If you want to be driven mad by a tomato, I'd say plant the Red and Yellow Currants I mentioned a few weeks ago. With further experience and even though they taste good, I can categorically say I find them Very Annoying, being so fiddly to pick. However, I do have one other variety on the go, thanks to Thompson and Morgan who supplied three plants of Mountain Magic. This F1, cordon-trained tom promises freedom from blight while rewarding you with the rich flavour of heritage varieties.
It's been developed specifically with outdoor growers in mind and, apparently, carries the late blight-busting Ph-2 and Ph-3 genes which means full protection against all current British strains including Pink6 and Blue13, which are the most virulent to hit UK crops. It also has in-built genetic resistance to both verticillium and fusarium wilt and cracking.
Mine went into an area where I haven't grown tomatoes before, because the currant varieties are occupying my favourite south-facing wall. But as the wall also offers some rain protection and therefore reduces the incidence of blight, perhaps it's just as well I had to find somewhere else - a sunny but more exposed area. They're planted in black bottomless buckets to allow them a less clay-ey soil to start off in (and it means I've got compost in situ to spread on the beds after they're finished) and to help the sun warm them up faster.
They started to come through at the end of August, somewhere between the size of a cherry and a bog standard tomato and, as you can see, they're good-looking - uniform, evenly coloured. But I wouldn't say they're zinging with flavour. They're described as being highly rated against the flavour of heritage tom Brandywine but they lack depth and tang for me. However, the taste is pleasant and sweet (its grape tomato heritage gives it a high sugar level, say T&M), with a moderate tomato taste. It's also thick-skinned, which I've noticed is often a feature of blight-resistant varieties.
So far I've had one Smith period this year, notified to me via Blightwatch on 6th September and, here, three weeks later, I can say there's absolutely no sign of the disease. Overall they're a strong, sturdy variety (in fact, I've had to wrestle a bit to get the plants to release the harvest), so if you find toms difficult because of blight, I'd say Tomato Mountain Magic is definitely worth growing. Taste-wise, I'd always head for Harbinger.
...Landscape Juice Network
Recent Comments