Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old July 20, 2019   #1
Greatgardens
Tomatovillian™
 
Greatgardens's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,124
Default Who created Sunorange?

Is it a Tokita variety? I presumed it was, since they have the Sun series (Sungold, Sunchocola, etc.). But they don't list it at the Tokita web site. I've wondered why we don't hear more about this improved Sungold (doesn't split).
Greatgardens is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 20, 2019   #2
Rockandrollin
Tomatovillian™
 
Rockandrollin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Kennewick, WA (7a)
Posts: 182
Default

I think it is from Tokita.
On osborneseed.com they start the description as "From the Sun Series breeder......."
On Barb_Fl 's thread "Sun Orange and Sun Green" she said it was from Tokita.

Barb had a lot of good things to say about this tomato, so I'm also surprised that it hasn't become more popular.
Rockandrollin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 20, 2019   #3
Barb_FL
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 1,999
Default

I'm still growing it. (in fact just taking down my plants). I think it isn't that popular because the seeds are much more expensive than SunGold and the only availability that I am aware of is Osborne Seeds (a great vendor too).

It is definitely from Tokita. Last year RJGlew contacted the North America Tokita Rep to confirm.

It really is an improved SunGold (slightly larger too, but not near the size of SunChocola).

There is also GoldenCherry that RJGlew was able to acquire seeds (from Canada) which also was slightly different than SunGold. It also didn't split.

As far as splitting goes, SunGold does not split for me early in the season. (Very long season). It really only splits at the end of the season.

I love Tokita brand cherry tomatoes and highly recommend.

The cheapest way to acquire seeds is to split orders. Back in 2017, I ordered 100 of the SunChola seeds and split with about 5 people from TV, which made the cost per seed very reasonable. I'm still working on those seeds.

In my long season, I clone from these, reducing the need to use up more seeds.


Here's the Tokita Catalogue (from Japan) for 2018 and it is listed there.

http://www.tokitaseed.co.jp/eng/ucatalogue_e.php

Last edited by Barb_FL; July 20, 2019 at 10:55 AM.
Barb_FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #4
Greatgardens
Tomatovillian™
 
Greatgardens's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,124
Default

Thanks for the info and link. When I Googled "Tokita Seeds", the result was their Italian web site. The Japanese site catalog has even more varieties that I haven't seen before. Sunorange and Sunchocola are certainly winners with me! I just ordered some Sunorange seeds from Osborne. Yes, expensive, but those Sunorange cherries are worth it.
Greatgardens is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #5
NarnianGarden
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Finland, EU
Posts: 2,550
Default

Wow, that catalogue..! I'd love to try Sungreen. So far have not come across it anywhere, either at American seed sites or in any European catalogue..

Edit. OK, I see it available at Osborne's...

They only ship to the U.S. or Canada.

Last edited by NarnianGarden; July 21, 2019 at 06:29 AM.
NarnianGarden is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #6
Barb_FL
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 1,999
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NarnianGarden View Post
Wow, that catalogue..! I'd love to try Sungreen. So far have not come across it anywhere, either at American seed sites or in any European catalogue..

Edit. OK, I see it available at Osborne's...

They only ship to the U.S. or Canada.
SeedsnSuch also has Sungreen tomatoes (and some of the other SunSeries).


I grew SunGreen but couldn't figure out when to pick it.

----
Also last summer when I was looking for SunGrape (Osborne didn't sell it at that time), there is a distributor in UK that has a lot of SunSeries (but won't sell to North America). I will try to find it for you and post back.

Last edited by Barb_FL; July 21, 2019 at 07:31 AM.
Barb_FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #7
NarnianGarden
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Finland, EU
Posts: 2,550
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Barb_FL View Post
SeedsnSuch also has Sungreen tomatoes (and some of the other SunSeries).


I grew SunGreen but couldn't figure out when to pick it.

----
Also last summer when I was looking for SunGrape (Osborne didn't sell it at that time), there is a distributor in UK that has a lot of SunSeries (but won't sell to North America). I will try to find it for you and post back.

Thanks, I'd love to know that UK seller.
Seedsnsuch does ship internationally - but not to the European Union countries...

Not that I need any more tomato seeds, I got plenty of green varieties already...
NarnianGarden is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #8
Barb_FL
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 1,999
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NarnianGarden View Post
Thanks, I'd love to know that UK seller.
Seedsnsuch does ship internationally - but not to the European Union countries...

Not that I need any more tomato seeds, I got plenty of green varieties already...
The vendor was Thompson and Morgan. I couldn't find it, and they don't even have SunGrape anymore (but Osborne does).

When do you need the seeds? This season or next?

I start mine usually at the end of August but probably Sept 1 since it has been so hot.

---
The green tomatoes were a nice size; not as large as SunChocola, but bigger than the others.
Barb_FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #9
Barb_FL
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 1,999
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greatgardens View Post
Thanks for the info and link. When I Googled "Tokita Seeds", the result was their Italian web site. The Japanese site catalog has even more varieties that I haven't seen before. Sunorange and Sunchocola are certainly winners with me! I just ordered some Sunorange seeds from Osborne. Yes, expensive, but those Sunorange cherries are worth it.
I love SunChocola also; so productive and perfect.

I would love to try some of their large ones but haven't found a source for them yet.

Late in the spring, I did buy all the Japanese Large ones that Kitazawa sells but only sowed one (because it was so late in the season and most packs were just 10 seeds). I grew Grandeur; it did great in the heat and super productive.

---
Back to cherry tomatoes; I was impressed with some of Johnny's breeds too such as Cherry Bomb and 5 Star grape. I think I bought some of their others for the '19-20 season.
Barb_FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 21, 2019   #10
NarnianGarden
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Finland, EU
Posts: 2,550
Default

Thanks, Barb - I looked at T & M. Nicky's Nursery is another vendor to some Tokita varieties, including Sungreen.
(very expensive, though, as hybrid seeds tend to be on this side of the pond)

The earliest I'd need any variety is next spring. This year I am trying to grow another green cherry called Green Grape. Very mixed reviews about it, so I am curious...
I am sure that Sungreen F1 tastes great, just not sure of how much better than other small-fruited green varieties.
NarnianGarden is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 22, 2019   #11
RJGlew
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 643
Default

So good to see that interest in the Tokita cherries is continuing in TV groups. Barb has done a really good job describing many of the varieties, and I echo her strong support for them. One which did not get any press is SunPeach which is a very nice pink offering.

Here are some of my observations:
1. SunOrange fruit is a bit bigger than SunGold, and for me, the taste of both is the same. SO plants are bigger/stronger and produce fruit earlier than SG [which is important for me in Zone 3a].
2. SunPeach plant performance is quite similar to SO and it produces fruit at about the same time (early).
3. As Barb noted, Sungreen is tough to tell when it is ripe. I find they get a bit of a yellowish hue when they are ripe, and soften up a bit. They are really sweet when properly ripe, but not so good when picked early. Tokita released a new, even sweeter version of SG in 2019 but I have not tied it.
4. Goldencherry is really sweet. I was shocked last season by how sweet it is.
5. Suncherry is a really good sweet red cherry, but I think Nectar (Park Seed) is sweeter.
6. Sungrape I am trying this year for the first time.

I am not sure how much additional information I'll be able accrue this season since it has been a very cool season here - the high temp for 13 days in July (so far) did not reach the average daily high, and earlier in the season we went 39 of 40 days straight where daily highs did not reach the average highs. Most of my plants are not yet 2 feet tall, so it is going to be a pretty sparse season. So far it has only been a good season for lupines & delphiniums.
RJGlew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 22, 2019   #12
zipcode
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
Default

Plenty of vendors in the uk that sell the sun series.
Best option for Sungreen is Mr. Fothergill. Also seeds of distinction has a lot of them (including the rare sunlemon), at 40% discount right now.
zipcode is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 22, 2019   #13
MikeInCypress
Tomatovillian™
 
MikeInCypress's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Cypress, TX
Posts: 963
Default

Territorial Seeds offers SunLemon, SunGreen, SunChocola & SunGold.

MikeInCypress
__________________
"Growing older, not up"
MikeInCypress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 23, 2019   #14
Barb_FL
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 1,999
Default

That's great to hear that other seed vendors are starting to pick these up.

I bought Sun Lemon last spring (Osbornes). Will grow the '19-20 season instead of Esterina.

Another big yellow cherry that is major productive and tastes good is Honey Delight (from Burpee).

----
Another Tokita tomato that is widely available (besides SunGold) is TomatoBerry (also extremely productive). I bought seeds from Johnny's last season and Sun Peach about 3 seasons ago. Sun Peach is a favorite.

This year growing so many of the other Sun (red ones) - Sun Cherry (both kinds, 2 vendors), it was so easy to pick out the SunPeach ones by color.
Barb_FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 26, 2019   #15
SharonRossy
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Montreal
Posts: 1,140
Default

Renees seeds is selling “SunGold” Orange cherry tomatoes and Totally Tomatoes is selling Orange Sunshine Hybrid Cherry tomato. So living in Canada,where can I get my hands on Sun Orange Seeds?
SharonRossy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:39 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★