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Old August 11, 2018   #1
NarnianGarden
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Default NG's season 2018

After a horrific heat wave, the whole nature seems to be in a shock here and many crops are exceptionally poor (rye comes to mind).
Tomatoes have had to suffer this erratic weather.
I know that 25-29C isn't too bad for many of you, who constantly have 90F and above every summer. But for us... oy vey.

Not surprisingly, the taste has been kind of watery for many early fruits, given all the watering this summer. (Surprisingly, Lotos tasted very good - I did not have any, but my parents did and enjoyed.)
Some beefsteak varieties dropped their blossoms.. Indian Stripe has some ripening fruits, so does Big Beef and Terhune, but nothing really massive.

Cherry tomatoes seem to be the winners: they survived last year's rainy summer and they survive this tropical heat as well. My Cereza Amarilla is exceptionally vigorous and the fruits have a nice acidic tang combined with sweet fruityness. It seems to be going on and on and on.

Lesson learned. No matter what the year is like, always plant several cherry varieties, (and other smaller fruited ones) they always survive and thrive!
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Old August 11, 2018   #2
Nan_PA_6b
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Planting several different small-fruited varieties is wise. They almost- but not always- do better. Last year I had Medova Kaplya, which has a good reputation, give me almost nothing.



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Old August 12, 2018   #3
NarnianGarden
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Yes, nothing totally foolproof in nature... I have tried to plant both small/ish fruited and larger varieties, but extreme weather makes everything surprising.
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Old August 12, 2018   #4
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I agree that small fruit and cherries have a better chance of doing well no matter what the weather. Or at least, there are some among them that will do fine in the cold, others that keep on going in the heat. The way the weather has been swinging back and forth, we don't know what to expect. So... plant more varieties, some will make it!
We are still in the 'heat wave' here too. Temperatures consistently 4-8 C above average, humidex higher. When it goes back to normal, I'll be finding it cold.
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Old August 12, 2018   #5
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Tonight we finally had some rain. It's already beginning to look like a normal August - darkening evenings and cool, crisp weather. Contrary to what some might think, a tropical heat wave here in Northern Europe is not like paradise - most facilities aren't equipped to handle those conditions. People have really suffered in their workplaces, especially those in culinary / service industry...

OK, back to garden. Last year's cool weather and rains caused many tomatoes to rot on the vine, this year some are being cooked.. Some varieties are stunted in growth (a black variety, I think it was Indian Stripe) and some other beefsteaks, while some 'small, determinate bushes' have become giant vines...
There is one which was supposed to be a 100 - 150 cm bush, and is now over 2 meters. The fruits do not look what they should be either, it is supposed to be Grusha Oranzhevaya with pear-shaped (bottle-necked) fruits - but instead, they are oval, a bit like De Barao or some paste tomato.
Curious about the color - and the flavor, of course...

Growing radishes has been nearly impossible this summer, all varieties go straight to seed. Now I hope to sow some winter radishes and hope to get some fresh ones in Sept/October.
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Old August 15, 2018   #6
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Another development ... A branch was broken off and the whole truss fell onto the foot of the container. It was BigBeef f1, which was supposed to stay reasonably sized... This happened before I had realized the idea of making little hammocks of old pantyhose to support the heavy trusses. (not sure it would help much though, as the supportive stakes are already too small for the plants...)
So the truss is now ripening indoors in a nice cardboard box covered with paper. I shall cut off all large beefsteaks at the first hint of color.
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Old August 20, 2018   #7
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So far, at this stage of the season I have been able to taste and assess the flavor of these varieties:

Amber Colored - the first fruits have been mild to the point of tasteless. There are still many fruits hanging, so hope remains..

Cereza Amarilla cherry - wow, just a double wow, for the vigor and productovity during the heat! No wilting or slowing down whatsoever. Very sweet, with fruity aromas in a strong tomato flavor.

Indian Stripe (or was it Black from Tula..) - the first ripe one was a donut shaped creation with a visible hole in the middle. The taste was not as strong and earthy as in previous years. Hopefully it will improve as the remaining large fruits ripen, without the heat.
Somehow this just came to a complete halt when the temps rose, and it is too late to catch up now.

Lotos - so far, the winner of the season. Mild, fruity flavor, by no means tepid! (with 'mild' I mean 'delicate' -a type of flavor profile which allows depth and nuances.) Middle sized, lobed fruits, sadly very affected by BER. I don't know why, as all my containers have had similar conditions, the same amount of watering, fertilizer etc... But BER or no BER, this has become a new favorite. I love pale yellow and white tomatoes for the complex and sweet aroma.

Orange Paruche F1 - yes, very sweet, and fruity in a more bold and flashy way than Lotos. Very nice in every way, productive and strong.

Pearly Pink Orange - completely flavorless this year. A steady producer, but tastes no better than a below average supermarket cherry.

Pink Tiger - an old favorite. Another one totally unaffected by the heat wave. The plant was nicknamed 'Christmas tree' and it has been loaded with tasty fruits. Perhaps the aroma has suffered a little bit, but - it can be easily forgiven.

Sweet n' Neat Lemon Sherbet F1 - a compact, healthy plant, covered with fruits. Fresh, invigorating taste, better than I expected. The only one not grown from seed by myself, I'd re-purchase this (from the same nursery).


Several more varieties remain to be tested and assessed..

Last edited by NarnianGarden; August 20, 2018 at 04:18 PM.
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Old September 11, 2018   #8
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Okay, more reviews now that some varieties have been ripened.

Terhune proved to be very tasty, as well as prolific. Really nice, full-bodied flavor. Really worth growing. (thanks, ddsack!)

Big Beef F1 did prove to be quite prolific as well, but during the heat wave the fruit production more or less stopped. Now, those little nobs wanted to grow, but it's already too late ...
I can see why this has been so highly praised, the taste is really nice tomato-ey, and the seed gel / flesh ratio is very well balanced. Not a spectacular exotic fruit flavor, but good, normal tomato.

Others still keep me waiting...

Novichok Rozovyi is just standing there and doing nothing with its fruits.. they seem to remain evergreen.

Lyana Rozovyi has so far given me one edible tomato, again, a nice balanced tomato flavor. The rest are still light green.

Grusha Orangzhevaya was supposed to give me smallish pear shaped orange colored fruits, instead this has produced oval ones which have ripened into lemon yellow. It might be De Barao yellow (or golden). No idea of the flavor yet.
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Old September 11, 2018   #9
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I had some strangely shaped fruit in the heat this year. Odd shaped little gumdrops with no seeds. They are the right color though, for what they are supposed to be. Other clusters produced the normal shape for that plant.
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Old September 20, 2018   #10
Lindalana
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We also had large heat wave here in Chicago and very dry July and August. I found taste to be fantastic though despite my regular watering. Last week of August and first Sept week we had more rain than all summer and taste disappeared. No watering on my part when rainy season started. I wonder if rain just flushed nutrients from the soil while my daily watering did not?
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Old September 20, 2018   #11
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I think the strong rain did have an effect, Linda...

It is time to wrap up here and almost all plants have been picked empty and chopped off. One cherry variety is stil standing, and a few late bloomers.. I finally tasted the lemony yellow, a very nice balanced roma tomato taste, good for sauce. Not a small orange pear at all, the vendor promised to send a replacement.
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Old September 21, 2018   #12
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I think hand watering is not equal to the amount of water they get from rain. You pour maybe a gallon of water on a plant. The rain is out there pouring water on them for hours. They get way more water from rain.
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Old September 21, 2018   #13
NarnianGarden
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Since I grow all my tomatoes in containers, there is a real risk that extensive watering (which was necessary this past summer) can flush out valuable nutrients. The pots are not exposed to open heavens, so rain cannot really cause same effects.
I learned to fertilize more and that seemed to remedy the taste somewhat - and helped the foliage to stay healthy green instead of the usual late season yellowing.
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Old September 22, 2018   #14
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We just had a horrific day of rain rain rain and high winds and now temps are down substantially. We had a very hot and humid summer with little rain. I had a lot of weird shaped tomatoes and fused tomatoes like crazy. The blossoms kept sticking to the tomatoes and I had to hand pick them off. Despite the amount of sun and heat, a lot of my tomatoes stalled in terms of ripening.
ISPL was a beast - surprisingly pumping out tons of tomatoes. Rebel Yell was great, but even my cherries were slow to ripen. I was very careful not to over water, but I’m wondering if I could have watered a bit more. Surprisingly, my plants stayed incredibly healthy in spite of the humidity. Russian 117 pumped out so many tomatoes but a lot of them developed a weird leathery, area on the shoulders, almost like dehydration.
I am happy to report this was a BER free summer!
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Old September 22, 2018   #15
NarnianGarden
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Isn't that amazing, SharonRossy! The number 1 concern I had was.. 'oh this summer is gonna be plagued with BER'... with all the crazy weather, the only plant that suffered from it was Lotos - and the flavor made up for all the hassle.
I think one can see themselves as a succesful grower, when there is no / hardly any BER under such extreme conditions.
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