Congratulations! That is a nice big Neves.
1 Like
I am just reading these entries and have to ask if those seeds are going to be available anytime soon? That sounds like a fantastic tomato and 80 pounds per plant is amazing.
I don’t think he carried it any further. Most tomato breeding today is focused in the areas of disease and pest resistance, specific traits such as “cluster” tomatoes, and market specifics such as size and shape.
2 Likes
Thanks
I guess I’m just the easy person, I just leave them on my counter and they will ripe. I don’t have space in my fridge either.
1 Like
Olpea! Hi! Are the skins of your tomatoes so tough, they peel off easily? I notice the summer heat makes a huge difference in the skins. If plunged in boiling water, the skins shrivel right up.
I like my tomatoes room temp… i dont store them in the fridge. I normally let them ripen as much as possible on the vine and bring them in to finish on the counter.
Big Beef do well at getting 90-100% ripe on the vine. They can hang longer than some other varieties. They hardly ever split or crack with rains when near ripe and still on the vine.
Cherokee Purple and Pink Brandywine… are much more prone to split and crack. If they get 50% ripe on the vine… and rain is in the forecast… better pick them and letthem finish ripening on the counter.
I had so many big whopper cherokee purples… that split and then rotted… before even looking 50% ripe. May not grow them again.
We have had several good rains in July…
4 Likes
Having grown brandywine pretty much my whole life, I was shocked at how productive Cherokee purple and carbon were.
Then I realized that they weren’t especially productive–brandywine just struggles. Good tomato, but not good enough to be worth losing half the crop or more to blossom end rot, leaf blight, splitting, etc. I don’t think I will plant then again (so long, childhood nostalgia).
I really like pink brandwine… flavor wise they are a knotch above big beef. But production wise… i am lucky to get 10 good PB off one plant… where with big beef easily 40 50 nice big tomatoes… that taste very good… just not hardly up there with PB.
Yeah, it’s a real pity, what with our climate and all.
I hear you with the splitting too, even with Cherokee purple (though it’s not been as bad for it as brandywine for me). I was impressed by carbon, very few fruit defects and pretty solid flavor.
I have trialed some of the other blacks Fusion mentioned, Black from Tula and Cherny Krim. They… didn’t do well at all. Who’d have though Russian tomatoes would struggle in NC.
Hi Mrs.G!
I guess I haven’t noticed the difference of the skins peeling from temps. I have noticed they peel easier when they are more ripe. I will plan on paying more attention to the skins during different times of the season. I have one customer who asks for the tomatoes she can peel with her fingernail. So there is definitely a demand for easy peeling tomatoes.
1 Like
I find it a bit funny when folks mention basements.
I didn’t know what a basement was until I went to college. I still have never been in one inside the US. Our water table precludes digging a basement, or at least makes it expensive and impractical. There is a reason why NEW Orleans has mausoleums.
So for storing food (and wine for that matter) the only two choices for most are a refrigerator or room temperature. Mind you my room temperature in summer is mid to upper 70’s.
I guess a wine cooler is an option.
So all those articles mentioning ‘store in a cool, dry place’…
I don’t grow tomatoes often as they seem to be the most pest-attracting fruit to grow. My tomatoes didn’t do well this year. Many developed fasciation. Some didn’t fruit at all. May have been a nutrient issue.
Cherokee Purple is not productive here, I bought one plant and it has 2 fruit at most. While at the same time I planted a tomato plant from my compost and it has loads of fruit. Next time I just wait for tomato seedlings from my compost, much simpler.
Interesting, maybe it needs the humidity we get here in NC where it’s from
Also, new profile pic? Nice choice, classy:)
1 Like
Today I checked and it’s more tomatoes, I swear I have that power, whenever I mention anything it pops up.
2 Likes
What is your opinion of new big dwarf and where do you get “Heidi” seeds?
Thanks!
Sandhill Preservation should have Heidi. New Big Dwarf is a pretty good basic red medium sized tomato. As with most dwarf varieties, it has problems with septoria.
For people who want a Brandywine class tomato that is very productive, give Daniels a try.
Was perusing the Sandhill catalog just recently. Heidi is unavailable there this year, but they do have Opalka in the offerings. Grew them both last year; Heidi was much more productive than Opalka, but Opalka much ‘meatier’ than Heidi. Both had good flavor.
I have a few thousand Heidi seed. If anyone needs some, message with an address. Glenn had a severe drought last year and many tomatoes and peppers did not produce.