a few of the lower tom's went brown, (thrown away, not put into the compost), rest of the plant ok, is this a sympton of blight?
What can I use to eradicate blight?
Sorry to be a pain asking these questions, but I've a lot to learn and I'm hoping you may know the answers.
Mike
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
booklady
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Post by booklady »

In this part of France they spray everything with Bordeaux mixture. Wash the fruit/toms though
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Bordeaux mixture

Post by 4 french hens »

Hi booklady,

I've never heard of Bordeaux mixture, and I wonder what it is and also the french name for it.

Definatly not a bawdy question this :- does you have trouble with black bottoms, and if so have you found Bordeaux mixture to be silver bullet cure all?

I today picked 6 toms and they weighed 4 pounds, biggest I've ever grown by a long way. The vine are bending under the weight of the crop and it looks as though a lot of chillies and spag' bols are on the close horizon.

Which part of France are you in? We are in Poitou-Charente.

Mike
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
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Mo
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Post by Mo »

Bordeaux mixture is an old fashioned spray against blight and was also used on vines. Copper sulphate and hydrated lime. There are more modern (maybe less toxic) alternatives. I used to use it, I covered my nose and mouth with a scarf, no good to breathe it in.
The wiki reference says it can pollute streams.
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Bordeaux mixture

Post by 4 french hens »

Hi Mo,
thanks for enlightening me, nearest stream to me is the Charenete river 1/2 kilometre away and 100 metres below me in the valley, so not much chance of polluting that then.
I think it's probably to late to use it this year and the blight has been minimal and controlled by immediate discarding of the affected fruits and removal of the 2 infected plants. Seems to have worked so far, and don't the home grown stuff taste nice?
Mike
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
4 french hens
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that dammed blight

Post by 4 french hens »

More bad news for the toms. blight mainly affected the beef variety, but has now moved over to the Romas, but at least most of them are ripened off and the rest are turning. So far just a few of the huge Andes are showing signs of the blight but they seem to be more resistant than the other varieties and are by far the sweetest toms I've ever grown, even more so than the cherries.
Mike
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
Nellie
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Post by Nellie »

Have you removed the leaves from the bottom half of each plant? I do when the tomatoes are formed and just need ripening - it allows the sun to reach them and also allows a breeze to pass through them, thereby reducing your chances of getting any diseases.
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stripping the toms

Post by 4 french hens »

Hi Nellie,
thanks for the tip, will get this done in the morning.
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
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Post by Nellie »

I prefer removing the leaf entirely - my mother prefers removing half of each leaf. I've tried her method, yet needed to go round removing the remaining half later to speed up the ripening.

It's so much easier to see the crop ripening, and so much faster too.
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