CELEBRITY TOMATO , What Do you know About It ??

Gardeneer · March 5, 2017

I have heard about it here and there. I get the impression that it used to be very popular... But I have not grown it myself and know very little about it.

Now, what got me interested is that I saw Bonnie is selling them at BBS. The plants looked real nice. I thought I might buy one just for the heck of it ( $3.78 plus tax !! not cheap) but then I decided to investigate a little more about it and here I am, starting this thread:

What do you know about it ?
Have you grown it ?
How do you review it in terms of taste, production, growth habit, disease issues, etc. ?
BTW: I searched for a thread on it , here at TV, but could not find one.

I have already have 32 varieties growing so one more is not going to hurt.

Thanks in advance .

Spartanburg123 · March 5, 2017

I've never grown it. But a friend of mine lost most of his tomato plants to Fusarium Wilt. After googling some resistant varieties, he planted a few of those Home Depot $3.78 specials right there in that nasty soil, and those things just trucked on like it was nothing. He got great production, and the taste was pretty good as well. It appears to be a very hardy variety!

March 5, 2017

I grew it several years in the past and it performed great- but in recent years I have had weird issues with it. at first it was a perfect globe shape- then I got fruit strangely shaped with nipples! taste was diminished too- I just lost interest and stopped growing it. big Beef has pretty much replaced it in my garden.

Worth1 · March 5, 2017

Many of us here feel the new celebrity is not like the old celebrity even though they dont claim to have a new celebrity.
Did you get all of that?

I have grown it and I used to like it.
What I feel is this NEW celebrity isn't anything close to the old one.
Still one of the best hybrids out there for home production in my book.
I have had many plants like 50 just loaded with them.

Worth

Deborah · March 5, 2017

I grew it once, let it sprawl and it went crazy. I was begging for people to take them. Too sweet.

Donna Mattingly · March 5, 2017

Celebrity was our "safety" tomato for several years. It was really good! But something happened to it after about the third year - not sure what, but I don't like growing that anymore. The taste went way down hill.

Dark Rumor · March 5, 2017

I have bought Celebrity from two growers and they are very large with very little flavor and the texture can be a bit on the soft side.

ginger2778 · March 6, 2017

Grew it once, will not grow it again. Produced lots of bland supermarket quality fruit. Too many good ones around to let it take up my garden space. Meh!

JohnJones · March 6, 2017

You're seeing it because you're in the South now and it is (or has been) a tried and true disease resistant, productive variety down here. Small commercial growers all over Mississippi grow Celebrity and fill patches up with medium to large red maters. Taste is so so vs better toms to me but still a fresh grown tomato. It was an AAS winner years back.

I have a guy I buy boxes of ugly Celebrity tomatoes from for 1/3 normal cost to make fresh salsa with. Good salsa...

Keiththibodeaux · March 6, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJones

You're seeing it because you're in the South now and it is (or has been) a tried and true disease resistant, productive variety down here. Small commercial growers all over Mississippi grow Celebrity and fill patches up with medium to large red maters. Taste is so so vs better toms to me but still a fresh grown tomato. It was an AAS winner years back.

I have a guy I buy boxes of ugly Celebrity tomatoes from for 1/3 normal cost to make fresh salsa with. Good salsa...

This is all my Dad grows and is a good producer in So. Louisiana. It is not my favorite, but is far from a bad tomato. Dad prefers it because it is very disease resistant here in a place where moisture, humidity and fungal diseases reign supreme.

AlittleSalt · March 6, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Many of us here feel the new celebrity is not like the old celebrity even though they dont claim to have a new celebrity.
Did you get all of that?

I have grown it and I used to like it.
What I feel is this NEW celebrity isn't anything close to the old one.
Still one of the best hybrids out there for home production in my book.
I have had many plants like 50 just loaded with them.

Worth

I grew the older ones. The new seeds are not improved - they're the opposite.

The older Celebrity produced an abundance of tomatoes that tasted much better as fried green tomatoes. Otherwise, they were boring supermarket crapola.

The new ones -

JohnJones · March 6, 2017

Y'all must get a lot better supermarket tomatoes than I do...

heirloomtomaguy · March 6, 2017

I know i wont be growing it any time soon. Way to many better tomato varieties to choose from.

Hoosier · March 6, 2017

I grew it last year and will grow it again this year. It did very well and I didn't notice that it was bad tasting. I grow a lot of different varieties and my wife fixes them sometimes and I don't really know which ones I'm eating but I didn't hear any complaints. I would say grow one and see for yourself, since everyone's tasters are different.

Cole_Robbie · March 6, 2017

A lot of people like Celebrity. When I tried it, my tomatoes were as hard as rocks and not much better-tasting than the grocery store. Big Beef, Jet Star, and Early Girl all have far superior flavor...at least in my garden.

March 5, 2017	#1
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	CELEBRITY TOMATO , What Do you know About It ?? I have heard about it here and there. I get the impression that it used to be very popular... But I have not grown it myself and know very little about it. Now, what got me interested is that I saw Bonnie is selling them at BBS. The plants looked real nice. I thought I might buy one just for the heck of it ( $3.78 plus tax !! not cheap) but then I decided to investigate a little more about it and here I am, starting this thread: What do you know about it ? Have you grown it ? How do you review it in terms of taste, production, growth habit, disease issues, etc. ? BTW: I searched for a thread on it , here at TV, but could not find one. I have already have 32 varieties growing so one more is not going to hurt. Thanks in advance . __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

March 5, 2017	#5
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	I grew it once, let it sprawl and it went crazy. I was begging for people to take them. Too sweet. __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

March 6, 2017	#9
JohnJones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Mississippi Posts: 339	You're seeing it because you're in the South now and it is (or has been) a tried and true disease resistant, productive variety down here. Small commercial growers all over Mississippi grow Celebrity and fill patches up with medium to large red maters. Taste is so so vs better toms to me but still a fresh grown tomato. It was an AAS winner years back. I have a guy I buy boxes of ugly Celebrity tomatoes from for 1/3 normal cost to make fresh salsa with. Good salsa... Last edited by JohnJones; March 6, 2017 at 12:50 AM.

March 6, 2017	#13
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	I know i wont be growing it any time soon. Way to many better tomato varieties to choose from. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

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March 5, 2017	#2
Spartanburg123 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Spartanburg, SC Posts: 1,262	I've never grown it. But a friend of mine lost most of his tomato plants to Fusarium Wilt. After googling some resistant varieties, he planted a few of those Home Depot $3.78 specials right there in that nasty soil, and those things just trucked on like it was nothing. He got great production, and the taste was pretty good as well. It appears to be a very hardy variety!

March 5, 2017	#3
JoParrott Guest Posts: n/a	I grew it several years in the past and it performed great- but in recent years I have had weird issues with it. at first it was a perfect globe shape- then I got fruit strangely shaped with nipples! taste was diminished too- I just lost interest and stopped growing it. big Beef has pretty much replaced it in my garden.

March 5, 2017	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Many of us here feel the new celebrity is not like the old celebrity even though they dont claim to have a new celebrity. Did you get all of that? I have grown it and I used to like it. What I feel is this NEW celebrity isn't anything close to the old one. Still one of the best hybrids out there for home production in my book. I have had many plants like 50 just loaded with them. Worth

March 5, 2017	#6
Donna Mattingly Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 64	Celebrity was our "safety" tomato for several years. It was really good! But something happened to it after about the third year - not sure what, but I don't like growing that anymore. The taste went way down hill.

March 5, 2017	#7
Dark Rumor Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 287	I have bought Celebrity from two growers and they are very large with very little flavor and the texture can be a bit on the soft side.

March 6, 2017	#8
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Grew it once, will not grow it again. Produced lots of bland supermarket quality fruit. Too many good ones around to let it take up my garden space. Meh!

March 6, 2017	#14
Hoosier Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Indiana Posts: 97	I grew it last year and will grow it again this year. It did very well and I didn't notice that it was bad tasting. I grow a lot of different varieties and my wife fixes them sometimes and I don't really know which ones I'm eating but I didn't hear any complaints. I would say grow one and see for yourself, since everyone's tasters are different.

March 6, 2017	#15
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	A lot of people like Celebrity. When I tried it, my tomatoes were as hard as rocks and not much better-tasting than the grocery store. Big Beef, Jet Star, and Early Girl all have far superior flavor...at least in my garden.