SEEDS

[kaberett]

I keep meaning to sit down and write a list of everything that I want to get hold of seeds of for next year, with "Purple Ukraine plum tomatoes" being pretty high up on it after my own seed stock failed in the midst of Thesis and Migraine, but today! I have finished fermenting and washed and dried seeds for five kinds of tomato, and I have another packet A got me at the Eden Project a few weeks ago -- Yellow Pearshaped -- and I am Excited about this. Ridiculous multi-coloured tomato salad makes me very happy.

All of these except Marmande I acquired from Real Seeds; the Marmande I got via seed-saving from my mother's supermarket tomatoes, and we are now in our second year of growing them.

Blue Fire: RS say this is one to grow for looks rather than flavour. I do not have strong opinions on its flavour but its looks are spectacular and it is fantastic to have as One Of Several Weirdly Coloured Tomatoes, not least because of the gold speckly bits. I wasn't sure I'd bother trying to grow it again after this year, this being the first year I've been well enough to get them to the point of edible fruit, but they are so pretty. So I will have at least another couple of these.

Feo de Rio Gordo: excellent ribbed very large tomatoes -- ones that weigh 500g are not uncommon, and it's mostly flesh rather than seed cavity. Make very satisfying passata. I did not get many this year but I'm very glad of all the ones I did; this is the variety I've been growing for longest and most consistently, and I'm very very pleased with it.

Green Zebra: green stripey! I have no particularly strong opinions on flavour but it's definitely very striking (green and yellow, once ripe) and the flavour is definitely at least adequate and it is so good for Pretty Tomato Salads.

Marmande: I'm still not sure what I think of these taste-and-texture-wise but they're an interesting ribbed dark red, only a little smaller than the Feo, my mother is very fond of them, and they actively prefer being grown outside rather than under cover.

Orange Banana: this is definitely the variety that got us most fruit this year, and I am very happy with them! Orange plum tomato, on the sweeter side of the varieties I've been growing but definitely not Too sweet for me, and also COLOUR. Keeping these.

This year I also had some volunteer tomatoes of mysterious origin, which were a fairly typical red round what-you-expect-from-supermarkets, and some Pêche Vilmorin, also from Real Seeds. The Pêche Vilmorin really is very pretty on the plant when it's still underripe, but I did not get enough of them to bother trying to stuff them (which is apparently what they're good for), they're less pretty when ripe, and I didn't find them particularly notable to eat. I've not saved seed from these and I think I am unlikely to grow them again.

I also have a few remaining Chocolate Cherry seeds in my stash, though I didn't sow any this year, so I'll have one final go at those next year and see if I want to keep hold of any of the seed -- but I'm sufficiently content with this set that I think I'm not going to actively hunt any other varieties (now that I've got a yellow to round out the set). I am of course always open for fervent recommendations! But these are more than adequate to make me very happy. :)

Comments

[harpers_child]

Not sure how Creole's would do in your environs, but the tomato eaters in my family eagerly look forward to when those are in season. They're bred for hot and humid. Look like a kid's drawing of a tomato and are very meaty on the inside.