Bloody Butcher - 50 Days!

[barkeater]

OK, maybe 53 days until fully ripe. I did a double take while checking the garden today and was happily surprised to see 2 half ripe BB's. This is one day after 4 thunderstorms, 3 1/2 inches of rain, and one 21 year old ash tree broken in half and laying across my driveway.

What a tomato! Last year, the coldest since I've been here, it was at this point on July 27th, 60 days after transplanting. This year has been extremely wet, but very warm, similar to 2004. So I'd guess the average DTM here would be about 57 days, pretty darn good for zone 3!

I'm trying 6 other supposed extra early tomatoes this year, and none of the others look anywhere near ripening.

Anyone else grown Bloody Butcher this year? What do you think of it?

[Sherry_AK]

I'm not growing BB this year, but have in the past. We like it and find it to be very early also. Which other extra earlies are you growing?

[barkeater]

The extra earlies, advertised at less than 65 days, are:

Superbec: High hopes but the tomatoes are still small.
Mascabec: Bigger than Superbec, and twice the fruit.
Bush Beefsteak: Very light fruit set.
Fireworks II: Nothing special so far.
Northern Exposure: Largest tomatoes in the garden to date.
Hope they ripen soon.
Sweetie: Big plant, and some large tomatoes. However,
most are misshapen.

[Sherry_AK]

Thanks for sharing your list. This is the first time in many, many years that I've not grown Northern Exposure. It's very dependable here in my garden and a pretty good producer.

Sherry

[dice]

Bloody Butcher: the first ones died in early spring in seed
starting mix, then only one seed sprouted from a later seeding.
I nursed it along, planted it out, and when it was 8" tall a dog,
cat, squirrel, opossum, or raccoon ran over it and broke it off
(ok, if it was an opossum, it did not "run" over it; more like
"waddled" over it).

I snatched it up the next morning, put it in water, and it
grew some roots. I put it in a pot for a few weeks, then
planted it out near the end of a stretch of 8 weeks of weather
at 10F below normal temperatures. It is not in an especially
sunny spot, but it is in a spot where the earliest tomato to
set fruit grew last year, so it should have enough sun, and there
is a healthy Aurora plant right beside it with fruit developing.

The BB is now 1' tall and doing well. I see the second set of
tiny buds on it (I snipped the first ones off when I transplanted
it into the garden the second time).

I am hoping for a normal end-of-the-season fruit set from it,
so that I can see what it tastes like and save seeds. There are
not that many tomatoes that you can plant out in late June out
here and expect to get a ripe crop from in our climate, but
Bloody Butcher is one of them.

[steinpilz]

I planted a large seedling in a 12 gal container on June 1. I picked my first ripe one on July 15, and have been getting one every few days since then. It currently has 20+ getting ready to ripen any day now.

The plant has been vigorous and I find it tasty for an early fruit. My BB has had some BER issues, but I blame myself for that, not the plant. This is one I'll grow again.