which tomato plants are your favorite?

I have grown some of the older vaieties in the past: lemon tree and Banana cream are both yellow, Christmas grapes a small red one all have good flavour and were grown in Victorian/edwardian times. I still like shirley and Ailsa Craig for medium sized fruits.

you just cant beat a good shirley..lol
i like the look of banana cream..i definately prefere the yellow ones. will you be growing these again Sbg?

if I can persuade OH to let me. He says he is doing the toms this year !!! lets see how long he gives it before losing interest and goes out on his bike :o)

love tomatoes and you always have some beautys sandra, but variety and names i cant help sorry, but will come and do the tasting for you haha :o))

i sow some when OH is not looking as who is that ties them pinches them ...but i do get help from the whole family to pick them..lol

your more than welcome Sandra...but we have to grow them first..:-)

i can wait sandra, give me the word lol, they may get sqashed in the mail so i will come over :o))

anytime your passing .:-))

:o))) cheers sandra

I grew 'Gemini' for many years but only Dobies sold seed for them and now they have stopped as well :-(
They were a good outdoor/cold greenhouse variety, normal size fruit and very sweet

Sandra your blog is just in time, I haven`t grown tomatoe plants for at least 15yrs. Well my greenhouse I`ve ordered should be here tomorrow just a small one 6`x 4` so shall be keeping a close eye on all the comments you get.

Andrew I would love to find a good outdoor type . Its a pity dobies have stopped gemini i found a pic on line and it looks good.
Stroller how exciting for you, you will get a few plants in there..:-)

Ah ! tomatoes, my passion Sandra. Last year I grew CRISTAL on a recommendation from a pal in Leicestershire, expensive F1's ( got them 1/2 price ) but performed & tasted really good, large show quality fruit. However, not growing them this year purely because I prefer small to medium sized fruit. SUNBABY as grown by another friend last year, small sweet yellows, still trying to get seed as these are excellent & a good companion for GARDENERS DELIGHT which I grow every year as they freeze well straight from the vine & make excellent mediteranean sauces. Trying PANNOVY for the first time, again recommended by a friend so will update in the summer on that one & finally I have LIDI for the first time so Im pleased to read you endorse them. Nothing worse from a growers point of view when you have to buy those insipid non flavoured expensive tomatoes out of season is there ?
(a pet moan of mine:-(
Like the sound of Purple Russian, will look into that as a possible. Are Shirley a good flavour? (update: just bought Purple Russian on-line, just read good flavour 'approvals'. Happy Days & thanks for the blog.

Last year I grew Tamina a potato leaved variety and also a very small bush vairiety called Venus (orange coloured fruit) both did very well good crops with no black bottom or greenback and all ripened beautifully,. I grow them in a double glazed cold GH and am growing the same varieties this year too

We have grown Tigerella, (does better inside though), a really lovely tasty tomato, and of course Gardeners Delight an old favourite.

Hi Sandra, hope you're OK and enjoying a restful Winter. Like Bampy, tomatoes have been a lifetime passion of mine too, my Dad taught me everything about them. Last year I grew Fantasio and Ferline - due to their blight resistance. Always grown great tomatoes over the years but the last few years they've suffered with blight - so annoying, scrubbed the greenhouse and everything in there, inside and out with Jeyes, twice a year but still it returns. Increased ventilation too. The blight resistance toms did better but still succumbed, so frustrating. Taste of Fantasio and Ferline was good.

THANK YOU for all your ideas....
I'm the worlds worst when it comes to supermarket tomatoes....if i had the time i'd stand there talking people out of buying them...we still have a few in the freezer but i cant wait to pick a fresh one again...

Bampy you wont be disappointed with ildi neither will your friends and neighbours....lol shirley was my boys favorite loads of fruit with plenty of flavour. hope Purple russian does well for you..

Pamg i havent heard of Tamina before but love the potato leaved plants.

Dd2 many people tell me about tigerella i think we just have to give it a go this year

We are all well thank you Dawn but with all this fine weather my winter hibernation was cut short (for now) i been back in the nursery this week and loving it...
we all live in fear of blight....Julian is soo good with the ventilation of the tunnel....it has four doors either end so we can get a through draft...good luck with them this year..:-)

I know very little about them but would grafted plants help with the blight problems?