What's your favorite Brad Gates tomato?

[Dak]

This is my first year growing a few of his tomatoes.

Black and Brown Boar is an amazing producer. I'm very happy with it's production, plus, it's just so pretty.

Brads Black Heart have an fantastic taste, but not a good producer for me.

Pink Berkeley Tie Die is another good one, though both PBTD & BTD has slowed production since this heat.

I want to try more of his next year. Any suggestions?

[kath]

I've tried Beauty King, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, AAA Sweet Solano, Haley's Purple Comet and Porkchop, but this year's Brad's Black Heart is the only one I'd maybe consider growing again because of its taste. I've only grown 2 plants in one year, but I didn't like it as much as Chocolate Beefsteak, JD's Special C-Tex or Amazon Chocolate PL which I also grew this season.

[FILMNET]

Brads Black Heart is my new favorite, I have grown BTD, Sweet carneros, Porkchop, and Beauty King, Brads B/B Boar

[tam91]

Brad's Black Heart is tasty. I do like Pink Berkeley Tie Dye also - can't decide between the two. Beauty King - I'm waiting for that to ripen, lost a few to BER. Friends that I gave plants to have been very fond of Beauty King.

So far, I do not care for Berkeley Tie Dye - very very tart. I don't mind some acid, but this one puckers me like biting a lemon. We'll see how some of the later ones are.

[Worth1]

Brad Gates is into tomatoes???????
I thought he was just into software.
I had no idea.
Worth

[Dak]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Brad Gates is into tomatoes???????
I thought he was just into software.
I had no idea.
Worth

Good ole Brad is breeding tomatoes along with eradicating polio.














Or was that Bill?

[Dak]

So how is Brad's Black Heart producing for you? It seems like I've gotten less than half a dozen tomatoes so far.

[kath]

Originally Posted by Dak

So how is Brad's Black Heart producing for you? It seems like I've gotten less than half a dozen tomatoes so far.

We got about 7 fruits off of each of the two plants we grew and they were all in the 14 to 18 oz. range. Each plant was kept to only one vine. I did notice a fair amount of catfacing and splitting with them this year, but that was common with many varieties that I grew this year with the conditions we had.

At this point, I'm still trying to determine which varieties I like for taste- then I'll regrow giving the plants more space and room to flourish so I can compare them for productivity, etc. So even though it might be in the #4 spot now, I'm not ready to put it into the "never again" category yet.

[remy]

I really like Pork Chop.
Remy

[Worth1]

Ive heard of the gingerbread operating system but Pork Chop is a new one.
Does it work with the android system?

Wait a minute this isn't the smart phone forum.
I seem to have my posts crossed I bet those folks over there think I have lost my mind.

Worth

[Dak]

Kath, does Chocolate Beefsteak go by another name? I can't find any reference that has seeds.

Thanks for letting me know about Brads Black Heart, I thought perhaps it was the seed I used.

[kath]

Originally Posted by Dak

Kath, does Chocolate Beefsteak go by another name? I can't find any reference that has seeds.

Thanks for letting me know about Brads Black Heart, I thought perhaps it was the seed I used.

Sorry about the Chocolate Beefsteak- I should have mentioned something about that one because I nearly went crazy looking it up before I heard back from "casino" about this one. He's not sure that it isn't an already named variety, so the answer to the question is, "Yes, it might, but I have no idea what that name would be." I'll look up exactly what he said and get back to you. I'm not sure he gave seeds to anyone else to try this year, but it would be interesting to hear what they thought about it.

It sounds like we had a pretty similar experience this season with Brad's Black Heart, yes. Then again, maybe someone else has seeds from a plant that did much better in the production department?

[Suze]

On taste alone, Pink BTD.

For production + taste + dependability - Black and Brown Boar.

Dino Eggs is a nice one too. Not one he's offered on his site yet, but I could be mistaken. Surprisingly tasty for a productive, med-small striped yellow.

Honorable mentions for BTD Heart and Pork Chop.

[kath]

[QUOTE=Dak;233334]Kath, does Chocolate Beefsteak go by another name? I can't find any reference that has seeds.

Checked through my PMs, but realized that Joe (casino) posted a thread in General Discussions called, "need help identifying chocolate beefsteak" that discusses all that's really known about this variety.

[carolyn137]

[QUOTE=kath;233379]

Originally Posted by Dak

Kath, does Chocolate Beefsteak go by another name? I can't find any reference that has seeds.

Checked through my PMs, but realized that Joe (casino) posted a thread in General Discussions called, "need help identifying chocolate beefsteak" that discusses all that's really known about this variety.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...late+beefsteak

Above is the thread that discusses Chocolate Beefsteak and I still say there's no way to ID it for the reasons given in the thread. So if it's grown with a new name it's just growing something that originally had a name and then renamed.

And as I see it there's enough of that that happens already as some listings in the SSE YEarbook as well as some seeds traded illustrate. And I even list one in the SSE YEarbook and offered seeds for it here in my annual seed offer, I think, it's called Jean's Prize, named b'c it won so many awards at a Church exhibits each year. The family knows it once had a name but no one could remember it so they named it Jean's Prize. Fact is I like it b/c it has a real tomatoey taste, not sweet at all.

Am I getting persnikety in my old age or not when it comes to renaming varieties?

And 700 seeds in the package from which this one grew and not ONE of them IDed? Sheesh.