Spitters and other Insipid Tomatoes

[Gimme3]

What a wacked out Thread ! Is nothin Sacred anymore ?...not even BW or GRSB or Opalka ?....lol

Craig, you got the right idea, tho...keep tryin em till you find what you Want ...)))

Ok...when i first read this thread, the absolute first culprit that came to mind was Isis Candy (yuck)...but then i thought to self..."Well, it sucks for more than jus taste...an...dang....it didnt taste as bad as the card-board
paste tastin Large -Fruited Red Cherry that ill never grow again after last year".

But then...i got to thinkin a little more on it...an...i guess hands down, for a True spitter an "run get some water to rinse out the taste...Quick !" Winner of this award...it would have to be the yellow cherry fruit that a Maxifort rootstock plant produces a Trainload of. Yep...that one'll make ya sick. Its easy to figure why Tomatos were once thought to be poisonous, after tryin it.

About the only regular tomato that comes to mind would be a Siberian. There are many that i've not been too fond of, but it's the only one to date that experiences with could qualify it for this Award.

Good Thread...)))

[TomatoDon]

I don't want to divert off topic, but I used to have four 24 X 96 greenhouses, about 10,000 square feet total. If I were to really do tomatoes the way I'd like, I'd do just what you are doing. I'd start early using the greenhouse for heat, then have some shade and cool air in the hot summer. I'd try to moderate that temp as the summer wore on. I think they have those mister fans for that now. But, just not cost effective as a hobby.

Anyway...any other spitters for hot climates I should consider avoiding?

Thanks!

Don

[Mantis]

Any of the cold varieties I avoid. Ie Nepal has never performed for me. Pink Ping Pong has been an absolute winner for me this year. I grew it outside and is still producing fruit in quantity. Great taste as well. Got one going for the fall (Autumn) crop.
Sorry, I know this is a spitter thread but ......

[montanamato]

Sungold in my dry, droughty garden has been a spitter for 3 years...Even the chickens don't favor it....I stuck with Cherokee Purple because of the hype and it finely came through , but I am throwing in the towel on Sungold...All the OP cherries taste much better to my taste...

Mantis...Just getting ready to sow Early Wonder in a few months...I may have to go with Early Glee instead...

I also like yellow and orange tomatoes that are "bland". They are great to start kids on tomatoes. They are great to use in combo with other reds, etc. I always get a chuckle out of threads looking for yellows that taste like reds....If you want a big flavor grow a red/pink. In my mind a yellow/orange should taste mild and sometimes that is what I want....Um, Yellow Pear being the exception, too mealy for even decorating platters with...

Jeanne

[carolyn137]

This isn't going to work b'c for every spitter mentioned there are others who put that variety at the top of their list, and most of you knew that this would be the result.

There is absolutely no way that one can see that someone mentiones that this or that variety is a spitter and assume that that variety will be the same for any other person.

Just oo many darn variables, starting with taste, which is a personal perception and genetically associated anyway.

Then you've got seeds used from where, how were the plants grown, amendments, soil types, weather, and how many other variables.

So relax folks, if Craig doesn't like GRS, well I do, and very much so.

And if Earl likes SFT, well, that's his problem.

Sheeeeeeesh, we are different folks, we are different in what we taste, how we perceive that taste and lots more.

Now that being said, just off the top of my head my spitters are:

Sandpoint
Silvery Fir Tree
Reisetomate
Noire des Cosebeauf
Purple Calabash
Caro Rich
Double Rich

........and I'd have to pull out my data notebooks that go way back to list all the other ones, b'c there are many that I grew that I'd never grow again, that's for sure.

[Tormato]

I never called Magnum a spitter. It just tastes like spit (one's own).

Another nearly insipid tomato I've tried is (an incorrectly labeled?) Bear Claw. I'll trial it again side-by-side with the real BC. I'm calling the imposter Ursa Major Disappointment, for now.

True spitters for me are Green Zebra, Tigerella, and every "Noir".

Callin' 'em like I taste 'em,

Tormato

[shelleybean]

Wickline. Mostly because of the mushy texture, but it's also got a funky taste.

[PaulF]

A few years back I did a grow-out for Craig. Yellow-Orange Globe is a beautiful 6 to 8 ounce blemish free tomato that says "eat me right now". Well, don't do it; that one has a taste of mud with a tinge of kerosene thrown in. The bouquet is reminiscent of dog crap. I sent the seeds back to Craig anyway.

[nctomatoman]

Yep - I got the seeds from Dorothy Beiswinger of MN. Grew it once - and the flavor for me here in Raleigh was pretty good (solid 6.5-7/10). Is it soil? weather? individual taste?

that's what makes this so much fun!

[barkeater]

These have been the spitters in my Vermont garden, ranked from the most rank to least:

1. Super Marmande
2. Prudens Purple
3. Diener (Santa Clara Canner)
4. Anna Russian
5. Kosovo
6. Gregori Altai

[Tomstrees]

Spitters:

TomCat
Yellow Pear
&
Jaune Flamme (it was prob. the texture of JF that set me off - had to be "over-ripe/mushy" for any taste ...

Tom

[Lee]

I'm gonna put a big second in for Noire des Cosebeauf.

Bleh....

Copia is an across the table spitter here.
Also Happy F1 of the dwarf project was a a mild spitter
at Tomatopalooza[tm] IV last year.

Lee

[tjg911]

In my experience (ymmv) all the bi-colors red and yellow (no exceptions), all the yellows (exceptions are Azoychka and Lillian's Yellow Heirloom) and all the oranges (exception is Sun Gold) that I have grown are too mild favored for my taste.

I am going to grow Tom's Yellow Wonder this year and I expect it to be good but we'll see.

I grew Kellogg's Breakfast 2 seasons and while it is a very prolific plant with huge fruits that are truly a beautiful orange in a green jungle, they are mild.

I have grown Brandywine a few different years. It is a very poor producer and I was never impressed with the flavor.

Palla di Fuoco makes great sauce because it is ROCK hard. Some apples I have eaten are softer like Yellow Delicious. A truly horrid tomato for fresh eating tho I only grew it one season and it was a good season not like last year.

Any time I see "mild" in a seed catalog I know to not even consider that variety.

I'm surprised to see Sun Gold listed but it just proves that the ONLY way you will know is to grow "it" and perhaps more than just 1 year. Your conditions are unique.

Tom

[Joel5000]

I have to agree with Carolyn's post. I've had some vaieties do very well for me, that get bashed repeatedly on the boards. Mr. Stripey has been delicious and prolific two years in a row for me (and always is the first to go when I bring trays of sliced tomatoes to gatherings).

That being said, here are the varieties that have been disappointing for me:

Silvery Fir Tree - I love the look of this plant, but the tomatoes just have a WEIRD taste that I don't care for.

Marianna's Peace - bland and a low-yielding plant for me.

Livingston's Golden Queen - Another beautiful tomato that just didn't deliver the taste I was hoping for.

Yellow Pear - No flavor uncooked, but i will always grow these for use in my roasted cherry tomato pasta. The key is to halve them, toss them with some good balsamic and sliced shallots, and then roast in the oven for 40 minutes or so.

[PaulF]

and Keith, up the river an hour, Kellogg's Breakfast is a big deal.