Dave

From what I understand DonaF1 seeds are no longer available in the US. The "Dona" seeds currently available are actually open pollinated and per others here on GW are inferior to the original/real Dona F1.
We'll see..........

Kitchen Garden Seeds -- F1 -- out of stock

Reimer -- Dona F1 -- out of stock (but when they had it, they apparently charged $3.50 for 10 seeds)

Renee's -- "no longer produced"

TomatoFest -- they'll sell you a generous amount of seeds of something named Dona, but there's nothing whatsoever to say whether it's OP or F1. Good grief.

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I found this with something called "Google custom search beta" which lets me search for seeds from online vendors. I copied it from a link on a news forum years ago; it still works for me, but I have no idea if this is the same sort of free custom search Google offers to people with web sites.

I keep it on my Firefox bookmark toolbar, so I don't have to copy and paste the whole address. Yes, it's huge. But it works.

Here it is, if anyone wants it. You'll have to clear the Search field and enter the name of the seeds you're looking for. Any site that has their seed list in Adobe format probably won't show up.

Here's a clickable link:

Google custom seed search

And here's the non-clickable address:

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&client=google-coop-np&cof=FORID:13%3BAH:left%3BCX:Vegetable%2520varieties%2520for%2520gardeners%3BL:http://www.google.com/coop/intl/en/images/custom_search_sm.gif%3BLH:65%3BLP:1%3BVLC:%23551a8b%3BGFNT:%23666666%3BDIV:%23cccccc%3B&cx=003472780514561857771:_eyckfdgfmi&adkw=AELymgXKKcoj8ExjLwA_2QQUrTOC56hT5csg6nztOXomwH8QqjOuDih_7udDMbvIgLtF5VsgbKHSInqxR4nHxAwQ_0whzhEXXL9uATYXLPKd8h_o-a-yOzkd46y21DaRePcq3852tVK6X7nnQOMrOZPm4Cm5kLSxSQ&boostcse=0&q=Royal+Chico+Tomatoes&start=10&sa=N

Dave

Raybo

Dave

The Vilmorin F1 Donas were more consistent in size than the OP version from TomatoFest (which is what one would expect from an F1 versus an OP) but other than that, not so much difference, as I recall.

Raybo

BTW, there are NO US based sellers of Dona F1 hybrid
seeds, though if you know something I don't I will gladly be
corrected on this. What there are, are lots of people selling
seeds saved from time to time. These are NOT Dona F1
and the purveyors should know better. They are also not
Dona at all, though as they may have some of the genetic
heritage of the original hybrid, they may be similar.

I have myself saved seeds from a Dona F1 plant and planted
them the following year. This was the year after Vilmorin
discontinued them and I had none left. The result was a
pretty good tomato but not good enough and not Dona as
they did not have the subtleness and complexity of flavor
that the original Dona F1 does have. I predict that you will
be happy you got the right stuff!

@digdirt - If your "old" seeds don't do well for you, let me
know and I can send you a couple of seeds.

@mewste - Do you mind saying how and where you got
yours?

One last note - Dona F1, in my experience, is quite similar
to Ramapo F1. I'm sure the genetic line is not the same but
the result is similar. Dona, however, has the added
complexity of flavor and, though I like Ramapo as well,
in my opinion Dona is superior.

If you look around the websites of French seed sellers you
find that most of them are not prepared to accept a US order.
I found out though, just by going through the online process,
that LMJ had not ruled it out, so I went ahead.

Interestingly, there is a Vilmorin retail store in Paris and it is
right close to some major tourist sights. I picked up a few
there in 2011.

Also, here is another one you might like - Moreton F1. Now
this is a fairly intense one. At least the one fruit I had
was like that. I intend to grow them this year. Carolyn137
has recommended Moreton on this forum. It is a product
of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at
Rutgers University in their program to revive the renowned
"Jersey Tomato" of mid-20th-century fame. That was before
everything was grown in Florida and Mexico. Some of their
results are extraordinary.

Reach them at:

http://www.njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/jerseytomato.html

I hope this info is of use to you. See as well a thread I
expect to add as soon as I can finish writing it on
Vilmorin.

Honestly I didn't think theys competed with some of the earliest hybrids bred by Harris Seeds or Ramapo F1 either,

Nice plants, uniform red fruits, decent yields and that's about it for me.

I could grow some OP varieties that had the same triats such as Break O Day,and get the same plus better taste IMO.

Right now I can't remembe rwhich disease tolerence genes were bred in, but that didn't matter to me since where I live the foliage diseases are the mainconcern,not systemic soilborne diseases.

Carolyn