Delicious

[BR]

Is Delicious an Heirloom or Hybrid? Some seed seller sites say heirloom, some say F1 but most don't mention one way or the other.

[tam91]

Good question, I was just wondering that myself today. Pretty good dependable variety, I think.

[frogwash]

Gurney's had it listed as an heirloom last year, but Carolyn since informed me that it is a developed tomato. Then again Gurney's has a lot more problems than just mis-information and I will never order from them again (that was before i discovered Tomatoville ).

As for the tomatoes themselves, the plants did not grow very large, production was low on all plants except one plant that seemed either stunted or crossed, the tomatoes did not grow very large--most were 8 oz or smaller, there was a lot a splitting and the taste was only average to me. I have no idea whether the problems were due to Gurney's or to the variety itself.

[carolyn137]

Delicious was a selection of the variety Beefsteak ( Crimson Cushion) that Burpee released in 1964.

Beefsteak ( Crimson Cushion) would be an heirloom but I don't see a derivative of it released in 1964 to be an heirloom variety.

Mixed opinions on it, some like it a lot, others don't. I've gotten the impression thru the years that some grow it b'c it was the variety that Gordan Graham grew that still holds the world record at 7# 12 oz.

http://bdb.co.za/shackle//articles/gordon_graham.htm

There are those who still maintain that he didn't have the record but I'm not going to go near that one.

[BR]

Totally Tomatoes says it was developed from Beefsteak after 13 years of selection. There does not seem to be any disease resistance noted anywhere as far as I can tell. Does that mean that hybrids don't always have disease resistance?

[b54red]

On the point of disease resistance, I would rate it very low. I planted several at different times and locations and all fell prey to disease and never produced more than a few small tomatoes while the varieties three feet to each side did fine.
I don't think I will be growing it again.

If you are looking for a large tomato you might have luck with Omar's Lebanese and Giant Belgium but neither of them are that productive either. I found Neves Azorean Red to be nearly as big and so much more productive and I liked the taste and texture better. I don't know if you can get a record tomato from NAR but it sure pumps out a lot of very large delicious beefsteaks.

[mjc]

Delicious is now an open pollinated variety. Actually, it pretty much was one by the time it was released.

[tam91]

Interesting - I wouldn't rave about it, but it seemed pretty reliable for me. I'll probably eventually replace it with something else.

[Gardenrube]

I've grown Delicious in the past and didn't think it was anything special....

[Got Worms?]

I've been growing them since '76. I always put in three or four plants. They're large, prolific, they taste really good; if you back off on the water as they ripen. ...least to me, they do. Taste being a personal thing.

I grew them on horizontal wire.

About 18" off the raised bed.

I look at them as an old "lie down on the job and get fat OP tomato". They do better lying down than standing up. At first (back in the '70s) I tried to stake them, but I gave that up 'cause it was like trying to prop a drunk up against a light post while opening a car door.

I planted these where I had grown green beans the previous year and worked in about six to eight inches of compost. Along with the rootball, I put about eight inches of stem in the ground.

I fought EB till frost.

One more pic, then it's off to bed.


'Nite
Charlie

[kath]

Charlie,
Your supports are amazing! Sharing this w/ DH in hopes we can do something similar this year with our raised beds. Thanks for sharing your pics and ideas. And great looking tomatoes, too.
Kath

[ddsack]

I'm with Charlie. I have not grown them for a few years, but I thought they were a decent eating tomato. I got my seeds from some farmer friends, so have no idea what their source was. Not all the tomatoes were huge, but the plants produced well for me with plenty of medium to large fruit. The largest is pictured below.

[Farmette]

I've grown Delicious the last two years and supported them both times, one with the Florida Weave and this past year with CRW panels. Both years we had average yields of large tomatoes with above average taste. I'll grow them again this year.

[Mark0820]

About 6 to 7 years ago, I grew Delicious. For me, it was a large plant with a very high yield of large tomatoes that were above average taste. It was my most productive tomato plant that year.