What's your favorite Brad Gates tomato? - Page 2

kath · September 12, 2011

Iva, I'm terrible at describing tomato flavor but I think if you love AAA Sweet Solano, you'll also like Porkchop as to me the taste was similar to what you described for the yellow and green stripes stage...it was just too acidic tasting for me. It's a very pretty tomato, too, and it produced well but not as much as Pink Berkeley Tie Dye.

kath · September 12, 2011

[QUOTE=Dak;233334]Kath, does Chocolate Beefsteak go by another name? I can't find any reference that has seeds.

Checked through my PMs, but realized that Joe (casino) posted a thread in General Discussions called, "need help identifying chocolate beefsteak" that discusses all that's really known about this variety.

**carolyn137** · September 12, 2011

[QUOTE=kath;233379]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dak

Kath, does Chocolate Beefsteak go by another name? I can't find any reference that has seeds.

Checked through my PMs, but realized that Joe (casino) posted a thread in General Discussions called, "need help identifying chocolate beefsteak" that discusses all that's really known about this variety.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...late+beefsteak

Above is the thread that discusses Chocolate Beefsteak and I still say there's no way to ID it for the reasons given in the thread. So if it's grown with a new name it's just growing something that originally had a name and then renamed.

And as I see it there's enough of that that happens already as some listings in the SSE YEarbook as well as some seeds traded illustrate. And I even list one in the SSE YEarbook and offered seeds for it here in my annual seed offer, I think, it's called Jean's Prize, named b'c it won so many awards at a Church exhibits each year. The family knows it once had a name but no one could remember it so they named it Jean's Prize. Fact is I like it b/c it has a real tomatoey taste, not sweet at all.

Am I getting persnikety in my old age or not when it comes to renaming varieties?

And 700 seeds in the package from which this one grew and not ONE of them IDed? Sheesh.

Iva · September 12, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by kath

Iva, I'm terrible at describing tomato flavor but I think if you love AAA Sweet Solano, you'll also like Porkchop as to me the taste was similar to what you described for the yellow and green stripes stage...it was just too acidic tasting for me. It's a very pretty tomato, too, and it produced well but not as much as Pink Berkeley Tie Dye.

Kath, thanks for the ifo, you just convinced me not to grow it

I don't like acidic tomatoes, only sweet ones. Solano was like a nice lemonade, it had a nice sweetness to it and the acid tasted very lemony. It wasn't sour in the nasty way...

Thanks again!

remy · September 12, 2011

Pork Chop is not sour. Maybe if it was eaten before totally ripe it could be more acidic tasting. When it is green and yellow striped it is not ripe yet. Here's a pic of how they look then.
http://seedsample.com/wp-content/upl...stillgreen.jpg

They turn yellow and orange striped when ripe. They taste quite yummy then more like the sweet lemonade flavor you were describing before. Here's a pic of mine when ripe.
http://seedsample.com/wp-content/upl.../porkchop2.jpg
Remy

huntoften · September 12, 2011

Black and Brown Boar is the only one of his varieties I've had much success with. It is an amazing tomato for flavor, beauty, and productivity!

**nctomatoman** · September 12, 2011

Unfortunately, of those I tried (Brad's Black Heart, BTD, Pink BTD, a few others), they just don't do well in the Raleigh NC area - they become easily/early diseased, and yield is quite low. I've kind of given up on them, to tell the truth.

kath · September 12, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iva

Kath, thanks for the ifo, you just convinced me not to grow it

I don't like acidic tomatoes, only sweet ones. Solano was like a nice lemonade, it had a nice sweetness to it and the acid tasted very lemony. It wasn't sour in the nasty way...

Thanks again!

Oh, Iva, I don't want to talk anyone out of growing a tomato!

Looking at Remy's photos has me convinced I didn't wait long enough to try Porkchop- seems I had an unripe one and then just gave the others away!

Kath

ChrisK · September 12, 2011

Glad to know my observation is validated. AAA Solano produced 3 fruits before it succumbed to something. None of the 5 others produced well at all either. The PBTD fruit we got was tasty though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Unfortunately, of those I tried (Brad's Black Heart, BTD, Pink BTD, a few others), they just don't do well in the Raleigh NC area - they become easily/early diseased, and yield is quite low. I've kind of given up on them, to tell the truth.

swamper · September 12, 2011

Haley's Purple Comet gives me outstanding flavor late in the season, when others start to fade.

rnewste · September 12, 2011

I know some of the "ole timers" have seen this photo before, but for the new TV members, I thought you might enjoy a bit of "eye-candy" from the WBF NORCATT 2007 event:

Raybo

peebee · September 13, 2011

I still have that photo when you sent it inside one of your trades with me long ago. Great to see it again here!

Suzie

Iva · September 13, 2011

As far as productivity is concerned, I've heard that the plants next year (from your own saved seeds) should do far better, as they get a bit more adapted t the new growing climate. Some people had great success that way. So if you like the taste of a certain variety, try this!

Iva · September 13, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by kath

Oh, Iva, I don't want to talk anyone out of growing a tomato!

Looking at Remy's photos has me convinced I didn't wait long enough to try Porkchop- seems I had an unripe one and then just gave the others away!

Kath

Kath, don't worry, you didn't talk me out of growing it, I did that on my own. If it is similar to AAA Solano, I simply don't need to grow it. I like my tomatoes to stay a bit smaller, have too many beefsteaks already.

Thanks for the info Remy...

Tracydr · September 13, 2011

Which one would be recommended for AZ? We typically have a short spring season followed by brutally hot summers and a nice fall with warm days/ cool nights. A short season variety that tolerates dry weather and cool nights or longer season varieties and/or tomatoes that tolerate heat ( like CP and Arkansas Traveler) are examples of what has done well for me so far. I've not tried any of his varieties so far because our growing conditions are so opposite but I just love the looks of some of those tomatoes. I've been thinking that maybe BPTD or Black and Brown Boar might be a good spring or fall tomato?

September 12, 2011	#20
remy Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Coordinator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Z6 WNY Posts: 2,354	Pork Chop is not sour. Maybe if it was eaten before totally ripe it could be more acidic tasting. When it is green and yellow striped it is not ripe yet. Here's a pic of how they look then. http://seedsample.com/wp-content/upl...stillgreen.jpg They turn yellow and orange striped when ripe. They taste quite yummy then more like the sweet lemonade flavor you were describing before. Here's a pic of mine when ripe. http://seedsample.com/wp-content/upl.../porkchop2.jpg Remy __________________ "I wake to sleep and take my waking slow" -Theodore Roethke Yes, we have a great party for WNY/Ontario tomato growers every year on Grand Island! Owner of The Sample Seed Shop

September 12, 2011	#21
huntoften Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kansas CIty Posts: 560	Black and Brown Boar is the only one of his varieties I've had much success with. It is an amazing tomato for flavor, beauty, and productivity! __________________ Kansas City, Missouri Zone 5b/6a

September 12, 2011	#22
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Unfortunately, of those I tried (Brad's Black Heart, BTD, Pink BTD, a few others), they just don't do well in the Raleigh NC area - they become easily/early diseased, and yield is quite low. I've kind of given up on them, to tell the truth. __________________ Craig

September 12, 2011	#16
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Iva, I'm terrible at describing tomato flavor but I think if you love AAA Sweet Solano, you'll also like Porkchop as to me the taste was similar to what you described for the yellow and green stripes stage...it was just too acidic tasting for me. It's a very pretty tomato, too, and it produced well but not as much as Pink Berkeley Tie Dye.

September 12, 2011	#25
swamper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: CT Posts: 219	Haley's Purple Comet gives me outstanding flavor late in the season, when others start to fade.

September 12, 2011	#26
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	I know some of the "ole timers" have seen this photo before, but for the new TV members, I thought you might enjoy a bit of "eye-candy" from the WBF NORCATT 2007 event: Raybo

September 13, 2011	#27
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	I still have that photo when you sent it inside one of your trades with me long ago. Great to see it again here! Suzie

September 13, 2011	#28
Iva Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Slovenia, EU Posts: 249	As far as productivity is concerned, I've heard that the plants next year (from your own saved seeds) should do far better, as they get a bit more adapted t the new growing climate. Some people had great success that way. So if you like the taste of a certain variety, try this!

September 13, 2011	#30
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Which one would be recommended for AZ? We typically have a short spring season followed by brutally hot summers and a nice fall with warm days/ cool nights. A short season variety that tolerates dry weather and cool nights or longer season varieties and/or tomatoes that tolerate heat ( like CP and Arkansas Traveler) are examples of what has done well for me so far. I've not tried any of his varieties so far because our growing conditions are so opposite but I just love the looks of some of those tomatoes. I've been thinking that maybe BPTD or Black and Brown Boar might be a good spring or fall tomato?