There’s nothing like making your decision, acting on it and then not a day later, bringing it into question !
Seeing it in the supermarket today, I couldn’t resist a flick through the February issue of Gardener’s World Magazine, in which top gardening experts make their recommendations for the top 100 vegetable varieties.
Naturally I turned straight to the tomato selection. 7 varieties made the grade, of those 2 - Sungold and Rosada are on my list . Still it’s good to strike out !?
So which were the super 7:
Alisa Craig: traditional red, round, standard, indeterminate tomato, bred in Scotland around 100 years ago. It’s longevity due to a pleasing combination of shape, size, colour and flavour and prolific nature which delivers under glass or outside .
Black Krim: An indeterminate medium large beefsteak from Russia. Very good, rich flavour dark brownish/red in colour and slightly flattened shape. It got 2 endorsements – Sarah Raven and Monty Don. And if I were looking for a 2nd dark tomato this would be the one. ( But I’m not – at least that’s what I keep telling myself.)
Gardeners Delight: Indeterminate cherry. Always earns a mention as someone’s favourite (here from Alan Titchmarsh) and is a RHS AGM winner. I grew it last year but don’t think I got the best from it. So we’ll take Alan’s word over mine.
Rosada: I’m so looking forward to picking my first of this variety. I’ve yet to see it mentioned without a mighty truss of superlatives attached.
Shirley: Another traditional red, round standard indeterminate that likes life indoors, either in a heated or unheated greenhouse. Liked for quality and quantity of fruit.
Sungold: The star of my patch last year; returning as the one to beat!
Yellow Pear: Indeterminate, pear shaped cherry tomato, very cheery yellow in colour. Good, sweet flavour. Has something about it that makes me think it would have an endearing nature ( very untechnical I know - it’s just I find some tomatoes invoke a fondness which other’s don’t & I’ve a feeling this one has endearment potential!)
So from this list, to add to my fantasy tomato team, would be Black Krim, Yellow Pear – and if I wasn’t plumping for blight resistance in the standards, I’d give Alisa Craig a centenary reel….
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sally, you have finally solved a mystery for me: mystery writer Charlotte MacLeod published several books under the pseudonym “Alisa Craig,” and now I know where she got that name! Many thanks from USDA Zone 9B (San Francisco).
How Wonderful ! Very glad to have unravelled a mystery ! I am now wondering if there are any other authors who have looked to the world of vegetables or plants for their pseudonyms….and if so if they chose something that they also liked to grow or eat or if just liking how a name sound was enough ! Thank you for getting in touch to let me know about Charlotte – it adds a whole other layer to the wonderful world of tomatoes !