Kumato Mini

[amideutch]

Was at the supermarket this morning and found these in the produce section. Any way they be around 15 grams the same as a cherry. Popped one in my mouth and after biting it noticed it was thick skinned and when I bit through to the core that's when the flavor surfaced. I popped another in my mouth to make sure it wasn't a fluke and it wasn't, for a store bought/hybrid it was a 10 and in the heirloom class a 7. Ami

[tam91]

Interesting - I haven't seen those here yet - I hope they show up.

[carolyn137]

I'm having DSL line problems but had Googled mini Kumatos to see if they too were from Syngenta, and yes, they are and were introduced in the UK in 2009 in several Marks and Spencer stores in the UK.

I lost that post and link I posted but if anyone is intrested, you can Google it again/

THe Google search brought up MANY links to mini-Kumatos, but I'd never heard of them either until Ami's post.

[kurt]

They have been selling both the medium and the small Kumatos here in Miami for a couple of years now.The minis are too thick skinned for me,they are more fleshy and not worth the price they asked for them.They started out as coming out of Canada(Sygenta)but now I have been seeing a Mexican stamp on them but with the Sygenta name still.

[kurt]

http://therealjacqui.tumblr.com/post...umato-r-tomato Found this,might explain the hype and mystery.

[swamper]

I noticed that the smaller Kumatos sourced from Canada tasted better to me than the larger Kumato fruit from Mexico. I was wondering if they had several strains or it that was environmental. Your observation makes me think perhaps they do have more than one line, but I dont like to speculate. Where were they grown? It should say on the package.

[tam91]

Originally Posted by kurt

http://therealjacqui.tumblr.com/post...umato-r-tomato Found this,might explain the hype and mystery.

I'm afraid I'm not impressed with the author of that article. For example, she says:

"However, a hybrid means that the seeds are not viable. Typically if you try to save the seeds from a hybrid tomato and then plant them, the fruits that come out of your resulting plant won’t be similar to the fruit they came from at all, and may not even represent either parent of that tomato. Basically, if you manage to produce fruits at all from the seed of a hybrid tomato, they are freakish, unpredictable fruits—and it’s possible they may not even be edible, depending on what’s going on with the tomato’s genetics. So, because the Kumato® is a patented, hybrid variety of tomato, there is virtually no way that a home gardener would be able to save seed and grow their own patented Kumato® plants for private use. It’s simply not possible biologically."

What a bunch of nonsense.

[Jennyann]

I saved seeds from a grocery store Kumato (not the mini) and both plants we're exactly like the Kumato--in fruit characteristics anyway. So, Tam91 I agree that part of the article is not accurate.

[swamper]

so Jennyann? Does that mean your homegrown f2s did not taste better than the store-bought picked green and shipped versions?

[travis]

Originally Posted by tam91

What a bunch of nonsense.

I agree there is a boatload of nonsense in the portion you quote, but one sentence stands out with a bit of truth:

"Typically if you try to save the seeds from a hybrid tomato and then plant them, the fruits that come out of your resulting plant won’t be similar to the fruit they came from at all, and may not even represent either parent of that tomato."

While Jennyann's experience with F2 Kumatos seemed to indicate otherwise, my experience growing out commerical F2s generally reflects the author's cautionary note - I usually get fruit characteristics that do not duplicate the original F1 - maybe not as much in the F2 as in subsequent generations where the fruit shapes, sizes, and numbers become more divergent from the F1. This has been particularly noticeable in the F3.

I started several Kumato F2s this year (in February), and already notice quite a bit of diversity in plant characteristics at the transplant stage, as the flower buds just now begin to emerge. The most noticeable diversity at present is in internode spacing.

[travis]

After reading the excerpt provided by Tam, I didn't bother to read the article at the link, because the gist I get is the author is either shilling to protecting Kumato's proprietary rights, or simply copying information gleened from other authors without any personal, in-garden research to back up his words. But isn't that quite common in our hobby - for folks to read something somewhere else, and assume it's accurate, then repeat the half-true information in an attempt to appear informed?

[tam91]

Well yes, seeds from hybrids very likely may be different from the original tomato, of course that's true. But the rest of it...

[kurt]

This upcoming Sept I will be putting down Kumatos and it will be the 4th year of growing them from store bought larger saved seeds(Canadian).They have been consistent in taste from the first year but the sizes and colors have changed through the years.We all know this and we could not produce the same plant as expected and wished for.We could not expect to mimic the same growing conditions that the originals came from.Climate,soils,ferts,opinions,and methods are all different to each and everyone of us mater nuts.I like them,the wife loves them.I do not experiment with different varietys for that reason.I know what grows here in S Florida and stick to that premise.The only real heirloom we have is a Homestead Red which I do not like.I like the cherrys that do great down here.Not really into the bragging rights and mater knowledge but more into getting the best out of what I have to work with.I say stick to what you got for the area you live in and help anyone with the nuts and bolts part of growing,and keeping it to a cost that will not make tomatoes too expensive to grow.

[sprtsguy76]

I've seen the larger kumato tomatoes earlier this year sold in the sleeve type packaging at my local grocery store. After reading some good things about it I've been wanting to try them but havent been able to locate them since seeing them 3 months ago. I've said this before but it seems to me that SOME select produce sold at the grocery stores seems to be better. Still no comparison to home grown stuff but in the dead of winter my standards are much lower......

Damon

[Dewayne mater]

In Dallas small and medium Kumatos have been the winter mater of choice for me for a couple of years. For a store bought winter tomato, they are very good and they hold well. Haven't seen the minis yet though.