Marble-sized tomatoes

mochyn_cwta

I am growing Gardeners' Delight tomatoes but the vines are extremely long and branched with lots of marble-sized tomatoes although they have ripened. How do I get less tomatoes but of slightly bigger size? I also notice that there is a cluster of flowers and leaves at the tip of the vine after the set tomatoes. Should I get rid of these? Any advice gratefully received.

Lotus-eater

mochyn_cwta wrote: »

I am growing Gardeners' Delight tomatoes but the vines are extremely long and branched with lots of marble-sized tomatoes although they have ripened. How do I get less tomatoes but of slightly bigger size?

Grow a different variety.

mochyn_cwta wrote: »

I also notice that there is a cluster of flowers and leaves at the tip of the vine after the set tomatoes. Should I get rid of these?

No, they will continue to turn into tomatoes. Sounds like it's working very well for you!

tripod2000

Gardener's Delight generally produce your aforementioned size tomatoes. I suggest Moneymaker for a slightly larger fruit or something completely different like Alicante for a large salad tomato.

Jake'sGran

A very nice tasting one is Shirley but I am not sure that it is suitable for growing outdoors. I have only ever grown toms in my small greenhouse.
I grew Moneymaker last year and enjoyed them but there is always somebody who says "what do you want to grow Moneymaker for?".
We got some good ones last year from a seed take from a supermarket vine tomato.

foreign_correspondent

As people have said, gardeners delight are a small cherry type tom - they will always be small because that is the variety... they taste lovely though! Better than moneymaker!

Primrose

Yes, Gardeners Delight are a small cherry size tomato and always grow small. If you want size and quantity, look for a varieties like Moneymaker, Moneycross (an improved Moneymaker variety) Alicante, Ailsa Craig or some of the beefsteak varieties. It largely depends on what you want your tomatoes for - salads or cooking and it's worth experimenting with several different varieties, even if it means getting/sharing a number of seed packets and only growing one of each variety. Gardeners Delight is actually one of the larger cherry size tomatoes and several are even smaller than this. I think it's one of the nicest flavoured tomatoes there is so it will always figure in my growing plan. Don't remove the unset flowers at the end of your tomato bunches. They often develop later. Gardeners Delight and other cherry varieties of tomatoes often ripen earlier and grow taller than the bigger size varieties and I never pinch the tops out after four trusses as is recommended. If you leave them to grow on and keep feeding with Tomorite once a week you could continue to get a small crop right into the autumn.

Lotus-eater

Jake'sGran wrote: »

I grew Moneymaker last year and enjoyed them but there is always somebody who says "what do you want to grow Moneymaker for?".

Oh, go on then.

Why would you want to grow moneymaker.....?

Because there is a tomato that will do better than them in every way.

The ONLY reason I can ever think of growing them, is that you can get free seeds from magazines. But then I would suggest not buying the magazine and spending half that money on some decent seeds.

If I was spending the time and space on growing my own tomatoes, I want top taste quality, not supermarket toms.

But then everyone tastes tomatoes differently. But if you think you like moneymaker, grow a better variety and like them even more.

Primrose

I think Lotus-eater is probably forgetting that there are a number of people on here who are possibly new to tomato growing and don't realise the large number of different varieties (and tastes) which are available in tomatoes. We probably all start off as newbies growing Moneymaker, either because the seeds are free, or because it's a variety regularly sold in garden centres, etc. And if people are used to eating only supermarket tomatoes, unless they start growing their own, experimenting and enjoying some of the more tasty varieties that have a special flavour, they will assume that Moneymaker is probably as good as home growing gets.

Lotus-eater

I wasn't forgetting that I don't think. Would you prefer me not to say anything and quietly validate the statement that MM toms are great then?
If you don't tell these new growers, they won't know, neh?

Primrose

Let's not argue about Moneymaker. Yes, there are more tasty varieties, but if you've just grown a Moneymaker tomato plant, which is the first vegetable you've ever grown in your life, it has survived the blight and you've just picked the first sun ripened tomato off the plant and popped it into your mouth whilst it is still warm, it will still taste like Heaven! We only learn by experimenting for ourselves.

katiel

I am constantly amazed at the huge variety of tomato seeds on offer. I started out with Gardener's Delight and Marmande, as supplied by my dad. Now I know a bit more, finding different tomato seeds has become one of my favourite bits of growing fruit and veg. This year, I have bought weird and wonderful seeds on the web from Realseeds, when I visited Ryton Organic Centre, and from some people I came across at the Hampton Court Flower Show. But when I take my spare plants along to sell at car boot sales, what do people ask for most? Why, Moneymaker of course. (Although the yellow pear-shaped went down pretty well too.)