Carbon Copy thoughts and observations for 2016

[dipchip2000]

I have 20 Carbon Copy plants that are producing more than can be picked, The hot and dry season has kicked them into mass production. I really would like to hear about other peoples growing experience with them.
Due to my health limitations, this is probably my last year to grow many plants. I can not take care of them properly anymore. I will try to grow 2 or 3 plants for personal consumption if I can manage it.
Anyone growing Carbon Copy and liking it please save your own seeds and pass them on to others.

thanks

ron

[habanero]

Hi Ron,
I just found out about Ron's Carbon Copy recently. I probably cant grow it in my circumstance. Also sad to hear about your health issues. I'm not the strapping young'un I was either. On another note, I spent a lot of my childhood in Muskogee. Fond memories of gardens, Honor Heights, and all the outdoors stuff in the woods. Not fond memories of the twisters. Thanks so much for developing that tomato, sounds like a lot people love growing it.
habanero

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by habanero

Hi Ron,
I just found out about Ron's Carbon Copy recently. I probably cant grow it in my circumstance. Also sad to hear about your health issues. I'm not the strapping young'un I was either. On another note, I spent a lot of my childhood in Muskogee. Fond memories of gardens, Honor Heights, and all the outdoors stuff in the woods. Not fond memories of the twisters. Thanks so much for developing that tomato, sounds like a lot people love growing it.
habanero

It as one of the best tomatoes for me in AZ before I moved. Also great here in NC.

[peppero]

Ron I have tried three times to grow this mater and have had very little output. I have read many good reports about it so I don't blame it as I have had others that have been poor performers. It is either my ground or my methods. Just wanted to let you know.

Jon

[jmsieglaff]

I'll follow up this post later in the year, but wanted to say thanks again Ron for the work stabilizing this tomato--it is very tasty. Sorry to hear of your health problems, I hope you at least have good enough health to enjoy growing a few plants and the delicious tomatoes they will produce. I grew RCC last year for the first time and it is back in the garden this year (and since I love trying new varieties, that is not a very common occurrence for me). It is in my 2017 plans as well (going to grow Black Cherry and Chocolate Cherry for comparison purposes).

My first 2016 RCC is blushing just today (7/10), which will put it a few days earlier than last year, but it has been a little warmer this year and less wet. It is a fused blossom, so it is actually a rather large tomato. We're excited to be eating them again soon! The plant like last year grows quickly and is fairly vigorous. It has decent tolerance of Septoria last year--so far this year I've kept Septoria very limited in my garden and hasn't been on RCC at all.

[MarianneW]

As a strapping youngin, I'd be happy to give it a whirl in the desert and put a few friends to work trying it too. A PHX buddy currently has all of his tomatoes still going, I'm sure he'd give it a try. Heat-loving tomatoes are a rarity.

[syfymy5]

This plant is one that i will always grow.

[imp]

Originally Posted by dipchip2000

I have 20 Carbon Copy plants that are producing more than can be picked, The hot and dry season has kicked them into mass production. I really would like to hear about other peoples growing experience with them.
Due to my health limitations, this is probably my last year to grow many plants. I can not take care of them properly anymore. I will try to grow 2 or 3 plants for personal consumption if I can manage it.
Anyone growing Carbon Copy and liking it please save your own seeds and pass them on to others.

thanks

ron

Ron, thank you again for the seeds for this lovely little cherry tomato and also for all the work you put into it.

I have one plant, but have gotten 5 tomatoes so far off it- and no, that is not much, but we had the rain for 3 weeks, and now the terribble heat and that plant is still blooming like mad, though I am unsure of fruit set on new blooms as yet.

It is a VERY good tasting tomato. I will be growing more than 1 plant of it next year as it is so good.

Besides the rain and heat, as everyone knows, this year has been difficult for Rob and I, and we are looking at more problems, all of which made me neglect the garden more than it should be. That plant is a trooper.

I hope your health improves and wish I could help.

Again, thank you!

[kath]

Attachment 63713Ron, I'm so sorry to hear that your health issues are limiting you in the garden. Wanted to let you know that I'm growing Ron's Carbon Copy again this year and out of the 13 cherry tomatoes I'm trialing, it's the first to ripen- today, in fact. The truss was bagged and the plant is very vigorous and producing a lot of fruits even though it's been given a limited amount of space on the trellis and has been pruned a lot. I'd be happy to make seeds available for others who might want to give your wonderful tomato a try.
Btw, the fruits are a little smaller this year- Sungold size- and so far, are not getting the concentric cracking and splitting that I've seen in the past. Anyway, saved some seed today and had a yummy snack, too.

kath

[jmsieglaff]

They are coming and are delicious. Ron I'm harvesting my first truss and after a fused blossom I've noticed they are bigger than they were last year. They were good sized cherry tomatoes last year maybe golf ball sized but these are a bit bigger, 2-3oz. Do you ever see this as some sort of instability? I received the seeds in a swap in 2014 and planted them in 2015. These are grown from my 2015 saved seed--I don't think they were crossed since they look like Carbon Copy. I suppose if two blacks crossed it could still be a black. Maybe it's also just a first truss and the fruits are larger?

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by kath

Attachment 63713Ron, I'm so sorry to hear that your health issues are limiting you in the garden. Wanted to let you know that I'm growing Ron's Carbon Copy again this year and out of the 13 cherry tomatoes I'm trialing, it's the first to ripen- today, in fact. The truss was bagged and the plant is very vigorous and producing a lot of fruits even though it's been given a limited amount of space on the trellis and has been pruned a lot. I'd be happy to make seeds available for others who might want to give your wonderful tomato a try.
Btw, the fruits are a little smaller this year- Sungold size- and so far, are not getting the concentric cracking and splitting that I've seen in the past. Anyway, saved some seed today and had a yummy snack, too.

kath

They look more like cherry varieties with all that seeds sacks and gel and not a beefsteak that I have envisioned.

[JRinPA]

This year is my first time growing it. I put one plant out here, one out at a friends, and probably three went out at my brother's. The tomatoes here just started blushing within the last week. So far no carbon copy are blushing but it looks great and the first few trusses have ping pong ball size fruit - slightly larger than sunsugar/sungold.

[kath]

Originally Posted by JRinPA

This year is my first time growing it. I put one plant out here, one out at a friends, and probably three went out at my brother's. The tomatoes here just started blushing within the last week. So far no carbon copy are blushing but it looks great and the first few trusses have ping pong ball size fruit - slightly larger than sunsugar/sungold.

That's the size I got from the 1st seeds I got from Ron. I had terrible trouble with radial cracking on ALL of the fruits while they were still green. The ones this year are ripening on the vine with no problem but are smaller for sure. Hope you have good luck with them. The ones I'm eating so far are beautiful and delicious!

kath

[JRinPA]

Saw a couple blushes today on the RCC...I don't see any cracking yet. It has been so dry so I think they'll be good. I'm not sure which way would be considered radial. I guess concentric would be latitude lines, radial would be longitudal?

[kath]

Originally Posted by JRinPA

Saw a couple blushes today on the RCC...I don't see any cracking yet. It has been so dry so I think they'll be good. I'm not sure which way would be considered radial. I guess concentric would be latitude lines, radial would be longitudal?

Sorry, JR, the cracking on the Carbon Copy tomatoes was mostly concentric circles at the stem end. You're right, radial cracking would be starting at the stem and going toward the blossom end. What I saw was more like the 1st picture, but not as extreme.

Hope your fruits stay crack-free!