Lillian's Yellow

teyger · January 11, 2020

Let's talk about Lillian's Yellow. I find it shocking that I rarely see mention of it on this forum. I am curious if most here haven't tried it, or tried it but didn't like it. The flavor is so fantastic to me! I rarely have any extra to give away because I just can't stop eating them! I know taste is subjective from person to person, but I generally agree with this forum's consensus on the most popular great tasting tomatoes. That's why I don't get how I never see people mentioning LY here.

I generally don't care for the taste of yellow tomatoes. The others I have tried just haven't been that great. I haven't come close to trying every yellow there is, but of all the yellows that I have tried, LY is just different... in a very good way. The flavor is just phenomenal. I don't even know how to describe the flavor. Maybe it's just too different from what most people consider "tomato flavor"?

The con's to LY for me is:

lower yield than most of other tomatoes I grow

it's very susceptible to splitting

does not handle the heat well

one of the latest to mature (90 DTM)

BUT... the great flavor BY FAR exceeds all of the cons to growing it!

So which is it? Haven't tried it, or didn't like it?

imp · January 11, 2020

Haven't tried it as yet, but the not handling heat would be a bad thing for me.

teyger · January 11, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp

Haven't tried it as yet, but the not handling heat would be a bad thing for me.

I wouldn't say it fails miserably in the heat. All tomatoes fail in the heat I live in. LY is just one of the first to stat faltering in the heat, but the rest aren't far behind. I'm not saying it can't handle any heat. I live in an area where is not uncommon to have upper 90's temp. with upper 90's % humidity in the middle of summer. If I can grow enough to make it worth it, then most people can.

imp · January 11, 2020

Well, up here in north Texas, we almost always get in the triple digits in the summers a bunch of times. But, the humidity is often much lower than yours is in the summers.

Can you describe what it tastes like to you?

teyger · January 12, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp

Well, up here in north Texas, we almost always get in the triple digits in the summers a bunch of times. But, the humidity is often much lower than yours is in the summers.

Can you describe what it tastes like to you?

I'm terrible at describing taste and LY is even more difficult on top of that because it's so different imo. It's just addictively delicious. It's intensely succulent, but not heavy. It's very meaty, hardly any seeds/gel, but a very smooth, perfect texture.

I am missing one word in describing the taste and I just can't put my finger on it. Sigh, there's got to be someone else here that has tasted it also.

BigVanVader · January 12, 2020

I feel the same about Dwarf Mr. Snow. Terribly unproductive, late, splits, etc but only tomato I grow every year and actually look forward to eating. I'll try LY.

Tormato · January 13, 2020

Lillian's Yellow Heirloom (full name) is just one of many varieties that has been pushed aside for newer discoveries and creations. As a commercial possibility, it's basically a nightmare to produce enough seed, due to fairly low fruit production, and what I consider extremely low seed production. I rank it #2 (behind Brandywine Sudduth) for "fickleness". When it brings its A game, it's worth it. One must almost have be an anal-retentive tomato nutcase like myself, in order to have seeds to plant, each year. I'm usually out of seeds, most years. My pet name for it is "Out Of Stock".

DR L

VE APPLE

Koala Doug · January 13, 2020

I've grown it two times in the past and it is a very good tomato.

But, each time the DTM was right around 100 days in my 6b zone. That leaves only a four week harvest period before the season is done (and that is if you can keep the late-season powdery mildew at bay).

Ultimately, that just results in way too much effort for such a small harvest window.

Greatgardens · January 19, 2020

I found this interesting, so I did a little online research. I found it described as a beefsteak, a globe, and a heart. Which is correct? (In the past, I've most often seen it described as a beefsteak.) Incidently, I added some LYH seeds this AM to my order from Totally Tomatoes -- sounds too good not to try here in 5b.

teyger · January 19, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

I found this interesting, so I did a little online research. I found it described as a beefsteak, a globe, and a heart. Which is correct? (In the past, I've most often seen it described as a beefsteak.) Incidently, I added some LYH seeds this AM to my order from Totally Tomatoes -- sounds too good not to try here in 5b.

It's definitely an oblate beefsteak. It's odd that Totally Tomatoes' description says globe. I'm curious what you will grow from those seeds. If what you grow it is in fact globe, I would say it's definitely not the same LY that I grow. I got my LY seeds from Victory Seeds.

teyger · January 19, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

I feel the same about Dwarf Mr. Snow. Terribly unproductive, late, splits, etc but only tomato I grow every year and actually look forward to eating. I'll try LY.

Ordered some Dwarf Mr. Snow and it's on the way. Just have to figure where I'm going to grow it. I'm growing way too many varieties for my garden size.

Tormato · January 21, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by teyger

It's definitely an oblate beefsteak. It's odd that Totally Tomatoes' description says globe. I'm curious what you will grow from those seeds. If what you grow it is in fact globe, I would say it's definitely not the same LY that I grow. I got my LY seeds from Victory Seeds.

If it was a globe, there'd be more gel and seeds.

sic transit gloria · February 13, 2020

Lillian's Yellow is very good. My experience is that it isn't very productive. It is not a globe, and the shape does vary and is often asymmetrical such that if the tomato is sliced axially (from stem to blossom end), the two halves would not be the same size.

I'm not a huge fan of yellows, but others I like are Azoychka, Powers Heirloom, Yellow Brandywine (Platfoot strain), and Golden Queen (USDA).

January 11, 2020	#1
teyger Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Lake Charles, Louisiana Posts: 21	Lillian's Yellow Let's talk about Lillian's Yellow. I find it shocking that I rarely see mention of it on this forum. I am curious if most here haven't tried it, or tried it but didn't like it. The flavor is so fantastic to me! I rarely have any extra to give away because I just can't stop eating them! I know taste is subjective from person to person, but I generally agree with this forum's consensus on the most popular great tasting tomatoes. That's why I don't get how I never see people mentioning LY here. I generally don't care for the taste of yellow tomatoes. The others I have tried just haven't been that great. I haven't come close to trying every yellow there is, but of all the yellows that I have tried, LY is just different... in a very good way. The flavor is just phenomenal. I don't even know how to describe the flavor. Maybe it's just too different from what most people consider "tomato flavor"? The con's to LY for me is: lower yield than most of other tomatoes I grow it's very susceptible to splitting does not handle the heat well one of the latest to mature (90 DTM) BUT... the great flavor BY FAR exceeds all of the cons to growing it! So which is it? Haven't tried it, or didn't like it?

January 11, 2020	#4
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Well, up here in north Texas, we almost always get in the triple digits in the summers a bunch of times. But, the humidity is often much lower than yours is in the summers. Can you describe what it tastes like to you? __________________ I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

January 13, 2020	#7
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,959	Lillian's Yellow Heirloom (full name) is just one of many varieties that has been pushed aside for newer discoveries and creations. As a commercial possibility, it's basically a nightmare to produce enough seed, due to fairly low fruit production, and what I consider extremely low seed production. I rank it #2 (behind Brandywine Sudduth) for "fickleness". When it brings its A game, it's worth it. One must almost have be an anal-retentive tomato nutcase like myself, in order to have seeds to plant, each year. I'm usually out of seeds, most years. My pet name for it is "Out Of Stock". DR LVE APPLE

January 19, 2020	#9
Greatgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,124	I found this interesting, so I did a little online research. I found it described as a beefsteak, a globe, and a heart. Which is correct? (In the past, I've most often seen it described as a beefsteak.) Incidently, I added some LYH seeds this AM to my order from Totally Tomatoes -- sounds too good not to try here in 5b. Last edited by Greatgardens; January 19, 2020 at 02:02 PM.

January 12, 2020	#6
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	I feel the same about Dwarf Mr. Snow. Terribly unproductive, late, splits, etc but only tomato I grow every year and actually look forward to eating. I'll try LY.

January 13, 2020	#8
Koala Doug Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Detroit Posts: 688	I've grown it two times in the past and it is a very good tomato. But, each time the DTM was right around 100 days in my 6b zone. That leaves only a four week harvest period before the season is done (and that is if you can keep the late-season powdery mildew at bay). Ultimately, that just results in way too much effort for such a small harvest window.

February 13, 2020	#13
sic transit gloria Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: KS 5b/6a Posts: 249	Lillian's Yellow is very good. My experience is that it isn't very productive. It is not a globe, and the shape does vary and is often asymmetrical such that if the tomato is sliced axially (from stem to blossom end), the two halves would not be the same size. I'm not a huge fan of yellows, but others I like are Azoychka, Powers Heirloom, Yellow Brandywine (Platfoot strain), and Golden Queen (USDA).