shelf life of black tomatoes

[ilex]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

After trying to find a tomato named Colgar I went to Google and found out that colgar in Spanish means "hanging" and many different varieties are also used for what some call winter tomatoes.

Here's the link from Google and I don 't see any seed sources here in the US exept for e-bay/ Tania doesn't list it.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...oes+from+Spain

And do let us know about the black ones when you do grow them.

Carolyn

Tania lists ramillete, which is the comercial name of a hybrid sold as a true "de colgar" tomato, when it is not. In Mallorca they are called ramellet, or "del ferro". De colgar in most Spain, "de penjar" in Valencia and tomaco in Catalunya.

I'm trying hard to promote and save these tomatoes, and stating a seed bank for them. I'll post more info in this forum soon. I share some varieties through SSE.

[travis]

Originally Posted by ilex

In commercial farming, you want to produce cheap, and you want to ship your product, and you want it to look good, and have a good shelf life so they have time to get sold. You end up with red plastic balls that bounce if thrown on the floor. They could develop very good tasting, thin skin hybrids if they wanted to.

They could, and they have.

But first, I have to say that I'm seeing more and more "heirloom" tomatoes offered in supermarkets where only the round, red, firm fleshed, extended shelf life tomatoes were offered exclusively for many years.

What do you think sells the most when "heirlooms" are offered alongside the round, red, firm fleshed, uniform ripening, extended shelf life market tomatoes? Oh, and pick up one or two of those "heirloom" tomatoes and give it the gentle squeeze test. That's what most shoppers do, right before they put it back down and reach for a round, red, firm fleshed, extended shelf life tomatoes.

But yes, they have developed hybrids specifically to target the "heirloom look" niche market. For example Kumato and Zima, to name only two. The first is a 3 to 4 ounce salad tomato with good flavor and a decent shelf life, and the latter is a yellow cherry that rivals Sun Gold for flavor but has a much longer shelf life.

I expect a flood of "heirloom look" hybrids in the next few years ... all with firm enough flesh to withstand the fruit mashing shoppers, extended shelf life (I mean like 10 to 15 days, not overwintering), n-gene tight blossom scars, enhanced flavor genetics, skin stripes, flesh streaks, et al.

[Ed of Somis]

T...I totally agree with your ideas/comments. Last summer my local market finally sold varieties of heirloom tomatoes. They were lumped together in a big bin...with no ID on the 4 or 5 different varieties. All were over-ripe and wrinkled. Tough to market that...

[MrBig46]

Greetings Ilex. I am also interested about tomatoes Ramallet.
I prefer the name these tomatoes Ramallet. Why?
- it is tomato from Mallorca and there this tomato called Ramallet (just type on Google Ramallet)
- the seeds of tomatoes I received from a member Tomatoville Baikal, who lives and grows tomatoes in Las Palmas on Mallorca
-I do not understand Spanish, but translator Google wrote me: Ramal- branch. Ramil, Ramel- Google did not respond.
A nice year 2015.
Vladimír

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by MrBig46

Greetings Ilex. I am also interested about tomatoes Ramallet.
I prefer the name these tomatoes Ramallet. Why?
- it is tomato from Mallorca and there this tomato called Ramallet (just type on Google Ramallet)
- the seeds of tomatoes I received from a member Tomatoville Baikal, who lives and grows tomatoes in Las Palmas on Mallorca
-I do not understand Spanish, but translator Google wrote me: Ramal- branch. Ramil, Ramel- Google did not respond.
A nice year 2015.
Vladimír

Vladimir, the following page for this variety from Tania I think will help as to correct names, background, etc.,

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki...b=General_Info

Carolyn

[ilex]

Official name is ramellet, but ramallet is also used. This name is only used in Mallorca, in the rest of Spain, other names are used. Ramellet is registered in Spain in the varieties list. Ramillete is the name used and promoted to sell a few hybrids. It should NOT be used for the real thing. There was a legal dispute over this. I will contact Tatiana to try to fix her listings.

The name is related to the fact that they are hanged in a bunch. Ramellet means bunch in mallorquin/catalan language, not in Spanish.

I'm building a website for these tomatoes.

[MrBig46]

Ilex,
thank you for your information. I look forward to your website.
Vladimír

[b54red]

I have grown a lot of black tomatoes and the one with the longest shelf life for me was Gary O' Sena. I found Black from Tula to have a fair shelf life. In the middle were Indian Stripe of both leaf types, Dana's Dusky Rose, JD's Special C Tex, and Carbon. Following that were Spudakee, Cherokee Purple, and Big Cheef. The worst shelf life was definitely Black Krim and BTDP but they can also be the best tasting at times. I try to grow at least four or five different black type tomatoes every season because every year each variety acts differently depending on the weather conditions. I try to set out most of my black tomato varieties later because I find hot dry weather during the ripening stage to be important for excellent flavor but it also lessens the size of the fruit.

Bill

[taboule]

I have limited experience with blacks, but confirm what's said about Black Krim being very short on shelf life. So i pick them firm, taste is wonderful. Last year I grew Cherokee Purple, that lasts a bit longer, haven't decided which tastes better (for me, here in my garden.)

I have some Black Brandywine seeds that I'm thinking of trying this year, any opinions on that variety?

[Cole_Robbie]

Black Brandywine and Violet Jasper are the only two tomatoes I definitely won't grow again. The Black Brandywine was an ok producer, but I had Cherokee Purple at the same time, and the Black Brandywines didn't get eaten, because I liked the Cherokee Purple so much better. Black Brandywine was much less sweet, and had a musky sort of taste, very "black" in flavor. Of course other people here may like it; I didn't though.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Black Brandywine and Violet Jasper are the only two tomatoes I definitely won't grow again. The Black Brandywine was an ok producer, but I had Cherokee Purple at the same time, and the Black Brandywines didn't get eaten, because I liked the Cherokee Purple so much better. Black Brandywine was much less sweet, and had a musky sort of taste, very "black" in flavor. Of course other people here may like it; I didn't though.

Black Brandywine has both a musky and a "muskie" sort of taste, to me. I don't think you want me to go into detail.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Black Brandywine and Violet Jasper are the only two tomatoes I definitely won't grow again. The Black Brandywine was an ok producer, but I had Cherokee Purple at the same time, and the Black Brandywines didn't get eaten, because I liked the Cherokee Purple so much better. Black Brandywine was much less sweet, and had a musky sort of taste, very "black" in flavor. Of course other people here may like it; I didn't though.

Which Black Brandywine were you growing? The first one was listed at TGS and was a result of an accidental cross between Brandywine and an unknown black. But it was not stable as first listed and one could get two different fruit forms from different plants. One looked like Black From Tula and well I remember Craig saying another one was a bag of seeds.

After a couple of years TGS pulled this one but I'm sure seeds are still floating around somewhere.

The second one was called True Black Brandywine as introduced by Will Weaver and so I don't have to type more just go to the Legacy Froum for that thread where some rather pointed comments were made, especially about WW. And Tania may list both, I didn't check that out.

Carolyn

[Cole_Robbie]

I bought the seed from Morgan County Seed co. I'm trying to remember their wholesaler; I called and asked them once. I think it was Seeds of Change.

[MrsJustice]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Which Black Brandywine were you growing? The first one was listed at TGS and was a result of an accidental cross between Brandywine and an unknown black. But it was not stable as first listed and one could get two different fruit forms from different plants. One looked like Black From Tula and well I remember Craig saying another one was a bag of seeds.

After a couple of years TGS pulled this one but I'm sure seeds are still floating around somewhere.

The second one was called True Black Brandywine as introduced by Will Weaver and so I don't have to type more just go to the Legacy Froum for that thread where some rather pointed comments were made, especially about WW. And Tania may list both, I didn't check that out.

Carolyn

Hello Carolyn
It’s good to see you doing so great in this New Year of 2015. I wish I had your energy around the web. The Black Brandywine is very good tasting to me with a creamy meaty texture without the sweetness, but more of a deep tomato taste.
Each year the Black Plum has the longest Shelf Life, even over the Cold Set tomatoes I grew last year. I never got a change to see if the Muchamiel "I call Spainards” had a long shelf life or not, because I just about eat them all. I am going to send some of the Seeds to Seed Saver Exchange and Tomatoes seeds from you last year hopefully tomorrow. Can I call the Muchamiel “The Spainards”?. That”s the question I have in a note for the Seeds Saver Exchange.

[heirloomtomaguy]

I grew black brandywine last year and loved the flavor. The fruits were 10 plus ounces and had a nice complex flavor that you would expect from a good black tomato. The two plants i had produced true to description and were pretty prolific for a larger variety. I will definitely grow it again.