Tomatoes

ian.mckay

Built a greenhouse 2019  run late so plants were planted May / June they grew well on the ground in compost not in grow bags they grew to about 5ft and had a nice crop but on cutting them there were very few seeds inside and poor taste The yellow ones were sweetest but small the red ones were of poor taste I had a variety of Yellow / Red / Black also a variety of types ie plum and others 
This is my first time with a greenhouse or growing tomatoes I had 18 plants which I will reduce to 15 next year I also had 2 chilli plants and a Butternut squash in an 8 x 6 house
I may keep chili plants but squash is going

Any ideas where I went wrong that are not obvious ie too late planting which will be resolved this year as house is built

Thanks 
Ian

Fairygirl

Hi @ian.mckay- often with tomatoes, it's down to the variety you've grown, when it comes to the taste. 
There can be other factors- amount of heat, amount of ventilation, over/under watering or feeding etc, but if you had a decent crop, and the toms were ripe when picked, it's most likely down to that.

Obelixx

I suspect over-crowding and lack of feeding.   Tomatoes need warmth, light, water and feeding to get a decent crop with flavour.   Most planting composts only have feed for 90 days at the most so after that you need to provide feed appropriate to your crop be it flowers or fruit and veg.   Tomatoes also need deep pots and to be planted deep to allow the two kinds of roots they produce to function well - one lot for feeding and one for water.

There's an old thread here that discusses varieties and crops that you may find helpful - https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1021102/tomato-varieties-thread/p1 

and this is what the RHS has to say about how to grow tomatoes - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/tomatoes

Have a read and then decide what varities you want to try next year.  You have plenty of time to research, decide and then order seeds but I would advise just trying a few plants - one each of 3 or 4 varieties - and buying them as plugs next spring at the local GC/nursery or plant fair.

Dovefromabove

The whole point about plum tomatoes is that they’re for cooking and therefore have been bred to have more solid flesh and fewer seeds than other types.

 That may explain some of it. 

Lyn

I agree about too many plants in there, I have 8 x 6 GH and put 4 tomato plants down each side.
I always do a few Roma for cooking not many pips and solid flesh, also Jersey Devils, even less pips,  lovely on toast, very fleshy. 

ian.mckay

Thanks folks for all the info I think you have given me enough to think about and no sarcastic quips Brilliant

I will admit to:
Overcrowding 
No feeding !!!
Late planting 
Ignorance of varieties

Now wonder how I got any fruit, lesson learned need more thought about just what I want from greenhouse

Thanks Very Much

Ian

Obelixx

Enjoy the research Ian.  I would suggest you concentrate on just a few tasty eating varieties and leave the plum/cooking tomatoes to the professional growers and canners.

There will no doubth be plenty of chat, info and threads on here about which to grow and when to sow and plant next spring so keep an eye out for that from January/February.

Fairygirl

It also depends what you want from the toms too @ian.mckay- ie if you want little tasty toms to snack on, or big beefsteak ones to cook with etc. 
As already said - many of us grow them, so there will be plenty of chat about them in late winter. 
There's also a seed swap thread - so if you want to grow from seed, that might be useful to you for trying a few different types.

ian.mckay

I would like some small tasty one and had some this year they were yellow and still have the ticket that came with them so will go with them again The red ones I want have to be tasty and about the size of a golf ball maybe slightly larger 
I also fancy 1 beefsteak as a trial here is my list from info gained on here:

Victorian Dwarf

Sweet Millions

Fandango

Crimson Crush

Brandy Boy Beefsteak

Sun Gold

Gardeners Delight

Now to find them but I have plenty time 

Obelixx

I know @Lyn really likes Sweet Millions and @Dovefromabove likes Sungold.

I have also read a report in an issue of the RHS magazine to say that the seedtsock of Gardeners Delight is now so courrupted it is no longer reliable.

Lyn

I do grow sweet million, they certainly live up to their name.