2015 Surprises and Mysteries

[Yak54]

I have a "Mystery" tomato which is also a "surprise", that came from a pack of Riesentraube seeds purchased from a well known seed source. It is a cherry type, but that is the only similarity with Riesentraube. It is tied with my Sweet Ozark Orange plants for the tallest plant in my garden, but it's growth habit is much less dense and a lot taller than the 2 real Riesentraube plants planted a few feet away. My main problem is going to be if I really like the taste of these cherries, I have no idea how to duplicate them for next year.

[bower]

I'm mostly growing F2's this year so they've pretty much monopolized the "surprise" and "mystery" categories this time around.
But I do have a couple of OP mysteries/surprises, for sure.

One really big surprise is that Earl of Edgecombe and Lescukovo Oranzove appear to be identical plants... can't comment on fruit yet, sadly, because both are dwarves and in this environment and cold season, also late.... They have a poor chance of gettin any sunlight either, amongst the early giants. However they may do their thing yet, maybe when the jungle has finished and fallen.

Mr. Bruno, I only got one seedling to germinate and it's a vigorous semi-determinate plant with well defined terminal buds, so if it was crossed, it would have to be another determinate. Anyway the fruit so far are an oval shape with a little ribbing and purty small. Maybe they have a lot of growing to do and will change shape completely, but at this point they don't look much like the pix I've found online. Lots of fruit being set so no complaints (unless of course they turn out to be spitters. )

Pretty excited about "Yellow Clusters" from Ukraine which was a complete unknown. It has turned out to be a beefsteak type, early midseason same schedule as Indian Stripe and similar sturdy growth habit, with "tangerine" gene type flowers. All immature fruit as yet.

[Salsacharley]

I am surprised at how disgusting Big Sungold Select has tasted to me. I literally spit it out of my mouth. If this is how Joseph tastes tomatoes I really feel bad for him. I am further dismayed because I have 2 plants of it and they are prolific. They look pretty but I ain't in the ornament business. I'll give it more time and try again once my courage is mustered.

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by RobinB

Cole Robbie,

I think Esmeralda Golosina is supposed to be a large cherry/small saladette. J & L Gardens has it listed under their cherry category. I got my seeds from Marsha here on Tville. I'm growing it for the first time this year and my two plants are just beginning to set fruit. It'll be a while...

I just picked several of the fruit, and they are really excellent! It's my sweetest tomato of the year so far, a definite keeper.

[SharonRossy]

I have a volunteer that's growing between stones where I had container plants. Not likely anything will happen but it's fun to just watch it to see.

[charline]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Since you entered the Experimental category of the swap, I'm thinking you most likely received the Russian 117 "NOT" seed.

You may also have received the "real" Russian 117, too. But, in swaps there's always a small chance (~4 to 5%?) of incorrect seed, so even the Russian 117 seed may not be the real thing.

yes , I got both packs, the real and the not russian 117 but I planted the real one beause I wanted to have both parents of my favorite tomato, the orange russian 117
but no problem , I will try again next season

[MrBig46]

Originally Posted by bower

I'm mostly growing F2's this year so they've pretty much monopolized the "surprise" and "mystery" categories this time around.
But I do have a couple of OP mysteries/surprises, for sure.

One really big surprise is that Earl of Edgecombe and Lescukovo Oranzove appear to be identical plants... can't comment on fruit yet, sadly, because both are dwarves and in this environment and cold season, also late.... They have a poor chance of gettin any sunlight either, amongst the early giants. However they may do their thing yet, maybe when the jungle has finished and fallen.

Mr. Bruno, I only got one seedling to germinate and it's a vigorous semi-determinate plant with well defined terminal buds, so if it was crossed, it would have to be another determinate. Anyway the fruit so far are an oval shape with a little ribbing and purty small. Maybe they have a lot of growing to do and will change shape completely, but at this point they don't look much like the pix I've found online. Lots of fruit being set so no complaints (unless of course they turn out to be spitters. )

Pretty excited about "Yellow Clusters" from Ukraine which was a complete unknown. It has turned out to be a beefsteak type, early midseason same schedule as Indian Stripe and similar sturdy growth habit, with "tangerine" gene type flowers. All immature fruit as yet.

Bower,
I regret that Leščukovo oranžové not okay for you. I grew this variety (referred to as a family heirloom) for the first time last year. The first fruits were ripe for 80-85 days. The plant was indeterminantní. I sent those seeds bought in Czech society gengel (like SASE in the USA). This year I also have this variety smaller (bad seeds? I do not know). I am sorry.
Vladimír

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by MrBig46

Bower,
I regret that Leščukovo oranžové not okay for you. I grew this variety (referred to as a family heirloom) for the first time last year. The first fruits were ripe for 80-85 days. The plant was indeterminantní. I sent those seeds bought in Czech society gengel (like SASE in the USA). This year I also have this variety smaller (bad seeds? I do not know). I am sorry.
Vladimír

Just adding a bit, but Bower you must mean that both are determinates for you since saying Dwarf suggest a totally different plant habit

Both the one Vladimir refers to and Earl of Edgecombe are indet and the latter one I know very well since I was the first to introduce it via an SSE listing, see the history in the following link.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Earl_of_Edgecombe

Carolyn, who really likes Earl of Edgecombe a lot.

[bower]

Vladimir,
That is interesting - all my seedlings of Lescukovo Oranzove and Earl of Edgecombe were the same. Nice rugged foliage and slow growth. They are not a problem for me at all - small plants and healthy - and Lescukovo Oranzove has now started to grow a fruit in the first cluster. The weather here is such a lottery, and we're having a terrible summer for tomatoes, really cold even now in July. But we may have a nice August or September yet, for the plants that are still alive after all this moldy weather.

Also Datlo is doing fantastic! First fruits blushed a couple days ago, and lots of fruit set and still setting, this plant has very nice foliage and an open growth habit so no mold issues either. I should have lots of ripe ones for the big tomato platter I want to make for my friends' wedding, in early August. I'm very grateful for this pretty fruit - and by the flowers it also has the tangerine gene I was looking for. I have a crossed fruit growing, between my best Black Nipper F3 (semi-determinate black cherry) X Datlo, so hopefully a few years from now I'll have some semi-determinate cherries with 'tangerine' too. I want to see a black tangerine.

[bower]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Just adding a bit, but Bower you must mean that both are determinates for you since saying Dwarf suggest a totally different plant habit

Both the one Vladimir refers to and Earl of Edgecombe are indet and the latter one I know very well since I was the first to introduce it via an SSE listing, see the history in the following link.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Earl_of_Edgecombe

Carolyn, who really likes Earl of Edgecombe a lot.

Not at all Carolyn. They are indeterminates with three nodes between clusters and no terminal buds, but their growth is sturdy, slow and small ie dwarf, although the foliage is not rugose.
I recall I read your comment somewhere about Earl of Edgecombe being a dwarf.
I sure hope they both get a chance to ripen fruit, I would love to compare them.

[SummerSky]

I have a potato leafed heart that was marked Kosovo from the MMMM. The plants were stunted in the flooding we had, but have pulled out of their tailspin and are growing again. They definitely have beefy hearts, like I was expecting from Kosovo. I can't judge their production too harshly since they were in standing water for 30+ hours straight and soggy soil for about a week after that (it wouldn't stop raining!), but the fact that they are still alive and still have tomatoes on them does count for something. I'm saving their seeds and trying them again next year!

I also have an odd occurrence going on with my own saved Black Krim seeds. I saved them from a single tomato (a no-no, I know). I grew two plants, and while one looks and acts like Black Krim, the other has very uniform teardrop shaped fruits. The plant itself has the same grow habits and leaves as the other BK. They haven't ripened yet, but I'm a bit confused about what's going on there.

I also found two volunteers: a Martino's Roma that somehow found it's way into my new strawberry patch (a few yards away from where I grew MR last year) that I didn't have the heart to tear out, and a Polish Linguisa that came up next to my potatoes, in the exact spot grew them last year. The MR has fruit set and looks fantastic, the Polish Linguisa hasn't quite bloomed yet. I don't think it'll get far enough along to have ripe-ish fruit by the time I dig my potatoes up.

[Tormato]

Do you still have the label from the seed pack that produced the PL heart?

[Cole_Robbie]

I have a plant labelled Kwang Tung. From what I can gather, there are a lot of Chinese tomatoes with that name, followed by a number. Mine didn't come with a number.

It is a small to medium, round red tomato. There's nothing remarkable about it, except for its firmness and shelf life. I've had one on my kitchen table for two weeks, and it still looks exactly the same. I'm thinking it must be a Chinese commercial variety, but that is just a guess.

[OzoneNY]

The San Marzano Nano is the sauce tomato for me. It was a success for me this year though I am still experimenting with what works and this is only my second year in Texas. Despite this, the SM Nano is a hearty plant, good producer of a good SM tomato and easy to work with because it does not grow to the height of LeBron James. It is probably a permanent fixture in my tomato patch in the future

[SummerSky]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Do you still have the label from the seed pack that produced the PL heart?

Yes I do. I planted three seeds, two turned out PL, one turned out RL. The RL was lower than the PL plants and drowned in the flood before it set any fruit.