any tomato growers?

[nabraxas]

so what's the secret to lots ov tasty tomatos?

the right ferts? hydro? vine ripening?

how do i grow a tasty tomato, rather than the completely & utterly tasteless waterlogged crap that's on sale in the supermarkets for $7 per kilo?

i know cherry tomatoes are pretty easy to grow, & always taste good, but how do we get back to real tasting beef tomatos?

[medicinedan]

I am somewhat of a tomato guru and had a bumper crop this year. Firstly you have two choices - grow from seed or get seedlings from garden store, or three - find a italian with a little stall on the side of the road (they always grow sweet tomatoes) I recommend you grow from seed (they are out of season now, dont plant yet) Get a catolouge from 'select organic' or 'eden seeds' These both use organic seeds and have a huge range of different varieties. Then just grow them, stake 'em so they dont fall over, thats about as hard as it is... sweet juicy tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes,

[nabraxas]

thanks for that medicinedan.

are you saying that all you need is the right seeds?

i totally believe you; but that just fucks me off more; ie-that growers are choosing strains that grow fast but have no taste.

i thought the tastelessness waas due to production/ripening methods, but you seem to be implying that it's the strain they grow---that's even more fucked up, IMHO

[wandjina]

hmmm, yeah. The main variety we get in Aussie supermarkets was developed to withstand being dropped/handled. Also, they are harvested green and then ethylene ripened, natural sugars dont get a chance to accumulate.

Some of the vine-ripened hydro toms taste OK, but I've seen a hydro tom 'farm'....eccck. Big plactic bags of sawdust being pumped with nutrient loaded water...the overflow evaporating into salty puddles and burning the grass. Yuck.

Eden seeds are great, especially recommend the beef heart and Italian passata varieties, just eat em like apples....drool.

[incognito]

i recommend maortgage lifter' heirloom variety, i think mr fothergills? seed company puts them out,i had never grew tomatoes before,just dug heaps of sh#t into the soil, grew the seeds in punnets till they were about 15cm high in a sheltered area,planted out into z prepared area,,(make sure u plant em out after the last frost of the season) tied up as they grew to a sturdy stake,,any will do,bunno's sell pretty good ones.and i had tomatoes litterally coming out of my asshole.fed my family,neighbour and mates for months,and the tomatoes are HUGE,i just cut em up and cooked em like steaks.

peter cundall recommends not payin ur tomatoes to much attention,dont fuss over them,,i think he says' be mean to ur tomatoes'(correct me if im wrong fellow gardening australia watcherers).the key would be a good organic soil,some support and regular,even watering to get em established, water evenly,cos the fockers explode if say you dont water em for a while,then decide to give them a good soaking while the tomatoes growing on z plant.

oh yeah, plant some flowering plants around ur veg patch to attract the bees,cos better pollination means more tomatoes!!i never had much probs with pests and diseases,, btw does anyone know if theres any truth in the rumour that one can cross tomatoes with datura to produce some..ahh..AMAZING tomatoes??im purty skeptikal,,or has anyone even heard of that theory???

[wandjina]

yeah, I've heard about grafting of many diff solanaceous plants...between diff var of toms of course, but between sp? Not sure about that. I do remember seeing a guy on telly a few years back who claimed to have grown a tomato-capsicum hybrid.

And what about the rumour you can graft hops onto cannabis root stock & visa versa? any truth in that?

[Agamemnon]

I got some magic cherry grape tomatoe seed from a friend who picked them up from a flea market in the former East Germany. Sooo tasty! and non-hybrid...a very old variety. I hadnt grown it for 3 years and was scared the seed wouldnt be viable, but noticed yesterday they are starting to germinate luckily!

[apothecary]

wandjina, you can graft between different genera, not just sp.

There is a story of someone who grafted tomato onto tobacco (both solanaceous)...do a google for "Tomacco site:wired.com" ...should put you in the right direction.

Not a hybrid, but you can definitely graft.

[incognito]

i believe datura and tomatoe are in the same family???story goes ,old bloke has datura plant come up in veg patch which pollinates tomatoe plant,eats tomatoe,trips balls.however, wouldnt this mean(if this crazy ass theory is correct) that only the progeny of the datura and tomatoes fruit would be a bit nasty,not the origianl tomatoes produced by the cross pollination????im confused........

??

[wandjina]

tomacco...wasn't that on the simpsons? :D

[apothecary]

jono, check the old tomacco thread, what you mention is discussed in detail.

wandjina, that's what inspired the graft

[wandjina]

Damato anyone? Capacco perhaps? Brugato?

[caludia]

my goal for this year is the pomato

tomato on top and tater down under

they are actually fairly common in the USA.

if the pomato doesnt interest you then try the totato.

[Thelema]

there's a french company that specializes in vegetable seeds (thats right, tomato is a vegetable deemed by US Law) from the turn of the 20th century, like really old variations of the tomato, just like they used to eat in 1900.

ill be getting some russian black tomato seed soon IYW...it think theyre a pretty old variety.

cross poll is interesting....like if you leave broccoli, cabbage, cauli all together for long enough, they all end up as wild cabbage ala 15th century feast.

[nabraxas]

Thelema & Agamemnon---if you have a good harvest from those seeds i would definately appreciate some seeds. Cheers.

[Andrew]

This year I grew a hybrid tomato called zambezi,it was the best tomato Ive ever grown,it had it all.vigorous growth,large crop over the growing period,beautiful flavour and I started taking the lower branches off and sticking them in the ground underneath the plant in the shade and within a week or so the had taken so I grew a couple more and gave away a few,had nothing but good results from eveybody,this was over an area 3 hours drive down the coast and anhour and 700metres altitude west,so they grow everywhere with good results. in fact mine is still alive now and growing new shoots again :D .Thelema the black russian is also a vigorous grower but I have to say it was one of the worst tasting tomatoes I,ve ever grown,I couldnt give them away,in fact I did give some away but they probably threw em after they,d tasted them.When I bought the black russian another customer at the nursery asked me if I had tryed them before and said that he wouldnt grow them again because of the taste.Dont know if there is more than one variety of black russian.

[gerbil]

I'm not a fresh tomatoe eater, mix it with pasta etc, but last years black russians were very nice, but this years were filthy, really fishy off smell, threw the whole lot. Maybe it was a bad year you tasted them andrew?

nabraxas o' geezer, i've got some scottish cold hardy tomatoe seeds from afoaf, should do well in melb. i'm told, i'm guessing they will crop more into the cooler months rather than a winter grower (??). No idea how good they are, as i've not grown them, but if you want a couple of seeds pm me your address. It'll only be a few, i've got hardly any, but it might be worth a shot if you've got the room to trial them. I'll whack some chilli seeds in too if your into that sort of thing.