First Time Gems and Duds - Page 5

Barb_FL · December 16, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milan HP

A contribution from another continent.

A question: Has anyone here grown Galahad F1 or Defiant PhR F1? Can you give me any references? Thanks.

Milan HP

I've grown both -2nd season for both although Galahad had just been released last year so it was hot when it was planted out.

Galahad has bigger tomatoes but doesn't like it really hot. I live in a hot/humid climate. Both are fine with humidity and continue to produce all season. Neither are short; Galahad I had to add an cage extension; so 6'.

Galahad gets the edge from me.

Barb_FL · December 16, 2020

Gems - PPP - Pale Perfect Purple. Not huge by any means, but lots of dark tomatoes that don't split in my hot / humid climate. If you live in an area where cracking / splitting is a major problem, I would try these. They really are perfect shaped.

Red Lithium - This is another large producer although I do have cracking on the top. No gnarly bottoms though.

littleukgarden · December 16, 2020

Another input from another continent!

For me, this year Sungold - exceptionally good fruit set and flavour, bursts of sheer deliciousness!
Hawaiian Pineapple seemed to do ok here, not a huge amount of fruit set but did get a whopper from a megabloom ��
Another gem for me here was an F1 variety called Gourmandia oxheart beefsteak type - had regular supply of 7-10oz fruits made a good slicer

Duds for me
Thai Pink Egg - abundant with production - but very “meh” bland and just not a nice eat
Big Girl - produced nothing on the one plant I had? Same conditions as some of my best and treated no differently so was a bit of head scratcher on that one - no idea what happened
Country Taste F1 - big consistent fruits just very bland

Milan HP · December 18, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

I've grown both -2nd season for both although Galahad had just been released last year so it was hot when it was planted out.

Galahad has bigger tomatoes but doesn't like it really hot. I live in a hot/humid climate. Both are fine with humidity and continue to produce all season. Neither are short; Galahad I had to add an cage extension; so 6'.

Galahad gets the edge from me.

Thanks.

I don't think there will be a problem with heat here, so it's ok. Just a bit shocked at its 6 feet. That's more like indeterminate. I'm mainly interested in its late blight resistance.
On a scale 0 - 10, where would you put them tastewise?

Milan HP

Barb_FL · December 18, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milan HP

Thanks.

I don't think there will be a problem with heat here, so it's ok. Just a bit shocked at its 6 feet. That's more like indeterminate. I'm mainly interested in its late blight resistance.
On a scale 0 - 10, where would you put them tastewise?

Milan HP

Probably an 8. Definitely worth growing ; Hopefully Greatgardens will chime in; it was his favorite large.

19-20 season the only tomato over 9 was GGWT, 18-19 season Polish was a 10 but did not taste that good in 19-20 (when I grew a bunch of them), years prior to that I loved Kelloggs Breakfast.

It may be tall b/c I have such a long season and we have low light conditions in Dec/January and then it starts getting better.

I'm growing Black Seaman (another determinate) and they both are about 6' too.

The only determinate that stayed short (3') for me was Mountain Fresh Plus.

Fred Hempel · December 18, 2020

2020 Gems

Anahu
Kenneth's Piennolo
Mary Reynolds
Midnight Sun
Taiga

Greatgardens · December 20, 2020

Galahad... One of the best flavored tomatoes I've ever grown. For fans of tart tomatoes, you probably won't be thrilled. Mild and sweet, even when not fully ripe. I planted mine in a 10-gallon grow bag, so that may have affected the size, but mine was only 4 ft. I also planted it later in the season, so the hours of light were less. It did have a spate of BER with the early fruit. Did not crack or split -- really good looking fruit. Good yielder, but still did not approach the production of Stellar F1. But Galahad's flavor is massively better. For me, this is a great tomato.

Fred Hempel · December 20, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

Galahad... One of the best flavored tomatoes I've ever grown. For fans of tart tomatoes, you probably won't be thrilled. Mild and sweet, even when not fully ripe. I planted mine in a 10-gallon grow bag, so that may have affected the size, but mine was only 4 ft. I also planted it later in the season, so the hours of light were less. It did have a spate of BER with the early fruit. Did not crack or split -- really good looking fruit. Good yielder, but still did not approach the production of Stellar F1. But Galahad's flavor is massively better. For me, this is a great tomato.

Very interesting.

Milan HP · December 22, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

Galahad... One of the best flavored tomatoes I've ever grown. For fans of tart tomatoes, you probably won't be thrilled. Mild and sweet, even when not fully ripe. I planted mine in a 10-gallon grow bag, so that may have affected the size, but mine was only 4 ft. I also planted it later in the season, so the hours of light were less. It did have a spate of BER with the early fruit. Did not crack or split -- really good looking fruit. Good yielder, but still did not approach the production of Stellar F1. But Galahad's flavor is massively better. For me, this is a great tomato.

Thanks for cheering me up. Now I have very strong motivation to grow them even though I am not the greatest fan of beef tomatoes in the world.

Greatgardens · December 22, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milan HP

Thanks for cheering me up. Now I have very strong motivation to grow them even though I am not the greatest fan of beef tomatoes in the world.

Great that it cheered you up. I would add one thing. I would make sure to have enough calcium to mitigate BER. If Galahad has a weakness, I think it is more susceptible to BER. If growing in garden soil rather than a container, it may not be much of an issue. Most of Galahad fruits were 8-10 oz. I wish they were a little smaller, but maybe someday I'll find that elusive "perfect tomato!"

Labradors2 · December 22, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

Great that it cheered you up. I would add one thing. I would make sure to have enough calcium to mitigate BER. If Galahad has a weakness, I think it is more susceptible to BER. If growing in garden soil rather than a container, it may not be much of an issue. Most of Galahad fruits were 8-10 oz. I wish they were a little smaller, but maybe someday I'll find that elusive "perfect tomato!"

Greatgardens, If you are looking for something tasty and compact with perfect saladette-sized red orbs, might I suggest Bulgarian Triumph? It's one of my favourites.

Linda

Milan HP · December 25, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Greatgardens, If you are looking for something tasty and compact with perfect saladette-sized red orbs, might I suggest Bulgarian Triumph? It's one of my favourites.

Linda

Hello Linda.
Is Triumph an old variety? I have a memory of excellent tomatoes that were probably imported from Bulgaria. At that time, I was just a teenager, I wasn't really interested much in information about what I ate. And now that tomatoes have become half of my life, I'd like to find out what variety it was. A bit too late, but I keep hoping.
Thank you.

Milan HP · December 25, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

Great that it cheered you up. I would add one thing. I would make sure to have enough calcium to mitigate BER. If Galahad has a weakness, I think it is more susceptible to BER. If growing in garden soil rather than a container, it may not be much of an issue. Most of Galahad fruits were 8-10 oz. I wish they were a little smaller, but maybe someday I'll find that elusive "perfect tomato!"

That probably won't be a problem in my garden as the substrate is yellow alkaline clay with plenty accessible calcium. But I'll bear it in mind and provide some more just to be on the safe side. Thank you for the warning.

Labradors2 · December 25, 2020

Milan HP,

Bulgarian Triumph is an old variety. Certainly worth growing!

Here's a link: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Bulgarian_Triumph

Linda

Milan HP · December 28, 2020

Thank you, Linda.
Unfortunately it isn't probably the variety I used to love in the 60s. That one had larger fruits and must have been registered perhaps in the 1950s. Maybe even earlier. I am also aware of the fact that my memory is selective and whatever I remember from my youth may be tinged rosy or some other optimistic color. :-)
Anyway, I'll try it. My next year plan is already too ambitious as it is, but 2022 is still open.

Milan HP

December 18, 2020	#66
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	2020 Gems Anahu Kenneth's Piennolo Mary Reynolds Midnight Sun Taiga __________________ Artisan Seeds -- www.growartisan.com Last edited by Fred Hempel; December 18, 2020 at 02:46 PM.

December 16, 2020	#62
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Gems - PPP - Pale Perfect Purple. Not huge by any means, but lots of dark tomatoes that don't split in my hot / humid climate. If you live in an area where cracking / splitting is a major problem, I would try these. They really are perfect shaped. Red Lithium - This is another large producer although I do have cracking on the top. No gnarly bottoms though.

December 16, 2020	#63
littleukgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: UK Posts: 60	Another input from another continent! For me, this year Sungold - exceptionally good fruit set and flavour, bursts of sheer deliciousness! Hawaiian Pineapple seemed to do ok here, not a huge amount of fruit set but did get a whopper from a megabloom �� Another gem for me here was an F1 variety called Gourmandia oxheart beefsteak type - had regular supply of 7-10oz fruits made a good slicer Duds for me Thai Pink Egg - abundant with production - but very “meh” bland and just not a nice eat Big Girl - produced nothing on the one plant I had? Same conditions as some of my best and treated no differently so was a bit of head scratcher on that one - no idea what happened Country Taste F1 - big consistent fruits just very bland

December 20, 2020	#67
Greatgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,124	Galahad... One of the best flavored tomatoes I've ever grown. For fans of tart tomatoes, you probably won't be thrilled. Mild and sweet, even when not fully ripe. I planted mine in a 10-gallon grow bag, so that may have affected the size, but mine was only 4 ft. I also planted it later in the season, so the hours of light were less. It did have a spate of BER with the early fruit. Did not crack or split -- really good looking fruit. Good yielder, but still did not approach the production of Stellar F1. But Galahad's flavor is massively better. For me, this is a great tomato.

December 25, 2020	#74
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,895	Milan HP, Bulgarian Triumph is an old variety. Certainly worth growing! Here's a link: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Bulgarian_Triumph Linda

December 28, 2020	#75
Milan HP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Ústí nad Labem in the north of the Czech Republic Posts: 332	Thank you, Linda. Unfortunately it isn't probably the variety I used to love in the 60s. That one had larger fruits and must have been registered perhaps in the 1950s. Maybe even earlier. I am also aware of the fact that my memory is selective and whatever I remember from my youth may be tinged rosy or some other optimistic color. :-) Anyway, I'll try it. My next year plan is already too ambitious as it is, but 2022 is still open. Milan HP