Kimberly vs. Bloody Butcher: The Winner is

[barkeater]

Sorry, it is a dead heat still. Both were sown 3/30, both sprouted 4/3, planted side-by-side on May 28, and each blushed 2 tomatoes today, had no color yesterday. This is one week later than last year for BB.

Plant habit is similar, Kimberly is a little taller plant, Bloody Butcher has slightly larger fruit, by about 3/4 ounce. The proof will be in the flavor, and I know how good Bloody Butcher tastes. Hope Kimberly will equal it.

What surprises me is, based on fruit size, habit, and advertised DTM, I expected Manitoba or Silvery Fir Tree would be first to ripen.

[carolyn137]

Bark, I've grown Kimberly and for an early it's pretty darn good. What I haven't done is to plant Stupice and Matina at the same time as Kimberly to be able to compare.

I'm growing Bloody Butcher for the first time this year and two fruits have turned, one eaten by I presume a slug and the other one split badly with the downpours we had last week.

I'm growing Bloody Butcher, Black Heart and Green Doctors to be able to give some fruits of each to my surgeon.

Not really, it just turned out that way.

[barkeater]

Be sure to save the very first fruits for yourself, Carolyn! Your surgeon can wait another week for his. There is nothing more satisfying than picking your first tomato of the season - for yourself .

It is eerie how similar my BB and Kimberly are in plant habit, fruit shape, and ripening 2 tomatoes at the same spot in the plant on the same day. They must be related in some way

[eyolf]

I've grown Kotlas every year for a long time; most years it is compared to other earlies. Last year it was alongside Stupice and Kimberley; Matina and BB were 4 years ago.

In my garden the differences were often minor, except that for some reason Kotlas always seems to be the last one to crap out at the end of the year. As regards flavor, Stupice and Kotlas were indistinguishable while Kimberly was slightly more "sweet" or "bland" AS far as DTM, I find these earlies often are within a day or two of each other.

I have been keeping track of growing degree days these last few years; its amazingly consistent in all cases but the extreme long season types...some of these will ripen one or two tomatoes here even if we don't rack up enough GDD.

[Tomstrees]

Bark,

Bloody Butcher was my first ripe for 2007.
PL plant, semi-det. and very productive, we thought it
was very good for an "early" ... But yeah, I think
from last year, SFT came a week or so earlier ...

~ Tom

Bloody Butcher:

[carolyn137]

Be sure to save the very first fruits for yourself, Carolyn! Your surgeon can wait another week for his. There is nothing more satisfying than picking your first tomato of the season - for yourself:wink: .

****

Not to worry b'c I haven't the faintest idea of when I'll see him again. I'm being followed for X-rays, etc., by his PA Rich and another X-ray coming up on Aug 10th.

My game plan was to just put together two bags of various varieties in late August/early September and take them to the place where he appears once every two weeks which is only 20 min from me as opposed to there I have to go for folloup stuff right now re X-rays. One bag for him with a nosegay of mini-roses for his wife and one bag for the nurse who is there also with mini-roses.

I will say that my BB are mini beefsteak shaped, so far, and not round.

[barkeater]

That's curious, Carolyn. BB should just like Tom's first picture, but your mini beefsteak version ripened just when BB should have for you.

In the same vein, my second (what should be) Black Cherry is putting out mini beefsteaks. Since it wasn't started until 4/17, I won't know what it is until the next full moon. It's from my own saved seeds, so I'm hoping it crossed with something good, and isn't just a labeling error.

[carolyn137]

That's curious, Carolyn. BB should just like Tom's first picture, but your mini beefsteak version ripened just when BB should have for you.

****

Only two fruits have been brought in to me and they were both mini-beefsteaks. I don't know what else is on the plant but I should know by Tuesday.

Right now I'm not allowed down the steps out of the house but I hope that will happen Tuesday and the two tomatoes I have right by where I get in the car ( ahem, no permissioon for that yet either), sitting on the steps of the deck are BB and Sara's Galapagos and I can get to both of them for a look see with my walker.

Red Letter day here. I can now shower myself. So the HOme Health Aide will be excessed on Tuesday. And last week I got permission to go the one step down to my LV/DR area and what a treat that was.

There's so much we take for granted until we no longer can do what we once did.

[Sherry_AK]

This is what my Bloody Butchers look like. I don't recall ever having green shoulders.

I'm growing both BB and Kimberly this year. My first year for Kimberly. Bloody Butcher has given me several ripe fruit, but it's in the greenhouse and Kimberly is in a pot in the driveway, so it's not really a fair competition.

[Earl]

I grew BB and Stupice side by side one year and couldn't tell them apart, except BB edged out Stupice on taste.

[barkeater]

I have found a difference in the fruit between BB and Kim. besides size. Kim. has a little nipplelike protrusion at the blossom end unlike BB.

Good to know about Stupice vs. Bloody B, Earl. Was one earlier than the other?

[Sherry_AK]

I agree, Earl. I grew them (literally) side by side last year and again this year. The plants look identical to me, fruits look the same, the yield is approximately the same, taste about the same (I'm not sure I could put one above the other), but for me Bloody Butcher is a teeny, tiny bit earlier.

[evan1]

I'm in the "how can you tell" camp as well. Growing Glacier and BB this year and have grown Stupice and Kimberley in the past- all the same to me.

[Ruth_10]

I'm in the "how can you tell" camp as well. Growing Glacier and BB this year and have grown Stupice and Kimberley in the past- all the same to me.

I find a fair amount of difference between Stupice and Kimberly. The fruits of Kimberly are more uniformly shaped (nice round larger-than-golfball-sized fruits) than Stupice. Stupice for me had a fair amount of variability in size and shape. This is my first year growing Kimberly, but based on that single point I'd have to rate it better tasting than Stupice.

[barkeater]

The Verdict is in: Bloody Butcher wins in a knockout, midway through the 2nd round.

The unanimous judges decision was allegedly based on on Kimberly's quick decline into tomato limbo, joining Jaune Flamee, and only midway through the 2nd truss.

It became too small to slice, or even to quarter in a salad, but too big to pop in your mouth like a cherry tomato, although that is what it really is, seeing it only has 2 segments, like JF.

Bloody Butcher, on the other hand, is similar in taste but meatier, tangy-er(?sp)., and more productive.