Jetstar in your garden?
 

What are your reviews of Jetstar? I was under the impression ( I think I had a tag that said it was a determinate) that it was a determinate. ow I read it is an indeterminate... have you grown it and is it indeterminate and how did it taste? low acid sounds to me kind of boring. I also read it has been around since 1969.... I have never heard of it until this year... or at least never noticed it.

Never grown it before, but have 2 in for fall tomatoes this year. I'm in the same boat as you, LOL.

I have never heard of it and have flats of them out on the bench to sell. I told one of my customers I knew nothing about it but it was low acid and a determinate... oops. I am positive the tag was labeled determinate... it was a mastertag tag. since it came in the packet with the seeds... it could have- I usually order JohnHenry tags... and I have seen one labeled one way and the other totally opposite. I guess I will be putting in a couple of those too. good thing I still have a row left with room for tomatoes. sheesh I am up to 235 tomatoes and still putting in. I think it about 50 varieties now. I need help. I think Spike and I must be related... addictions addictions!

LOL, you make me feel like such a lazy bones!!! I will say this, the Jetstars I bought were mostly two in a pot and I was not nice at ripping them apart and plopping them into the ground at all. Our weather has been in the high 80's to high 90's ( next 2 or 3 days, then down to the 80's), and they show no signs of stress or nothing!!

The tomato plants got their first watering this morning, just now, since transplanting 3 days ago. So, so far, they are toughies. Taste, we will see.

good to know. I will also decide on taste... when they ripen. maybe a keeper or a rip-er outer.

I can't recall, but think either Cole Robbie, AKMark or Big Van Vader may have grown these at some point....my brain is a colander today.

Jet Star was my grandparent's market variety throughout the 1980s. That was before Big Beef existed. I've grown both side by side. Taste is identical. They are the only two non-cherry hybrids that I like to eat. Jet Star is indeterminate, but it is a more compact grower than Big Beef, which will yield more, but take up more space and require more pruning and trellising.

Oh, and I have no idea where that "low acid" description comes from. That is not my experience at all. I grew up eating Jet Star. It will burn the corners of your mouth, like any other red tomato.

Jet Star is indeterminate about 6 or 7 feet tall, compact, and NOT low acid.

thanks, Cole... says it right on the description... marketing marketing! anything to sell another tomato. I keep telling people there is no low acid tomato that tastes like anything. but then again if someone believes it is low acid then they can and will eat it even if it isn't.

jetstar are very good.

I've never grown Jet Star F1, but I've read threads on it, and people seem to like it.

I think extra potassium can make most tomatoes low acid (but definitely not the F2 Lemon Boy I grew once). I agree that it lessens the taste at least some of the time, but I think it depends on the variety, watering and other factors. It's possible that the vendor who wrote the description grew it in high potassium soil, or in cold, cloudy or more shaded conditions.

Univ of Neb recommends this as one of their preferred varieties for my area. They also describe it a lower acid, which contradicts other research that pegs most tomatoes as similar in acidity.

I have grown it, typical looking uniform hybrid and no where near 6 feet for me - closer to 4-5. The market grower/neighbor near my partners acreage has hundreds of Jetstar plants, and it is the only variety he grows. He starts them late in his small greenhouse, and I always have earlier varieties. He has customers that come from everywhere for them. To each his own , they are not that awesome that I would go out of my way for his special tomato LOL. It will be a money maker for you, no worries on that.

- Lisa

There were three varieties bred by Harris Seeds who are based near Rochester,NY, and those three became very popular, especially here in the East. They are

Jet Star F1
Supersonic F1
Moreton Hybrid ( Moreton Farm was the place where they did their breeding work.

I grew all three many times three, the one I liked the best was Supersonic F1.

I'm not going to go into this but briefly, but Harris was bought out by Moran seeds, Harris lost most of their breeders, finally Harris was able to buy their way out of Moran and be independent again. Part of the deal was also that Harris could sell anything that Moran sold.

This goes way back to when I was a kid on our farm and the man from Harris came to our home and asked if dad needed anymore of this or that since Harris also offered lots of other crops,then told dad about the newest tomatoes and other stuff and asked if he wanted a free trial pack to start with or more than that.

Carolyn, who recently got a catalog from Harris, but it isn't the Harris catalog she used to know .Perhaps they have two now, one for commercial growers and one for homegrowers,still,not the catalog she knew.

Interesting information from everyone. Thanks so much.
I put 3 in the garden tonight before I came in. I honestly don't ever recall hearing of it before. Thanks Carolyn for the history of it
Have you trialed the three together to see what the difference between them is? Curious how similar or different they are.

I have never grown them, but Jetstar and Celebrity seem to be very popular in my area. Lots of people swear by them.

[QUOTE=SteveP;642792]I have never grown them, but Jetstar and Celebrity seem to be very popular in my area. Lots of people swear by them.[/QUOTE]
Agree.
They are some of the famous old fashion American tomatoes.
I have not grown them myself either. But some day I might try them.

Well, with Carolyn up in Ohio and me here in hotter Texas, it should be good to compare notes on how Jetstar does for each of us.

It can't be as mealy and bland as the supermarket tomatoes are !!!

[QUOTE=SteveP;642792]I have never grown them, but Jetstar and Celebrity seem to be very popular in my area. Lots of people swear by them.[/QUOTE]

People say that Celebrity has changed over the years. The Celebrity I grew was not good at all. I couldn't eat them. Jet Star blows it away in the flavor department.

That is good to hear!

[QUOTE=Gardeneer;642810]Agree.
They are some of the famous old fashion American tomatoes.
I have not grown them myself either. But some day I might try them.[/QUOTE]

Old fashioned?

You should try them since I think you'll see they are far from being old fashioned.;)

Carolyn

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;642643]Jet Star was my grandparent's market variety throughout the 1980s. That was before Big Beef existed. I've grown both side by side. Taste is identical. They are the only two non-cherry hybrids that I like to eat. Jet Star is indeterminate, but it is a more compact grower than Big Beef, which will yield more, but take up more space and require more pruning and trellising.

Oh, and I have no idea where that "low acid" description comes from. That is not my experience at all. I grew up eating Jet Star. It will burn the corners of your mouth, like any other red tomato.[/QUOTE]

The low acid bit comes from a list of tomato varieties that were low acid,most are no longer available but Jet Star is and at most places it's suggested that if canning them you should acidify them with some lemon juice,see the Blue Ball Canning monograph for that.

Carolyn

[QUOTE=clkeiper;642788]Interesting information from everyone. Thanks so much.
I put 3 in the garden tonight before I came in. I honestly don't ever recall hearing of it before. Thanks Carolyn for the history of it
Have you trialed the three together to see what the difference between them is? Curious how similar or different they are.[/QUOTE]

Yes,I have trialed all three in the same season,sort of.

The first one bred by Harris was Moreton Hybrid, and it's a very soft fruit and doesn't taste as good as the other two.

I like Jet Star and Supersonic about equally,but will give a nod to Supersonic on taste in most summers.

The one I really like was Starpak, but,well,no longer available

[url]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=23523[/url]

post #4

It was a new one at the time and my father had planted a large field of them next to one of our orchards, I can still picture them even now.Many of Dad's farmer friends came to take a look and taste and many of them grew them for quite a few years until they went out of production.

Carolyn

Thanks Carolyn. I appreciate your input.

I grow Jet Star and it does well for me. It's the only hybrid in my garden. I have grown Ramapo and Moreton in the past as well. I like them both taste-wise but Jet Star performs better for me and yes I notice that Moreton fruit are soft. Rutgers, Celebrity and Supersonic are popular around here too.

I have grown Jetstar F1 a number of times and it is quite good. I like a sweeter tomato so prefer Beefy Boy F1 and Steak Sandwich F1. Big Beef F1 tastes similar & is more productive. Here are a couple of shots of Jetstar.

Low Acid ??
 

From the books I've read, All ??, tomatoes have a very similar PH. (Acid). The main difference is in the sugar content. ie different tomatoes with the same PH will taste acidic or not depending on the sugar content. (Brix ?)

" There is probably as much variation in the pH and acidity of tomatoes due to climate,soil,cultural practices and ripeness as(there is) to variety differences," "USDA"
from "All About Tomatoes " book. about 1980.

Myself, I just don't know. Until this year My Taste buds have been in very sorry shape, which I believe was caused mostly by Nasal Sprays. I gave them all up except Saline solution, and my taste buds are recovering nicely. I'm not a Dr. but I think I could play one on TV. At 76 years old my doctors no longer tell me what's best for me. I study any problems and we discuss what "we" are going to do to make things better. Well, That's my attitude anyway.

I enjoy both the Celebrity and Jet Star as well as the Big Beef. I hope that this year I will be able to finally do some good taste tests.

love to all,

walt

PS So now when I read that a Tomato is low in Acidity I automatically interpret that to mean that this tomato has a high sugar content, or whatever.

[QUOTE=WaltRoos;645869]From the books I've read, All ??, tomatoes have a very similar PH. (Acid). The main difference is in the sugar content. ie different tomatoes with the same PH will taste acidic or not depending on the sugar content. (Brix ?)

" There is probably as much variation in the pH and acidity of tomatoes due to climate,soil,cultural practices and ripeness as(there is) to variety differences," "USDA"
from "All About Tomatoes " book. about 1980.

Myself, I just don't know. Until this year My Taste buds have been in very sorry shape, which I believe was caused mostly by Nasal Sprays. I gave them all up except Saline solution, and my taste buds are recovering nicely. I'm not a Dr. but I think I could play one on TV. At 76 years old my doctors no longer tell me what's best for me. I study any problems and we discuss what "we" are going to do to make things better. Well, That's my attitude anyway.

I enjoy both the Celebrity and Jet Star as well as the Big Beef. I hope that this year I will be able to finally do some good taste tests.

love to all,

walt

PS So now when I read that a Tomato is low in Acidity I automatically interpret that to mean that this tomato has a high sugar content, or whatever.[/QUOTE]

I'm not so sure I agree with everything you wrote, but yes,the internal pH of different varieties can vary quite a bit,BUT,how that affects taste is a different story.

Yes, a high concentration of sugars,viz, the Brix level,is not directly correlated with internal pH

[url]https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Internal+pH+of+tomato+varieties[/url]

If I'd spent more time I could come up with a longer list,but the first three links on the above page should help.

And you've just reminded me that many years ago a man named T Sherwood,a fellow SSE member, was determing the internal pH of about 150 varieties, but I don't remember why he was doing that.All I know is that he asked me if I wanted the leftover seeds in the packs,he sent them and I thanked him.:)


Carolyn, who notes that she will be 78 this month and can still appreciate the different tastes of tomatoes,thank heavens.LOL

[QUOTE=carolyn137;645903]snipped

Carolyn, who notes that she will be 78 this month and can still appreciate the different tastes of tomatoes,thank heavens.LOL[/QUOTE]


And that is a terrific thing!

Starting very late this year, but still have well into October to see what I can do This year. My existing plants are still doing well, but nothing ripe so far. As usual Carolyn has raised my interest; this time on the Jetstar and Supersonic. I remember years ago when supersonic came out, but nobody bought the plants. Most at the nursery stuck with Bigboy or Rutgers back then.

Anybody have a cutting of the two they could spare? Would gladly pay the shipping to GA.. This will probably be my last year, but would now be interested in comparing the two. If not, no problem. I searched everywhere at the standard distributers of Bonnie Plants earlier for Jetstar but no luck. Now, the mention of Supersonic vs Jetstar sounds like a fun effort.

They sell loads of Jet Star at local nurseries here. These are the two I bought. They don't seem to be growing upward very fast. That's typical for juvenile plants that I plunk into these big pots. Whatever plants are in these pots take off like fire after they think they've grown enough roots. I get YUGE plants from these containers. :-D
[IMG]http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b573/HermitageHistoricalSociety/Garden2017/JetStar_zpsghsk38ht.jpg[/IMG]