2021 tomato report- Bristol, UK

[KateL]

Hi everyone, here are the results of my 2021 growing season:

By way of background I grow in a sunny courtyard in containers and what folks in the UK know as growbags (flat, cuboid watertight plastic bags pre-filled with compost, ~4 feet long, 1ft wide, 6 inches deep.) I planted three plants to a growbag, mostly pruned to a single stem, although a few varieties (e.g. cherries) were allowed 2-3.

I grew 36 varieties (28 new-to-me), 51 plants in total. Total harvest: 42008g. (92.42lbs). Seeds were sown on 26th Feb – 2nd March, planted out 9 May- 3rd June.

Observations: The weather was unseasonably cold in May & several plants suffered as a result. Days to maturity and total harvest weight very variable across plants of the same variety, under similar conditions.

Changes from 2020: Plants did not perform as well (in terms of weight harvested) as in 2020. To fit in more plants/varieties I grew three plants to a bag, increased from two. The weather was also colder / wetter / a more difficult growing year. 4 varieties experienced blossom end rot- more so than in 2020.

Overall, I really enjoyed the season, I grew loads of new-to-me varieties and enjoyed some serious tomato beauty in the kitchen and to share with friends.

Results of the top 20 varieties:

2021 table for tomato junction.xlsx

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[bower]

Looks like you had plenty of fun with it!

[MissS]

You certainly grew a beautiful variety of tomatoes. They make a gorgeous presentation. It's so nice to see that you had enough to share with others. If it's any consolation, tomatoes here were not as productive as normal. Our early summer was just too hot for them to set fruit.

Your table is very informative. Thank you for adding it.

[Amateurinawe]

Well done @KateL , looks like you still had a good harvest and selection inspite of the weather. The may weather really wiped my plants but luckily I had some in reserve but that meant they were some weeks behind.

Was hoping for a really good year but it was a struggle too with the overall season. Hopeless on the aubergine front again.I

I too loved the season, but it had its challenges , not least reports of early blight sweeping through the South coast and hitting the early plants.

I Like your synopsis of the year, although I didn't manage to give any tomatoes away, the plants I did give away faired well with their new gardeners (with greenhouses at least).