If there's one Tomato that you should be growing at home this year, it's this; The Portuguese!
The story goes that a certain Mr Dan McMurray was eating a sandwich in Portugal, and decided that the slices of Tomato it contained were the best he'd ever tasted.
He took out some of the seeds, dried them, and the results are now available worldwide.
I've grown them in the past, and they were excellent. It should be noted that as they are not an F1 Hybrid, one can save the seeds for the following year... and so on (even from a sandwich).
They have a solid consistency, very good flavour, and they produce large crops. What more could one ask from a Tomato; and, of course, you never need to buy any more seeds!
I've planted just two, along with a good selection of other varieties. My fingers are crossed for a good crop this year; last year's was dismal.
34 comments:
Googled them and they don't seem to be available here in New Zealand I came across
Joe's Portuguese Tomato Seeds which had the photo above. They are in the U.S. of A.
Monsanto is not liking the sound of this perpetual tomato business. You must buy seeds every year, and fertiliser and pest control. Speaking personally, while I don't know what they were, the tomatoes in Portugal were very nice.
It looks like the Rouge de Marmand. When I had a garden all my best (as in prolific and tasty) tomatoes came not from the many heirloom seed varieties I'd hopefully try every season, but from the self-seeding cherry tomatoes the critters would distribute about the village. Utterly indestructible and found in the gravel driveway, tanbarked native garden beds and weedy edges of the lawn.
Dan McMurray was an American, and sold his seeds there, but they should now be available everywhere.
Ah, the wonderful 'terminator seeds'. What a wonderful idea, and what a wonderful company are MONSANTO.
I once made the mistake of putting all my old Tomato plants on the compost. The following year Cherry Tom seedlings were coming up everywhere. I'm more cautious nowadays.
When I first glanced at the small photo on my blog reading list I thought it was a PUMPKIN!!
Alphie
Paul has planted some cherry tomatoes and four different types of big ones but I don't know what they're called. I shall just call them big and small.
That looks like a tomato should. I know my brother in Australia used to grow tomatoes from his tomato seeds but I buy plants which hopefully survive the searing summer sun.
Is it tomato seeds that can journey through man’s insides and still come out and multiply?
I am a fully paid up member of Tomatoholics, I love ‘em!
LX
My first thought that it was the marmande beefsteak tomato - delicious. My tomatoes are all out in the fresh air, warm sun by day, cold by night unfortunately, surviving though.
I really ought to plant some of the huge ribbed grey Pumpkins. They look so wonderful, and taste good too.
That's much what I've done this year; and only ONE cherry tom.
Those big fat solid Toms are all very similar; it's the sun that does the magic.
Plenty of good Toms in the garden is what makes a good Summer. Can't survive without them!
If you are buying plants (as I do too) they are probably F1 Hybrids, and the seeds either may not grow (if Monsanto have had their way), or they will grow as a totally different fruit.
Now that is a real tomato!
Nothing better than eating a warm ripe tomato just off the plant.
Greetings Maria x
I’ve sown two types: a cherry and a big one with an Italian name using seed bought direct from Paolo from Franchi seed. We went out for dinner to our local pub last night - just a short walk. It has just been taken over by new people and their son works at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir and came down to cook on his day off. All the veg and herbs and salad were picked that morning from the Big House in the village which has the most amazing productive kitchen garden (the gardener has been tending it for 21 years) and the young chef did full justice to it all with a few judicious additions such as crab from Selsey and mackerel landed at Shoreham. We are loving living down in Sussex Cro.
The best tomatoes I’ve ever had have been in France, Italy and Spain where they have had sun, sun and more sun ...... I could eat platefuls with sea salt ..... and more platefuls !!! ...... and the most delicious and simple tomato and basil pasta I’ve ever had was in Italy.
Your tomato looks perfect. XXXX
Especially these, they really are VERY good.
As you are discovering; Sussex is God's own country. Did you know that Chanctonbury Ring is the centre of The Garden of Eden?
It's the sun that does most of the hard work; that, and a non-watery variety of Toms.
Years ago (in Farnham) I worked with an Italian man who brought in the fresh elongated Italian tomatoes which were unavailable in Britain at the time. I asked him where he got them and he said he grew them from seed - from tins of cooked Italian tomatoes!
Wow, they are very determined vegetables. I always grow a couple of those plants, they're called 'Roma' here.
I'm another tomatoholic. But I've never thought of planting the seeds. I'll throw a few seeds in the flowerbeds next time I eat one.
I eat a tomato everyday.
Do it with a Cherry Tomato; you'll have hundreds of tiny plants.
So do we; and will continue to do so until about November.
Just can no longer be bothered with all the watering, side-shooting, feeding etc. thatis necessary. I usually buy the variety of small tomatoes called Piccolo - grown in Italy and quite tasty.
With your nice little ready-dug garden, I would have thought that a few Tom plants would be essential.
That's a big bugger
Tis a tasty bugger too!
OK, ta!
Thanks for the share. As I'm eating my lunch. A slice of that tomato would go great with my sandwich right now. Hope your garden comes out better then last years. Have a great weekend.
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