Ultra Sweet

Margaret · July 26, 2006

Hi, I'm new here, I was given the link by a very nice lady at our local store (*waves to W*). I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada, which is not on the zone map, so I don't know what zone I am in.

I have two small gardens, but because of shade trees, am a bit more limited than I'd like to be. However, I have nine tomato plants, 8 of which are Ultra Sweet - it's what was available to me here in a very small town. (the 9th, I found growing at the back of my yard in a lot of shade, so dug it up and put it in the garden and it is doing very well) I cannot find much info on this variety on the net so was wondering if anyone knows anything about it, like how long they take to ripen etc?

Also, do you need to fertilize once fruit has set? I Miracle Gro'd them a couple times before any tomatoes appeared but don't know whether to do it all season or not. Thanks for any help anyone can give me,

Margaret

PS, how do I get an avatar image under 10kb? I am very familiar with graphics programs, but to get one at the 100 x100 pixels, and without too much compression, I'm stuck at 18 kb.

**nctomatoman** · July 26, 2006

Hello and welcome! Wow, Ultra Sweet takes me back - I tried it when I was doing three years of comparing hybrids with non hybrids, and grew this variety in 1988. Ultra Sweet is a very productive, early to midseason medium sized Stokes hybrid that ripens pink - they tend to run in the 6-8 ounce range and are a bit longer than round. The flesh is quite firm, the flavor mild. It must do very well for people, as it has been around for more than 20 years...I only grew it once, and that was in Pennsylvania.

I just found a link that had more info on how it did for me...first picked in 67 days from transplant, picked 44 tomatoes at an average weight of 6.7 ounces, total yield of the plant 18 pounds, graded the flavor as a "B"

dcarch · July 26, 2006

Hello Margaret,

Welcome.
Love your WEB site!
Some of us here like to play with graphics a little also.

Not knowing your soil is difficult to advice you on the use of fertilizer. Why don't you fertilize 4 of your 8 plants and see if they do better then the other 4?

dcarch

Tania · July 27, 2006

Welcome to the forum Margaret!

I am sure you'll find lots of great information here and make lots of friends very quickly

Do you grow tomatoes from seeds or buy transplants?

greggf · July 27, 2006

Hi, Margaret!

I'm in the foothills of the Adirondacks in far upstate New York (clinging to the side of a windy hill next to a state forest) and I'm happy to say that Ultra Sweet - which is a Stokes hybrid exclusive, bred by Dr. Ernie Kerr of your Ontario - is our favorite tomato.

I agree with all that Craig said about it, except that given our particular microclimate, his "B" grade for taste becomes a welcome "A," since we don't usually get to taste later varieties at their best. Ultra Sweet is early but it isn't the absolute earliest tomato. Bloody Butcher, Stupice, Early Girl, 4th of July, and so on, are all earlier. But Ultra Sweet is earlier than most, it's totally trouble-free year after year, and it has literally forced us to consider it our mainstay, along with Early Pick from Burpee and TGS.

This is the long way of saying you should be very happy with your tomatoes this year. And Ultra Sweet is a nice place from which to branch out your tomato choices in future years.

=gregg=

July 26, 2006	#1
Margaret Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Eastern Ontario, Canada Posts: 1	Ultra Sweet Hi, I'm new here, I was given the link by a very nice lady at our local store (waves to W). I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada, which is not on the zone map, so I don't know what zone I am in. I have two small gardens, but because of shade trees, am a bit more limited than I'd like to be. However, I have nine tomato plants, 8 of which are Ultra Sweet - it's what was available to me here in a very small town. (the 9th, I found growing at the back of my yard in a lot of shade, so dug it up and put it in the garden and it is doing very well) I cannot find much info on this variety on the net so was wondering if anyone knows anything about it, like how long they take to ripen etc? Also, do you need to fertilize once fruit has set? I Miracle Gro'd them a couple times before any tomatoes appeared but don't know whether to do it all season or not. Thanks for any help anyone can give me, Margaret PS, how do I get an avatar image under 10kb? I am very familiar with graphics programs, but to get one at the 100 x100 pixels, and without too much compression, I'm stuck at 18 kb.

July 26, 2006	#2
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Hello and welcome! Wow, Ultra Sweet takes me back - I tried it when I was doing three years of comparing hybrids with non hybrids, and grew this variety in 1988. Ultra Sweet is a very productive, early to midseason medium sized Stokes hybrid that ripens pink - they tend to run in the 6-8 ounce range and are a bit longer than round. The flesh is quite firm, the flavor mild. It must do very well for people, as it has been around for more than 20 years...I only grew it once, and that was in Pennsylvania. I just found a link that had more info on how it did for me...first picked in 67 days from transplant, picked 44 tomatoes at an average weight of 6.7 ounces, total yield of the plant 18 pounds, graded the flavor as a "B" __________________ Craig

July 26, 2006	#3
dcarch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NY Posts: 2,618	Hello Margaret, Welcome. Love your WEB site! Some of us here like to play with graphics a little also. Not knowing your soil is difficult to advice you on the use of fertilizer. Why don't you fertilize 4 of your 8 plants and see if they do better then the other 4? dcarch __________________ tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato

July 27, 2006	#4
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	Welcome to the forum Margaret! I am sure you'll find lots of great information here and make lots of friends very quickly Do you grow tomatoes from seeds or buy transplants? __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

July 27, 2006	#5
greggf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Boonville, NY Posts: 419	Hi, Margaret! I'm in the foothills of the Adirondacks in far upstate New York (clinging to the side of a windy hill next to a state forest) and I'm happy to say that Ultra Sweet - which is a Stokes hybrid exclusive, bred by Dr. Ernie Kerr of your Ontario - is our favorite tomato. I agree with all that Craig said about it, except that given our particular microclimate, his "B" grade for taste becomes a welcome "A," since we don't usually get to taste later varieties at their best. Ultra Sweet is early but it isn't the absolute earliest tomato. Bloody Butcher, Stupice, Early Girl, 4th of July, and so on, are all earlier. But Ultra Sweet is earlier than most, it's totally trouble-free year after year, and it has literally forced us to consider it our mainstay, along with Early Pick from Burpee and TGS. This is the long way of saying you should be very happy with your tomatoes this year. And Ultra Sweet is a nice place from which to branch out your tomato choices in future years. =gregg=