How did you find your zone?

A neighbour was thinking of trying some but he has left it a bit late now hasn't he. Maybe next year. I will tell him about the San Marzano variety.

Hi,

This is my first year growing tomatoes. It's been quite successful: over 20 very lush plants in a raised bed with hundreds of tomatoes. I haven't topped the plants and they are still flowering. None of the fruit are ripe yet but I noticed today many of the tomatoes had turned to a light green from a darker green last weekend. The varieties I am growing are Harbinger, Gardener's Delight and Beefsteak.

My garden is South west facing and gets sun most of the day. I'm in London so don't know what zone that is and how our conditions differ, but I should think it would be similar. I'll keep my fingers crossed for both of us that we get ripe ones soon.

I tried to grow tomatoes outdoors here in Cork for years with very little success. I used to get a few fruit trusses, but the fruit stayed very small and very few ripened. Maybe it is because it gets cold too soon and the fruit do not have time or the required heat to ripen.

So now I grow them in a polytunnel. They still take a long time to ripen, even here in the south, and very often they only really ripen by November!

Some other edibles that I grow successfully in my polytunnel are grapes, lemons, Jerusalem artichoke, pak choi, lettuce, spinach (both beet and chard), French beans, pole beans and runner beans. I'd like to grow peppers and aubergines, but it isn't hot enough. Saying this if we continue to have summers like we did this year, I might get more adventurous and try out some other difficult vegs. next year.

Hope this helps you.

Roberteire, just a follow up from my London garden....despite the miserable weather over the past few weeks, I have managed to get some ripe tomatoes, not many but they are coming on more each day. I hope you are having some luck with your San Marzanos.

These grow fine in a warm spot in SE England. I don't think I'd try them outdoors anywhere where 25 degrees + is not a regular occurrence.