Wow Mr Stripey

[Warren]

Any one else grow these this year? I grew one plant and I love the color on these. the tomato doesn't have lot of acid so it taste different then the others in my garden.

I loved the color when I cut it open. it was yellow with a bit of red inside it.

I will take pictures with my next one.

[feldon30]

Actually, all tomatoes have about the same acid. There's probably more sugar/sweetness to cover that acidity though. Glad to hear you are having good results with Mr. Stripey. Quite a few people have grown it and gotten giant plants with no fruit.

There are several bicolor varieties as I think I mentioned in another thread and, to some degree, they all have that similar sweetness and mild flavor.

[johno]

I'd like to find one of those bicolors you're talking about with a hint of citrus-taste...

Mr. Stripey sure is a good-looking tomato. It's good to hear about the flavor, from someone who knows.

[QAGuy]

I thought I had a Mr Stripey. Turns out it was Tigerella.

[tessa]

aren't they different names for the same plant?
i don't like acid tomatoes...so i preferred my tigerellas.

[caascher2]

I'd like to find one of those bicolors you're talking about with a hint of citrus-taste...

Johno..The Pineapple I planted have that taste your described. Very productive plant as well.
Carol

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by tessa

aren't they different names for the same plant?
i don't like acid tomatoes...so i preferred my tigerellas.

Whoa Tessa.

Your Tigerellas have no bite to them, no aggressive taste?

Tigerella was the original name attached to the variety also known as Mr. Stripey. Tigerella and it's sister varieties Craigella and Tangella were the result of a cross done by the GLasshouse Research Inst in England many years ago.

Tigerella is a small red with jagged gold stipes and for me it splits if you look at it sideways and for me and others it has a very aggressive non-mild taste.

Fast forward to Wayne Hilton, the former owner of TT and other companies who found a typical large fruited gold red variety and he gave seeds to Seeds by Design in CA, who are seed wholesalers.

They were not aware that there already was a variety known as Mr. Stripey so named this gold/red bicolor Mr. Stripey. They also distributed the seeds widely which is why you see them at the big box stores.

Tigerella/Mr. Stripey; small red gold jagged stripes, far from being mild/

Mr. Stripey; large beefsteak typical gold/red bicolor

Mr Stripey the large bicolor rests near the bottom of my list of bicolors that I've grown and I know there are others who feel the same way.

And of the many bicolors I've grown I've not tasted one that had any citrus taste, and that includes Pineapple mentioned above.

They are a difficult group to grow for many b'c they are very influenced by weather and so variety X grown this season with wonferful results may not have the same performance next year and be mealy and mushy and lousy.

There are way over 100 different gold/red bicolors known and listed in the SSE YEarbooks. Quite frankly, many look and act the same, but there are some that stand out for those who like bicolors and continue to try different ones each year.

[Joel5000]

The best way to find out if you like a variety is to grow it. I grow Mr. Stripey every year (or at least for the three years that I've grown tomatoes), and it is always one of my star performers. Delicious and prolific. I'm lucky that I bought the seeds before I found this forum, or I probably would never have tried it.

Some highly recommended varieties have also disappointed me, such as Mariana's Peace.

My advice is that if you are curious about a variety, then give it a try. What do you have to lose?

[tessa]

good point, joel.

carolyn...hmm. interesting about the two mr. stripey's.

no, i wouldn't say it was aggressive. it was rather a wimp, which is why i liked it. i do love growing tomatoes, mostly because of how my friends start coming over a lot more, but i'm fussy on eating them raw. i need them to be meaty and mild. well...tigerella wasn't all that meaty, but it was mild.
and then there is the complication that i'm a newbie grower trying to get a handle on the conditions over here...so whatever i'm growing is going to be influenced by my mistakes (or ingenuity!)

and then, what *is* taste, anyway? LOL.
for example:
what does "tomatoey" mean? if i were to describe the apple i was eating as "appley", how would that be informative?
so...(just thinking out loud)...aggressive might mean different things to different people. if a tomato had a lot of that taste that i don't particularly like...i might be more inclined to call it aggressive.
sweet i understand. acid, not so much, actually, as it turns out. LOL.

[carolyn137]

My advice is that if you are curious about a variety, then give it a try. What do you have to lose?''

*******

Joel, I think that's implicit for every variety that anyone might mention.

Input was sought on Mr. Stripey so I responded to that and also said that most folks continue to try new varieties all the time and implicit in that comment was.....grow them until you find what you like.

I too have been disappointed with several varieties that have been touted by others, and when someone asks for input on them I share my experience.

I don't think by saying negative things about a variety based on personal experience deters most folks from trying it, it's just another person critiquing a variety under discussion.

Actually I can't think of a variety that everyone loves.

[Joel5000]

I agree completely, Carolyn. I wasn't trying to suggest that we shouldn't share our opinions and experiences. I mean, how boring would this forum be if we weren't allowed to have our "best tasting" threads and our "spitter" threads. I just wanted to point out that many widely disparaged varieties have supporters as well. You had a very good point, also, that with bicolors there is extreme variability based upon the climate where they are grown. Mr. Stripey must love the Sacramento heat!

A Mr. Stripey tip: let them get really ripe before you pick them. There should be at least as much pink as yellow.