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When the Red, Red Robin ...

balcony

By balcony

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When the Red, Red Robin …

Do you remember the song? Many famous artists have sung it over the many years that have past since it was first written!

Never fear though, I’m not about to sing it! If I did we’d be longing for the drought again!

In this case I’m talking about a tiny variety of tomato, called ‘Red Robin’!

This was one of 5 different varieties of tomato seeds that my daughter gave me back in March this year.

Tomato seeds 5 varieties:

Tomato seeds ‘Red Robin’:

‘Red Robin’ seedlings planted out in hanging basket:

‘Red Robin’ in hanging basket flowering:

‘Red Robin’ in hanging basket on balcony from outside:

‘Red Robin’ on balcony before being picked by Kirsty:

So from planting out in the 3 baskets to picking the first ripe toms only about 2 & 1/2 months passed! Seems much longer!

‘Red Robin’ just picked from the balcony:

I won’t bore you with the other 2 baskets as all the photos are very similar! Nor will I bore you with photos of the other 3 varieties growing in Growbags on the floor of the balcony but I will include a couple of pictures of them before I finish this blog.

‘Alicante’ 1 ripening while others are still green on balcony:

Don’t be frightened by the size of this tomato – the photo has been cropped!

‘Black Cherry’ ripening on balcony:

Tomatoes ripening while some are still green on balcony:

Here you can see ‘Alicante’ (Left) & ‘Ukrainian Purple’ (Right) side by side!

Tomatoes Half ripe on balcony:

These are the only tomatoes to adopt this form of ripening!

You can see some of the fruits of my labour that I harvested on my photos page.

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Comments

 

You obviously like tomatoes!! hopefully they will taste as good as they look!

28 Aug, 2018

 

Its a useful development to have a variety you can grow in small pots or baskets. The ones from the seed you sent me have fruited very heavily too but now the rains have come the slugs are finding them unless I'm quick. (They are on a table not in a hanging baskets) -funny how they go straight for the ripest ones - wonder how they do that.
You have a good variety of toms there. I tried a black one when they first came out but it didn't do anything.

28 Aug, 2018

 

We have had a huge crop this year but it is more or less over. I will miss our fresh tomatoes.

28 Aug, 2018

 

I welcomed the toads to my neighbour's pond.
They hide behind large tubs etc.
Come out to play. Havent seen a slug.

28 Aug, 2018

 

But I think they would haver a struggle climbing onto the table to get at them! Haven't seen a toad for ages - we used to have several.

28 Aug, 2018

 

I hadn't realised there were so many varieties of tomatoes. Do they taste different?

28 Aug, 2018

 

It's nice to have a variety that is small enough to grow in a hanging basket, and they grew very quickly for you.
Your other ones did well too :)

29 Aug, 2018

 

Thanks all for your comments on this blog! 😂

DD Except for the 'Red Robins' which were (are!) delicious the others have turned out to be a little tasteless! I'd never even seen (in the flesh, so to speak) a black tomato before let alone grown one & this year I go & grow 'Black Cherry' & 'Ukrainian Purple'! (Thanks to my daughter giving me the seeds!😂)

Stera none of my plants have been touched by slugs & snails. Snails will much their way through my Amaryllis leaves but I don't think they have done so this year. It's rather difficult to tell as the pots of Amaryllis are on some shelving on the balcony wall & they have now become partially hidden by the tomato plants & it's difficult to get to them to water them even!

Linda, I'm surprised you had such a good crop as you are much further north than I am in Cambridgeshire! I have had one of the best years I can remember since growing tomatoes during the 18 years we have lived here in the UK! The tomatoes have loved the hot weather we had this year! I'll still be picking tomatoes into October this year!

Eirlys, there are 100s of different varieties of tomatoes!!! They come in all sizes & colours & types from dwarf ones like 'Red Robin' to very tall ones like 'Black Cherry' (cherry sized fruits) to purple like my 'Ukrainian Purple' (big, heavy & plum shaped) to massive "steak" varieties that weigh over a pound each! There are orange & yellow tomatoes as well as a striped one! There's even a green tomato, believe it or not!!! Look through a seed catalogue or online & you will surprised at the sheer number available!

Thanks, Hywel. This is the first time I've grown such a small tomato variety! When I had my allotment I grew a variety called: 'Garden Pearl' which crept along the ground (much to my surprise!) which had similar size fruit to 'Red Robin' only they were much more pink than red.

4 Sep, 2018

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