Growing ‘Gardeners Delight’ With Dan Ori (One Of The Sweetest Tomato Varieties)
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By DAN ORI
Dan has over 27 years’ under his belt caring for plants and gardens. Working as a Horticultural Instructor and Consultant, he draws on a diverse range of experience that includes working as a Head Gardener, Tree Surgeon, Garden Centre Trouble Shooter, and writer of academic papers. Dan has a Level 3 Diploma in Horticulture and is currently a candidate for the RHS’s most prestigious award – The Master of Horticulture.
Contributions From HANNAH REID
This tomato is often described as one of the sweetest and tastiest tomato varieties around.
Lycopersicon esculentum ‘Gardener’s Delight’ is a popular heritage variety and (at least historically) one of the most highly regarded types of tomato.
This makes it a popular choice, and has long been a popular choice, for many UK gardeners.
“‘Gardener’s Delight’ is a great variety for growing outside in the UK, even up North!” shares Hannah Reid, a Gardener and Content Creator.
‘Gardeners Delight’ was first introduced to British gardeners by breeders and seed producers Benary.1Solanum lycopersicum L. Gardener’s Delight. (n.d.). Benary. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.benary.com/products/solanum-lycopersicum-l-benarys-gartenfreude/benarys-gartenfreude-p9971
They sold it to a number of seed suppliers in Britain over thirty-five years ago.
After its introduction it quickly gained favour and was adopted as a favourite by many horticultural experts and home growers.
Overview
| Botanical Name | Lycopersicon esculentum ‘Gardener’s Delight’ |
| Plant Type | Fruit |
| Native Area | N/A (Cultivated) |
| Hardiness Rating | H1C |
| Foliage | Cordon type tomato |
| Flowers | Yellow |
| When To Sow Indoors | January, February, March, April |
| When To Plant Out | May, June |
| Fruiting Months | June, July, August, September, October |
Sunlight
Preferred
Full Sun
Exposure
Sheltered
Size
Height
Up to 1.5M
Spread
Typically cordoned
Bloom Time
June – September
Soil
Preferred
Fertile loam
Moisture
Moist but well drained
pH
Neutral / Mildly-Acidic
‘Gardener’s Delight’ is an open-pollinated variety, not an F1 hybrid, so should come true from seed.
As a heritage variety, saving your own seeds should yield plants that are the same as the parent, evolving just slightly.
Saving your own tomato seeds is basically evolution at work – over time, you can create tomato strains better suited to growing in your specific garden.
The small cherry tomatoes of this variety are produced on trusses and reach around 2cm across; they have a sweet and pleasant flavour.
It is the flavour of these tomatoes that is the main reason for their success and popularity with home growers.
While, in recent years, there has been some discussion over whether this old favourite is still as good, reliable and well-flavoured as it once was, it is still a favourite for many and is certainly one of the most popular varieties for UK gardeners to grow in their greenhouses or polytunnels, or outdoors.
How To Grow ‘Gardener’s Delight’
Like other tomatoes, ‘Gardener’s Delight’ is usually sown indoors or under cover between late January and April.
Sowing earlier, in late January or February, can be a good choice, as it can mean that you will be able to harvest more ripe tomatoes before the end of our relatively short growing season.
Growing From Seed
Early sowings can sometimes get leggy due to the low light levels – LED grow lights can help avoid any such issues.
I grew mine in a heated propagator with LED grow lights and the temperature set to 21°C. Sowing is very straight forward:
- Sow the seeds into seed trays, wood flats or other containers.
- They should germinate within a week or two.
- Then prick out and pot up into their own pots, or other containers, once they have developed their first true leaves and are large enough to handle.
With my heated propagator (and clearly some very good quality seeds) I had no issue with getting these to germinate.
Be sure to pot up your tomatoes as required as they grow – and when you do, bury them a little deeper in the growing medium each time.
This will help ensure that your plants develop good, strong root systems.
Planting Out
‘Gardener’s Delight’, like other tomatoes, is planted out from May and into June when all risk of frost has passed.
If you are planting in a greenhouse or polytunnel, then you can plant out a little earlier than you would if you are growing your plants outdoors.
Indoor-grown plants, it is important to remember, should always be hardened off before you plant them out into their final growing positions.
This basically means exposing them gradually – and for increasingly lengthy periods – to outdoors conditions.
Remember, tomato plants like plenty of sun, and plenty of warmth – the more the better.
If not growing under cover make sure you are growing them in a sunny and sheltered location.
Providing Support
‘Gardener’s Delight’ is an indeterminate tomato, best grown as a cordon variety.
“A cordon is a single stem trained up a cane or string, whilst an indeterminate means it will just keep heading up or wherever you manipulate it,” shares Master Horticulturist Dan Ori.
“It is common practice to pinch or cut the top of an indeterminate tomato when it gets the height you want.
“Side shoots are not the ones you would identify as going sideways! To identify these work your way down the stem and you will find thick branches, often at a right angle to the stem, which are not side shoots.
“Instead look where the branch meets the stem and in a crevis between them (what I call the upside-down armpit), you may see a leaf shoot coming out of the armpit – this is a side shoot.
“In cordon-trained tomatoes, the main reasons we remove side shoots are so energy goes into flower and fruit development and removing them also helps increase airflow, increases light to ripen fruit, and makes it easier to harvest your tomatoes.
“Bush tomatoes are not normally pruned of their side shoots as it is particularly fiddly to do so.”
Though they can also be left to bush out, you will get larger, better fruit more quickly if you cordon them.
It is best to get your cordon system ready and in place before you plant out your tomato plants.
You should also make sure that you have soil that is fertile and rich in organic matter.
When planting your tomato plants, it is a good idea to spread a good quality organic mulch around your plants.
A good quality compost or well-rotted manure, for example.
Ongoing Care
Watering
Water well and consistently, and remember to direct water to where it is needed – at the roots – and not from above.
Wet foliage can increase the likelihood of disease.
Ideally, water early in the day so that there is no risk of the plants being wet at night.
Feeding
Provide plenty of fertility. Use a good organic liquid feed as soon as the flowers form, and every couple of weeks throughout the summer.
A tomato feed should be high in potassium, without too much nitrogen.
Ventilation
Make sure (if growing under cover) that the space remains open and pollinators can get inside.
Ensure adequate ventilation and make sure your plants are not overcrowded.
Companion Planting
Choose appropriate companion plants to help tomatoes – basil, oregano, marigolds, borage, and alliums (e.g. garlic, spring onions) can all be great options for a polyculture guild, for example.
Make sure you have a good crop rotation plan in place and don’t grow ‘Gardener’s Delight’ in the same place year after year.
Remain vigilant for pests, and diseases – especially tomato blight – and remove diseased material as quickly as possible.
Harvesting
‘Gardener’s Delight’ cherry tomato plants tend to fruit between July and October.
They will obviously be further ahead and earlier to fruit if you start your tomato plants indoors.
Growing these undercover in a greenhouse or polytunnel means that you will get a somewhat earlier harvest, and may be able to continue to harvest for a little longer at the end of the year.
