A Plug for Stupices...

[Sidney Cays]

Here on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, our weather is cool and degree days are far short of ideal, making tomato-growing problimatical. Of all the early tomatoes recommended over the years, Stupice stands out as the one, never-fail yearly success story. No matter how cool the summer, this is the one tomato that will set fruit every year, as opposed to the many that won't.

That includes those bred especially for this are, and it tastes good, too.

[ddsack]

Welcome, Sidney, and I agree! I don't remember my seed source, because I've been saving my own for so many years (probably Tomato Growers Supply) but after trying all the early PL Stupice look-a-likes, I still like Stupice best. It's my earliest, none of the other's taste any better to me, and it keeps putting out until fall, even though it's virtually ignored after the bigger tomatoes start to ripen. It doesn't seem to mind a bit of shade, as the plant in my woodsy garden ripens the first tomato only a few days later than in my full sun garden. Yay for Stupice!

[Sidney Cays]

Here, there often are no "later tomatoes". The season is just not warm enough. Peppers, even the little ones, are usually a dead loss, and only the very early varieties of corn grow well here. Cucumbers and squash do not do all that well, either.
But - things like onions and peas and lettuces are at their best. They love this kind of weather, and the cole crops can't be beat. Seed for these species are often raised here and in other western Washington areas.
I hadn't tried saving Stupice seed, because I thought it was a hybrid. Thanks for the info.

Sidney

[coloken]

I all ways plant just one.

[Sidney Cays]

I plant two. Which in a normal (is there any such thing?) year give me plenty of tomatoes. I also plant one Sungold, which also does well here and has a marvelous flavor.

Sidney

[horses4jess]

Stupice did great for me here in South Florida over the winter months, though last year the taste wasn't quite as good as the year before. I haven't tried it in the spring/summer.

[Tracydr]

I might have to try a stupice next winter. I always have difficulty with lack of light with winter tomatoes.

[Tania]

Sidney,

Welcome to the forum!

I am to the north from you, and I grow lots of tomatoes and peppers (and even melons, with various degrees of success), but I use cold frames for most of them. I totally agree that our PNW climate is not tomato or pepper-friendly, and it is a huge challenge for many folks to grow good late season tomatoes here. Too cool and too wet. But it is possible to go further than Stupice, that's for sure!

I hope we'll have a better year for tomatoes and peppers.

Tatiana

[Sidney Cays]

Our "late" tomatoes here are Early Girl...LOL... I use floating row cover over the Stupices for a month or more, and some years have even had ripe tomatoes in the middle of June, although the end of June is more likely.
What have you found that is a better tomato? I tried all the advertised earlies for many years, and have yet to find anything that is more reliable or has a better flavor.

[Tania]

The early tomatoes that I grew are listed here (some of them later than Stupice, but still much earlier than most large beefsteaks): http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/T...Early_Tomatoes

Out of these I especially enjoy Jaune Flammée, Belye Nochi, Frühe Liebe, Heart's Delite Black, Bursztyn, Kimberley, Manitoba, Mountain Princess, Sibirskiy Skorospelyi, Sophie's Choice, and Volgograd.

Pipo rivals Stupice for earliness.

[noinwi]

I have to say, I'm a Stupice fan too. I grew it in the PNW before moving out here to WI and I've grown it here. Many people complain that it is bland compared to other heirlooms, but I've found that although the first early fruit are indeed mild, they still taste better than store bought. The flavor does improve as the season progresses and they have been great producers for me. One year I grew 4 of them along with several heirlooms I was trying for the first time. Everything was looking good, it was early August IIR and there were many green fruit on. We had a severe hailstorm that lasted 10 or 15 minutes. All I could do was watch from the window, devastated. I went out after the storm and most plants looked a bit ragged, but still had toms on. Then as the days went by, more and more toms dropped off of the plants until there were only a few left. Most of the plants didn't recover production-wise, but the Stupice not only bounced back quickly, it pumped out those little toms for the rest of the season. I had enough for DH and myself, and I froze some too.

[Sidney Cays]

I've had a similar experience. And I can count on the Stupice still producing ripe tomatoes into October, and sometimes, November. Depending on when it finally starts to rain again.
I stopped caring about "big" years ago; now all I care about is "ripe"....
Their flavor is excellent here.

[Sidney Cays]

I had a neighbor with a greenhouse try several of those you mention. He did get some ripe ones, but I never would with my methods. None of the beefsteaks tomatoes do much of anything here. I can remember a cousin having a few ripe ones one year in Sequim.

[Sidney Cays]

If you can grow peppers there, you have much hotter summers than we do here. 70 degrees is about the best we get, and few days of even that high a temperature. We're right on the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and that makes a big difference. Inland, away from the Straits, it's always much warmer than here close to the water.

[stonysoilseeds]

i agree yay yay for stupice last year was ,y first year growing it and it was a real winner for me