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The description of Losetto comes from the Thompson and Morgan catalogue and the photos were taken at Wisley early in July.
The first of its kind! An outstanding new cascading bush tomato with built-in blight resistance. Producing masses of sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes that can be harvested over a long period from July to September. Perfect for containers or planters in the greenhouse or on the patio, but can also be planted in a sunny spot in the garden. Height and spread: 30cm (12″).
I wonder how it does fare against blight. And although it’s described as a container plant for patios – it’s perhaps a bit unruly to be the perfect patio plant. However as it’s showing signs of red fruit on an outdoor-grown plant in July, I be more than happy to put up with a bit of sprawl in exchange for early fruiting.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I am growing this for the first , yes its is blight free and growing very robustly more than can be said for a lot of my other plants which have got blight which has come very early this year ( have been growing toms since 1973 ) . My Location is Essex very dry most summers . Have read this can be grown as a cordon so I have taken some cuttings and growing these on into the autumn in a poly- tunnel to try this out because they are quite sprawling plants . Will keep you posted if it works out .
Nigel
Crikey, that’s a plant and a half! That would probably need a tent to itself and, like an expansive camper, still demand more space. Like you though, I’d be prepared to give it all the space it needs if it is truly blight resistant, but I’ve grown sceptical about seed companies’ claims.
Sadly the dark splodges have continued to spread despite the dry weather. I’m inclined to blame the horde of slugs and snails for spreading it about under the tents with their slimy mess. Something’s been nibbling through the leaf stalks anyway.
I have some cherry tomato plants, they were the first (and only so far) to redden several days ago. They were started in mid-April, so had I started in Feb I expect I would have ripening tomatoes in July.
, keeps them off the tomatoes I suppose, but the tomatoes are sprawling over the tobacco, who are losing the battle for growing space.
Mine are certainly beginning to sprawl!! Getting a bit out of control in fact! Especially the ones with the best sun. Mine have been blight free (as have all my plants). I planted some tobacco alongside my tomatoes, the slugs seem to prefer the tobacco, I think they have developed a nicotine habit
I got my seeds in a multi-seed pack from B&M, but these seem to be the same type. http://www.garden4less.co.uk/budget-range-cerise-cherry-tomato-seeds.asp
At 35p they are good value, especially when you get 120 seeds which are a few to many for the average sized garden!!
I note they are out of stock of the cherry and the rest of their seeds are not such a bargain, ie a few £’s for a dozen or so.
Breno,
Hi, I like the idea of sacrificial baccy plants, though I now have a vision of a slug puffing on a dirty great cigar. I guess they’d be easier to find…
I’m glad your toms are blight-free ripening; I’m still anticipating those elusive blushes of red (not black). Thanks for the link – it’s something to remember for next year.
That’s a great endorsement. If your other plants got blight and early this year and Losetto is still free of it – then that’s definitely a huge advantage.
Have they ripened enough to taste one yet? I’d love to know if they win on flavour as well. In which case – they’ll absolutely earn a place in my line up for next year.
They do look very sprawling – so it will be interesting to see in a few years time if they can breed that characteristic out of them. But as so many of us enjoy growing cherry tomatoes -and this is the first blight resistant variety for that kind and it works – then I think it will become a very popular and well-known variety.
I’d love to know how you get on with “taming” yours in the poly-tunnel.
Yes definitely the tent and a large awning out front.
Sad to hear you’ve got splodge spread! And yes – along with blight – everyone I know – urban or country – seems to have been plagued with slugs and snails. It’s very hard not to think it’s PERSONAL!!!
Hello
Slugs would just the kind to have bad and filthy habits! That’s why beer traps are so popular to trap them – they love a good sup and then end up falling into the beer and drowning. It seems they are right old Andy Capps at heart!
On the subject of starting early – I think it works well if you have got somewhere light and with some warmth for the young plants to hang out in – otherwise their growth can be slow – or they just get “leggy” trying to grow upwards in the hope that there’s some light up there somewhere ( not likely in the UK in Feb!).
I think that’s why lots of tomato growers think that mid-March is a good compromise – it’s early enough to get a good start – but also means that by the time the seedlings are beginning to put on growth – light and temperature conditions are good enough without having to provide artificial light or provide heating – which of course is expensive – even if your seeds are as good a bargain as yours were!!
I have not tasted any on my tomatoes yet but I will do tomorrow, I only had one red one so I didn’t want to eat it and be left with none, but I now have several turning red so that is not so much of a problem.
But it is a full red and should be ready. I will definitely try earlier next year as I had no problems germinating the seeds at all I was surprise how well they did. You probably do not gain much by going to early, not much growth from a few hours of weak light.
You may find the seeds in the link are permanently out of stock and only there too attract attention!
I got mine from B and M, two six packs of seed for a few £’s one called “Taste of the Mediterranean” had the Roma and the Alicante plus Onion(red), Chilli, Aubergine and Courgette seeds as well.
The other “Growbag collection” had the Cherry (Cerise) tomatoes plus Onion(white) Cucumber, Sweet Pepper, Lettuce, and Courgette (again).
So there were idea for a beginner like me.
And great value considering I have had no blight whatsoever on the tomatoes. I think the cucumbers have a bit more of a problem, one is pretty healthy, the other looks unwell and the third well, I think I will be writing it’s obituary soon!!
One chilli is doing well, fruits almost as big as the tomatoes. lettuce was fine, onions disappointing nothing from the sweet pepper or Aubergine yet, but as I write I just realised what I think is a chilli is in fact a sweet pepper, I have about 3 as yet unidentified plants, I just hope they are not Aubergine as I have never eaten one of them lol.
Anyway congrats to Sally I see she has posted some pics of here ripening large toms. None of my larger type tomatoes have reddened yet, but I will be sure to let you all know when they do!!
Oh and one cherry plant which looks slightly unwell or at least not as good as the others seems to have tiny tomatoes on it like berries but I will nave to see how they develop.
I didn’t sow my “ Losetto “ tomato seed very early quite late I think late april.
I have tasted a few and they are very nice .
To be objective I have tested the sugar content with a refractometer using the “ Brix Scale “ using “ Sungold “ as a bench mark these are the results
Losetto 8.75%
Sungold 10 %
Super market tom in the winter 4%
They haven’t been given very good treatment just stuck in a corner on the patio
Next year will be treating them as special .
Tried to post a picture but has not been succesful
I have a chilli plant which has done really well this year.
I didn’t sow from seed as I don’t seem to do very well with chilli seedlings. I bought it as a plant – but it has consistently thrown out chillies which have gone through various colour changes (so more to watch than the tomatoes in terms of change) until they are a bright cherry red and ripe for picking. The only problem I have – is that again – it makes such a pretty plant – that I don’t want to remove the chillies – but then one fruit has started shrivelling – so that is a timely reminder that if I don’t pick them – nature will continue with her plan of action – which is to drop the fruit so the seeds can be scattered and the whole process begin again. So I better get in there first. ( But will take a photo and post it before I do!)
That’s a really good recommendation for them. To be good to eat and blight resistant must make them a must-have choice for next year.
The poor old winter tom!! No wonder I end up grinding a lot of salt and pepper on to the wan little segments once I’ve cut them up. I know lots of people don’t bother with tomatoes in the winter – your test demonstrates why!