Why not grow hybrids instead of heirlooms? - Page 2

SummerSky · February 18, 2015

My dad is a firm believer in hybrids, and only wants to grow them. To him, they taste just fine as long as long as care is given to growing and picking them. They are almost always large, impressive, healthy plants that produce consistently. They are the workhorses of the garden that hardly fail to produce decent fruit, despite whatever conditions. I can't argue with him over it, because his hybrids are everything he is looking for in a tomato.

I, on the other hand, find his perfectly round red tomatoes quite boring. While I will always grow a few hybrids, I'm far too curious to limit myself to them. For me, gardening is more than just producing food. I see no reason to curb my explorations because heirlooms and open pollinated varieties can be hit or miss at times. I also don't see any reason to stop growing hybrids, simply because they have a bad reputation among other growers

DapsSeeds · February 18, 2015

I've grown some hybrids, but with 95% of what I'm growing being open pollinated/Heirlooms to compare with, the flavour of hybrids always lets me down. No exceptions. And I like the challenge to grow healthy Heirlooms with high yields. Last year I grew Supersweet 100 F1. It got late blight before most of my heirlooms. And yes, the yield (before it got the late blight) was a-ma-zing, but because of the lack of flavour the only ones that really enjoyed these cherries were my chickens.

gssgarden · February 18, 2015

I have yet to come across a hybrid that tastes like a KBX, Cherokee Purple or Pink Berkeley Tie Dye! Flavor that overwhelmes your senses with each bite!

Greg

NarnianGarden · February 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by DapsSeeds

I've grown some hybrids, but with 95% of what I'm growing being open pollinated/Heirlooms to compare with, the flavour of hybrids always lets me down. No exceptions. And I like the challenge to grow healthy Heirlooms with high yields. Last year I grew Supersweet 100 F1. It got late blight before most of my heirlooms. And yes, the yield (before it got the late blight) was a-ma-zing, but because of the lack of flavour the only ones that really enjoyed these cherries were my chickens.

Sounds reasonable to me - sadly, I don't have any chickens to feed, so any tasteless hybrids would be left to me and my family to consume

Thank God all OP's I have grown have been great. SunGold F1 was tasty as well, but not fabulous enough to be included in the grow list each year.

AlittleSalt · February 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

As a home gardener, it's all about flavour and variety for me. I don't have much disease in my area. I also like to save OP seed and collect many different varieties. "If you have Seen one red regular leaf hybrid beefsteak, you have seen em all"

All the recessive genes are what makes heirloom OP tomatoes more interesting to me.

KarenO

Word-for-word, exactly...except I don't use a "u" in flavor

I'm growing both hybrids and heirlooms and plan on saving seeds from all of them. Taste is the most important part.

zero244 · February 18, 2015

I don’t have any gripe against hybrids. If someone wants to hybridize some tomatoes and sell the seed that is fine. Overall the majority of OP tomatoes are going to taste better than hybrids.
The problem is we need to keep OP stains available, if for no other reason than should seeds become hard to get you can rely on your seeds that were saved from a previous grow.
This year 2015 I am going to grow one hybrid called Grandaddy and save some seeds and see if it breeds true. Everything else is going to be Heirloom or OP.
In human history many people have starved because they could not produce seeds for the next years crop.
Becoming dependant on hybrid vegetables, corporate farming or even family farms I would not like to do.

Worth1 · February 18, 2015

Too bad we cant cross tomatoes with peppers and okra.
We could call it topepamokra.

Sorry I'm beat, I have been grinding meat to make Knackwurst.

Worth

PaulF · February 18, 2015

Does that mean you are all knackered out?

AlittleSalt · February 18, 2015

Paul, that is funny

Starlight · February 18, 2015

The weather is terrible outside, so I am sitting here trying to organize my tomato and pepper seeds and see what I have. The thought running through my head is that with the heirlooms, like mentioned above, folks can save seed and maybe hold off starvation at some point.

But what happens when you can't get your favorite hybrid anymore? I'm sitting here with some older hybrid seed and having to google it to see if anybody is even selling it any more.

I do grow both. Excited about the new heirlooms I plan to start, but am adding Boy-Oh-Boy a new hybrid for me to the list too.

Worth1 · February 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulF

Does that mean you are all knackered out?

Well the (((Wurst)))

of its over all I have to do now is smoke it for a few hours and then start on the next half tomorrow.

I'm making about 20 pounds worth that is worth about $80 dollars for about $28 dollars at the going rate.
Not bad for a days work.

I see a big electric grinder and a sausage stuffer in my very near future my arms are killing me.

As for the question that was asked, I dont care what it is as long as it isn't store bought unless it is an heirloom store bought that you can by from the store.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · February 18, 2015

When I sell plants in the spring, I grow Big Beef as my only hybrid; the rest are heirlooms or modern OP varieties. I ask people if they are fairly new at gardening, and if so I recommend Big Beef. If they say they are experienced gardeners, then we talk about heirlooms.

The heirloom/hybrid discrepancy is not nearly as great with cherry tomatoes, at least in my opinion. Sungold is a good example.

Peppers, on the other hand, in my experience reward the buying of expensive hybrid seeds, especially with bells, and especially as a market grower looking for yield.

Worth1 · February 18, 2015

I tested the sausage if I didn't know better I would say it was knackwurst.

I just made the recipe up out of my head and from past experience.

Worth

Mojo · February 19, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by gssgarden

I have yet to come across a hybrid that tastes like a KBX, Cherokee Purple or Pink Berkeley Tie Dye! Flavor that overwhelmes your senses with each bite!

Greg

SETTFest 2010: the taste competition was conceded to have been won by a hybrid. And to this day, I am convinced that this website's subsequent glorification of Atkinson got heeded by Bonnie's and that's when they started bringing that old market hybrid back into production.

DapsSeeds · February 19, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Sounds reasonable to me - sadly, I don't have any chickens to feed, so any tasteless hybrids would be left to me and my family to consume

Thank God all OP's I have grown have been great. SunGold F1 was tasty as well, but not fabulous enough to be included in the grow list each year.

The saucepan is your best friend.

February 18, 2015	#23
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,296	Does that mean you are all knackered out? __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

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February 18, 2015	#16
SummerSky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Michigan Posts: 126	My dad is a firm believer in hybrids, and only wants to grow them. To him, they taste just fine as long as long as care is given to growing and picking them. They are almost always large, impressive, healthy plants that produce consistently. They are the workhorses of the garden that hardly fail to produce decent fruit, despite whatever conditions. I can't argue with him over it, because his hybrids are everything he is looking for in a tomato. I, on the other hand, find his perfectly round red tomatoes quite boring. While I will always grow a few hybrids, I'm far too curious to limit myself to them. For me, gardening is more than just producing food. I see no reason to curb my explorations because heirlooms and open pollinated varieties can be hit or miss at times. I also don't see any reason to stop growing hybrids, simply because they have a bad reputation among other growers

February 18, 2015	#17
DapsSeeds Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Drenthe, The Netherlands Posts: 75	I've grown some hybrids, but with 95% of what I'm growing being open pollinated/Heirlooms to compare with, the flavour of hybrids always lets me down. No exceptions. And I like the challenge to grow healthy Heirlooms with high yields. Last year I grew Supersweet 100 F1. It got late blight before most of my heirlooms. And yes, the yield (before it got the late blight) was a-ma-zing, but because of the lack of flavour the only ones that really enjoyed these cherries were my chickens.

February 18, 2015	#18
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	I have yet to come across a hybrid that tastes like a KBX, Cherokee Purple or Pink Berkeley Tie Dye! Flavor that overwhelmes your senses with each bite! Greg

February 18, 2015	#21
zero244 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Oregon Posts: 47	I don’t have any gripe against hybrids. If someone wants to hybridize some tomatoes and sell the seed that is fine. Overall the majority of OP tomatoes are going to taste better than hybrids. The problem is we need to keep OP stains available, if for no other reason than should seeds become hard to get you can rely on your seeds that were saved from a previous grow. This year 2015 I am going to grow one hybrid called Grandaddy and save some seeds and see if it breeds true. Everything else is going to be Heirloom or OP. In human history many people have starved because they could not produce seeds for the next years crop. Becoming dependant on hybrid vegetables, corporate farming or even family farms I would not like to do.

February 18, 2015	#22
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Too bad we cant cross tomatoes with peppers and okra. We could call it topepamokra. Sorry I'm beat, I have been grinding meat to make Knackwurst. Worth

February 18, 2015	#24
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Paul, that is funny

February 18, 2015	#25
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	The weather is terrible outside, so I am sitting here trying to organize my tomato and pepper seeds and see what I have. The thought running through my head is that with the heirlooms, like mentioned above, folks can save seed and maybe hold off starvation at some point. But what happens when you can't get your favorite hybrid anymore? I'm sitting here with some older hybrid seed and having to google it to see if anybody is even selling it any more. I do grow both. Excited about the new heirlooms I plan to start, but am adding Boy-Oh-Boy a new hybrid for me to the list too.

February 18, 2015	#27
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	When I sell plants in the spring, I grow Big Beef as my only hybrid; the rest are heirlooms or modern OP varieties. I ask people if they are fairly new at gardening, and if so I recommend Big Beef. If they say they are experienced gardeners, then we talk about heirlooms. The heirloom/hybrid discrepancy is not nearly as great with cherry tomatoes, at least in my opinion. Sungold is a good example. Peppers, on the other hand, in my experience reward the buying of expensive hybrid seeds, especially with bells, and especially as a market grower looking for yield.