My Big Four - 2016 Edition Early Report

MikeInCypress · May 30, 2016

My Four Top Producers so far are
1) Big Beef - 12 harvested so far another 15 on the plant and still setting more.
2) Atkinson - 20 on the plant 2 harvested today. still getting new blossoms.
3) Tycoon - 15 harvested so far. 6 more on plant. slowing down.
4) Eva Purple Ball - 6 harvested another 15 on the plant with more to come.

More people should be growing Atkinson. Beautiful 3"-4"slightly oblate globes with perfect skin. Great taste. And it is resisting Texas Fungal diseases.

My Eva Purple Ball is a replacement plant for one I grew from seed that just did not thrive. This one is huge.

Still have KBX, a bunch of the dwarfs Costoluto Pantano, a Phoenix, a 4th of July,
Queen Aliquippa and Orange Russian 114 (all late plantings) are about to start producing.

Aside from the 20" of rain we have had since April 14 the weather has been excellent. Cucumbers have done very well and I have canned 9 pints of Dill Pickles.

Juliet is back to its original size, not the almost Roma size that it was for a few years. Snow White is up there with SunGold as my favorite Cherries. Verde Claro has been a disappointment. no fruit has set.

MikeInCypress

kath · May 30, 2016

Nice report, Mike! Hope things continue to go well for you.

kath

WilburMartin · June 4, 2016

After an early interest followed by lots of reading and research, my two "gateway" tomato plants are a "Patio" hybrid and a "Creole" heirloom, both Bonnie sets - although there is come controversy as to whether the "Creole" Bonnie sells is the same heirloom developed at LSU.

I lost the major branch of the Patio during a wicked spring rain, which set it back, but the remaining stalk had 5 tomatoes develop - then the plant stopped working on fruit and focused all if the energy into new growth replacing the main stalk. Finally, I have 2 fruit turning red on the Patio as of today. 3 more green fruit (one of which is a late developing knot) are waiting. The new growth already has blooms on it - the Patio is looking to be a good fit. I might grow it again, depending on the flavor and the outcome.

My Creole has 10 greens that are all competing for growing nutrients. All the blooms dropped off, and there has been no new growth in a couple of weeks. If the Patio is any guideline, I will probably have red starting to show in the next week or two on the Creole plants.

I have Mortgage Lifter and Pink Brandywine seedlings up potted in 5 gallon buckets that are looking great. I also have Sweet Carneros Pink and Berkeley Tie Dye seedlings that are about 4" high. Might take some tomato porn and post those in a bit.

Gardeneer · June 5, 2016

I have big "0" early ones so far .

May 30, 2016	#1
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	My Big Four - 2016 Edition Early Report My Four Top Producers so far are 1) Big Beef - 12 harvested so far another 15 on the plant and still setting more. 2) Atkinson - 20 on the plant 2 harvested today. still getting new blossoms. 3) Tycoon - 15 harvested so far. 6 more on plant. slowing down. 4) Eva Purple Ball - 6 harvested another 15 on the plant with more to come. More people should be growing Atkinson. Beautiful 3"-4"slightly oblate globes with perfect skin. Great taste. And it is resisting Texas Fungal diseases. My Eva Purple Ball is a replacement plant for one I grew from seed that just did not thrive. This one is huge. Still have KBX, a bunch of the dwarfs Costoluto Pantano, a Phoenix, a 4th of July, Queen Aliquippa and Orange Russian 114 (all late plantings) are about to start producing. Aside from the 20" of rain we have had since April 14 the weather has been excellent. Cucumbers have done very well and I have canned 9 pints of Dill Pickles. Juliet is back to its original size, not the almost Roma size that it was for a few years. Snow White is up there with SunGold as my favorite Cherries. Verde Claro has been a disappointment. no fruit has set. MikeInCypress __________________ "Growing older, not up"

June 4, 2016	#3
WilburMartin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Mississippi Posts: 169	After an early interest followed by lots of reading and research, my two "gateway" tomato plants are a "Patio" hybrid and a "Creole" heirloom, both Bonnie sets - although there is come controversy as to whether the "Creole" Bonnie sells is the same heirloom developed at LSU. I lost the major branch of the Patio during a wicked spring rain, which set it back, but the remaining stalk had 5 tomatoes develop - then the plant stopped working on fruit and focused all if the energy into new growth replacing the main stalk. Finally, I have 2 fruit turning red on the Patio as of today. 3 more green fruit (one of which is a late developing knot) are waiting. The new growth already has blooms on it - the Patio is looking to be a good fit. I might grow it again, depending on the flavor and the outcome. My Creole has 10 greens that are all competing for growing nutrients. All the blooms dropped off, and there has been no new growth in a couple of weeks. If the Patio is any guideline, I will probably have red starting to show in the next week or two on the Creole plants. I have Mortgage Lifter and Pink Brandywine seedlings up potted in 5 gallon buckets that are looking great. I also have Sweet Carneros Pink and Berkeley Tie Dye seedlings that are about 4" high. Might take some tomato porn and post those in a bit. Last edited by WilburMartin; June 4, 2016 at 05:57 PM.

May 30, 2016	#2
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Nice report, Mike! Hope things continue to go well for you. kath

June 5, 2016	#4
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	I have big "0" early ones so far .