tomato taste

leslie Wylie · Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 1:37 pm Post subject: tomato taste

I grow tomatoes the variety is Shirley but they lack the old fashion tomato taste. Is it the way I grow them {tomato pots in grow bags] they are fed with a liquid tomato fertiliser, or tomatoes like lots of other plants the flavour is lost in the hybrid cross. I would love a variety the will give the yeild plus the taste or have I to give one for the other. What is your favourite variety

michael brenock · Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 8:53 pm Post subject:

i grow moneymaker for normal sized tomatoes and other cherry types. I do not give them any liquid feed and just grow them in the ordinary garden soil. I add garden compost and nothing more and I get a great taste and flavour.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

mcgrueser · Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 10:04 pm Post subject:

Do you grow them inside or outside in the soil, Michael, and how important is it to rotate tomatoes? I'm just thinking about crop rotation if you grow them inside...

I have mine growing in my polytunnel but i have them in pots. The reason i put them in pots and not the ground was because i was thinking i'd have to transfer all the soil out of the tunnel at the end of the year that the tomatoes were grown in and ship in new stuff. Would this be the case? I am just thinking that if i grew the tomatoes in the same soil every year i am opening myself up for diseases in the soil etc....I've been thinking this for a while now and meaning to ask you...

michael brenock · Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 7:56 am Post subject:

you make an excellent point about soil and rotation. i grow mine in a glasshouse and what i do is change the soil every second year by taking out a bucketful of soil where I am going to plant the tomato plant and put in a bucketful of well rotted compost. In this way the plants get off to a disease free start and they only come into contact with old soil later in the season. I usually examine the roots at the end of the season and there is normally a small amount of root disease but never disease -free. I don't use grow bags.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

mcgrueser · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:12 pm Post subject:

Hi Michael,

Just to come back to an old point- I've decided to dedicate half of my tunnel to tomatoes and rotate back and forth each year. My hope is to reduce chances of disease.

But can i ask about planting some early potatoes in the old bed- I was going to plant some earlies in the bed that was used for tomatoes last year but was wondering if this is ruining my rotation plan? Am i putting the bed at risk?

michael brenock · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:39 pm Post subject:

you are definitely putting the tomatoes at risk by growing potatoes on the same patch of ground,, however the early potatoes will be gone before a lot of the diseases that normally attack tomatoes will have time to get hold. To reduce the risk either grow the potatoes in containers or else grow the tomatoes in containers. Another solution is to change half the soil each year before planting. Remove the old soil and put in some of the compost from the compost heap. Growing tomatoes in fresh soil is a challenge but growing them in diseased soil is a futile exercise. Best of luck with your decisions. I was wondering where this question came from in 2010.
m8chael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

mcgrueser · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:51 pm Post subject:

Maybe i'll just put the potatoes in containers then and rotate the tomatoes between either side of the tunnel each year. I'll put the tomatoes into a fresh, pot-sized, piece of soil/manure each year in the beds, like you said above.

I'm glad I asked now. I was just hoping it would be ok since I was going to put in earlies but I'll just go with the containers now. I'll leave the raised beds in the tunnel just for the tomatoes.

Thanks again Michael