Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato list
| | |
Posted by daylilyfanatic4 Z6Ny (My Page) on Sun, Nov 15, 09 at 8:28
|
hello everyone, This past year in SE NY was not a good one for tomatoes. Most of my tomatoes did not produce however Sweet 100 was very productive ~ 45 tomatoes and tasty!
I'm now working on my 2010 list. I only have seven spots in my garden for tomatoes. I know I'm growing sweet 100 or super sweet 100 even though the 8ft tomato plant is hard to manage on my 5ft stakes. I would like to grow another cherry tomato (maybe an heirloom type?) but I'm not sure which would be the best. I've heard good things about sungold but I think I'm leaning more toward a red cherry. Which is the best variety?
I'm also planning on growing
Japanese black trifle- produced 1 tomato in 2009
Coustralee- no tomatoes in 2009 but I've heard good things or Neves azorean red- same story
Red Brandywine - never grown it
KBX-never grown or Kellog's breakfast-never grown
Matina- If I can get seeds 2009 seeds never germinated
sweet 100 or super sweet 100 - a must for me
another cherry type- I think a red cherry would be good.
thanks for your help!
DLF
|
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Check out this recent thread on Best Cherry varieties. Since you have room for so few plants why not grow some of the more productive varieties? Consider Rutgers, Arkansas Traveler, NAR, Crnkovic, and many others. Dave |
Here is a link that might be useful: Best cherry bump
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| DLF, for cherries I grow Sungold and Black Cherry, both very good. But let me second the choice of Japanese Black Trifele. Grew this for the first time this year and will definitely grow again. Very prolific (this year; next might be a whole 'nuther story, of course), blemish-free, tasty, long-lasting on the counter, beautiful to look at. GaryStPaul |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
hi,
I might be mistaken on this but to me all yellow/white tomatoes scream bland.
I've never tried sungold and it is more of an orange variety but sungold seeds are so expensive it makes me wonder if its worth the price/space for a potentialy bland tomato. Black cherry might be a good choice however most of my family doesn't like black tomatoes even though I think they're great . gardeners delight is one of the parents of sweet 100 and to similar for me. sunsugar could be good but I'm looking for a salad tomato not one that is just a sweet tomato. In short I'm looking for the flavors found only in heirloom tomatoes (IMHO) in a red cherry. so far I have yet to find a single heirloom red cherry. so do you know any good ones? also what do you think of red brandywine in terms of production. And Should I go With NAR over Coustralee for a reliablegood tasting beefsteak producer? Gary, I certainly agree with you on Japanese Black trifele's taste and
I'm sure in a "normal" year it would produce well. Thank you! DLF |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Sun Gold is the least bland tomato in the known universe. It's the only tomato known to cause a physical dependency for those who abuse them. I use them as a topping on lesser tomatoes like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. A glass of 100% Sun Gold juice can cause euphoria and mild hallucinations (w/10% vodka and dashes of tobasco and celery salt). Sun dried, halved and used as a pizza topping makes a marvelous dessert pizza with an interesting drawback, uncontrollable salivation. Bland? I think not. "In short I'm looking for the flavors found only in heirloom tomatoes (IMHO) in a red cherry. so far I have yet to find a single heirloom red cherry. so do you know any good ones?" I'm not sure what flavors are found only in heirlooms, but if you're seeking big tomato taste in a cherry, I think Black Cherry is a good candidate, just not red, and pretty sweet. Brown Berry is less sweet and might be even better, also not red. I'm a fan of Large Red Cherry, which is open pollinated, but not an heirloom, whatever that means. They are not overly sweet like some, and pack a tasty juicy punch. I tried an old heirloom called Cherry Roma (not a Roma, but a red grape variety) and thought they were delicious and unique; perhaps what you seek. There is a Cherry Brandywine that may fit the bill, but I have never tried it. Gardener's Delight has plenty of fans, but may also be sweeter than you seek. Good luck finding it and grow a Sun Gold anyway. ;) |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Sara's Galapagos is pretty "tomato-y", with a nice touch of sweetness. Carla in Sac |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Is 45 tomatoes from Sweet 100 "very productive" ? |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| There are so many good cherry varieties to choose from. I would recommend trying either "Sweetie" or "Juliet Hybrid". They both have high yields and great taste straight from the garden! |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Hi DLF, I have a few extra SunGold F1 seeds if you want them. I highly recommend you try this cherry. It's far from being bland as somebody else said. Plus, it is mighty pretty when it starts to ripen. I got way over 100 fruit from my SunGold this summer, in only about 6hrs sun and I pruned slightly. 45 fruits from Sweet 100 is kinda low. Did you prune or have this plant in part sun? I grew SS 100's 2 years ago when I just bought plants, had ALOT of cherries and the plant was only in about 3 hrs of sun. I have seed for SS 100's and Sun Cherry for next summer. I may grow both and just see which I like better. Melissa1977 P.S. Garystpaul, since you had such great results, who was your seed source for the JBT? I have been wanting to try this 1, but have read very mixed reviews. |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
Only 45 tomatoes on sweet 100, you should be getting that on each truss-all the way up the plant, the total production should be something like 500 tom's or more per plant.
A better cherry than sweet 100, is sweet million- more productive and less fruit splitting.
Ildi is another good producer, but overall it sounds as if you have a major soil and fertilizer problem, also including starter mix, hoof in to the ground a good general fertilizer together with some seaweed meal early in the season-the fertilizer wants to lean a bit towards a higher potash content in your case and you should get a good crop of both cherry and larger tomatoes. all you have said seems to me to point in the direction of half starved tomato plants-crying out for some decent feed, to grow and produce well. |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
Hi,
Thank you all for your advice sp far it's been very helpful. My tomatoes this year were planted in a spot that gets 6 hours of sun. It's not perfect but it's the best I have. I did not prune them. The tomatoes are planted in a raised bed full of rich compost and peat moss.
I fertlized the bed in March with a 9 month slow realease fertilizer 13-13-13 (I Think) The Dynamite fertilizer also contains all the maijor micronutrients. I also mixed in a cup of bone meal per 3sqft in march.
Every couple of months I sprayed the plants with diluted liquid sea kelp and in september I gave them compost tea. This year In May there was 6" of rain our avg. is 5" and in june we got 8" of rain our avg. is 4.5" as a result The plants did not get planted until the first week of june with the exception of my sweet 100 plant which was planted on may 15th. July was also a very wet month with 5" of rain when our avg. is 4". agust was drier but still above avg. and september was normal. Do you think it is possible that my low yeild was in part due to the bad weather or were may plants underfertilized? I will grow sungold given everyones recomondtions. Should I grow sweet 100 supersweet 100 or sweet 1 million? Thank you for helping me! DLF |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| I think weather had alot to do with it. Your in NY just like me and it was COOOOOOL this year. Although, for me, this year was the best in production, but taste was bland for most.
Melissa1977 |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Sweet baby girl is the same size as sweet 100 and I think tastes better. Amy's sugar gem is a good one also, it is a about 1-1.25" diameter. Nice flavor late in the season. If you have not tried sungold you are missing out on huge sweet flavor, It is usually the biggest plant in my garden!! |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| My favorite cherries so far are Sungold--NOT bland, more like probably the best (tradewindsfruit.com sells the seeds for $2.00 a pack, hardly outrageous) and Gardener's Delight. I'm going to try Tigerly next year, since Sand Hill gave me a free pack of seeds. |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
Yes, Sungold is good, not red though. I expected them to split with
all the rain we had last summer, but no splitting at all. Guess I was
lucky. I have extra seeds if you want. Matt's wild cherry is also a good
red cherry. Only problem is that the tomatoes are very small and the
plant is huge. Takes a lot of time to pick. I have some of those also if
you want. I tried Brown Berry, all I can say is, I will not grow again.
Sweetie tomato was not very sweet. Next year I'm trying Sugar Baby, I
wonder if it's going to be sweet and tasty. |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Sweet million is perhaps the most productive and sturdy tomato plant I know of. I could get a couple of quarts from a single plant 3 times a week. I get tired of picking them. Not enough tomato flavor for me, though....too sweet. Everyone else in my circle is nuts about them and beg that I grow one or two. I have had these plants live well over a year, but prefer not to let them go that long. They will survive just about anything. |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
- Posted by ruet 8, Madrid, Spain (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 22, 09 at 17:50
| Another vote for Black Cherry. It is a monstruous, wonderful plant. My grow list for next year (at the moment):
1. Cherry-Black Cherry -- Last year's champ
2. Early-Matina -- precocious flowering
3. Main-Big Beef F1 -- dependable
4. Late-Cowlick Brandywine -- hyped, apparently the real deal
5. Cherry#2-Sungold -- hyped #2, love it or hate it it's always in the top #x cherry lists
6. Dwarf/Gifts-Sophie's choice -- To gift to friends. Additionally I'll be growing the following in an attempt to keep lacewings and other beneficials around next year:
Sweet Alyssum (Annual)- Repeat blooms from March-Frost, smells good
Borage - Blooms April-September, Edible in moderation -- tastes like cucumber
Cornflower (Centaurea Cyanus)- Blooms May-September, Extra-floral Nectaries, Edible in moderation -- tastes like cloves
Sunflower (Velvet Queen) Blooms July-August, Extra-floral Nectaries
Cosmos (Sensation Mix) -- Blooms April/May to Frost, failsafe "If you can't grow Cosmos, take up golf" |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| I just added pics to photo galleries above - took a few attempts but under garden galleries - great gardens - look for sungold gone really wild - must have had 300-500 off this one plant - grew over the top and covered a boxcar willie plant - ues they are sweet - not bland - a favorite stopping place of neighbors - over black cherry and others - does have a tendency to split when pulling from vine |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
| Blondkopfchen, Crazy, Camp Joy, lollipop, Sugary, Black Cherry and what about grape or mimi-plum, mini-beefsteak or really small salad tomato (Ceylon) ? check out tomatofest |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
Just wanted to suggest sampleseeds.com
as a source for Sungold F1. $1 for 10 or 10+
seeds. All other seeds are 20 or so in a $1 pack.
She also carries herbs, other vegetables, flowers.
Fast service, great heirloom tomato selection
(has Chapman, Gardeners Delight, many others
including Red Penna which is hard to find.)
Tatiana'stomatobase.com also has Sunsugar F1
for sale; this site now has an electronic order
form using paypal. This is a great heirloom tomato source
as well (Tania also has other vegetables available).
These 2 F1 cherries are the only hybrids on these 2 sites.
Packs are $2.
Darlene |
RE: what are the best cherry varieties and help with 2010 tomato
| | |
DLF
yes to Darlene
Also wintersown has free seeds for self addressed stamped envelope - up to 4 choices and 6 or so seeds - you can get more if you make a donation but all op or heirloom so you won't find sungold but some others you may want to try
Denis |
|
|
|
|
