Last night's haul, piled up and waiting to be processed.
Cleaned of the mud thrown up by the most recent storm and the blue residue left by the Bordeaux mixture So far so good in term of blight, despite it felling the potatoes weeks ago.
In the photo below there is an example of all the varieties we are growing this year except the Pendulina growing in baskets (see here) which are long finished. It was not a success as each plant only produced a single sad truss despite copious feeding and watering. Not to be repeated!
Top left St Pierre. A classic French variety producing really nice big meaty fruit ideal for stuffing, although the flavour is perhaps not spectacular. The plants are indeterminate, robust and are left to sprawl where they like - mostly over the paths. They show some resistance to blight, despite their growing habits making it difficult to prevent a dense packing of foliage. 1 plant produces enough to have stuffed tomatoes as a main or side dish most weeks from August until the frosts or blight arrive.
Top middle Marmande lovely big ungainly and knobbly fruits (this is quite a smooth one!) fantastic flavour, but the fruits are prone to splitting and the indeterminate nature of the plants means the trusses are often on the ground and the slugs will find them. Great for slicing and dressing with basil and balsamic or roasting to add to sauce and stews. 2 plants.
Top right Green Zebra grown because I just can't face throwing away the seeds. See this post for my thoughts! 1 plant
Middle row, left Gelbe Konigin another heritage variety, described as indeterminate but mine are grown as a cordon perfectly well. Average flavour, nice firm flesh and looks and tastes great in salsas. 1 plant
Middle row, centre left Ola Polka thin skinned heritage variety. I find the flesh a little pappy if the fruit is left to ripen fully, but if you don't the flavour is rather uninspiring. I probably won 't replace the seed when it is all used up. 1 plant
Middle row, centre right Sungold F1 variety so expensive, but fabulous flavoured small cherry type, very sweet and early to crop. Everyday lunch tomato! 2 plants
Middle row, right. Black Cherry Dark purplish red cherry tomato, very productive and looks stunning, especially when combined with Sungold. Flavour is rich, deep and sweet, although, like the Sungold, could do with a touch more acidity for my taste. I like to add it to sauces and will try a ketchup this year. Fabulous thrown in raw with a handful of basil to fresh pasta. 4 plants
Bottom left. Roma The work horse. A classic Italian plum tomato which I've grown for two years now. I have 11 plants (lost 1) which, blight and weather willing, should provide enough passata and bottled tomatoes for much of the year. Previously, I've grown San Marzano for this purpose, and on balance I may switch back once I've used up the 100 odd seeds left! The flavour is superior and the cropping was marginally heavier. Having said that, the last two seasons have been very challenging, so a normal year next year (please) would give a fairer test.
Bottom centre Prince Borghese grown exclusively for sun drying, which is proving a little challenging this year with little sun just as the first flush of fruit ripened. I would hope to produce about four jars of these little nuggets of summer, for use mostly in couscous and other grain dishes in the winter.
Bottom right Gardener's Delight Top cherry tomato, firm flesh, thin skin, sweet yet acidic enough, easy going plants that are pretty heavy croppers.
The tomato patch. Next year I'm going to double the plum and dried tomato output so expect a wet, warm and blight ridden summer in 2015.
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