Sun Gold F1

TNTiger · April 28, 2015

I grew Sun Gold last year and put it in a raised bed which is dedicated for tomatoes. It did well and was a lovely little orange cherry tomato with great flavor. It was was loved by all and requested for this year by friends and family. So while I am growing it again this year I didn't leave room for it in the tomato bed so I either have to put it in a large pot (10 gallon) or in another raised bed which also contains flowers (Easter Lilies, Daffodils and Hyacinths). If you were me . . . where would you put the Sun Gold??

(I should have done a better job editing my grow list but I failed!)

As a side note, prior to growing it last year I recall seeing other people comment about hating all the dropped fruit and resulting volunteers . . . now I understand! I thought I did a decent job of picking up the dropped tomatoes but this spring I keep finding clusters of seedlings attached to a nice yellow/orange skin right in the vicinity of last year's Sun Gold. Too bad the F2s don't grow true! (I bought a new Sun Gold F1 plant for this year).

tnkrer · April 28, 2015

I would put it in the raised bed and prune to a few stems so that it does not take over the raised bed. 10 gallon would be too small and in a pot, you will need to keep watering it day and night
Last year that plant grew 12 ft tall and produced 20 lb of fruit (I pruned it to keep 5 stems including the main one)

Labradors2 · April 28, 2015

I had too many tomato plants last year (imagine that!) So I planted Sungold in a spot beside my composter which had a small hydrangea growing next to it. The soil was thick clay, so I amended it with two hugs shovel-fulls of compost. It didn't grow as tall as it would have done in my veggie garden and I was able to support it with a large store-bought cage and a tall stick. I didn't prune it at all. I was happy enough with the yield.

Linda

Gardeneer · April 28, 2015

If you want to plant it in the bulbs garden, need to prepare/cultivate a hole about 14" in diameter and 14" deep (approx).
I think you can do it in 10 gallon ( 10 gallon soil volume , not just container size !). It should provide enough root space. The challenge will be supporting the heavy foliage.

Gardeneer

NarnianGarden · April 28, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNTiger

As a side note, prior to growing it last year I recall seeing other people comment about hating all the dropped fruit and resulting volunteers . . . now I understand! I thought I did a decent job of picking up the dropped tomatoes but this spring I keep finding clusters of seedlings attached to a nice yellow/orange skin right in the vicinity of last year's Sun Gold. Too bad the F2s don't grow true! (I bought a new Sun Gold F1 plant for this year).

You never know... Let the volunteers grow, and you might win in the genetic lottery and get something tasty

TNTiger · April 28, 2015

Thanks all - I'm leaning towards doing it in the bulb garden - no problem on the space and much easier to support with big stakes.

jmsieglaff · April 28, 2015

I would suggest the ground as well.

I've grown a Sungold in a 5 gallon pot, pruned to a single stem. As one would expect, production and plant vigor suffered, but we still got a small steady supply of tomatoes, albeit not as tasty. So the 5 gallon experiment lasted 1 year. Perhaps with very diligent watering and fertilizing it could be done.

Now, in addition to our Sungold we grow in the garden each year, we grow another in a 1/2 whiskey barrel, with a cage and stakes. It produces well, is very vigorous, has excellent tasting fruit. I think the volume on it is somewhere around 20-25 gallons.

**carolyn137** · April 28, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

You never know... Let the volunteers grow, and you might win in the genetic lottery and get something tasty

There already are four OP versions of Sungold F1 available, 3 developed by Reinhard Kraft in Germany and another one sent to Manfred Hahm, who offers seeds for sale for hundreds of varieties at Reinhard's website.

In addtion, as I remember Lee of J and L Gardens, link in the Plant and Seed resource Forum, also offers an OP version that many like very much that he developed himself,

The following page from Tania's website might help.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/w/inde...rom=S#mw-pages

And do check out J and L Gardens website for more info on varieties he's developed that some say are almost as good as Sungold F1.

Most who grow out volunteers get red fruited plants since the trait for flat fruit truss comes from a species accession and is dominant. Some have gotten volunteers just from dropped fruits but say they aren't very good tasting.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

fonseca · April 28, 2015

I have grown indeterminate cherry tomatoes in containers as small as 3 gallons, and still harvested to excess. It can be done but requires irrigation, as hand-watering is not effective.

This year I am growing several Sungold F1s, along with other varieties, in 5 gallon sub-irrigated buckets with 1 gallon reservoirs (full 5 gallons soil per bucket). These will be connected to an external 55 gallon reservoir once they start needing water every few days. I am also growing 2 Sungolds in a single 27 gallon container (~5 gallons of which is reservoir) that will be hand-watered. I personally think that 10 gallons per plant is sufficient, if you keep the moisture level consistent. That's no easy task when hand-watering.

peebee · April 29, 2015

Every year I grow a Sungold or 2 from bought seed, but I get volunteers every year and so far several of them have tasted exactly like Sungolds! Of course I'm talking about at least 20 volunteers, so I weed out to about 5.
This year, I have one mini bonsai plant with tiny good red fruit, a huge bush with wishy-washy colored GRAPE shaped ones (a first) that seem unable to decide whether to be orangey-red or reddish orange. Very thin skin and you can see the green veins underneath, maybe that's why. And the rest of the plants are all very Sungoldish, in fact so alike that I decided not to plant the real ones I grew and gave them away. Since they are volunteers they sprung up during our "winter" here and are now full grown and rampant. I guess I'm lucky to get these very-close-to-the real-thing tomatoes, but it does happen every year.

NarnianGarden · April 29, 2015

peebee, that sounds exciting - you're winning the lottery!

Here it's way too cold for volunteers to survive - I wouldn't like to have any on my balcony anyway. Now as it is getting warmer, some greens are sprouting between the tiles - I wouldn't be surprised to see some physalis seeds come up, there may have been some ground cherry husks around that I didn't catch in time..

TNTiger · April 29, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by fonseca

I have grown indeterminate cherry tomatoes in containers as small as 3 gallons, and still harvested to excess. It can be done but requires irrigation, as hand-watering is not effective.

This year I am growing several Sungold F1s, along with other varieties, in 5 gallon sub-irrigated buckets with 1 gallon reservoirs (full 5 gallons soil per bucket). These will be connected to an external 55 gallon reservoir once they start needing water every few days. I am also growing 2 Sungolds in a single 27 gallon container (~5 gallons of which is reservoir) that will be hand-watered. I personally think that 10 gallons per plant is sufficient, if you keep the moisture level consistent. That's no easy task when hand-watering.

I too have grown lots of intedeteminates (cherrys, hearts and paste types) in containers. They do fine for me but staking is always a challenge. Watering isn't a big problem - I have a pretty good watering routine for the containers and have had good results so I'm not concerned about that (but it's still good information because you DO have to stay on it with containers!). I have several Earthboxes on an Automatic Watering system and that's the easiest but this plant would be going into a regular pot with no irrigation other than me and the hose!

TNTiger · April 29, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by peebee

Every year I grow a Sungold or 2 from bought seed, but I get volunteers every year and so far several of them have tasted exactly like Sungolds! Of course I'm talking about at least 20 volunteers, so I weed out to about 5.
This year, I have one mini bonsai plant with tiny good red fruit, a huge bush with wishy-washy colored GRAPE shaped ones (a first) that seem unable to decide whether to be orangey-red or reddish orange. Very thin skin and you can see the green veins underneath, maybe that's why. And the rest of the plants are all very Sungoldish, in fact so alike that I decided not to plant the real ones I grew and gave them away. Since they are volunteers they sprung up during our "winter" here and are now full grown and rampant. I guess I'm lucky to get these very-close-to-the real-thing tomatoes, but it does happen every year.

I wish I had room to grow out some of these . . . I would love to see what happens . . . I've got hundreds to choose from!!

TNTiger · April 29, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

There already are four OP versions of Sungold F1 available, 3 developed by Reinhard Kraft in Germany and another one sent to Manfred Hahm, who offers seeds for sale for hundreds of varieties at Reinhard's website.

In addtion, as I remember Lee of J and L Gardens, link in the Plant and Seed resource Forum, also offers an OP version that many like very much that he developed himself,

The following page from Tania's website might help.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/w/inde...rom=S#mw-pages

And do check out J and L Gardens website for more info on varieties he's developed that some say are almost as good as Sungold F1.

Most who grow out volunteers get red fruited plants since the trait for flat fruit truss comes from a species accession and is dominant. Some have gotten volunteers just from dropped fruits but say they aren't very good tasting.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

Thanks Carolyn! I may check into to one of these for my 2016 garden. It would be nice to be able to save seeds!

**Lee** · April 29, 2015

I have grown, and will be growing again this year, Sungold in pots as small as 10 gallon.

The key is watering, and hand watering is possible. During mid-summer, I soak it both morning and late afternoon.

Good luck,

Lee

April 28, 2015	#1
TNTiger Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: TN Posts: 120	Sun Gold F1 I grew Sun Gold last year and put it in a raised bed which is dedicated for tomatoes. It did well and was a lovely little orange cherry tomato with great flavor. It was was loved by all and requested for this year by friends and family. So while I am growing it again this year I didn't leave room for it in the tomato bed so I either have to put it in a large pot (10 gallon) or in another raised bed which also contains flowers (Easter Lilies, Daffodils and Hyacinths). If you were me . . . where would you put the Sun Gold?? (I should have done a better job editing my grow list but I failed!) As a side note, prior to growing it last year I recall seeing other people comment about hating all the dropped fruit and resulting volunteers . . . now I understand! I thought I did a decent job of picking up the dropped tomatoes but this spring I keep finding clusters of seedlings attached to a nice yellow/orange skin right in the vicinity of last year's Sun Gold. Too bad the F2s don't grow true! (I bought a new Sun Gold F1 plant for this year).

April 29, 2015	#15
Lee Tomatopalooza™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NC-Zone 7 Posts: 2,188	I have grown, and will be growing again this year, Sungold in pots as small as 10 gallon. The key is watering, and hand watering is possible. During mid-summer, I soak it both morning and late afternoon. Good luck, Lee __________________ Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad. Cuostralee - The best thing on sliced bread.

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April 28, 2015	#2
tnkrer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: MA 6a/b Posts: 352	I would put it in the raised bed and prune to a few stems so that it does not take over the raised bed. 10 gallon would be too small and in a pot, you will need to keep watering it day and night Last year that plant grew 12 ft tall and produced 20 lb of fruit (I pruned it to keep 5 stems including the main one)

April 28, 2015	#3
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,897	I had too many tomato plants last year (imagine that!) So I planted Sungold in a spot beside my composter which had a small hydrangea growing next to it. The soil was thick clay, so I amended it with two hugs shovel-fulls of compost. It didn't grow as tall as it would have done in my veggie garden and I was able to support it with a large store-bought cage and a tall stick. I didn't prune it at all. I was happy enough with the yield. Linda

April 28, 2015	#4
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	If you want to plant it in the bulbs garden, need to prepare/cultivate a hole about 14" in diameter and 14" deep (approx). I think you can do it in 10 gallon ( 10 gallon soil volume , not just container size !). It should provide enough root space. The challenge will be supporting the heavy foliage. Gardeneer

April 28, 2015	#7
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	I would suggest the ground as well. I've grown a Sungold in a 5 gallon pot, pruned to a single stem. As one would expect, production and plant vigor suffered, but we still got a small steady supply of tomatoes, albeit not as tasty. So the 5 gallon experiment lasted 1 year. Perhaps with very diligent watering and fertilizing it could be done. Now, in addition to our Sungold we grow in the garden each year, we grow another in a 1/2 whiskey barrel, with a cage and stakes. It produces well, is very vigorous, has excellent tasting fruit. I think the volume on it is somewhere around 20-25 gallons.

April 28, 2015	#9
fonseca Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 205	I have grown indeterminate cherry tomatoes in containers as small as 3 gallons, and still harvested to excess. It can be done but requires irrigation, as hand-watering is not effective. This year I am growing several Sungold F1s, along with other varieties, in 5 gallon sub-irrigated buckets with 1 gallon reservoirs (full 5 gallons soil per bucket). These will be connected to an external 55 gallon reservoir once they start needing water every few days. I am also growing 2 Sungolds in a single 27 gallon container (~5 gallons of which is reservoir) that will be hand-watered. I personally think that 10 gallons per plant is sufficient, if you keep the moisture level consistent. That's no easy task when hand-watering.

April 29, 2015	#10
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	Every year I grow a Sungold or 2 from bought seed, but I get volunteers every year and so far several of them have tasted exactly like Sungolds! Of course I'm talking about at least 20 volunteers, so I weed out to about 5. This year, I have one mini bonsai plant with tiny good red fruit, a huge bush with wishy-washy colored GRAPE shaped ones (a first) that seem unable to decide whether to be orangey-red or reddish orange. Very thin skin and you can see the green veins underneath, maybe that's why. And the rest of the plants are all very Sungoldish, in fact so alike that I decided not to plant the real ones I grew and gave them away. Since they are volunteers they sprung up during our "winter" here and are now full grown and rampant. I guess I'm lucky to get these very-close-to-the real-thing tomatoes, but it does happen every year.

April 29, 2015	#11
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	peebee, that sounds exciting - you're winning the lottery! Here it's way too cold for volunteers to survive - I wouldn't like to have any on my balcony anyway. Now as it is getting warmer, some greens are sprouting between the tiles - I wouldn't be surprised to see some physalis seeds come up, there may have been some ground cherry husks around that I didn't catch in time..