2015 Pics & Reviews

[Cole_Robbie]

Thanks, Mike. It's been so wet for me, weather-wise, that I am giving a lot of varieties the benefit of the doubt on flavor. This is not a good year for making judgments; everything tastes watered down.

[Cole_Robbie]

I wrote "not pearls of wisdom" on this tomato because I thought I had it marked incorrectly, but upon further review...it is Pearls of Wisdom: http://i.imgur.com/atj6mP8.jpg

[Gerardo]

Great, thorough reply, many thanks. I will grow Cole.

As per one of your earlier posts on another thread, and in an attempt to at least elicit a smirk as remuneration for the wisdom, I'll leave you with a ghost of xmas past: owl's eye intranuclear inclusions. Great rest of the week!

[charline]

just wanted tell you that you should wait a little longer for Orange Russian 117 until she is very ripe. She will show red streaks and swirls. Then you get the fantastic fruity taste that I like so much. It is really worth the wait.

[Cole_Robbie]

You're welcome, Gerardo, and thanks, Charline.

Like I said, everything has been watered down this year due to record heavy rains. But even then, from just the little bite I had as I was saving seeds, I could tell Orange Russian 117 was a keeper. I look forward to growing it again in a summer with more normal weather.

[efisakov]

I got my seeds very late and plants at transplanting time were small. They have not even start setting, you making it so difficult to wait.

[Cole_Robbie]

Orange Jazz: http://i.imgur.com/eVnYTSA.jpg

[Cole_Robbie]

I had a customer seek me out at market yesterday, asking if I was the one who sold him a dwarf tomato plant that made pink fuzzy tomatoes that looked like peaches. I said "yes, sir. That's Bosky Chabarovsky."

He replied, "Good. That was the best tomato I ever ate. I just wanted to ask you to grow that variety again next spring, so I can buy the plants again."

[Cole_Robbie]

My kitchen counter: http://i.imgur.com/9mMyf2Z.jpg

Bosque Blue Bumblebee: http://i.imgur.com/K018shB.jpg

It's a neat tomato, but a late producer and low yielder. I'm not sure if I will grow it again.

Giant Roo living up to the name: http://i.imgur.com/UaJjwWL.jpg

Finally, I shall Seek No Further Love Apple: http://i.imgur.com/cEIKIKA.jpg

[Cole_Robbie]

I wanted to type out my list of this year's duds before I forget it. These are varieties that I am not going to try again. They might be great for you, I don't want to insult anyone's favorite tomato, but I am not going to try them again.

Yellow Brandywine, Platfoot
Red Brandywine, Landis Valley
Orlov's Yellow
Marglobe
Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blues
Sun Green F1
Tiny Tim

The first 5 varieties above all yielded too poorly for me to try again. SunGreen is just annoying to me and not worth the money. It's hard to tell when they are ripe; it's almost impossible to pick them at first blush. They are a pain to sort from other cherry tomatoes of other colors that have been picked at first blush. I like Fred Hempel's Lucky Tiger & Green Tiger much better. They have a unique shape that makes them easy to sort in a mix. I am going to make them the only GWR cherries I grow next year.

Microdwarfs will be my seed-swapping initiative over the winter. Tiny Tim doesn't taste good enough for me to want to grow again. I have Yellow Pygmy, and it's ok, but it's hard to find a microdwarf that tastes good to me.

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I had a customer seek me out at market yesterday, asking if I was the one who sold him a dwarf tomato plant that made pink fuzzy tomatoes that looked like peaches. I said "yes, sir. That's Bosky Chabarovsky."

He replied, "Good. That was the best tomato I ever ate. I just wanted to ask you to grow that variety again next spring, so I can buy the plants again."

That's neat. You'll have a loyal customer there!

[luigiwu]

do you use a sharpie to write names on your tomatoes?

[Cole_Robbie]

Yes, and another marker that is a Bic brand. Sometimes I use my garden marker that is out in the greenhouse.

I was saving seeds just now, and I take a bite out of what I am saving to sample it first. To my list of duds, let me add Goose Creek, Cosner, and my tomato labelled Copia that I think is actually a Yellow Oxheart.

From what I just now sampled, I like Pink Rose the best. It is almost red, despite being named a pink. It has a good acidic bite to it, and tastes a lot like a red tomato.

[efisakov]

You are having a blast this year. Lots of new varieties. Where did you get seeds of Pink Rose? What is the origin of it?

[Cole_Robbie]

Pink Rose came from one of the swaps over the winter. There are countless big pink varieties that look like Brandywine. Most of them, I can't tell apart.

And yeah, I have gotten to try a lot of new varieties. Hopefully, I have made some headway in finally figuring out what I like the best. Every year, I think I know what I want to grow...and then I start seeing varieties that are new to me being offered here, which makes me have the kid-in-a-candy-store reaction where I want everything I see.