Black and Brown Boar - It's Dense

Steve Magruder · June 16, 2013

I planted this small salad-type tomato this year: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Black_and_brown_boar

It has grown in an unusual way (compared to the other tomatoes)... it doesn't seem to want to grow up but rather stay around two feet tall and become denser. I have a wire frame around it to contain it, or otherwise I'd wonder if it wanted to grow as a fat bush that would block my garden pathway.

It's growing fruit, and despite a very few wilted leaves, it's healthy.

Is this cultivar supposed to be dense like this?

Dewayne mater · June 16, 2013

If you train it up, it will go up. If you leave it be, it tends to want to run on the ground like a vine. I would try to get it going up, because it will get some disease if left along the ground. Otherwise, its a highly productive, vigorous, yummy and pretty tomato!

Dewayne mater

Steve Magruder · June 16, 2013

I've been trying to train it up, but it's not on the ground either, as I clip stems that touch the ground. It's just a 2-foot-tall stout bush of a plant.

It just doesn't seem to want to grow upward.

tlintx · June 16, 2013

All three of my seedlings are growing like normal indets so far, just quite vigorous. Only a couple of feet tall but no bushing out.

Vespertino · June 17, 2013

I'm planning on buying some black and brown boar seeds and replace one of my Brandywine PL's with a BBB for the fall. How do they perform as a fall crop plant?

Dewayne mater · June 17, 2013

Steve - that's strange. I don't really notice a refusal to grow up. What I do see is plant with super vigor that doesn't play well with others when it shares an earthtainer! (meaning it has shot vines up through and around its tainer mate and basically taken the thing over) I've had some issues this year with cold weather first and disease that affected many plants. I've got a suprising issue with BBB than I've not had before. It appears to have set too well and lots of golf ball sized fruits. Typically, it sets very well and has fruit that is more like a Roma in size and shape.

Vesper - I may have been the one to originally recommend BBB for fall, but, I think it does really really well in fall here. It is relatively early, it doesn't seem to mind cool nights and doesn't get that mushy, mealy texture that beefsteaks tend to get in fall for me. Good luck.

Dewayne M

Vespertino · June 17, 2013

Sweet! I've just ordered some BBB seeds today and I can't wait to get one started. I have 18 gallon earthtainers which are much smaller than standard earthtainer size, from what you mentioned it might be too small for two plants in there as the BBB is very aggressive. Any idea if BBB might be a contender for a 5 gallon food bucket SIP? I'm also thinking of growing C Tex or sweet carneros pink to replace the 2 brandywines for the fall.

tlintx · June 17, 2013

My Sweet Carneros seedlings are only slightly less robust than the BBB. I think it might be a hallmark of Wild Boar Farms tomatoes.

The six or so seedlings are much more robust that their peers. Not necessarily taller, but usually, and definitely thicker. And they laugh at heat -- I can only imagine how robust they'd be if I were watering and fertilizing more frequently.

Beauty Queen is the smallest, at least compared to BBB & SCP. Will be interesting to see how they fill out.

Salsacharley · June 17, 2013

I have 6 Wild Boar Farms plants in a 10 ft container (1ft x 1ft x 10 ft), and I have 2 others in a raised bed, and yet 2 others in a regular garden. The 6 in the 10 ft container are all doing pretty well, only being planted 5 weeks ago, with the Sweet Carneros being the most prolific, followed by the Indigo Rose, then Pork Chop. Beauty King, Berkeley Tie Dye Heart and Pineapple Pig are behind a bit, but flowering. I only have fruit setting on Sweet Carneros and Indigo Apple at this time. The best growing are in the raised bed (Blonde Boar and Black and Brown Boar), but they haven't set fruit yet. I have a Red Boar in a garden that is doing very well and flowering, and a Pink Berkeley Tie Dye that is behind, being planted only 3 weeks ago, but has one flower. Oh yeah, I have a Michael Pollan in another raised bed that is being vertically trellissed and it is doing well and has many flowers.

The high heat and drought has been hard on blossoms here the past couple of weeks, but now the temperature is below 95 for a few days and I am hoping for more fruit setting and less blossom drop.

Vespertino · June 17, 2013

Thanks for the info on the plants. It is decided then, BBB and Sweet Carneros will be my fall crop! they sound like the heat-hardy plants I need, and since I only have room for a few plants on my patio I'm leaning towards heavy producers to make the most of what space I have.

Salsacharley: I hope you have good luck this week with fruit set!

Salsacharley · June 17, 2013

Thanks Vespertino,

I'm using the toothbrush and hoping for the best.

Charley

Steve Magruder · June 23, 2013

Over the past week or so, my BBB has been finally growing upwards, but just on one side of the plant. But at least it's the main stem and should branch out well in the weeks to come.

Dewayne mater · June 30, 2013

Vespertino - I know you posted somewhere reporting about the BER problems with Brandywine, but I can't find it. I know you said you tried Calmag and that didn't seem to fix it. One other thing, if your tainer gets any direct sunlight, that is a major problem. It will heat up the roots and I believe from earlier discussions in prior years that when that happens, it inhibits calcium uptake, and hence exacerbates BER. So, if they get sunlight, get some shade on them! I use cheap bamboo shades from H.D. Good luck.

Dewayne Mater

livinonfaith · June 30, 2013

I grew one of it's cousins, Blonde Boar, last year and it formed a short wide bush, as well. It didn't grow anything like my other tomatoes. It set a lot of fruit in a short time and died soon after all of the fruit was ripe, I assumed from disease.

It acted a little like a determinate, but is listed as an indeterminate, so I don't know what the deal is. If disease hadn't taken it out, it may have kept putting out tomatoes throughout the season. I don't know. Maybe these Boar varieties can produce variations that are either compact indeterminate or a semi-determinate?

(And, no, mine wouldn't have easily trained upwards, either. It's branches grew firmly out to the side and resisted any upward training. It's hard to describe, but it just didn't grow like your average tomato. Seriously, the only way to describe it is a small, wide, and bushy.)

tlintx · June 30, 2013

It really sounds like you guys got crossed seeds or just wrong ones! How did the fruit look? I haven't grown Blonde Boar but none of my WBF seedlings are bushy or wide or small. Determined, yes, determinate, no!

I have a Black and Brown Boar growing in a 16 oz cup in late evening sun and it's taller than anything I have in ground right now!

June 16, 2013	#1
Steve Magruder Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Louisville, Kentucky (Zone 6B) Posts: 89	Black and Brown Boar - It's Dense I planted this small salad-type tomato this year: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Black_and_brown_boar It has grown in an unusual way (compared to the other tomatoes)... it doesn't seem to want to grow up but rather stay around two feet tall and become denser. I have a wire frame around it to contain it, or otherwise I'd wonder if it wanted to grow as a fat bush that would block my garden pathway. It's growing fruit, and despite a very few wilted leaves, it's healthy. Is this cultivar supposed to be dense like this?

June 17, 2013	#7
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	Sweet! I've just ordered some BBB seeds today and I can't wait to get one started. I have 18 gallon earthtainers which are much smaller than standard earthtainer size, from what you mentioned it might be too small for two plants in there as the BBB is very aggressive. Any idea if BBB might be a contender for a 5 gallon food bucket SIP? I'm also thinking of growing C Tex or sweet carneros pink to replace the 2 brandywines for the fall. Last edited by Vespertino; June 17, 2013 at 07:07 PM.

June 30, 2013	#14
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	I grew one of it's cousins, Blonde Boar, last year and it formed a short wide bush, as well. It didn't grow anything like my other tomatoes. It set a lot of fruit in a short time and died soon after all of the fruit was ripe, I assumed from disease. It acted a little like a determinate, but is listed as an indeterminate, so I don't know what the deal is. If disease hadn't taken it out, it may have kept putting out tomatoes throughout the season. I don't know. Maybe these Boar varieties can produce variations that are either compact indeterminate or a semi-determinate? (And, no, mine wouldn't have easily trained upwards, either. It's branches grew firmly out to the side and resisted any upward training. It's hard to describe, but it just didn't grow like your average tomato. Seriously, the only way to describe it is a small, wide, and bushy.) Last edited by livinonfaith; June 30, 2013 at 12:39 PM.

June 16, 2013	#2
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	If you train it up, it will go up. If you leave it be, it tends to want to run on the ground like a vine. I would try to get it going up, because it will get some disease if left along the ground. Otherwise, its a highly productive, vigorous, yummy and pretty tomato! Dewayne mater

June 16, 2013	#4
tlintx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: SeTx Posts: 881	All three of my seedlings are growing like normal indets so far, just quite vigorous. Only a couple of feet tall but no bushing out.

June 17, 2013	#9
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I have 6 Wild Boar Farms plants in a 10 ft container (1ft x 1ft x 10 ft), and I have 2 others in a raised bed, and yet 2 others in a regular garden. The 6 in the 10 ft container are all doing pretty well, only being planted 5 weeks ago, with the Sweet Carneros being the most prolific, followed by the Indigo Rose, then Pork Chop. Beauty King, Berkeley Tie Dye Heart and Pineapple Pig are behind a bit, but flowering. I only have fruit setting on Sweet Carneros and Indigo Apple at this time. The best growing are in the raised bed (Blonde Boar and Black and Brown Boar), but they haven't set fruit yet. I have a Red Boar in a garden that is doing very well and flowering, and a Pink Berkeley Tie Dye that is behind, being planted only 3 weeks ago, but has one flower. Oh yeah, I have a Michael Pollan in another raised bed that is being vertically trellissed and it is doing well and has many flowers. The high heat and drought has been hard on blossoms here the past couple of weeks, but now the temperature is below 95 for a few days and I am hoping for more fruit setting and less blossom drop.

June 23, 2013	#12
Steve Magruder Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Louisville, Kentucky (Zone 6B) Posts: 89	Over the past week or so, my BBB has been finally growing upwards, but just on one side of the plant. But at least it's the main stem and should branch out well in the weeks to come.