Green Grape - not very grapelike

Fert1 · June 14, 2006

From the name I was expecting Green Grape to be a little elongated like the red grape tomatoes. Mine are pretty round right now. I just wondered if they only elongate at the last minute, or are they really more round than grape shaped?

**nctomatoman** · June 14, 2006

Green Grape is nearly round to slightly oval, and really not at all shaped like the elongated grape tomatoes available in supermarkets these days. Then again, the correlation of "grape" with the elongated tomato shape is quite recent. In old seed catalogs, grape was used to describe what we now call cherry tomatoes - tomatoes that grow in grape like bunches, and don't forget, red seedless grapes are round!

Fert1 · June 14, 2006

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I now know what to expect. I've heard it's a very good tasting variety, and I'm eager to try it. It seems to be loading up on fruit, just like all the cherry tomatoes do.

pbud · June 15, 2006

How does your plant look? My gg is bushy and short - is that normal? I'm a bit worried that it has some kind of disease. I had trouble germinating seeds (which were really small - perhaps that's how their supposed to be) and the one seed that germinated produced a plant that was a bit of a runt compared to all other varieties.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Paul

tanagerzoo · June 16, 2006

I've been curious about the size of my green grape, too. I bought seeds from Sandhill and the description was "indeterminate". I thought I read somewhere that there are determinate versions of GG floating around and that you should buy only seeds that specify "indeterminate" if that is what you were after. Which I thought I did. But my GG is a little shorter than SFT and half the size of my other plants. It is one incredibly dense, thick plant. I know there are scads of green fruit deep inside, but I can only find them if I virtually assault the poor plant.

And yes, my fruit, when I can find them, are fat and mostly round. A slight oval to them, but they don't at all look like Santa Sweets from the grocery store.

Fert1 · June 16, 2006

My GG is short, but not extremely so. Compared to Silvery Fir Tree, it's enormous. Mine is the determinate variety. I think I got the seeds from Tomato Growers. It's fairly bushy. It was planted later than some of my other varieites, but seems to be trying to catch up.

honu · June 17, 2006

TGS describes it as "very short compact" determinate plants. Seed Savers Exchange catalog describes it as determinate and bushy with a photo of round tomatoes. I was remembering those descriptions when I planted it in a 7 gal pot, and what a mistake that was.
I should have checked Carolyn's book which describes it as huge, rangey, and indeterminate. That is exactly what I am observing. My fruit is slightly oval, tapering to a pointed blossom end.

Do the 2 different types of GG taste the same?

Earl · June 17, 2006

For lack of a better term my GGs are squatters. In the cage they get about 3 1/2 feet but pull it out of the cage and hang it upsidedown and it stretched out to more than 6 feet.

Suze · June 17, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl

For lack of a better term my GGs are squatters. In the cage they get about 3 1/2 feet but pull it out of the cage and hang it upsidedown and it stretched out to more than 6 feet.

I remember you mentioning that last year and posting a picture. I think I have the same one you do -- but mine didn't squat or collapse in upon itself in the cage. However, it got a tall box store cage which are pretty narrow, and I bet you used one of your CRW cages. It was one of the most pathetic looking plants for a long time -- gangly, narrow leaves. Finally made it to the top of the cage and even filled out a bit. Grew back down the cage, almost to the ground (got about 7ft). Flavor is very good.

**carolyn137** · June 18, 2006

The situation with GG is mixed up for sure.

The original name for the variety was Thompson's Seedless Grape, which is round, and this whole business of grape tomatoes, as in Santa F1, having a particular shape is very recent, as Craig said, and really refers to Andrew Chu's marketing of Santa F1 and all the copycat varieties bred after that one.

GG as bred was indeterminate. But starting several years ago a det version popped up and some of us have seen the indet go to the det version. I just posted in Craig's new thread that I got an indet GG from Earl several years ago and it too went to det.

If I could get a stable indet GG I'd prefer that since I do think the taste of those fruits is slightly better than the det versions I've grown.

Tom Wagner has been upset at what's happened to his original GG but how can one control genes?

rsg2001 · July 4, 2006

Interesting. I'm growing GG for the first time, and it is indeed a compact plant, very similar to Lime Green Salad which I grew last year. It has plenty of flower buds at the moment with only one having set, so I can't comment on the shape, but at least I know what to expect. If given a choice, I prefer indeterminate, so I'm wondering what exactly happened to "change" this variety into a determinate type.

Robbin

June 14, 2006	#1
Fert1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Upstate SC, Zone 7 Posts: 543	Green Grape - not very grapelike From the name I was expecting Green Grape to be a little elongated like the red grape tomatoes. Mine are pretty round right now. I just wondered if they only elongate at the last minute, or are they really more round than grape shaped? __________________ Holly

June 14, 2006	#2
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Green Grape is nearly round to slightly oval, and really not at all shaped like the elongated grape tomatoes available in supermarkets these days. Then again, the correlation of "grape" with the elongated tomato shape is quite recent. In old seed catalogs, grape was used to describe what we now call cherry tomatoes - tomatoes that grow in grape like bunches, and don't forget, red seedless grapes are round! __________________ Craig

June 14, 2006	#3
Fert1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Upstate SC, Zone 7 Posts: 543	Okay, thanks for the clarification. I now know what to expect. I've heard it's a very good tasting variety, and I'm eager to try it. It seems to be loading up on fruit, just like all the cherry tomatoes do. __________________ Holly

June 16, 2006	#5
tanagerzoo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Zone 7 Delaware Posts: 67	I've been curious about the size of my green grape, too. I bought seeds from Sandhill and the description was "indeterminate". I thought I read somewhere that there are determinate versions of GG floating around and that you should buy only seeds that specify "indeterminate" if that is what you were after. Which I thought I did. But my GG is a little shorter than SFT and half the size of my other plants. It is one incredibly dense, thick plant. I know there are scads of green fruit deep inside, but I can only find them if I virtually assault the poor plant. And yes, my fruit, when I can find them, are fat and mostly round. A slight oval to them, but they don't at all look like Santa Sweets from the grocery store. __________________ Christine

June 16, 2006	#6
Fert1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Upstate SC, Zone 7 Posts: 543	My GG is short, but not extremely so. Compared to Silvery Fir Tree, it's enormous. Mine is the determinate variety. I think I got the seeds from Tomato Growers. It's fairly bushy. It was planted later than some of my other varieites, but seems to be trying to catch up. __________________ Holly

June 15, 2006	#4
pbud Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Posts: 173	How does your plant look? My gg is bushy and short - is that normal? I'm a bit worried that it has some kind of disease. I had trouble germinating seeds (which were really small - perhaps that's how their supposed to be) and the one seed that germinated produced a plant that was a bit of a runt compared to all other varieties. Thoughts? Thanks, Paul

June 17, 2006	#7
honu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 270	TGS describes it as "very short compact" determinate plants. Seed Savers Exchange catalog describes it as determinate and bushy with a photo of round tomatoes. I was remembering those descriptions when I planted it in a 7 gal pot, and what a mistake that was. I should have checked Carolyn's book which describes it as huge, rangey, and indeterminate. That is exactly what I am observing. My fruit is slightly oval, tapering to a pointed blossom end. Do the 2 different types of GG taste the same?

June 17, 2006	#8
Earl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,278	For lack of a better term my GGs are squatters. In the cage they get about 3 1/2 feet but pull it out of the cage and hang it upsidedown and it stretched out to more than 6 feet.

June 18, 2006	#10
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	The situation with GG is mixed up for sure. The original name for the variety was Thompson's Seedless Grape, which is round, and this whole business of grape tomatoes, as in Santa F1, having a particular shape is very recent, as Craig said, and really refers to Andrew Chu's marketing of Santa F1 and all the copycat varieties bred after that one. GG as bred was indeterminate. But starting several years ago a det version popped up and some of us have seen the indet go to the det version. I just posted in Craig's new thread that I got an indet GG from Earl several years ago and it too went to det. If I could get a stable indet GG I'd prefer that since I do think the taste of those fruits is slightly better than the det versions I've grown. Tom Wagner has been upset at what's happened to his original GG but how can one control genes? __________________ Carolyn

July 4, 2006	#11
rsg2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York Zone 6 Posts: 479	Interesting. I'm growing GG for the first time, and it is indeed a compact plant, very similar to Lime Green Salad which I grew last year. It has plenty of flower buds at the moment with only one having set, so I can't comment on the shape, but at least I know what to expect. If given a choice, I prefer indeterminate, so I'm wondering what exactly happened to "change" this variety into a determinate type. Robbin