Tag Archives: marmande

tomatoes

Early-I know-Tomatoes 2015

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early tomato varieties
early tomato varieties

Since we are sowing seeds. Why leave the tomatoes out? I have sown them at time of the year before. Only to have wiry, gangly leggy creatures that I didn’t pot up quickly enough. I’m not very good at both potting on, or pricking out for that matter. I stood in Dad’s loft, it was cold up there, rooted in the seed stasher to pull out the seeds. I didn’t have as many as I had thought, but that didn’t make the selection of seeds any easier. Laying out the packets, it was a cross between laying out solitaire cards and X factor selection. You might think, that a tomato is a tomato. Not quite. Trust me, there are people out there who will have strong views on that matter. There are quite a few heritage/heirloom varieties in this particular experiment. Last year, I had a few that were shop brought plants. Wiry and tall to begin with, with slightly odd leaves. These did actually take sometime to get growing. The plants did grow large well, but were slower to produce the bigger, beefsteak fruit.

The varieties are:

  • Yellow stuffer-This made the lovely yellow chutney last year, so same again, please.
  • Marmande-big beefy beefsteak. Very productive last year, knobbly decent sized tomato.
  • Cream sausage-hilarious name, but actually yellow.
  • True black brandywine-another beefy beefsteak. But what looks likes like a Gothic fruit. Did have a shop brought Brandywine last year, the name escapes me.
  • Moneymaker-I have to have one bog standard red tomato, so mum doesn’t protest. It was toss up between this variety and Gardener’s delight.
  • Cherokee purple. I brought one of these last year as a plant, from a local greengrocer. Big plant, big fruit, but not bad.

I do have a sense of trepidation about sowing this early. Not least of all because they all might germinate like triffids and become leggy.Must keep an eye on them, make sure that they get potted up as soon as possible. Seeds were modularised, twenty four modules. But not a lot of seeds, at this stage. Plus, I have to consider window sill space. If they all do come off, then there is the small matter of them ripening.

In a bit of pickle, success, tomatoes

Last of the summer preserves: spicy green tom chutney

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I got a little bored of chopping tomatoes, so only half of that trough actually made it into chutney. Lots of green tomatoes, with a onion, garlic and ginger base.

Were added to cider vinegar, purée tomatoes, mustard, cumin, chillies, cayenne, paprika, turmeric, peppercorns , fennel and white mustard seeds. Cooked slowly until a large amount of the liquid has disappeared.

I did put a fair bit of tomato purée so that it didn’t look like a green mess. So far it tastes as though it has a kick.

tomatoes

Tomayto time

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The tomatoes are coming thick and fast. Just not very red, as you can see. There are also sorts here, my favourite by far are the knobbly marmande. I strongly recommend these as a a variety. Some smaller F1 rainbow mix are there; as well as a cascading sunstripe.

In a bit of pickle

green tomato chutney

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With another batch of green tomatoes, its another opportunity to experiment. So we have gone for green tomato chutney proper. I have omitted the raisins, I can never get my head around their presence in chutneys. I don’t even understand why they are in coronation chicken! There are however also some additions, as we are experimenting.

Has quite a tart, crunchy flavour at the moment, with a background of coriander that keeps it quite bollywood. The cooking apples in question are bramleys, and I have used fresh root ginger rather than powder that would give it a zing. The zing in question, comes from Mango powder, and there is a burst of fresh mint as well.

tomatoes

Bumpy,bountiful but still green

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With the flurry of yellow flowers on the tomato plants, there have been about a dozen bulbous fruit dangling. These have got to an appropriate enough size, but haven’t yet started to go grow green. Most of them are marmande with a couple of money maker. Placed onto the window sill, hopefully they will start to turn. If not they may find themselves in a green tomato chutney of some sort.

tomatoes

Tomato explosion

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The heat and light has caused something of an tomato explosion. There have been increasing number of yellow flowers. Some of they quite dainty, others such as the beefsteak are fuzzy little things. The citrina tomatoes are cute. Little lemon shaped things, compared to the beautifully ugly marmande ones.

tomatoes

Self healing tomatoes

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Nestled in a raised bed are two very small tomato plants. Up until a few weeks ago, these were gnarled sticks that had been gnawed about by slimers whilst in open ground. Not wanting to give up on them, I transplanted to a raised bed.

They may not be as tall or leafy as their big brothers and sisters. But I do hope that that continued to flourish.

Never ever give up on a plant!

tomatoes

Tomato, tomayto

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The tomatoes are at assorted levels of development. Some are doing well in the raised beds, others are a bit more developmentally delayed in the clay. Whilst they ones in the open ground are flowering, are getting more foliage, they do seem a bit behind. All of the plants are being watered and fed so that they can all catch up. I have never knowingly sown and grown beefstake tomatoes. So would really like these to come off this year. There is also some brandywine and cherokee plants dotted around too. The yellow stuffer tomatoes are looking quite leafy as their flowers start to form.

tomatoes

Team Tomato

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Over the last few weeks, these darlings have been battered and bruised by the wind and rain. I had thought, that they would all cease to exist. So much so, additional reinforcements of cherokee, brandywine, citrina, sunstripe and another yellow one have been called in. There are smaller specimens of katiebell, lizziebell, luciebell and flamingo

The plants are on a spectrum of leafiness and healthiness. To be fair, I always suffer this developmental delay on planting out. They simply don’t like the windy heavy clay. That said, once they get a bit robust, have been fed a bit; they start to unfurl themselves, One thing is for certain, they are not pretty. The conditions make them battle hardened and haggard. The leaves have a spikey quality to them. Some are in open ground, some are positioned in raises beds. There is on, singular, black cherry, is in the poly tunnel by way of experiment.

That does, make for a lot of tomatoes. A few of which are starting to flower. Have arm pitted a few times, the gardeners delight and moneymaker. I know, that for some, these are generic, yucky tomato varieties. In the first time that I am growing these, I shall see just how yucky they might be.

Looking forward to the yellow, and pink ones, as well as the green and red stripey things. But the whoppers, have to be the marmande, cherokee and brandywine’s. Big wibbly tomatos, that you don’t get in the shops.

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Tomato time and out.

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Today was the day that the tomatoes were turfed out of their transparent box in the poly tunnel. They have been sat there for a while making the transition. To be honest, think it was bit too hot for them, a few of the leaves have been scorched no matter how much I watered them. At forty degrees in the poly tunnel, I can understand wanting to get out.They were also getting tall, not gangly, but ready to make an exit. 

 

So today there were meant to be fifteen plants, planted out. I managed fourteen, as one of them is actually quite tiny. Looks a bit developmentally delayed, compared to the rest of it’s peer group. Last year, all of the tomatoes were in raised beds. This year, with the extra space, with the exception of four, out in open group. Dotted in the corners of large beds, in project othello, largely. Quite an assortment really varieties, we have black cherry, alisa craig however you want to spell it, money maker, gardeners delight and yellow stuffer. I did look at the number that I planted out today, and surveying the space; felt a pang to sow some more. We shall see, I know that they grow reasonably quick anyway. Have bulb planted them in and watered.