Blue tomatoes: I was totally wrong

[Fred Hempel]

Going to try to find out what the variety was today.

[Fred Hempel]

Indigo Cherry Drops.

Cole Robbie, I think you grew these, but weren't that impressed.

Could be the environment of the ones I had suited the variety very well (Hot Central Valley, California).

[Fred Hempel]

The variety is from Oregon State University, and pretty widely available. OP too, and my grower friend is very happy with the production and the plant health.

[Cole_Robbie]

Nope, I haven't tried that one yet.

[BigVanVader]

Me either, on the list. Hope it dosent split badly. Thanks Fred.

[natural]

Almost every blue variety that I grew this year split horribly. We had way above average rainfall. However,the blues had a higher percentage of splitting than many non-blue varieties. The blue cherries were the worst offenders. Some of mine were listed below.
Amethyst Cream
Baby Blue
Painted Pink
Yamali Bluestem
Blue Ambrosia
WildCard Blues
Bing Cherry
Blue Pitts
Clackamus Blueberry
Fahrenheit Blues
Dancing With Smurfs
larger sizes included
Blue Bayou
Blue Streak
Alki Blueblood
Ozark Sunset
Ananas Blue
Amethyst Jewel
Blue Beauty
Blue Gold

The varieties with the least amount of splitting (acceptable amount for me) were

Amethyst Cream
Baby Blue
Dancing With Smurfs.

I really like Blue Beauty and Amethyst Jewel, but they crack when still green. What's the point.


Bill

[Fusion_power]

Now that I see the tomato, I'm 95% certain that it is one of the lines I sampled at OSU in 2012. There was one in particular that I exclaimed "I could sell this one, it tastes good!" The fruit in pics of Indigo Cherry Drops is identical to the good flavored line I sampled.

I'll get some seed next year and see if it lives up to the billing.

[Cole_Robbie]

Dancing with Smurfs hardly split for me last year. They tended to smash in the bucket, though, after being picked. Next year when I grow them, I will need to have a dedicated shallow box just for that variety.

Amethyst Cream makes a nice compliment to a blue-on-red cherry in a market mix of cherries. I wish the fruit were a little bigger. Bosque Blue Bumblebee is too big to be a cherry. Something in the middle would be perfect.

I haven't seen any blue cherries that have the oblong shape like several of the Artisans. Getting the blue gene into one of those would make a unique variety.

Also, I haven't seen a blue-on-green variety yet. My sweetest GWR cherry of the year has been Green Doctor's Frosted. Breeding those to have blue shoulders would be very cool; should be sweet, too.

[Fred Hempel]

Oh. Interesting. I thought I saw you planted them in another thread. Are they a late variety?

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Nope, I haven't tried that one yet.

[Fred Hempel]

I remembering your 2012 report. It sounds like these are probably the ones.

Interestingly, I asked my grower friend how he came to select this variety (assuming he tried 10 varieties and chose the best one).

He said he just bought the seed of that one only. Maybe he is very lucky! Actually, my top theory is that he got them at Johnny's. They sell only one "blue" variety. He probably let them do the selecting for him.

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

Now that I see the tomato, I'm 95% certain that it is one of the lines I sampled at OSU in 2012. There was one in particular that I exclaimed "I could sell this one, it tastes good!" The fruit in pics of Indigo Cherry Drops is identical to the good flavored line I sampled.

I'll get some seed next year and see if it lives up to the billing.

[BigVanVader]

Smart fella, Johnny's is about as reliable as you can get.

[Fred Hempel]

Yes. I am not surprised that Johnny's does not sell a bunch of blue tomatoes, or that they sell one that, although based on limited experience, I think is fantastic.

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Smart fella, Johnny's is about as reliable as you can get.