Current seed list-- any holes?

[katkoot]

Hi all! So I have been sifting through my seeds and listing them, and I am also viability testing them since they are older seeds. These are the ones I currently have:


Matt’s Wild Cherry
Pantano Romanesco
Olpaka
Russo Sicilian
Costoluto Genovese
Jetsonic
Sugar Lump
German Red Strawberry
Giant Tree
Homestead
Red Brandywine
Red Star
Thai Pink Egg
Brandywine, Sudduth Strain
Arkansas Traveler
Mortgage Lifter
Caspian Pink
Rose
Stump of the World
Pink Accordian
Cleota Pink

Nyagous
Carbon
Blue
Black Sea Man
Black Berry
Purple Calabash
Black Krim
Japanese Back Trifele
Black Pear
Black from Tula
Gary O’Sena
Cherokee Purple
Cuban Black
Chocolate Cherry

Beam’s Yellow Pear
Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom
Pearl’s Yellow Pink
Egg Yolk
Yellow pear
Blondkopfchen
Wapsipinicon Peach
Garden Peach
Yellow Brandywine
Yellow Marble
Azoychka

Orange Oxheart
Orange Banana
Moonglow
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow
Jaune Flammee
Gold Rush
Aunt Gertie’s Gold
Caro Rich
Kellogg’s Breakfast

Gold Medal
Pineapple
Green Zebra
Tigerella
White Zebra
Indian Stripe
Striped Cavern
Speckled Roman
Turkish Monastery

Isis Candy
Lucky Cross
Oaxacan Jewel
Hillbilly

White Currant
White Queen
White Rabbit
Great White
Transparent

Aunt Ruby’s German Green
Green Moldovan

I generally tried to stay with OP/Heirloom, but some non-OP sneaked in as free gifts. I'm sure some people will think I have a definite hole in my collection. I'd love to hear about it! I was thinking to add Rutgers since my grandmother grew them, as well as Marmande, Sungold (it keeps getting such rave reviews!), Malachite Box, some other greens (I realllly liked Aunt Ruby's German Green and I feel I need to explore these more!), and I'd like to add some of the Wild Boar Farm group from Baker's like Berkley Tie Dye and Blue Beauty. When I grew before, I didn't like Purple Calabash (tasted like a piece of charcoal to me), Thai Pink Egg (bitter and bland), or Pineapple (same as Thai Pink Egg-- but I saved all my seeds to try again in another soil). I loved Cherokee Purple and Yellow Marble. I also loved Black Sea Man and Arkansas Traveler as well as Stump of the World. I don't know if that gives you all an idea of my tastes.

I've been reading lots of reviews on here and I'm sure getting a lot of ideas

Julianna

[Doug9345]

I don't see any huge holes anywhere. I didn't spot much for a red cherry. I'd think about maybe adding Big Beef, which is a hybrid, as an insurance tomato as it's did well for me in a wide variety of weather. For Wild Boar farms varieties I just love the look of Michael Pollan and Sweet Carneros Pink.

[Tormato]

SunGold is the hole, and no other can fill it.

Dr. Lve Apple

[Anthony_Toronto]

Originally Posted by Tormato

SunGold is the hole, and no other can fill it.

Dr. Lve Apple

How different is it from Sunsugar?

And Katkoot is this just an experimentation year for some of those, or are these ones that you know you like? Just asking because some names on there are ones you say you didn't like, like purple calacrap.

For currant varieties my favourite is Hawaiian Currant...flavour like a standard sized tomato, but currant sized (obviously).

And you're missing KBX!!

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by Anthony_Toronto

How different is it from Sunsugar?

Sunsugar doesn't split, and Sungold does.
In my garden, Sunsugar tastes better. Sungold gets an "off" taste by midseason.

OP yellow cherries that are comparable to Sunsugar are Galina's Yellow and Zluta Kytice.

[Anthony_Toronto]

Shame...I think I gave away all of my sunsugar seeds.

[katkoot]

Awesome responses guys! So so far, we have these suggested:

Big Beef
Michael Pollan
Sweet Carneros Pink
Sungold
Sunsugar
KBX
Hawaiian Currant
Galina's Yellow
Zluta Kytice

Anthony-- Some are ones I have never grown but do have the seed for them. Some are ones I know I like. And then there are the some that I didn't like the first time around. I'm moving locations though-- different latitude, soil type, climate, and hemisphere even, and thought I would try some of the ones I hated before anyway just in case they were better this time around. Purple Calacrap made me LOL.

[Anthony_Toronto]

Originally Posted by katkoot

Awesome responses guys! So so far, we have these suggested:

Big Beef
Michael Pollan
Sweet Carneros Pink
Sungold
Sunsugar
KBX
Hawaiian Currant
Galina's Yellow
Zluta Kytice

Anthony-- Some are ones I have never grown but do have the seed for them. Some are ones I know I like. And then there are the some that I didn't like the first time around. I'm moving locations though-- different latitude, soil type, climate, and hemisphere even, and thought I would try some of the ones I hated before anyway just in case they were better this time around. Purple Calacrap made me LOL.

Haha...good idea on trying some again, its my opinion that a lot of differences in taste test reviews here and elsewhere, at least with respect to some of the must-have sort of varieties, are related to different growing conditions and not to the tomato itself. Maybe you'll make some great discoveries with your move? I almost abandoned Cherokee Purple after it did absolutely nothing in the first three years that I grew it...small stunted plants with 3 or 4 fruits when other varieties were pushing 7 or 8 feet, lush, and covered with tomatoes. Then I had two consecutive cold rainy seasons and CP flourished, with huge plants and 40+ tomatoes a few times. Its probably my favourite tomato now so I'm glad I gave it one more chance. My gf's sis-in-law bought a few hundred seed varieties (of tomatoes and other veggies) last year, many seedlings died after planting, or had no production, or limited production, or produced something that was not as tasty as expected, and I told her to be patient, especially because up here last year's season was the worst from top to bottom that I can recall.


As for purple calacrap I actually didn't mind the taste, but since I peel all of my tomatoes because I hate skin, it just didn't work for me...and eating the skin on that one was particularly unpleasant!

And if you want to narrow things down at all I see that you do have a lot of similar varieties...certainly try as many as you can if you have the room, but for my one suggestion I'll say that KBX always outshone Kellogg's Breakfast in my garden, and if I had room for only one then KBX would be it.

Two more suggestions (green was suggested to me, and the other is interesting and weird but really good):

Paul Robeson
Spear's Tennessee Green

Awww what the heck I'll comment on some from your list that I've tried...


Red Brandywine - meh
Brandywine, Sudduth Strain – variable production, top-notch taste
Stump of the World – did it one year, was ok but not great
Carbon - did it two years, was ok but not up to other black varieties
Black Krim – very variable production, size, taste…very good at times
Japanese Back Trifele – good tomato, productive, did it only once because skin on these was very marred
Black from Tula – tried once, too delicate for me, rotten on the vine
Gary O’Sena – I’m in the minority, did a few plants a few years ago, very productive, horrible taste (when every other variety in the garden was 8 or 9 out of ten, this was maybe a 3)
Cherokee Purple – again I’ve had some inconsistent production but love this one
Yellow pear – ewww!
Wapsipinicon Peach – tried it a few times, lots of BER for me, one year it was realllly good though
Yellow Brandywine – tried once, waste of garden space compared to other yellows
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow – grew for several seasons, very good tomato, but not as good as KBX
Aunt Gertie’s Gold – tried once, was nothing special for me
Kellogg’s Breakfast – I’d put it below Dr. Wyches, and WAY below KBX
Green Zebra – BER in my garden but unique, and I like it
Indian Stripe – it is the same as CP? Related to CP? Either way it tastes great and always performs slightly differently than CP does for me
White Currant – good but not great but definitely worth trying

Good luck...

[FarmerShawn]

Yes, for my preferences I would add in cherries, esp. sungold. I don't think I will ever have a garden without that one.


There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

[katkoot]

I love cherries as well! I have 11 types or so, but there should always be more

[katkoot]

Anthony,

Thanks for the comments on the plants! I had figured as much about climate, soil, and such.

I tried Gary O'Sena before and don't remember being impressed lol. But that could change. We should have room for about 100 plants in the warm season, and then however many we can fit into a hoop house in the winter. So I have two groups developing in my mind- those that like more cool, short day conditions and those that are into heat, sun, and drought.

I love fluted fruit, but gosh purple calabash just tasted like I had picked up a charcoal briquette and bit into it. It was awful. Of course it was also highly productive, as was Thai egg. TE tasted like I had bit into a bar of soap and chased that with a swig of bug repellant. :/

So now the list is:

Big Beef
Michael Pollan
Sweet Carneros Pink
Sungold
Sunsugar
KBX
Hawaiian Currant
Galina's Yellow
Zluta Kytice
Paul Robeson
Spear's Tennessee Green

[gssgarden]

I'd second KBX.

Greg

[katkoot]

Thanks, Greg!

[epsilon]

some of these descriptions are very colorful and make me wonder about selecting the blue/black types, though charcoal does seem intriguing.

[katkoot]

LOL! Well it was certainly... unique. Some of my favs are blacks, though, so it was an oddity for me.