You shouldnÂt have any trouble at all finding Sungold seed locally, Connie! The first time I grew it I used seed I had gotten free at PaulinoÂs when they put all the left over seeds out in the lunch room for people to take. (It was over ten years old when I planted it the first year! Tomato seed seems to be viable forever!) The brand I wound up with was T & M, but IÂm sure other companies sell it in retail stores too. IÂd even say itÂs conceivable youÂd find it at a big box store, but to save an extra trip, I recommend looking for it at a "real" garden center.

Let us know how you like them. IÂm one of the lovers of Sungold!

Skybird

Thanks Skybird. I looked at Lowes recently and their seed selection was minimal. I will head to Tagawa this weekend. If they don't have them, Nick's isn't too far either.

I look forward to seeing if their reputation is deserved. I'll let you know.

Connie

Conace,
I know here in Montana finding them local was a pain as well but I did find them at the one of the local nurseries.They are a smaller package as well supposedly only 8 plants .I searched them out because they are my adult sons absolute favorite cherry tomato.LOL, of course it is not like I needed another tomato to grow this year with the other dozen types.But he begged so pretty.
Good luck in your search
Mary

It is a less popular variety and may not be even as easy to find but don't be skeered to try, SunSugar.

At one time I thought these 2 were just variations of the same breeding, Sungold & SunSugar. That may be true but they are from 2 different Japanese seed companies.

My careful, yet stringent, double-blind research studies designed for the highest standard of scientific rigor have shown that control, experimental groups, and researcher were able to overcome prejudice and unintentional bias when sampling the 2 varieties - with favorable results for both.

Steve's digits ;o)

Steve,
I have tried Sun Sugar as well as Sweet Gold in the past,unfortunately my tomato kid rated it below Sun gold.Even with the plants being unmarked he has been able to tell me exactly which is Sun gold since he was a little guy.I wonder though if it is because he has been eating them as a standard for close to 20 years..I was trying to remember what year he freaked because the catalog I used to ordered from replaced them with what was supposed to be a better tomato, he was pretty young.That year I bought what they had replaced them with and he was not a happy camper about it, LOl,,Kids and their favorites..
Mary

Mary, I can understand. And, I didn't mean to make it sound like Sungold and SunSugar are identical.

Howsomeever . . . they were both well received. Sungold had a little tougher skin but had the edge on flavor.

The only thing I can think to do is to continue the 'o9 experiments, this year. It would be foolish of me not to . . .

digitS'

LOL,, I have to agree Steve it is always foolish not to continue with the studies,, especially when they taste so good..I am going to "miss label" a couple of the Sun golds this year just to test the kid again.I have sun sugar to go with them.The sweet gold are a bit to big to pass off on him.
In my eyes they all have their place and taste good..Other the the yellow pear that I am not a fan of,but my 2 yr old niece loves.
So now has anyone had the Black pearls that supposedly taste kind of like concord grapes when they are chilled..I have the black cherry that they were bred off of..Just wondered about the taste factor.They will be a new color to toss into the mix of cherry tomatoes to confuse the kid with.
Mary

Mary,
I think I have some Sungold Select ll seeds from Baker Creek I could send you a few of too try. The only thing is they say they aren't 100% stable and every now and then you will get a plant that produces good fruit. I have heard a lot of good about it.

Connie if you can't find anything locally send me an email. I will check. I may have 5-10 seeds I could spare. Know I did have and can't remember what all I sent out in the many requests I've filled recently. Also if you would like to try anything else let me know. I may have it. I'm getting ready to start pulling varieties I won't be growing again for various reasons and offering them to those that can use them. Jay

Mary I meant to say "they say every now and then you will get a plant that produces red fruit. Jay

ThatÂs interesting about Sungold sometimes turning out red, Jay! I never heard that before, and the year before last one of my "Sungold" WAS red! This was some of the old T & M seed I was still using, and I figured a couple of the wrong seeds had gotten mixed in when it was packaged, so last year I ordered a new pack from PinetreeÂbut never got around to planting any! I wonder if the same thing might happen, then, with the new Pinetree seed! ItÂll be interesting!

But if thatÂs the case, Connie, I still have plenty of the old T & M seed, which I didnÂt offer to you earlier because I thought they were mixed up with a red variety! So if you donÂt find them, or havenÂt found them yet, and would like some of the olde (1996!) seed, IÂd be glad to stick some in an envelope and send them to you. Just no promises if theyÂll be yellowÂor red!

IÂve never tried SunSugar! How is it when it comes to cracking? ThatÂs the only thing I donÂt like about Sungold! It just cracks too easily, especially right when you pick them. If theyÂre less inclined to crack, I MIGHT be tempted to try SunSugar, but I think itÂll be hard to beat SungoldÂs flavor. For a cherry that doesnÂt crack, you canÂt beat Sweet Baby Girl as far as IÂm concerned. ItÂs a red, but the flavorÂs great and it doesnÂt crack even when you pick them. That oneÂalong with SungoldÂis permanent on my list now!

Skybird

Skybird said: IÂve never tried SunSugar! How is it when it comes to cracking? ThatÂs the only thing I donÂt like about Sungold! It just cracks too easily, especially right when you pick them.

I've grown SunSugar for at least 5 or 6 years and never had a problem with it cracking. I "know" cracking having been so unsuccessful with Yellow Pear. However, Sungold didn't crack much at all the 1 year it was in my garden in 'o9.

. . . ?

Steve

Skybird,
I wasn't clear enough. Sungold Select 11 is a selection of Sungold by Reinhard Kraft as he was trying to stabilize it. It is evidently not 100% stable yet. But being sold and distributed as an open pollinated variety. I've heard some good reports about it. Then others say not near as good as Sungold. Again differences in taste preference and also may vary some due to not being stable. I have several other new to me cherries I'm trying this year also. One I was sent that is said to rival Sungold and it is a red. Another that is supposed to be real good is a green when ripe cherry. Will have updates at the end of the season and will save seeds of anything I like. So if any are worth while I'll have seeds to share next fall and winter. Personally I prefer Black Cherry over Sungold. For one it doesn't split like Sungold does. Another I'm growing this year is a new one called Sweet Treats. I grew a cross of Sweet Quartz and Black Cherry last summer that was very good I thought. Jay

I will paste a list of the cherries and smaller types I'm for sure growing in 2010. I'm sure I may add another or two to this list. Jay
#Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherry
#Sweet Treats
Juane Flammee'
#Amish Mayberry
Sungold
#Sallisaw Cafe'
Sweet Quartz x Black Cherry.
#Guernsey Pink Blush - Pink cherry
#Purple Haze F3

Jay,
Thanks for the info.I did find the standard sun gold from botanical interests at a local nursery. I have grown the Sun gold 11 before.My tomato connoisseur did not think quite as good,, but that year we were not as warm as usual. ,, That is the only sun gold we had to grow red and not all of them just the ones the kids missed first time through.
The Bakers field owner lived down in my home town a long time ago,,think he mentions it under the Minnesota melons.He was pretty young back then.
I have never had the problem with cracking with any of my orange cherry tomatoes, the yellow pears yes and the sweet 100s that got over ripe.
Thanks for the black cherry info as well. I was wondering I do black krim every year they do not produce the most but the flavor is a nice change.
We have going in
Supersweet 100
Sungold
Sun sugar
Amana orange
Hillbilly
Tigrella
Oregon spring
Chocolate cherry
warrens yellow (Patio type cherry straw bale experiment)
Juliet hybrid grape
container choice red patio (straw bale experiment)
Early girl
Fourth of July
Black Krim
Stupice
Garden peach
Persimmon
I have no idea why I end up with so many of these things, kind of like the peppers,,oh heck okay it is the addiction problem I have,,
Mary

Jay, Today I received the sungold seeds that you so generously sent. Thanks so much. I'll continue to keep my eyes open for them locally for future years.

Thank you for also sending the bonus seeds. I'll enjoy the new (to me) varieties too. I'm just itching to get those seedlings started..... can hardly wait. Discovering new varieties is so much fun. I certainly have a few old favorites, but plenty of room for lots of new ones. I may end up with an addiction problem like you and Mary have! Lol

Happy 'Mater Growin'

Connie