Year end review #10
 

What a year this was in the tomato garden in Nebraska. The weather played more of a role this year than any other year…ever. We started out hot and wet, then cool and wet, then very hot and dry, then hot with soaking rains, then cool and wet again.

All the rain meant splitting and cracking was a problem that needed to be watched every day. Because of the variable weather conditions, production was down from my sixteen year averages of 16 pounds of tomatoes per plant and 12 ounce average size per tomato. This year we harvested 395 pounds of fruit compared to the average of just over 500 lbs on 30 plants. The average sized tomato was in the 6-7 ounce range where normal for me has been in the 10-12 ounce range.

Top three producers, in pounds: Bear Creek, German Red Strawberry and Mavritanskie.
Top three producer, in number of tomatoes: Mavritanskie, Indian Dark Violet and Bear Creek.

Varietyies producing the largest single tomato: Winsall, Bear Creek and German Red Strawberry
Largest average size: Winsall, Purple Hillbilly and Bear Creek

With all the problems one excellent result was evident very early. This year’s crop was the most outstanding ever (over the last twenty years of growing heirloom/OP tomatoes) for flavor. Not one variety grown was a spitter. Twenty-three of the thirty varieties grown were in the 8 to 10 out of ten rating for flavor.

9/10+ rated, in no special order: Clear Lake, Mavritanskie, Cherokee Purple Heart, Cherokee Chocolate, Purple Hillbilly, Cherokee Black, Indian Dark Violet, German Red Strawberry, Aker’s West Virginia Black, Amazon Chocolate, Black Bear, Brandywine Black, Reinhard’s Purple Heart, Chokoladne Chudo.

8/10 rated in no special order: Black Giant, Brad’s Black Heart, Indische Fleisch, Vorlon, Big Zac, Herman’s Yellow Heart, Winsall, Black from Tula, PPPXPP’C’.

This year we grew mostly blacks and hearts so maybe we were prejudiced as to flavor. Gardening is done for 2018 other than putting everything to bed. Then it is time to relax before the next round begins. I do plan to cut back the number of varieties from now on, so next year there will be fifteen plants. Old age is coming at a bad time

Nice review. Thanks for sharing :).

Betcha cannot reduce your plants down to 15 {LOL}. I would like to as well (in theory)……...

Linda

Every year I say that I am going to reduce the number of plants but I actually end up growing more. Mike

PPPXPP'C'...that tomato is still around, still without a name?:shock:

Denise sent me seeds of that one, sometime around 2006.:?:

[QUOTE=Tormato;717122]PPPXPP'C'...that tomato is still around, still without a name?:shock:

Denise sent me seeds of that one, sometime around 2006.:?:[/QUOTE]

Sheesh,I didn't even remember that I played a role in that one.

[url]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/PPP_x_PP_C[/url]

Again, thanks to Tania for getting that data base back up again.:)

Carolyn

[QUOTE=carolyn137;717138]Sheesh,I didn't even remember that I played a role in that one.

[URL]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/PPP_x_PP_C[/URL]

Again, thanks to Tania for getting that data base back up again.:)

Carolyn[/QUOTE]



It's worse than I thought.:?:


From tatianastomatobase...Craig's F2 seed was from 1994, and Tania's F5 seed is from 2015. Maybe that tomato should be named "Molasses" as in slow as molasses. 24 years later, is it even stable?:?!?:

So how did you rate Bear Creek for taste?


Steve

Bear Creek should have been included in the 9+/10 group. BC came in later in the season than most of the other blacks. We harvested 55 tomatoes from one plant for just over 30 pounds at almost a 9 ounce average. The fruit was very solid and juicy with few seeds. The flavor, like most dark tomatoes, was on the sweet side and a nice tomato taste and no after-taste. Our favorite for BLTs.

I love year end reviews - thanks Paul.

Aker's is on my tentative grow list for next year - I didn't know there was an Aker's Black! Aker's Black is definitely on!

Thank you for feeding my addiction!

Jeff

Great review!

Paul congratulations on a great year. It sounds like a mirror of mine except for the varieties and a hurricane putting a real damper on things at the very end of the season. I would be more than happy for anything close to a repeat of this past season sans hurricane.

Bill