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Alicante
Alicante was joint 4th in my seed poll along with Moneymaker. Of the 23 seed sites I searched it could be bought from 11.
This is what the seed suppliers had to say:
To eat, Alicante is:
- Fleshy, good flavour, good tasting, full flavour
- Uniform size, medium size
- Red
To Grow, Alicante is:
- Cordon Interderminate
- Outdoor or glass, cold greenhouse
- High yield, heavy cropping, heavy crops
- Matures early, quite early
- Resistant to, free from greenback, no greenback
- Most popular amateur tomat0, money maker type, improved money maker type ,classic older variety, easy to grow
To buy Alicante:
Packets ranged between 50 and 120 seeds per packet. Average seed priced worked out at .016 pence per seed.
In the seed catalogues they rank equal. How would you score them? Interesting that the catalogues describe Alicante as improved Moneymaker but that they are both equally avaliable ?
Would you choose Alicante over Moneymaker? Or Moneymaker over Alicante?
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Stumbled on your web site looking for extra tips on growing tomatoes. I decided this year to try growing some veg from seed (never grown veg ever before), included in this was tomatoes. I chose the Alicante variety as I like going to Spain. Without thinking I planted the whole packet in a large seed tray on the 23 February and nurtured them in my conservatory. Hey presto a couple of weeks later, or thereabouts, they ALL popped their heads out of the compost. I potted them on as it said on the packet and placed them all on the shelves of a plastic grow-house. Now (4th June) I have 6 large plants in the grow-house, one is 4′ tall already with 4 trusses, 10 in 9″ pots dotted throughout the garden and roughly 15 – 20 in a purpose dug sunny corner of my garden and I still have 25 in 3″ pots which I don’t have the heart to throw away. ALL of my friends, family and even friends of friends have been given tomato plants from me. I know for the future to think ahead. I didn’t think for 1 minute that I would end up with 120 tomato plants. However, I am extremely pleased with the results and will be using extensive recipes (fingers crossed) to use up all of my tomatoes as they ripen. Keep looking on the bright side!!
Hello Anne,
Thank you for getting in touch and for letting me know about your tomato growing experience! 120 , that’s amazing.
What a fantastic result. I too had no confidence that I would be able to grow anything from seed. And in fact when I talked to some very experienced tomato growers and they said they bought plants – I had just assumed that they would grow them from seed – I wondered if I’d done the right thing ! But I too have found it so rewarding to grow something from scratch – well seed !
I’d love to know how the plants progress and what recipes turn out to be your favourite. Thank you for stopping by .
Sally
Live in SE England nd still green, When will they be ripe?
How frustrating ! My Alicante have been slow to ripen as well and have just done so in the past week or so and I still have a lot of green fruit on that variety . So fingers crossed yours will start to turn this week. It’s been a nice sunny weekend so that should help.
I LOVE how much you love tomatoes!!!
I just bought 3 alicante tomato plants from a stall outside someones house! Do you think they will grow ok outside, or should they be kept indoors?
Hello,
Thank you for stopping by and joining the tomato lovers! But I warn you – it might only be 3 plants this year … but next year you’ll be on to 6 or maybe 9…!!! Suddenly you will get your own home grown tomatoes – compare their taste and price to what you can find in the shops – and start thinking about all the different kinds you might like to grow!
But back to this year’s Alicante – put them outside – they should be fine. Unless you have a greenhouse – in which case they would like that as well – but indoors I wouldn’t … Alicante will grow into strapping plants in no time and I think you will get along much better if they are outdoors and not invading your indoor space!
Do keep in touch and let us know how it works out!
Hello!
Thank you for the reply!! That is very exciting – so do they spread on their own or do I have to do something to make that happen? I do want 9 plants next year!! I have planted my 3 plants outside in my raised beds and they seem to be going strong although growing slowly at the moment. I am considering getting some tomato feed.
Will let you know when I get my first tomato!!
Home grown tomatoes completely converted me about 10 years ago – I hated tomatoes but was persuaded to try one that my mum’s friend had grown. She picked it from the plant and I tried it (raw – a very brave moment!) and it was a revelation! I have been a tomato fan ever since.
Hello,
It’s lovely to hear from you – and I am glad that all is going well. I am not quite sure what you mean by spread? But from the point of view of just getting on with growing Alicante will do that just fine! Have you got any sideshoots to pinch out yet – that will prevent the plant from getting to have too many new shoots that are then difficult to tie up and support.
It’s always a very exciting moment when you get… and even better pick… your first home-grown tomato! I think you are about to become a fan all over again.
Good Luck – and I looked forward to hearing more as your plants grow!
Sally
I bought a single plant in April from a shop in Ripon and transferred into a topsey turvey grow bag in my conservatory. I now have a very large plant( which I water and feed daily), with lots of green tomatoes but to my disappointment they are all turning black on the underside. Help I have no idea what is happening and if there is anything I can do to save them. I was so looking forward to eating my first home grown tomato!
Hello,
Thank you for getting in touch – and I am so sorry that your tomato growing has taken a turn for the worst after you have given it such loving care and its rewarded you with lots of green tomatoes.
It sounds very much to me as if your plant is suffering from Blossom End Rot. That turns the bottoms of the tomato fruits black/brown and a bit leathery looking. It is related to calcium. When the tomato fruit is developing the cell walls inside the tomato need calcium to form – and if suffer any shortage at that time then the cell walls don’t fully form – and the result is what you see.
It is very frustrating and some varieties of tomato are more prone to it than others. How calcium is distributed to the plant is through water travellling through it. So you will often read that it is caused by irregular watering. That may be true – but in my experience you can have the exact same watering routine for all your plants and some get it and some don’t.
The bad news is that those fruits that have it won’t come good so you will have to take them off and discard them. The good news – or at least I have found – is that the later fruits don’t seem to get it even if they are on the same plant. So you should hopefully still get some good fruit – but it will be the later ones.
I hope that helps even if it’s not very good news.
Sally
hello,,(new here) also im a virgin,,in the tomato growing sence,,lol.
ive planted some ALICANTE,and MARMANDE,at about the same time,both about 1 month,my ALICANTE are growing quite well,,but the other MARMANDE,look smaller,and not so good,,,as it is a different variety is this normal?. how much should i be watering them per day?
also when do i start FEEDING the plants,,love the site,,,thanx craig,X
sorry,,i forgot,is this because the marmande is a bigger fruit that is may grow slower?
Hello
Glad you love the site and even more important tomatoes!
Different varieties do grow and fruit at different rates so just keep the faith with the Marmande. I saw some Moneymaker plants for sale this weekend and the plants were so healthy and strong looking that if I had just been going on the look of the plant alone I would have bought them. But Moneymaker isn’t a variety I want to grow and some of the more unusual ones don’t grow as vigourously so just keep looking after them and see how it goes.
Water – keep the compost moist but not soaking.
Feeding – you could start with a very diluted general feed now – something like a seaweed one. But if they are in fresh compost then there might not even be a need to do that. At the moment you will be feeding for the leaf and plant growth only – so that’s a balanced general feed.
thankyou sally,,,whats the problem with money maker?
also,in yuor eyes,what is the best tomato to grow,,for taste etc.
some of my plants are big,strong stork,some still small with thin stork,,,but i assume they will all grow at different stages.
im enjoying doing this tomoto growing,,they are all in my greenhouse at the mo,,,also is it too late to grow more from seed now?,,hope all is good with you sally,,cheers
also,,sally,,i see the corner shoots coming now,,do i take them off at this stage?,,,(about 6 weeks old)
hi,,just noticed loads of greenfly on my tomato plants, how do i get rid of them?,appart from manually going round squashing them.
also i have a very small plum tomato plant(only about 2 inches high,it was green,but the last few days i see it turning yellow,,is this ok?
craig, X
please help,,,
Hi. I know its late to reply but, in response to Marilyn, I notice she feeds and waters daily. Surely that is too much. I found last year that overwatering causes splits so I watered every other day. Over feeding caused black bottoms so I fed once a week
Hello
You are right – overwatering can cause splitting in fruit once the fruit are on the vine. I certainly have that problem with thin skinned cherry varieties such as Sungold and Black Cherry. And over watering can dilute the flavour of the tomato as well. There are growing methods whereby when fruiting you really restrict the water intake of the plant to boost flavour. But of course too little water and it’s all over – so it is very much about reading the situation and responding correctly – although easier said than done as I have found out at the expense of split or as you say black bottomed – which is blossom end-rot in tomatoes.
hello
I’m going to grow tomatos for the first time ever; do plants continue to produce fruit after initial picking, or is that the end of the plant? Also, if the plant continues to grow fruit, what is the longevity of a plant, is it one season or can they be kept for more than one growing season?
Hello
It’s the weather that does for them! Cold temperatures and low light levels.
Once you have picked the fruit from a truss – then that truss will not produce any more fruit. But as long as the plant keeps growing – and sending out more trusses – with flowers that then become the tomatoes – you will get fruit. Garden growers in the UK with heated greenhouses and sometimes extra lighting can have tomatoes for picking nearly all year round – finishing in November and starting again in February. But for most of us – it’s summer time only!
And then it’s back to those hard globes of red from Morocco for the rest of the year!
Hi I am growing some alicante for the first time outdoors as i don’t have a green house, also only a small garden, a lot of which is a bit shaded however my plants are now 3 feet tall, I started them mid april indoors. So i am pleased with progress so far. 3 feet in 3 months, I expect they will speed up a bit now that are bigger!!
I have had some little yellow flowers on them but no sign of fruit, although I have never actually thought to look (will do tomorrow!!). Unfortunately as you will know the (UK) weather has not been too good regarding warmth and sunshine recently but enough rain to sink a battleship!! I think they are doing as well as can be expected and I hope to post an update. I also have Roma and Cerise tomatoes doing similarly. I am new to gardening but I put some cucumber and courgette in as well at the same time which have started to bear small and slightly bigger fruit respectively.
So pretty pleased so far, I have twelve plants, Ann made me laugh when she said she didn’t have the heart to throw her extra plants anyway – I know the feeling, like abandoning a child!!
I will have to keep a look out for tomato recipes too but I have no idea yet of what kind of crop I can expect, But I figure I have 3 good months for them to produce so meting, so fingers crossed!!
Fingers crossed indeed! This summer is not being at all kind to any of us in the UK -let alone us home growers. However I am grateful that my tomato plants are still anchored in their pots – and not drowned in floods – the rain where I am has all obediently gone down the drains and soaked away. And watering has certainly not been on the to-do-list!
So it sounds like you are doing well with your plants – they do tend to shoot up in height when they get outdoors and get going. You might be surprised if you look into the Calyx where the flower was – you find the most tiniest of green “beads” – that will be your first tomato. I will see if I can take a photo of one of mine as small as that – so you can see what you are looking for. I still have mostly flowers but a few tiny toms are just starting to show.
I know Alicante and Roma but not Cerise.
Sounds with the cucumber and courgettes you have the making of a salad – or ratatouille!
Well I have had look and initially I could see nothing (not sure where to look lol), but turning over one of the ‘hats’ where a flower had been I did see a tiny green tiny tomato as small as I don’t know what, between a pinhead and a tiny pea. n fact two or three of them, however I realised that plant was a Cerise (cherry) but I had a good look on the biggest Alicante and that too had a tiny baby tomato. Some useful growth pictures here.
http://www.tomatosite.com/index.php?NT=Cultivation&RE=Truss_Timeline
My tomatoes are a lot smaller than the day 15 ones!! Don’t think mine are growing as fast due to poor weather.
Should be mid sept before I get ‘a red one’ going buy those pictures, but it looks like I will have some tomatos in some shape or fashion but only time will tell, hope to post an update in due course!!
Hurrah! It’s a bit of a surprise when you see them for the first time – very tiny and a sort of luminescent green – but that’s where it all begins! Here’s to keeping them safe and sound on their journey to the big red!!
Yes it is a long way to go yet. I have three types of plant, cherry plum and normal (Alicante ). I actually found a tomato I had not spotted on the plum plant, which is the biggest tomato of the lot, I missed it because it was on a smaller plant which I never looked at properly with it being small (also hiding under a leaf!)
They all seem to be doing fine but some plant have kind of split into two main stems, like a Y shape, not too sure what to do, I will just treat the one as the main stem I think. I am considered pruning but will not do anything yet. The more green there is the more they can get energy (which comes from light on leaves, not the soil).
I am most intrigued about the plumb tomato one cos I have never seen them for sale in the UK, but I expect they are.
Anyway all is going well and I am sure they are loving the sunny weather!! (at long last!!)
hello,,,this wet weather we had has played havok with my tomato plants,,,BUT,,i still seem to have alot growing in my greenhouse,,,anyway,,i was wondering if anyone could help,i have a few MARMANDE,plants in there,,some are rotting,some are splitting,,but i seem to have alot that the fruit looks ok,,the fruit is growing large (as a marmande should,beef steak variety) but the plants are quite bushy and i was worried the fruits might not be getting enough sunlight,so i was thinking about picking the leaves/stems off so the fruit can get more light,,is this ok to do? as none seem to be ripening,any ideas?
Hi, Craig
I was just popping in to give an update on my tomatoes but then saw your post. First though was that it seems a bit early for them to ripen.
Use the pics here for an idea
http://www.tomatosite.com/index.php?NT=Cultivation&RE=Truss_Timeline
It take 52-15 days for them to start turning red, that’s 37 days, about 6 1/2 weeks from first fruit, I doubt yours have had that long.
Plants take their energy from sunlight, via green leaves, chop the lot off and the plant will not do well, so I don’t think chopping a few off will help much.
Also according to this article (which you need a degree in biology to read properly!!) it seem the green in the tomato is only 13% as good at harvesting light energy as the green in the leave, and I that will get worse as it get redder I believe (less green).
http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/84/3/911.full.pdf
“Green tomato fruit pericarp contains only 13% of Chl per g
of total protein compared to leaf tissue” (chl =chlorophyl ie green)
Also “It is not known what role photosynthesis of the green fruit
plays in the physiology of the whole plant or, in particular, in
the developing fruit.”
So they seem to say they do not know if the fruit need light.
I doubt it does. In my opinion it gets what it need from the green leaves, that is where it is going to get it energy to make the sugars.
Plants can shift stuff around inside themselves, take potatoes for example, they are underground, the energy inside them in the form of carbohydrate comes from the sun, the potatoes themselves do not need light, in fact it makes them green and poisonous apparently.
Anyway I woudl put it another way, it tomatoes or any fruit needed sun they would grow above the leaves where they would get a lot of sun, there is nothing to stop them doing this, they could have evolved into any form. However they didn’t because they found a much easier way to do it, they get all they need from the light (in weight) green leaves and then transport it into the heavier fruit which can hang down.
So my none expect answer is no just leave them, I can’t convince myself getting light to the fruit is a good idea. I am certainly not an expert of gardening or biology but I am fairly good at general science.
What you could do it chop some leaves off one plant and see if it’s fruit do any better than the rest regarding ripening. However as the amount you chop away is probably not going to be that significant it may make little difference.
But think about taking it to the extreme and chopping all the leaves off – that clearly is not a great idea is it!!
Anyhow if you cut the fruit off they will ripen by themselves anyway?
You might like to read this
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/vegetable/how-to-turn-green-tomatoes-red-how-to-store-tomatoes-in-the-fall.htm
Basically I would give it a few more weeks, they take longer than most people expect I believe according to the first like I posted.
Well finished my essay on rippening!!
Back to my tomatoes I have fruit on most of my plants, onl;y one of the smallest has a lot of tomatoes growing on it whilst the tallest has hardly any, they may be different types of tomato though I I lost the labels along the way lol.
My tomatoes seem to be somewhere between say 21 and day 26 on the pictures link, probably closer to 21. Some are still flowering though. I am pretty happy with the progress though, better they do not all arrive at the same time any way and plenty of time left yet (I hope lol). Could do with a bit more sun but not too much forecast at the moment.
I also have some potatoes in and found one growing partially above ground (now covered with soil) which was fairly big which is a good sign there are some underneath as well!!
Looks like yummy tomato and potato salad for me!!
Found a bit about ripening here which may interest Craig
“The red color of tomatoes won’t form when temperatures are above 86oF. So, if you live where the summers get quite hot, leaving tomatoes on the vine may give them a yellowish orange look. It’s probably better to pick them in the pink stage and let them ripen indoors in cooler temperatures.
Tomatoes need warmth, not light, to ripen, so there’s no need to put them on a sunny windowsill. Place them out of direct sunlight — even in a dark cupboard — where the temperature is 65 to 70F. ”
http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/veggie/tomatoes_harvesting/374
So.. maybe the warmth of the sun helps them ripen so cutting off foliage may help? However that would also expose them to wind more, but as they are not warm blooded that would I think make no difference to the temperature.
ok,,thankyou so much BRENO,,its just some of my big marmande are big,,but green,,,,one fruit has turned aranger on one side,but is very soft there,,feels like it may rot.
that was interesting breno thanx,,as i am new to this (1st time trying) and i thaught tomatos needed sunlight aswell as heat.
i will see what happens now,,some alicante of mine are starting to ripen,,had one ripen alone last week,,but the others seem about 2 weeks off,,,haha,,,,any more ifo will be greatly accepted,,cheers ;0
Craig, I am new to this too so I am far from an expert, just kind of guessing at some of the stuff and using google to try and find answers, the first stuff I posted was far to technical, not sure I can even understand 90% of it lol but the second link seem to have all the right info and is very readable.
I guess yours are in a green house cos mine are a long way off ripening..
I had two lower branches break in the wind, I made a transplant from one a few days ago and it seems to be doing OK, and I have just made another but it was bit wilted so I don’t know what will happen with that one. Indeed I don’t expect anything from either with it being so late in the year now but I it is better than throwing them away. If they do grow I will have to put them in the house eventually I expect to keep them warm.
This is a picture of some of my alicante tomatoes, i think I have figured out how to identify them now, the cherry cerise have a darker top, the Roma plumb have vertical stripes but the alicante seem very uniform in colour and also perhaps a paler green.
It’s not a great photo, I took it on my camera which is pretty basic and my hand is not too steady.
http://i50.tinypic.com/4fgol.jpg
For reference these are the cherry ( I think lol).
http://i50.tinypic.com/33uy4iu.jpg
And this is a Roma I think I only have one plant of this type but again I am unsure – lol. The tall elegant looking plant on the left is a tobacco plant, I think it looks quite nice, they also produce small pretty pink flowers, or will do in a week or so.
http://i49.tinypic.com/2z9e43d.jpg
Forgot the roma, pic here it is
Actually the one I think is a Roma may not be a Roma, I found these tomatoes on another plant:-
http://i46.tinypic.com/2wlxzjs.jpg
I had never really noticed them before, the plant has a lot of foliage and is hard to get to, anyway they do look a lot more plumb shaped.
Thinks should become clearer over time.
I think I have a few mixed up identities this time as well. I think the labels for Harbinger and Black Cherry got mixed.
Still as long as they all get to turn red, ripen nicely and taste nice – that’s all that matters!
Thank you for all your comments and info – and for the link to the days of ripening photos. Wish I could put my tomatoes on fast forward through that process!
I think I have sorted out the identities now, there are 3 plum, 3 alicante and about 7 cherry,but I am not sure about 1 of the cherries i might be something else. The alicante have the biggest fruits.
I counted over 100 flowers/tomatoes on one tomato plant!!
They are still all very green but I am looking forward to them turning red, I just hope I do not run out of time before the weather gets too cold.
Hello,
Our two Alicante plants are about 7 feet high and have yielded a first wave of tomatoes with a second following. Both plants are kept inside by big windows, get plenty of light, nutrient, water, etc. In the last few days, one in continuing to thrive, but the other is wilting badly. Any advice on what we might be doing wrong or how to correct the problem? These are the first bits of veg we’ve ever grown and we don’t want to lose them!
Many thanks!
Nikki
Hurrah on the tomato waves – and sorry to hear one of the plants is struggling and as that was over a week ago – I wonder how it’s fareing?
It’s very difficult to say why one might be doing less well than the other if they are getting the same care regime. Is there any chance that one plant is in more direct sun than the other – or gets the sun for longer – and so requires more water? They sound like they have done really well and kept pace with each other till now – so I am wondering if now they are fruiting then one might require more water than the other- are they both in the same size pots?
But that’s only a wild guess – sorry not to be of more help.