2021 Best and Worst - Page 2

CrazyAboutOrchids · October 7, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.J. Wolf

SunSugar blew me away for production and taste. Definitely will be in my garden next year, and more than 1 plan.

We grew Sungold many, many years ago, than Galina's, then tried Sunsugar and it's been a staple for years now! It simply cranks out cherries non-stop until it widdles away at the very end of the season. I won't pull ours quite yet because it's still producing. We lvoe it and have often done 2. We've tried a second cherry of in one's place a few times but nothing touches this for taste and production that we've tried.

CrazyAboutOrchids · October 7, 2021

Sunsugar was, as always, a great addition to our garden. We switched to growing 2 a few years ago just because we love them so much. It does overload us with cherries, but they are just SOOO good!

Start S F1 was our first ripe tomato and continued pumping them out throughout the season. They are small, a bit bigger than golf ball size, lots of water and seeds but great flavor. It will return.

Buffalosteak has become a staple as well. It's a hybrid but produces not only a nicely shaped, 6 - 14 oz. 'pretty' tomato, but it tastes really good as well.

I grew both Paul Robeson and Cherokee Carbon and they intertwined. When hubby picked, he didn't follow the vines to see which one he got. One was really good, one was too scarred along the top for my liking. Note to self - when growing 2 to compare - separate their growing areas!

Neves Azorean Red reinforced why we continue to grow it - good flavor, good size, good production.

Kellogg's Breakfast made a return to our garden - decent production, good flavor, beautiful tomatoes, but late... maybe that's why it was shelfed. Still in my search for that perfect yellow/orange.

Kosovo - always cranks them out, one we will always grow. Made me really miss more hearts that I was growing so next year adding in more heart varieties.

Chef's Choice Black - total dud, read all this great stuff about prolific yield which is SO important in our small space - won't repeat and not sure I would waste the square footage in trying others.

San Marzano Gigante - another total dud - I've grown many San Marzano varieties and 'get' the challenge of keeping them growing and healthy, but this variety didn't make it past our cold, wet, then hot, the cold, then wetter summer. I'm giving the space I dedicated to them to more hearts.

sjamesNorway · December 8, 2021

KarenO's True Colours was outstanding this year, superb both in taste (on the sweet side) and production. It thrived outdoors in an average Norwegian summer. Next best was Curtis Cheek grown in my greenhouse - great taste and good production. Both Wes and KBX, grown in the greenhouse, produced very poorly.

Steve

KarenO · December 8, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjamesNorway

KarenO's True Colours was outstanding this year, superb both in taste (on the sweet side) and production. It thrived outdoors in an average Norwegian summer. Next best was Curtis Cheek grown in my greenhouse - great taste and good production. Both Wes and KBX, grown in the greenhouse, produced very poorly.

Steve

I’m so happy to see this post Steve! Outdoors in Norway
It really is a “ True North Tomato”.
Have you grown some of the others in that series? I do find true colours is generally the first ripe for me but only by a few days usually
KarenO

PaulF · December 8, 2021

Crazy year for me puts a goofy spin on this thread: Like the Joe Walsh song, everything was an ordinary, average kind of year (instead of guy). Every variety was ordinary and average; in taste, looks and production. Still better than store bought or hybrids.

Labradors2 · December 8, 2021

I can relate Paul. I had a very average season too, with lots of blah-tasting 'maters. Some of them were new-to-me, so I had no idea if they should have tasted a lot better than they did, and I suspect that was true

. Even Little Lucky was disappointing - with chewy bits!!!!! Ugh!

Linda

DK2021 · December 9, 2021

I grew 24 varieties this year, one plant of each.

My top two tomatoes were both new to me, and I plan to grow both again next year. I saved seed from both.

Taiga: nearly ran out of space because of all the bean varieties I planted this year, but squeezed in this one last plant in the far corner of the garden plot and, boy, am I glad I did! Loaded with fruit (one branch and its fruit had to be supported on a milk crate for fear of the whole branch breaking off), and I think I got fifteen tomatoes in total, with at least 3 well over a pound each. All were amazingly blemish- and crack-free even after heavy rain. Taste-wise this was probably the best of all the varieties I grew this year. Definitely growing this one again.

Bugtussle Buttermilk Wonder: large (several ~1 pound) very pale yellow fruit with firm texture and great flavour--aromatic, fruity, and not meek like some other whites I've tried. Plant grew to about 6 feet, seemed resistant to disease, and was loaded with fruit, with the last ones ripening just before our first frost.

I grew Atomic Fusion in a 15 gallon fabric pot on my patio which gets full sun nearly all day. It did not bear as much as I wish it had, and I will try it in the ground next year. The dozen or so fruit that did ripen (and not get picked at by some bird or critter) were absolutely delicious, and it's perhaps the sweetest tomato I have ever had. I really didn't expect that and it was a nice surprise.

I also liked Cherokee Rose, Sailor's Luck, Coeur de Surpriz, and Girl Girl's Weird Thing. Interestingly enough, the latter was my dog's favourite tomato and he could pick it out of a harvest basket with a dozen or more varieties. For that reason alone I'll grow it again.

Disappointments:

Bosque Blue Bumblebee. Productive and pretty but meh for flavour.

Sart Roloise. Striking appearance but again pretty blah, particularly for texture (too soft for my tastes). This was also the only plant that showed any signs of blossom-end rot.

An unexpected let-down was Lucky Tiger which had been my favourite tomato in 2020, and I had been so looking forward to a repeat. The fruit from this year's plant lacked both the reddish blush and the sweet core that I liked so much last year, and the flavour was just not memorable although the plant was as vigorous and productive as last year. (Fruit split as badly too.) I will try Lucky Bee next season.

December 8, 2021	#20
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,283	Crazy year for me puts a goofy spin on this thread: Like the Joe Walsh song, everything was an ordinary, average kind of year (instead of guy). Every variety was ordinary and average; in taste, looks and production. Still better than store bought or hybrids. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

October 7, 2021	#17
CrazyAboutOrchids Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Zone 6 - CT Posts: 149	Sunsugar was, as always, a great addition to our garden. We switched to growing 2 a few years ago just because we love them so much. It does overload us with cherries, but they are just SOOO good! Start S F1 was our first ripe tomato and continued pumping them out throughout the season. They are small, a bit bigger than golf ball size, lots of water and seeds but great flavor. It will return. Buffalosteak has become a staple as well. It's a hybrid but produces not only a nicely shaped, 6 - 14 oz. 'pretty' tomato, but it tastes really good as well. I grew both Paul Robeson and Cherokee Carbon and they intertwined. When hubby picked, he didn't follow the vines to see which one he got. One was really good, one was too scarred along the top for my liking. Note to self - when growing 2 to compare - separate their growing areas! Neves Azorean Red reinforced why we continue to grow it - good flavor, good size, good production. Kellogg's Breakfast made a return to our garden - decent production, good flavor, beautiful tomatoes, but late... maybe that's why it was shelfed. Still in my search for that perfect yellow/orange. Kosovo - always cranks them out, one we will always grow. Made me really miss more hearts that I was growing so next year adding in more heart varieties. Chef's Choice Black - total dud, read all this great stuff about prolific yield which is SO important in our small space - won't repeat and not sure I would waste the square footage in trying others. San Marzano Gigante - another total dud - I've grown many San Marzano varieties and 'get' the challenge of keeping them growing and healthy, but this variety didn't make it past our cold, wet, then hot, the cold, then wetter summer. I'm giving the space I dedicated to them to more hearts.

December 8, 2021	#18
sjamesNorway Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Norway Posts: 1,049	KarenO's True Colours was outstanding this year, superb both in taste (on the sweet side) and production. It thrived outdoors in an average Norwegian summer. Next best was Curtis Cheek grown in my greenhouse - great taste and good production. Both Wes and KBX, grown in the greenhouse, produced very poorly. Steve

December 8, 2021	#21
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,886	I can relate Paul. I had a very average season too, with lots of blah-tasting 'maters. Some of them were new-to-me, so I had no idea if they should have tasted a lot better than they did, and I suspect that was true . Even Little Lucky was disappointing - with chewy bits!!!!! Ugh! Linda

December 9, 2021	#22
DK2021 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Coastal CT, zone 7a Posts: 163	I grew 24 varieties this year, one plant of each. My top two tomatoes were both new to me, and I plan to grow both again next year. I saved seed from both. Taiga: nearly ran out of space because of all the bean varieties I planted this year, but squeezed in this one last plant in the far corner of the garden plot and, boy, am I glad I did! Loaded with fruit (one branch and its fruit had to be supported on a milk crate for fear of the whole branch breaking off), and I think I got fifteen tomatoes in total, with at least 3 well over a pound each. All were amazingly blemish- and crack-free even after heavy rain. Taste-wise this was probably the best of all the varieties I grew this year. Definitely growing this one again. Bugtussle Buttermilk Wonder: large (several ~1 pound) very pale yellow fruit with firm texture and great flavour--aromatic, fruity, and not meek like some other whites I've tried. Plant grew to about 6 feet, seemed resistant to disease, and was loaded with fruit, with the last ones ripening just before our first frost. I grew Atomic Fusion in a 15 gallon fabric pot on my patio which gets full sun nearly all day. It did not bear as much as I wish it had, and I will try it in the ground next year. The dozen or so fruit that did ripen (and not get picked at by some bird or critter) were absolutely delicious, and it's perhaps the sweetest tomato I have ever had. I really didn't expect that and it was a nice surprise. I also liked Cherokee Rose, Sailor's Luck, Coeur de Surpriz, and Girl Girl's Weird Thing. Interestingly enough, the latter was my dog's favourite tomato and he could pick it out of a harvest basket with a dozen or more varieties. For that reason alone I'll grow it again. Disappointments: Bosque Blue Bumblebee. Productive and pretty but meh for flavour. Sart Roloise. Striking appearance but again pretty blah, particularly for texture (too soft for my tastes). This was also the only plant that showed any signs of blossom-end rot. An unexpected let-down was Lucky Tiger which had been my favourite tomato in 2020, and I had been so looking forward to a repeat. The fruit from this year's plant lacked both the reddish blush and the sweet core that I liked so much last year, and the flavour was just not memorable although the plant was as vigorous and productive as last year. (Fruit split as badly too.) I will try Lucky Bee next season.