Missouri Pink Love Apple
 

If you've grown this variety, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. Overall it gets very good reviews in the SSE Yearbook. "a taste superstar"..."outstanding flavor"..."may be better than Cherokee Purple and Brandywine"..."will rival any tomato in a taste test"..."superb sweet flavor"...these are some of the descriptions given. I'm very tempted to order seed of it, but would like to hear your thoughts first.

I grew it in 2005 and 2007. Both times the plants were healthy and produced a good crop of 6-8 oz. pink globes. I found the flavor okay but too bland for my tastes.

I thought this was an especially dense pink fruit, not too big, but great for slicing. Flavour was an easy 8.5/10. I though it excellent! I have read others say they didn't think it anything special. In the dry 2007, it was among my favourites.

Thanks for the replies. It's a tempting variety, but I've already got a full lineup set. So I decided to restrain myself, and didn't order this variety. Maybe next year.

[quote=Ruth_10;92540]I grew it in 2005 and 2007. Both times the plants were healthy and produced a good crop of 6-8 oz. pink globes. I found the flavor okay but too bland for my tastes.[/quote]
Ruth,

What are your flavor favorites?

Cynthia

Cynthia,
My favorites are Earl's Faux and Brandywine Sudduth strain. I don't think I could distinguish the two in a blind taste test. Stump of the World, German Head, and Millionaire do it for me as well.:) There are of course many others that are great as well. In general my tastes run to pinks and reds with well-balanced acidity and sweetness.

Douglas14,
Have grown it, it's a productive variety with good flavor, but I wouldn't call it one of the very best I've grown. Try it someday when you can find the space in your garden. (I'm one of those who list it in the SSEvYearbook.)

Ruth,
Thanks for your reply--I was wondering because our flavor preferences seem similar, so I was hoping you would suggest some varieties that would interest me, and you did!

Brandywine Sudduth's is my all-time favorite. I'll have to grow Earl's Faux again this year to see how it compares. I grew Stump of the World last year, but with high temperatures and a drought got nary a tomato and the few I did get were nothing special. I'll give it another chance in a year or two.

Tomaddict--what are your top flavor favorites over Missouri Pink Love Apple? I guess you weren't the one who wrote the SSE copy saying it has "complex sweet flavor that rivals that of Brandywine and Cherokee Purple"? Do you know where that flavor description came from? I'm asking because of the mixed messages between the SSE description and your comment above. Oh, and to get more leads on great-tasting tomatoes! :) Thanks!

Cynthia

Hi Cynthia,

I like Missouri PLA very much, but not for it's great taste. It's very consistent here, and I get a nice crop of good sized tomatoes every year.

My favs for flavor are:
Marianna's Peace
Sudduth Bwine
Crnkvich Yugoslavian
Polish C
Carbon, or Black Krim or other blacks
Cherokee Chocolate
Earl's Faux
Green-when-ripe types- Cherokee Green is fantastic

That was in no particular order, btw.

Tree

[quote=feralcatfriend;93688]Ruth,
Thanks for your reply--I was wondering because our flavor preferences seem similar, so I was hoping you would suggest some varieties that would interest me, and you did!

Brandywine Sudduth's is my all-time favorite. I'll have to grow Earl's Faux again this year to see how it compares. I grew Stump of the World last year, but with high temperatures and a drought got nary a tomato and the few I did get were nothing special. I'll give it another chance in a year or two.

Tomaddict--what are your top flavor favorites over Missouri Pink Love Apple? I guess you weren't the one who wrote the SSE copy saying it has "complex sweet flavor that rivals that of Brandywine and Cherokee Purple"? Do you know where that flavor description came from? I'm asking because of the mixed messages between the SSE description and your comment above. Oh, and to get more leads on great-tasting tomatoes! :) Thanks!

Cynthia[/quote]

I should add that Marianna's Peace is a favorite as well. Taste-wise I would rate it just behind EF and BWS. Production for EF, BWS, and MP is better than Stump and Millionaire, in my experience.

I really did want to like MPLA! It is a nice looking tomato and really pumps them out. I've grown them three times now in three different seasons, trying to find the flavor that others have, and I just don't find it.

As always, nothing beats growing them yourself to see how they suit you.:)

Thanks for your list--it's very helpful. Do you happen to know where can I find Polish C? Some companies list Polish, but in her book, Carolyn was specific that she was recommending Polish C.

Cynthia

I was planning to get seeds for Polish C from Sandhill, but it is "unavailable for 2008," so will have to wait.

Darrel Jones (Fusion) offers it:

[URL]http://www.selectedplants.com/index.html[/URL]