Maybe my most productive Hybrid plants ever..

gssgarden · July 23, 2009

Just a quick shout out to my best plants, production wise this year.

In the picture from left to right is Big Bite, Big Beef, and Bolseno. Bolseno, btw, has incredible flavor to it. A real surprise. ALOT of toms still on the plant. These were picked today. All of them.

Between these three and my one Goliath plant, I'll be swimming in sauce for months!!

Bolseno is smaller but packs punch, Goliath, Big Beef, and Big Bite are constantly wieghing in at 8 - 16oz. Most on the heavy side. Picking them EVERY day. I can't see my garden being with out them next year.

Greg

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**mdvpc** · July 23, 2009

Greg-Not familiar with Bolseno-where did you get the seed?

gssgarden · July 23, 2009

I got them from Johnnys Select Seeds. I was looking for a TSWV resistant tomato for this year. Looked around the web for a bit and came across this one. I think I went to a few seed sources and searched TSWV. found it there and I'm very pleased with it. Great flavor. I see no reason for it NOT to be back.
I was tired of losing plants to disease so I dropped four OP's for Hybrids this year.

hope this helps.

Greg

travis · July 23, 2009

Bolseno is awesome. Got my seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds in 2008.

Plants will pull down a stake and play a bit of havoc even with a wire cage. Forget about trying to Florida weave a row of Bolseno. Ain't happening.

The vines will load completely up with baseball size red canners. They're okay for salads too if you don't mind a tart tomato with some serious punch. You might want to add a bit of sugar to your vinaigrette just to tone them down a notch.

I thought they were a bit too juicy for sandwiches, where I prefer a dryer beefsteak type for slicers. Bolseno make fantastic marinara sauce and a really kicking fresh salsa.

cleo88 · July 23, 2009

Of my ~20 plants that are not in containers, exactly one of them is a hybrid - Big Beef. Nothing is ripe yet, but I can tell that given the same conditions, Big Beef is tons more productive than almost all the others. We've had some challenging fruit-setting conditions, but Big Beef seems to be able to self-pollinate in cold and/or wet weather way better than the OPs. The only one that comes close in terms of setting fruit is Bloody Butcher, but that may be some weird hybrid too, since it is RL and true Bloody Butcher is PL.

Most of my plants have fruit protected with bags against the chipmunks, because I only have one or two fruit on the whole plant. I'm not worried about Big Beef - I have more of them than I have chipmunks.

December 13, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by travis

Bolseno is awesome. Got my seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds in 2008.

Plants will pull down a stake and play a bit of havoc even with a wire cage. Forget about trying to Florida weave a row of Bolseno. Ain't happening.

The vines will load completely up with baseball size red canners. They're okay for salads too if you don't mind a tart tomato with some serious punch. You might want to add a bit of sugar to your vinaigrette just to tone them down a notch.

I thought they were a bit too juicy for sandwiches, where I prefer a dryer beefsteak type for slicers. Bolseno make fantastic marinara sauce and a really kicking fresh salsa.

I ordered some micro green salad mixes from Johnny's today and since I was already logged in to the site, I also ordered some Bolseno seed. I think I got 250 tomato seed for $3.95. Great price (on sale) for a hybrid tomato seed. I ordered enough seed to share if it is as good as people claim on this thread. I am curious if the Bolseno tomato is a mid season or late season producer in your gardens.

As a side note, Johnny's Selected Seed sent me the best seed catolog I've ever received this fall. I usually trash catalogs when they are only a long list of varieties with prices beside each. The Johnny's catalog has great photos of most vegetables with many comparison photos. I'll keep it as a reference manual for various vegetables. I thought it was interesting they didn't list the Bolseno tomato in the catalog, but it was on their website.

Ted

jgaleota · December 13, 2011

While surfing Johnny's site I noticed an indeterminate called "Pink Beauty F1". The description sounds really good. Does anyone have experience with it?

Judi

sirtanon · December 4, 2011

Glad to hear about Bolseno being so good. I just got a pack of them from Johnny's on sale.. $1.00 for a pack of 25 seed!

May have to order more if they're that good

roper2008 · December 4, 2011

I was planning on putting in my order to Johnny's tommorrow. I'll
put some bolseno in my cart.

Mudman · December 4, 2011

Big Beef is one hybrid that has never disappointed me.

kygreg · December 4, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudman

Big Beef is one hybrid that has never disappointed me.

Ditto, has very good flavor, good size, productive, and healthy plants.

Grew the hybrid version and the OP version side by side one year; preferred the hybrid.

sirtanon · December 4, 2011

I've never grown the OP big beef - for that matter, I've never even heard of it until now. Assuming that the disease resistance isn't there, would you say that the OP is pretty close to the F1 in terms of flavor size and productivity?

b54red · December 5, 2011

I had good luck with one of my Bella Rosa plants last year. It has very good flavor and large tomatoes near one pound. The biggest drawback was the fact that it is determinate so you get a big crop over a two week period then almost nothing. It is the only TSWV resistant variety I have tried but it is not nearly as resistant to fusarium as Big Beef.

Big Beef is about as close to a full proof producer as I have been able to find. I keep trying an occasional new hybrid to see if anything else can measure up but so far none have. I'm going to try Goliath this year and now Belseno is on my radar to try.

Sun City Linda · December 13, 2011

I see I had already placed Balseno on my order - I am such a sucker for ON SALE Tomato Seed! I have been looking for juicy, tart reds for my sister! Linda

December 13, 2011

Johnny's sale price for the Belseno seed is so low compared to the normal price, I'm wondering if they want to get rid of their inventory in order to discontinue the variety. Judging by the bulk quantities they offer on sale, it makes me think they had a commercial buyer like a farm or greenhouse that didn't place an order and left Johnny's holding a lot of seed to clear out. Since they also didn't list the variety in their new catalog, I would guess they don't plan on having the Belseno seed in the future. I bought enough that I should be okay for a few years if I like the variety.

Ted

July 23, 2009	#1
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	Maybe my most productive Hybrid plants ever.. Just a quick shout out to my best plants, production wise this year. In the picture from left to right is Big Bite, Big Beef, and Bolseno. Bolseno, btw, has incredible flavor to it. A real surprise. ALOT of toms still on the plant. These were picked today. All of them. Between these three and my one Goliath plant, I'll be swimming in sauce for months!! Bolseno is smaller but packs punch, Goliath, Big Beef, and Big Bite are constantly wieghing in at 8 - 16oz. Most on the heavy side. Picking them EVERY day. I can't see my garden being with out them next year. Greg 001.jpg Last edited by gssgarden; July 24, 2009 at 12:23 AM.

July 23, 2009	#2
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Greg-Not familiar with Bolseno-where did you get the seed? __________________ Michael

December 4, 2011	#8
sirtanon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ (zone 9b) Posts: 796	Glad to hear about Bolseno being so good. I just got a pack of them from Johnny's on sale.. $1.00 for a pack of 25 seed! May have to order more if they're that good __________________ I could sail by on the winds of silence, and maybe they won't notice... but this time I think it would be better if I swim..

December 4, 2011	#10
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Big Beef is one hybrid that has never disappointed me. __________________ Mike

December 4, 2011	#12
sirtanon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ (zone 9b) Posts: 796	I've never grown the OP big beef - for that matter, I've never even heard of it until now. Assuming that the disease resistance isn't there, would you say that the OP is pretty close to the F1 in terms of flavor size and productivity? __________________ I could sail by on the winds of silence, and maybe they won't notice... but this time I think it would be better if I swim..

July 23, 2009	#4
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Bolseno is awesome. Got my seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds in 2008. Plants will pull down a stake and play a bit of havoc even with a wire cage. Forget about trying to Florida weave a row of Bolseno. Ain't happening. The vines will load completely up with baseball size red canners. They're okay for salads too if you don't mind a tart tomato with some serious punch. You might want to add a bit of sugar to your vinaigrette just to tone them down a notch. I thought they were a bit too juicy for sandwiches, where I prefer a dryer beefsteak type for slicers. Bolseno make fantastic marinara sauce and a really kicking fresh salsa.

July 23, 2009	#5
cleo88 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Sharon, MA Zone 6 Posts: 225	Of my ~20 plants that are not in containers, exactly one of them is a hybrid - Big Beef. Nothing is ripe yet, but I can tell that given the same conditions, Big Beef is tons more productive than almost all the others. We've had some challenging fruit-setting conditions, but Big Beef seems to be able to self-pollinate in cold and/or wet weather way better than the OPs. The only one that comes close in terms of setting fruit is Bloody Butcher, but that may be some weird hybrid too, since it is RL and true Bloody Butcher is PL. Most of my plants have fruit protected with bags against the chipmunks, because I only have one or two fruit on the whole plant. I'm not worried about Big Beef - I have more of them than I have chipmunks.

December 13, 2011	#7
jgaleota Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 133	While surfing Johnny's site I noticed an indeterminate called "Pink Beauty F1". The description sounds really good. Does anyone have experience with it? Judi

December 4, 2011	#9
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	I was planning on putting in my order to Johnny's tommorrow. I'll put some bolseno in my cart.

December 5, 2011	#13
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I had good luck with one of my Bella Rosa plants last year. It has very good flavor and large tomatoes near one pound. The biggest drawback was the fact that it is determinate so you get a big crop over a two week period then almost nothing. It is the only TSWV resistant variety I have tried but it is not nearly as resistant to fusarium as Big Beef. Big Beef is about as close to a full proof producer as I have been able to find. I keep trying an occasional new hybrid to see if anything else can measure up but so far none have. I'm going to try Goliath this year and now Belseno is on my radar to try.

December 13, 2011	#14
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	I see I had already placed Balseno on my order - I am such a sucker for ON SALE Tomato Seed! I have been looking for juicy, tart reds for my sister! Linda

December 13, 2011	#15
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	Johnny's sale price for the Belseno seed is so low compared to the normal price, I'm wondering if they want to get rid of their inventory in order to discontinue the variety. Judging by the bulk quantities they offer on sale, it makes me think they had a commercial buyer like a farm or greenhouse that didn't place an order and left Johnny's holding a lot of seed to clear out. Since they also didn't list the variety in their new catalog, I would guess they don't plan on having the Belseno seed in the future. I bought enough that I should be okay for a few years if I like the variety. Ted