The Perfect Tomato!

Fred Hempel · July 17, 2015

Except for the fact that it is too small to be a "big" tomato, and too big to be a cherry/grape tomato.

Labradors2 · July 17, 2015

Does it have thick skin? Is it crunchy?

Linda

Fred Hempel · July 17, 2015

I don't know. I haven't grown it - yet.

But I will, because Maglia Rosa is one of the parents so it is a "grand-child" of sorts.

BigVanVader · July 17, 2015

Quote:

the Maglia Rosa, a grape tomato that tastes extraordinary but, like so many heirlooms, is very hard to grow

I beg to differ...though I haven't grown Maglia yet, I have grown several of your tomatoes Fred and they are crazy productive and have no problems whatsoever with disease, and I'm in South Carolina. I enjoyed the story but TBH I already found the perfect tomato, many actually. They are the ones I can grow in my backyard

Fred Hempel · July 17, 2015

Thanks for the report -- You are not the first Carolina gardener or grower our tomatoes have grown well for.

Maglia Rosa is a pretty good producer, although I assume that there are elite "producers" grown by the "industry" that it can not compete with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

I beg to differ...though I haven't grown Maglia yet, I have grown several of your tomatoes Fred and they are crazy productive and have no problems whatsoever with disease, and I'm in South Carolina. I enjoyed the story but TBH I already found the perfect tomato, many actually. They are the ones I can grow in my backyard

heirloomtomaguy · July 17, 2015

I saw this yesterday Fred and did notice that his favorite tasting tomato was Maglia Rosa. So where do i get seeds for the Garden Gem.

Fred Hempel · July 17, 2015

Here

Quote:

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

I saw this yesterday Fred and did notice that his favorite tasting tomato was Maglia Rosa. So where do i get seeds for the Garden Gem.

heirloomtomaguy · July 17, 2015

Just donated the 10 bucks required to get the seeds. Thanks Fred.

Barb_FL · July 17, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

Just donated the 10 bucks required to get the seeds. Thanks Fred.

Me too - Thanks Fred for letting us know about it. If I get the seeds sometime in August I will plant for the fall. If not, December for spring time.

roper2008 · July 17, 2015

I donated also. If it was breed for humid conditions like in Florida, it should
do good here.

bower · July 17, 2015

The fb discussion is really interesting - thanks for linking that Fred.

I doubt that the florida hybrid would be a winner here, but Maaglia Rosa is on the top of my wanted list. Didn't even know you had bred any determinate varieties, and I'm sure it's head and shoulders above others for taste and fruit quality.

Fred Hempel · July 18, 2015

One of my original breeding goals was to breed bushy tomatoes for small farmers who didn't want to stake.

Maglia Rosa was the first bushy cherry tomato we bred, and we grew alot of it as we started farming. Seeds of Change released it.

But, as we grew, Maglia Rosa in a large field of tomatoes (I was doing 4-6 acres) was a magnet for disease and insect pests, and I switched to breeding vines.

Later, Seeds of Change seemed to always be out of Maglia Rosa, and I kept hearing from alot of small diversified growers wondering how they could get seed, because it was their go-to variety. They didn't need to stake, and they weren't finding it to be a disease magnet, in the context of their diversified fields.

So we are re-releasing Maglia Rosa this fall. And, I am also working with a very distinguished farmer to breed a suite of new cherry tomatoes with the Maglia Rosa bushy habit.

This farmer loves MR, and doesn't want to stake, and is growing out huge populations of Maglia Rosa X Artisan cherry tomato crosses this year so we can select many new "bushy" varieties.

Interestingly, the farmer assumes that there will be increased risk for pests and pathogens, but he figures if he has to plow under Maglia Rosa after only half the production of vining cherries, he is still better off, because of the very high cost of staking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

The fb discussion is really interesting - thanks for linking that Fred.

I doubt that the florida hybrid would be a winner here, but Maaglia Rosa is on the top of my wanted list. Didn't even know you had bred any determinate varieties, and I'm sure it's head and shoulders above others for taste and fruit quality.

BigVanVader · July 17, 2015

I'm tempted to donate as well but from the pics of it I feel like it will be disappointing... I know that sounds dumb but perfect red round tomatoes seem to never taste good to me. Plus they are boring to look at. I think I will just wait for others to report back.

heirloomtomaguy · July 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

I'm tempted to donate as well but from the pics of it I feel like it will be disappointing... I know that sounds dumb but perfect red round tomatoes seem to never taste good to me. Plus they are boring to look at. I think I will just wait for others to report back.

I agree 100 percent. Red tomatoes are boring and to be honest i usually never grow them other than for breeding purposes. But since maglia rosa was a parent and the scientist who bred it put forth such an effort i figure what do i have to lose. If it tanks then i will feed the fruits to my chickens or in-laws.....in that order. Lol. Plus it may be a good parent in a cross. I will report hopefully this fall if the seeds get here anytime soon.

Salsacharley · July 17, 2015

I'll bite on the deal, and even the tomatoes. They might be round and red, but there is a very big market of "flat-earthers" who only thing tomatoes should be round and red. I need a few to accommodate those types, and new ones might create some good hype.

July 17, 2015	#1
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	The Perfect Tomato! Except for the fact that it is too small to be a "big" tomato, and too big to be a cherry/grape tomato.

July 17, 2015	#6
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	I saw this yesterday Fred and did notice that his favorite tasting tomato was Maglia Rosa. So where do i get seeds for the Garden Gem. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

July 17, 2015	#8
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	Just donated the 10 bucks required to get the seeds. Thanks Fred. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

July 17, 2015	#2
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,897	Does it have thick skin? Is it crunchy? Linda

July 17, 2015	#10
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	I donated also. If it was breed for humid conditions like in Florida, it should do good here.

July 17, 2015	#11
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	The fb discussion is really interesting - thanks for linking that Fred. I doubt that the florida hybrid would be a winner here, but Maaglia Rosa is on the top of my wanted list. Didn't even know you had bred any determinate varieties, and I'm sure it's head and shoulders above others for taste and fruit quality.

July 17, 2015	#13
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	I'm tempted to donate as well but from the pics of it I feel like it will be disappointing... I know that sounds dumb but perfect red round tomatoes seem to never taste good to me. Plus they are boring to look at. I think I will just wait for others to report back.

July 17, 2015	#15
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I'll bite on the deal, and even the tomatoes. They might be round and red, but there is a very big market of "flat-earthers" who only thing tomatoes should be round and red. I need a few to accommodate those types, and new ones might create some good hype.