Horrible tomatoes

B3

A couple of years ago, I had a go at growing tomatoes. They ended up on the compost heap.
They were mushy, mostly pithy and tasteless
Did I do something wrong or did I pick the wrong variety? I think they were called Gardner's Delight. (Pause for irony)
Would like to try again-maybe.

Fairygirl

How were you growing them B3? It may have been climate/conditions etc that resulted in them being poor, rather than the variety.

Kitty 2

Sungold always gets rave reviews for flavour B3.
Haven't grown it myself, I stick with the little bushy patio varieties that I can grow on a windowsill.

Fairygirl

I tend to grow the little ones too Kitty - they suit us and our needs.
I've bought Sungold this year to try, and another whose name I've forgotten, but I usually have Moneymaker which are fine, and fairly consistent and easy.

Mine are all grown undercover as we don't have reliable temps outdoors, and I don't overfeed, after following the advice from our resident tomato expert here Italophile. Keeping the growing regime consistent is important too. 

Pete.8

Gardeners Delight have been around for ever and are a very popular tomato.
For a good reliable and tasty tomato that's easy to grow, Shirley is hard to beat.

B3

They were in containers and I kept them watered ,fed them with tomorite now and again. The plants looked healthy.
Thanks for suggestions about variety but I want to be sure I'm doing it right before I invest space and effort. 

purplerallim

There are alot of lovely tasting toms out there, it may have been a bad year to grow them and not the variety. To give it a go I would try either Sun Gold or Black Cherry for small toms. Can be grown upright or bush and don't need much room. Last years Gardeners Delight were my best croppers, and this year am trying Roma a plum tom. Lots of water and tom food when the fruit starts set are the key, and dont leave the normal sized fruit too long on the plant when ripe. Can't say that about the cherry toms as half don't even make it inside as hubby eats them off the plant.😂

Dovefromabove

Sungold are favorites here ... and for a different, almost smokey flavor try Rosella ... again they’re small toms, wonderful roasted 😋 

Fairygirl

What is your general climate like B3? Fluctuating temps can cause issues, as can low overnight temps - hence growing them undercover here.
Feeding should only start when the first truss if fruit is set. Overwatering can cause problems in containers too. It's best to let the soil/compost dry out a bit before watering again. 
Perhaps you were just  a bit unlucky too - why not try a couple of plants and see how it goes? Sow a few seeds next month and keep a wee diary of progress, and post on here to let us see how you're doing. 

BenCotto

Most odd because Gardener’s Delight always does well in taste tests but obviously we all have different taste buds. To avoid mushiness just pick or use the fruit before it gets overripe. As tomatoes don’t have pith that comment confuses me.

Anyway, as to what you could try this year, have you a copy of the current Gardeners’ World magazine? It has a tomato taste test (page 138 if you’re surreptitiously looking at it in the newsagents!). There are 20 recommendations with Capriccio being the expert’s choice.

Topbird

If memory serves me correctly we did have a season a couple of years ago which was dreadful for growing tomatoes. I can't quite remember why now - but I think it might have been because we had a warmish spring and then a very cold summer.

Many of us threw our tomatoes away & even Monty on GW (who seems to grow most of his in a greenhouse) said it had been a really bad year for them. Tough skins, flavourless fruit etc.

I think you may have just picked a bad year to start growing them B3. Gardeners Delight are usually OK for medium size tomatoes - although I also prefer the smaller ones like Sun Gold.