'Campari' copycat variety - Page 2

PaulF · August 18, 2011

I am growing Mountain Magic this year. Since during the winter months we d like a tomato now and then, Campari became the choice. Mountain Magic for me has been a producer of a tremendous number of rather small round red fruits with thick skins and not much flavor. Mountain Magic is not a cherry size and not in what I call a "salad tomato size" either. The commercial Campari is easily twice the size of my MM. Both have similar looking clusters but I pick the MM individually since I am not trying to market them. I know there are other tomatoes in the Mountain series. Perhaps one of them would be closer to Campari.

gourmetgardener · August 18, 2011

Are you cluster thinning - like snipping the end of the cluster to get a max of 8 tomatoes? It sounds like your plants are too vegetative - which would require a more generative steering - which will also give you higher sugars. Train to a single or dual stem, and practice leaf removal as the clusters ripen. High P and high N early in the season, then high N, then go to a 1 part N, 2 parts P, and 4 parts K feeding ratio.

gourmetgardener · November 22, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by travis

Some folks who have grown out store bought Campari seeds report getting tomatoes with hard white cores that ripen unevenly.

The reason: too low of night temperatures. If you look at the Enza Zaden website, Campari is a variety listed for heated greenhouse. That means that night temperatures should never be allowed to fall below 17 degrees centigrade. That's why you get the tough woody texture. As far as uneven ripening, try more potassium - tomatoes need **A LOT** of it.

gourmetgardener · November 22, 2011

As for the best Campari copycat variety in my trials - Adoration and Annelise. Both are sister varieties of Campari. Both are newer than Campari, perform well in unheated conditions, and in my opinion are better.

You can buy seed for Annelise: http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_...tem_no=PS20980

travis · November 23, 2011

Gourmet, thank you for three very informative posts. All good information!

FILMNET · November 23, 2011

Maybe look at this crazy package Tomato Raisin?

sirtanon · November 23, 2011

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure 'raisins' is French for 'grapes' which means that's just 'Grape tomatoes' in French

August 18, 2011	#16
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,297	I am growing Mountain Magic this year. Since during the winter months we d like a tomato now and then, Campari became the choice. Mountain Magic for me has been a producer of a tremendous number of rather small round red fruits with thick skins and not much flavor. Mountain Magic is not a cherry size and not in what I call a "salad tomato size" either. The commercial Campari is easily twice the size of my MM. Both have similar looking clusters but I pick the MM individually since I am not trying to market them. I know there are other tomatoes in the Mountain series. Perhaps one of them would be closer to Campari. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

August 18, 2011	#17
gourmetgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Canada (Zone 6b) Posts: 119	Are you cluster thinning - like snipping the end of the cluster to get a max of 8 tomatoes? It sounds like your plants are too vegetative - which would require a more generative steering - which will also give you higher sugars. Train to a single or dual stem, and practice leaf removal as the clusters ripen. High P and high N early in the season, then high N, then go to a 1 part N, 2 parts P, and 4 parts K feeding ratio. Last edited by gourmetgardener; August 18, 2011 at 06:10 PM. Reason: Added info

November 23, 2011	#22
sirtanon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ (zone 9b) Posts: 796	I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure 'raisins' is French for 'grapes' which means that's just 'Grape tomatoes' in French __________________ I could sail by on the winds of silence, and maybe they won't notice... but this time I think it would be better if I swim..

November 22, 2011	#19
gourmetgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Canada (Zone 6b) Posts: 119	As for the best Campari copycat variety in my trials - Adoration and Annelise. Both are sister varieties of Campari. Both are newer than Campari, perform well in unheated conditions, and in my opinion are better. You can buy seed for Annelise: http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_...tem_no=PS20980

November 23, 2011	#20
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Gourmet, thank you for three very informative posts. All good information!