Best type of tomatoes to grow in Limerick/Clare

sian

Hi I'm asking this on behalf of my Da. He's great at delegating. What are the best breed of tomatoes to try growing in Ireland, in particular Limerick/Clare area which is obviously a very limestoney area (thought that might be relevent?)

Thanks a million.

Sian

dh0661

sian wrote: »

Hi I'm asking this on behalf of my Da. He's great at delegating. What are the best breed of tomatoes to try growing in Ireland, in particular Limerick/Clare area which is obviously a very limestoney area (thought that might be relevent?)
Thanks a million.Sian

I've grown "moneymaker" variety successfully for the last three years. I use grow bags, and feed liquid tomato food every other day.

old boy

i agree money maker has been bred for local conditions

NextSteps

It's a bit late to grow from seed - best to buy small plants. Tumbler cherry tomatoes are good for containers.

Aeneas

Depends on whether you are growing indoors or out. I live near the sea in Wexford where the weather is fairly benign - very little frost, plenty of sunshine, but a little too much wind - I find it difficult to get good results from tomatoes out of doors. And now I don't bother. In my polytunnel I grow Sungold (a prolific producer of cherry sized golden tomatoes with a lovely sweet flavour), Gardener's Delight (also a cherry tomato, but red with a slightly tarter flavour than Sungold), Roma (a plum tomato), Alicante (they look like shop-bought tomatoes but with a much stronger and fresher flavour) and an Italian variety (available from Mr Fothergill's Seeds) called Costoluto Fiorentino, a terrific beefsteak tomato with a tremendous deep flavour. I agree that it's too late now to raise your own tomatoes from seed. They need a long growing season and I sow mine in the Hot Press in late February or early March for planting out in the tunnel at the end of April or beginning of May. If you plan to grown tomatoes now your best bet is to get some plants from the Garden Centre - they might have Ailsa Craig - a bit like Alicante; Moneymaker, Gardener's Delight (see above); and Marmande which is a good beefsteak tomato. Centres also have things called Tumbler tomatoes but I have never tried them. Any of the others should do well in a greenhouse or polytunnel if you get them in now.