By Hank
Cheshire,
United Kingdom 
2 questions this time.
1 Are there any better tomatoes than Gardeners Delight ?
2 I'm told there is a better way to grow toms than I've been doing - when they're a sufficient size to put in the large pots I'm told to HALF fill the pots, put the plants in and as they grow - fill up with soil/compost etc, removing the bottom leaves. This is said to make a stronger plant as they grow extra roots from the stems.
What do you think ?
11 Mar, 2012
Answers
winter grape is a lovely heritage small cherry type tom.
as for the 2nd part yes they do produce roots from the stem. i always bury the stems every time I pot them on. makes them a lot sturdier and less need of staking.
11 Mar, 2012
Hello Hank!
For part 1 ... The tastiest and best tomatoes ever are called Ferline - medium to large fruits, very sweet, very tomatoey flavour, good croppers, storers, and blight resistant. Discovered them only two years ago, and I now grow nothing else. For a small salad tomato, try sungold - again very sweet and very tasty.
Yes part 2 of your question is absolutely right. I cannot understand how garden centres continue to get away with their 3" grow bags! Someone must be getting enough of a crop to satisfy them! A strong root system can feed a better larger plant, and the hairs on the lower stems of tomatoes will become rootlets if burried. Don't plant closer than 3ft between plants, allowing 8" below and 12" all around. Feed regularly once fruits appear. Don't forget to pinch out side shoots growing between stems as they arise.
11 Mar, 2012
I,d missed question 2.....
I use grobags as the GH has a concrete floor, I earth them up around the stem which leaves a depression to water into, then add more compost to the mound as the roots poke through.
12 Mar, 2012
For part 1, ask 10 gardeners what the best tomato is, you are likely to get more than 10 different answers! : )
For part 2, that method is good, and I plant mine sideways: Dig a long hole, cut the lower 2/3 of the leaves off the plant, and lay it down in the hole, so that the bare stem is covered with several cm of soil when you are done planting. That keeps the stem up in the warmer upper soil layers, for faster root development.
13 Mar, 2012
...There are so many varieties, .....I like to grow mine from seeds and usually grow at least two varieties,I find that I can grow the same variety two years running and some year the,re better than others usually depends on the weather even though I grow in a cold G C, last year the cordons were Tamina and they were everything I could ask for, no greenback or blossom end rot,lovely sweet juicy fruit for eating or cooking and picking red ones into october, for a small tom I chose an orange one called Venus, small upright plants and the first ripe fruit early July,I,m growing the same varieties this year.
11 Mar, 2012