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paulns

Is there life after Black Krim?

paulns
16 years ago

Besides growing more Black Krim, I mean. Last year I tried heirloom tomatoes for the first time. Silver Fir Tree was early, prolific, pretty, but the flavour was nothing special. Currant tomatoes were very productive but the small size of the berries was a bit of a nuisance and the taste a little too sour. Brandywine was too mild for my taste. But the Black Krim - every time I tasted one, it literally stopped me in my tracks. Thick crisp skin, juicy meaty texture, rich complex flavour. Do you grow a tomato that does this to you? Kind of transports you into tomato heaven?

Comments (18)

  • danincv
    16 years ago

    Yep. Take a 1-1/4 lb Kellog's Breakfast, cut a 1" slab out of the middle, put it on a plate, add a little salt and then eat it like a steak. I'm drooling on my keyboard. Great texture and sublime flavor.

  • ardent_learner
    16 years ago

    I love reading these posts. This is my first year growing from seed, and up until this point all I've grown has come from local nurseries that don't carry the wonderful heirloom varieties. I'm growing both the Kellogg's Breakfast and the Black Krim this year and I can't wait to try them. Some of the other's I'm growing came directly from recommendations made by many on this board, and I salivate just thinking about the treats I'll (hopefully) have in store for me this summer. Aunt Gertie's Gold,Aunt Ruby's German Green, Aker's West Virginia, Opalka, Kosovo, Mortgage Lifter, Neve's Azorean Red, Marianna's Peace, Brandywine (Sudduth strain), Black Cherry,Principe Borghese, and Sungold. Hopefully next year I'll be able to constructively add to your thread by telling you which one I can't live without! :)

    Stacie

  • gardenscout
    16 years ago

    Aunt Ruby's German Green.

    Oh, when that rosy star starts so show on the blossom end and the green has turned to the first shade of gold, I know that I am approaching tomato bliss. Nothing tastes like that tomato, and I will never be without it.

    Glad to hear about the Black Krim -- I am growing it for the first time this year.

  • digdirt2
    16 years ago

    Oh yah! Kellogg's Breakfast and Aunt Gertie's Gold for starters. ;) We take a pass on the greens but many of the pinks are right up there too.

    Dave

  • golodkin
    16 years ago

    I think they were the best tomatoes I've ever eaten, though I can't find a local source for seedlings this year, or even the seed. 8-(

  • duajones
    16 years ago

    Cherokee Purple does it for me. JD's Special C-Tex is also very good, maybe as good. Growing them both this spring for comparison.

  • jbann23
    16 years ago

    Ardent learner- Sounds like you've got plenty of room for all those varieties. Like yourself I'm growing Neves Azorean Red and Black Cherry from seed, both for the first time. That's all I have room for and am really hoping we have a good summer. Best of luck with your tomatoes.

  • paulns
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I'm taking notes for the future - get seeds for Kellog's, Aunt Gertie's or Ruby's, Cherokee purple and black cherry - all the black tomatoes appeal to me. For this summer I'll be trying favourites from last year plus a few seeds sent by a friend: garden Peach, red and yellow pear, purple plum, and Matt (?) wild cherry. These are the names handwritten on the packets, anyway.

  • danincv
    16 years ago

    Geez, would you guys get a throwaway email address at Yahoo or some other place and use it for Gardenweb? I wanted to reply privately to 2 people in this thread and can't because you are too private or misinformed about the way GW shares information. My GW nic is linked to a Yahoo mail address and I don't get any spam on it. Or if I do Yahoo has great spam filters, so who cares? And it's not my real email address so who cares? It would really be nice to communicate privately with people who post here. Sorry about the rant, y'all.

  • thear
    16 years ago

    Sioux is the variety that "does it" for me. It is not mentioned much here at GW, but it does have a few fans. I grew it the first year I tried heirlooms, along with many of the "highly mentioned" varieties (Cherokee Purple, All the Brandywines, Kellogs, Anna Russian, Mariannas Peace, just to name a few....) and its flavor was the best of ALL.

    I think it loses a little street cred because its not a big plant with big fruits like the more popular beefsteak varieties....

    Anyhow, I can't wait for late July, when I will be sinking my teeth into a little Sioux's BIG flavor...

    Troy

  • douglas14
    16 years ago

    Troy,
    Thanks for sharing. I'm glad I decided to order Sioux at the spur of the moment. It does get some very good reviews......but it isn't real popular yet, it seems. I grew it several years ago, and recall eating one...it was quite good indeed(the rest may have ended up in the canner). I hope to eat many fresh Sioux this year, and see how they rate.

  • ddsack
    16 years ago

    I never intend to be without Earl's Faux and Lucky Cross. Pruden's Purple has been with me for at least 15 years.

  • bigeworld
    16 years ago

    ok for me prudens purple and kellogs breakfast, sungold
    were out standing. after growing a lot of hybrids like better boy witch on some years were very goods. limited experience with brandywine very very tastey but low production evas purple ball not much luck, omars lebonese, tastey but few toms cherokee purple a flop for me this was, though, one years effort before i moved from r.i.

  • doof
    16 years ago

    Eva's Purple Ball disappointed me, too. Tough, a little bit sweet, mild to bland taste. I would never grow it again, although I know, from the forums, that some people rave about it.

  • maupin
    16 years ago

    Amigo--

    The tastiest Black tomato I have ever grown is Black from Tula. Cherokee Purple burns up in the summer heat, but has a terrific taste for its brief season. Try Lucky Cross for a completely different taste that you will love and is my tomato favorite. Your first heirloom was Black Krim, and you will always hold a special place in your heart for that tomato. I can remember asking the same question about Mortgage Lifter.

  • diablo1713
    16 years ago

    I really loved the few Cuostralee that my plant produced. Extremely tasty. (i had reduced sun exposure where i was allowed to plant last year.) The other tomato that really blew me away last season was a bred variety by a local tomato company, Magalia Rosa - a small narrow cherry sized variety. http://baianicchia.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-in-2007-maglia-rosa_20.html

    The tomatoes were not large as stated on their page, rather they were mainly 1 inch to 2 inches long but narrow, and their light pink hue on the outside disguised the deep darker sweet insides. An awesome variety, my most anticipated variety this year. As the plant was prolific producing out of a 5 gallon container.

    This is a local heirloom/cross breed tomato operation in the SF Bay Area that I just really enjoy buying plants from.

  • fusion_power
    16 years ago

    in the darkness
    before the dawn
    as the crickets chirp
    and the night birds sing
    I wake to walk in the greenhouse
    among the thousands of tomato seedlings
    and the aroma of the leaves is a poignant reminder
    that spring is here and it is time to plant my tomatoes

    I will grow Kellogg's Breakfast and J.D.'s Special C-Tex and Green Giant and Yoder's German Yellow and Daniels and Druzba and Cuostralee and Aunt Gertie's Gold and Cherokee Purple. I will slice them on a plate together to make a tomato rainbow and dash a bit of salt and pepper on them before dining on their lusciousness.

    yes, I'd say I have found life after Black Krim.

    DarJones

  • golodkin
    16 years ago

    Did find a local source for seedlings -- at $2.99 each:

    Green Acres, formerly Matsuda's.

    Not only did they have Black Krim, but a very large variety of other heirlooms, some cheaper.

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