Help me choose some blacks

[Ann123]

Hi,

I am making my grow list for this year.
I will add some blacks but something in me is holding me back. I have only grow a couple of blacks and was not crazy about them. Last year I grew Rebel Alliance and Purple bumble bee and both were rather tasteless, no sweetness, just boring, like a soup without salt. Our summers are cool and I have a shady garden. The circumstances are thus not great. Two and three years ago I grew a black tomato that gave a huge production of enormous fruits. I got the plant from someone and in those days I wasn't aware that I would never find its name if I didn't ask it. I didn't realise there were so many varieties, so it is a nameless one that looks like Large barred boar. Anyway, I loved it for juices and gazpacho but again, boring to eat it as is.
But I'll give the blacks a new chance. I am growing the nameless black anyway plus a few other ones.
I have seed from these varieties. They are all early or mid season. The temperatures are just to low for late varieties here. I would like a tasty, sweet tomato with at least a decent production. Here is my list:

Black From Tula
Black Krim
Noire de Crimée
Paul Robeson
Bear Creek (tempted to choose this one)
Black and red boar
Chocolate stripes
Not chocolate stripes aka Mocha splash (tempted too)
Large barred boar (tempted to see if it is my nameless one)
Berkeley tie dye
Pink Berkeley tie dye
Margeret Curtain
Cherokee purple

Thanks for helping me out!

[Canehdian]

From the ones I have tried Chocolate Stripes will give you the taste and Margaret Curtain will give you the production. In my short season zone the ones that did well and tasted good are: Black Giant, JD's Special C-Tex, Black Pear, Black Early, and Black Aisberg. Never had good luck with Paul Robeson.

[eyegrotom]

Hi Ann I also say that you should try JD,s Special, also Paul Robeson I grew both of them last year with good production. I have extra seeds for JD,s if you want some send me a Pm. Thanks. Mike

[Ann123]

Originally Posted by eyegrotom

Hi Ann I also say that you should try JD,s Special, also Paul Robeson I grew both of them last year with good production. I have extra seeds for JD,s if you want some send me a Pm. Thanks. Mike

Thanks for your offer, but I have already so many varieties thanks to this wonderful forum. Maybe next year.

[zipcode]

Pink Berkeley tie dye is good stuff, quality rich flavour. I wouldn't say it's sweet though, more like sweet and sour. Production is solid. The fruit itself isn't.

[HudsonValley]

Black Krim does o.k. with less than full sun -- I tried it in 2017 in a raised bed that didn't get bright sunlight until around noon. Margaret Curtain is also reported to do well with a bit of shade.

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by HudsonValley

Black Krim does o.k. with less than full sun -- I tried it in 2017 in a raised bed that didn't get bright sunlight until around noon. Margaret Curtain is also reported to do well with a bit of shade.

I have the opposite situation to yours, hv. My raised bed gets full sun only until just after noon.

Black Krim, Margaret Curtain, Cherokee Purple, Black From Tula, Bedouin all gave excellent production and flavor for two years in a row in the same spot.

Black Cherry seems to taste sweeter in a full sun location, only one year trial in a shadier area though.

- Lisa

[Lotte]

I grow one you don't have on your list, Chocolate Cherry, and as I'm growing in Denmark I assume we have almost the same circumstances to grow the tomatoes.It is always on my list as it is very good and becomes really good to in taste even if the summer is not too good as last year.

[Ann123]

Originally Posted by Lotte

I grow one you don't have on your list, Chocolate Cherry, and as I'm growing in Denmark I assume we have almost the same circumstances to grow the tomatoes.It is always on my list as it is very good and becomes really good to in taste even if the summer is not too good as last year.

Thanks Lotte, yes I think we have a similar climate.
I have some blacks on my cherry list (chocolate cherry or black cherry, not yet chosen which one and Ron's Carbon copy), one on my small tomato list (ggwt) and one on my dwarf list (rosella purple, even if I réalise it needs maybe warmer weather).

[Ann123]

I checked out some dtm's. I usually only pick varieties with max 75 dtm.
These are too late:

Black From Tula (80d)
Black Krim (80d)
Cherokee purple (80d)
Noire de Crimee (80d)
Paul Robeson (90d)

[zipcode]

Originally Posted by Ann123

I checked out some dtm's. I usually only pick varieties with max 75 dtm.
These are too late:

Why do you need early tomatoes? I have lived there for one year, and temperatures etc indicate one has a fairly long growing season (I would expect ripening from around mid july to end of october).

[Nan_PA_6b]

Originally Posted by zipcode

Why do you need early tomatoes? I have lived there for one year, and temperatures etc indicate one has a fairly long growing season (I would expect ripening from around mid july to end of october).

I'd rather have something that produces from July to October than something that only produces from September to October. The former is twice as productive as the latter, all other things being equal. Yes, I can ripen late varieties, but I feel like I'm being cheated out of half a season.

Nan

[Ann123]

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

I'd rather have something that produces from July to October than something that only produces from September to October. The former is twice as productive as the latter, all other things being equal. Yes, I can ripen late varieties, but I feel like I'm being cheated out of half a season.

Nan

Indeed, the earlier varieties will continu to be productive and thus give more fruits.
The varieties that need heat will not taste as good as they should eighter.

[Ann123]

Originally Posted by zipcode

Why do you need early tomatoes? I have lived there for one year, and temperatures etc indicate one has a fairly long growing season (I would expect ripening from around mid july to end of october).

I hear you. I am struggling too with that 'rule'.
Our season isn't short indeed. In theory our last frost date is May 15 but in reality we never have frost that late. Some winters pass without frost (even though that is rare), but most winters we have only a couple of night frosts.
Our first frost date is the end of October. But again, that is very pessimistic.
This year we had frost the second half of February and I assume that will be it for this year.
Our season is long enough. But cool. Our warmest months are
June (min 12°C, max 21°C, average 16°C = 60°F)
July (min 14°C, max 23°C, average 18°C = 64°F)
and August (a little bit cooler then July).
That is not very warm. It can also be cloudy during weeks and sometimes it rains. Some years we have nice summers but as you have met Belgians, we always complain about rain/clouds/grey skies.
The plants thrive in those warmer months but then the temperatures drop again. I think plants here grow a lot slower and fruit ripens slower when it is cool. It is advised here to not grown varieties with a 75+ dtm if you don't have a greenhouse. But actually those days don't count, since I get easily 90 days of growing season. The idea behind is that if a midseason variety takes 75 days to mature in a warm climate, it might take, I don't know, 90 days in a cooler climate.
Please correct me if I see this wrong. I am not experienced enough.
Last year I had some plants that did almost nothing: Rebel Yell (1 fruit), Wes (1), Arbuznyi (0). That was annoying.

Maybe there exist some late varieties that don't mind cool temperatures, and hold on to there promised dtm ;-). In that case they are welcome :-). They will also have to handle very limited ours of sunshine, after mid September.

[Moshou]

In my opinion Black Krim = Noire de Crimee