Thursday 25 August 2011

The tomatoes are getting into their stride...

Since this Summer has been very much under-par in terms of sunshine, I can hardly blame them, but my tomatoes are only just beginning to produce a significant quantity of ripe fruit.

This is "Ferline", one of my favourites for the last few years. It consistently produces a heavy crop of big, firm fruits with little in the way of pips and pulp, so it is a really good one for making into sauces. Probably its greatest attribute though is its blight resistance. It will produce a crop when all other types have succumbed. Fortunately this year we have not (yet) had any blight!


There are lots of fruits on the vines, though not many of them are ripe yet:


The big "Rainbow Beefsteak" ones are still swelling. They are going to be pretty big. At least one plant looks as if its fruit will be yellow or orange:


I still can't tell what colour the other one will be. (Is it inevitable that both will be the same colour??)


This is the most advanced of the "Green Zebra" fruits. Is it just wishful thinking, or is it beginning to show a bit of yellow, indicating ripeness?


I am now harvesting a few of the "Tropical Ruby" baby plum tomatoes. The bush is very straggly but it has a huge number of fruit on it.


The "Maskotka" bush tomatoes have produced a decent, though not enormous, crop. I love these ones. They are one of my favourites. This year some of the fruits have been a fair bit bigger than usual. They are supposed to be "bite-sized", but I think some of them need two bites!


I have so far picked only about six of the "Sungella" ones - all fairly small - but the plant is laden down with huge trusses of fruit. So much so that I have had to give it a second bamboo stake because the first one was seriously bent over and looked fit to snap.


Growing tomatoes is a bit of an addiction, I think. I can't help noticing that (like me) lots of my blogging friends write about growing loads of different tomatoes, when they may perhaps grow only one type of lettuce or beetroot. The fact that there are so many different shapes and colours of tomato available seems to make us want ALL of them!

My final picture today is of "Wilma", a very compact variety which only grows to about 40cm tall. It has tiny red fruits. This particular plant is a volunteer that I transplanted from one of my raised beds.


Great for growing where space is limited - like a balcony or patio.

9 comments:

  1. Our tomatoes are ripening a little quicker too now although some of the cherry sized ones are still slow to set fruit

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  2. Your plants look really healthy are they all outside? My greenhouse toms are all but over We have been eating them for weeks. There are still a few Sungold on the outdoor plants to keep us going.

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  3. They all look wonderful. If it wasn't so dry here I would plant more in pots but I have a hard time keeping up with the watering. I did actually pick a tomato today--the only one the raised bed in the back yard has produced.

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  4. Wow what healthy looking plants you have fingers crossed the blight stays away. Not long to go and you will know what all the colours will be.

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  5. Your tomato plants look healthy and lush. Nice red tomato in first photo. I'm not a big fan of eating tomatoes but have forced myself since i'm growing the cherry sized ones. A good cooking variety would be useful.

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  6. they all look wonderful.. That first one should be entered in a beauty contest and I love the idea of a tomato called, Wilma!

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  7. Fabulous tomatoes - you seem to be getting a far better crop than i got last year in Melbourne.

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  8. Wish I knew how you do it. I love tomatoes but last year couldnt get bees to polinate them, I think it may have bee to much direct sun, and this year I have no flowers. Absolutely none

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  9. Sounds - and looks - familiar! Its a bit of relief when they start to ripen, isn't it. I've been a little disappointed with the taste of Ferline, new to me this year, so we are experimenting with watering them a little less.

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