Fourth Of July variety!

I may have posted my thoughts on the subject hybrid variety earlier in the season. I don't care because the qualities of the variety are worth repeating.

I bought the plants from a nursery as space fillers when my shop grown seedlings were killed in a frost. I didn't have high expectations because golf ball sized tomatoes don't normally excite me. I have experienced a great growing season with open pollinated varieties I planted, but the Fourth Of July variety outperformed all of them producing my earliest (under sixty days) ripe fruit abundantly. The first fruits were a little bland tasting, but after the first week of harvest, the taste became outstanding with a slightly acidic flavor. When the intense summer heat arrived and production stopped, I pruned the rampantly growing vines back to a manageable size. They soon produced new suckers which grew quickly and are now covered in new green fruit for a fall harvest. We have experienced extended summer temps reaching 110 degrees, but this variety continued blooming and setting fruit in the heat. It seems my earliest producing variety will also be my latest producing variety.

I had read comments indicating the ripe tomatoes have a tendency to split. One lady said they often split while she was carrying them from the garden to the kitchen. I've experienced a huge harvest of ripe fruit this year and have not observed a single split tomato. Since the harvest has been so heavy, they often sit on our kitchen counter for many days, fully ripe; and retain their good texture without splitting or spoiling.

Ted