Looking for a cherry tomato!

I grew Black Cherry, Sungold F1, Jaune Flamme, Improved Porter, and Juliet this year. I will not grow the Black Cherry, Sungold, or Jaune Flamme next year but will regrow Juliet (My daughter loves it and it pumps out tomatoes all season until frost) and Improved Porter (I'm really interested in how the variety produces new branches (not suckers) from the main stem as it grows).

I'm looking for a very productive, round, red, slightly acidic, slightly smaller than a ping pong ball, cherry variety to grow next year with my other two cherry varieties. I would appreciate any suggestions.

I'm also curious if anyone has grown the "Big Sungold Select" variety offered by Brad Gates at Wild Boar Farms. If you have grown it, comments would be appreciated.

Any comments on the "furry" varieties offered by Wild Boar farms would also be appreciated. I can only imagine eating them would be similar to eating a hairball or at the minimum, a fuzzy peach. I'm really interested in seeing and hearing peoples reactions when I give them a sack of tomatoes including some covered in hair.

Ted

[carolyn137]

Ted, Reinhard Kraft in Germany sent seeds of Big Sungold Select to both Brad and myself/ I offered it in my seed offer here at Tville the past two years, I think, for an SASE.

But it turns out there was a problem. Brad noticed and indicated at his site that it was not stable and noted the different colored ones he was getting and the same happened to the ones I was giving away here at Tville.

Sungold Select I
Sungold Select II

... were ones that Reinhard developed from Sungold F1 as OP's and were perfectly genetically stable when released and as far as I know still are.

Big Sungold
Big Sungold Select

...... were NOT developed by Reinhard, they were selections sent to Manfred Hahm , a friend of Reinhard's who sells seeds off Reinhard's website.

The two closet to Sungold F1 would be the first two IMO, but not that close to be honest.

I can't speak to brad Gates furry ones but can speak to the matte surface fuzzy/furry ones such as Nectarine, Peach Blow Sutton, Garden peach, if you want me too.

Also I sure don't consider Jaune Flammee to be cherry sized.

Finally when it comes to red cherries that are NOT sicky sweet but I think have great taste I'll just suggest a few:

Chadwick's Cherry, also known as Camp Joy
Gardener's Delight, an older German variety with great taste
Casino Chips, just offered here at Tville by the person who found it
Riesentraube, a multiflora

[habitat_gardener]

My favorite is Tommy Toe. I've grown it several years. It has good flavor at every stage of ripeness, unlike some other varieties where you have to eat them at the peak or else they're spitters. I think the flavor is balanced, so I guess it's slightly acidic. It's not a candy tomato like Sungold, and it doesn't have that off taste that Sungold gets. It's a large cherry, but hasn't gotten ping-pong size in my garden. And very productive once it gets started. It's not an early tomato, though -- a couple years ago, I got my first Tommy Toe around the same time as my first Purple Brandy (aka Marizol Bratka).

[pdxwindjammer]

It is always surprising to me when someone says they won't grow again what is on my list of must haves, such as Bleck Cherry. I LOVE these tomatoes and they do well form me here in Portland, OR.

I have not grown the "furry" ones from WB but I have grown Garden Peach and really liked it. I must have received over 100 pool ball sized peach colored tomatoes that had fuzz similar to what a peach has. I slow roasted trays and trays of these!

[feldon30]

Ted,

It would be extremely helpful to know what it is you did not like about Sungold and Black Cherry which for many people (not all) are their #1 and #2 tomato varieties. Some people find Sungold too fruity/floral, and others are frustrated at its predilection for splitting. Note that Sungold's flavor changes quite a bit depending on the stage of ripeness that you eat it. When they're still firm they have an acidic bite. When they get soft, they are more fruity.

Did the plants succumb to disease, did you have low productivity, or are we just talking flavor and fruit quality here?

Although I haven't grown that many, I've tasted quite a few, and I have yet to find a remarkable red cherry except Sweet 100. If you are willing to go pink, I would recommend Sweet Quartz F1 to anyone. I was harvesting practically a handful a day at its peak and they were delicious.

As has been drummed into our heads, flavor is an individual thing. For instance, few green-when-ripe tomatoes have impressed me, even when I have been presented with excellent examples. I'm just missing a gene or two that makes them go "wow!" in my mouth.

Thanks Carolyn, I think Risentraube is a very good choice.

Please define "multiflora" for me. I think the Improved Porter variety may be multiflora resulting in multiple branches emanating from the main stem with leafs that look almost rugose. The semi rugose leafs turn to regular serrated leafs as each branch grows. This season, I started removing the extra branches as if they were suckers. Later, I realized I didn't know how well the new branches would grow and produce so next season I will leave them on and see what they do.

The plants produced fruit that looked like pink eggs which turned red when ripe. I don't really consider it a cherry, but the size is slightly smaller than a ping pong ball and is very productive. The taste is good, but can't be defined as sweet or acidic.

While you are probably correct about the Jaune Flamme not truly being a cherry, the fruit were in the ping pong ball size range and very productive on long trusses. If I liked the taste, they would certainly be worth growing again.

Ted

[Mlm1]

If I were in the garden and had the following small tomatoes to eat while working I would eat them in the following order: Sweet as Linda, Elfin and Brandysweet Plum first:depending on which was closest at hand. I love all 3 of them. Next would be Black Cherry then Sun gold if I could find one that wasn't too ripe. I don't like overripe Sungold. Then Peacevine Cherry, Jaunne Flamme, and Juliet.

"Sweet as Linda" is new for us. I will e-mail Steve and ask him to comment on it.

Marla

Feldon,

I don't have any dislikes for either Black Cherry or Sungold. I've grown them, I know what they do and how they taste and want to move on and try some other varieties. I can't complain about production which was huge or taste or disease resistance. If I knew all I want to know about Improved Porter, it would also be gone after this season. The only one I can't get rid of is Juliet because it is my daughters favorite. I'm not a big fan of cherry tomatoes in general, but I want to continue looking for a few that will cause me to become a cherry tomato fan.

Like you, I'm missing the WOW gene when it comes to cherry tomatoes so far.

Ted

[carolyn137]

Ted, multiflora means many blossoms, and those blossoms are all on ONE stalk. Here's a Google IMAGES for Riesentraube:

http://www.google.com/search?num=10&...M6aU6QHoxfS_Bg

There can be up to several hundred blossoms on one stalk but usually only 30-50 will set fruit. To me Riesentraube has a taste more like a beefsteak tomato and is not sweet, nor floral , just darn good tasting.

There are quite a few other multiflora varieties, Ildi is another one although not red.

[janezee]

I like the sweet cherry tomatoes, but I agree that it would be nice to have real tomato taste in a smaller form, since it's so difficult to get larger toms to ripen and taste really succulent in the coolth.

I have high hopes for the Casino Chips and Gardener's Delight that are in now. Sorry the Babywine didn't make it to the garden this year, but 2013 planning is in gear already.

Have you tried any GWR varieties like Verde Claro, Green Doctors, Green Grape, or Green Zebra Cherry?

I'm also trying a few of Tom Wagner's new cherries this year. I'll let you know how they do.

j

j

[Sun City Linda]

Ted - I have seen switched photos and even descriptions at more than one seed site re: Porter and Improved Porter. If you are growing something like an egg shape that starts pink, that would be Porter. Improved Porter is larger, fully round and not pink at all. IMO, which is prone to operator error!

Several of us are growing a red cherry from Marko this year that he says is THE best!

[Worth1]

Ted Riesentraube should be your number one choice here in Texas for a small tomato that tastes like a big tomato.
All 3 of my plants are still going strong as we speak.
It tastes like a tomato with big bold tomato flavor.
I simply cant speak highly enough about this variety.
Put Riesentraube seeds in your shopping cart for next season and you wont be sorry.

Worth

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

Ted - I have seen switched photos and even descriptions at more than one seed site re: Porter and Improved Porter. If you are growing something like an egg shape that starts pink, that would be Porter. Improved Porter is larger, fully round and not pink at all. IMO, which is prone to operator error!

Several of us are growing a red cherry from Marko this year that he says is THE best!

Linda,

The confusion about Porter, Improved Porter, and Porters Improved or select is why I grew it. I remember a lady searching for "Improved Porter" which produced a pink egg by her description. She received a lot of replies which did not help her find her "pink egg".

I was in a plant nursery and noticed some tomato plants labeled "Improved Porter" with the little white sticks in each plant container. I bought two plants simply to see what kind of fruit would emerge. It was the only purchased plant I used this year. To my surprise, the green tomatoes turned to an iridescent pink color. I thought they were ripe, but after about one week; the pink eggs turned to a very bright red fruit. It made me wonder if people searching for red and pink egg tomatoes were searching for the same tomato but at different stages of ripeness.

Ted

[Sun City Linda]

I never knew about the improved Porter until two years ago. I started growing heirlooms from a catalog (Totally Tomatoes) about 12 years ago and they had Porter. They have always described it as pink egg shape. I found out last season that there was a Porter Improved. Infact, I think it is TGS who has the comments and pix switched right now (according to me) It would be nice to be able to go back to Porter Seeds but they are long gone. Maybe some old time Texas growers could confirm which is which.

Linda,

I saw the different seeds by different names available on a few sites. On two sites, the same photo appeared for the variety. On one site, the tomato was red. On the other site, the same photo showed bright pink tomatoes which had obviously been photo shopped. One site was trading on the red color while the other was trading on the pink color. At least one of the buyers would be disappointed.

I think some vendors would be happy to name some seed anything you want. If the results are not what the customer expected, it's probably the customers fault.

I'm not really as cynical as that sounds but I believe in the old saying which says "fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me".

Ted