Help me decide for 2017

[heirloomtomaguy]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Is that Esterina a recent appearance, as I have never heard of it before this site?
Good news if it's better than SunGold, time to break the monopoly

It was introduced last year. If you participate in the MMMM swap i will be sending in enough to go around. Sungold will always have a place in my garden but Esterina F1 this year won the top spot.

[NarnianGarden]

Yes, heirloomtomatoguy, it's on my MMM wishlist.
Not that I have anything against SunGold: it has a well earned reputation, and has many faithful fans, and not likely to give aways its high status very easily.
All in all, good to see new hybrids that have something unique!

[OhioKate]

I planted sunrise bumblebee for the first time this year and I am really happy with it. For me, it was a very vigorous plant and it's just starting to slow down ( probably because of this stretch of really hot weather we are getting).

I've also grown reisentraube for the last two years and they do really well for me. Very tasty too!

[Scooty]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Yes, heirloomtomatoguy, it's on my MMM wishlist.
Not that I have anything against SunGold: it has a well earned reputation, and has many faithful fans, and not likely to give aways its high status very easily.
All in all, good to see new hybrids that have something unique!

Well it's rare to find hybrids with good taste. When someone says Big Beef, no one first thinks of taste. Sungold its all about taste, the fact that it's a high vigor plant with disease resistance is a huge bonus.

[Ed of Somis]

Yes, if you have not grown Sungold....you need to find out what all the hype is about. I really liked mine last year....but it does split easily. Black Cherry is my go-to cherry. Also, try a Brandywine (also much hype/history with it). Sudduth's is very good!

[Hntrss]

My Brandy Boys taste gosh darnoodley good to me! And great producers too!

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Hntrss

My Brandy Boys taste gosh darnoodley good to me! And great producers too!

I second Brandy Boy (hyb.). I planted it in 2015. Taste/flavor was excellent. Production in my climate was so and so.

[Hntrss]

I have some auto correct from he!! Going on here !- I've never even seen the words "gosh donooderly " before! I certainly never typed it!! But they are good....

[AlittleSalt]

I grow a lot more cherry tomatoes than all other types combined. These 5 are some of our favorites.

Medovaya Kaplya - looks like Yellow Pear - tastes unbelievably good.
Ambrosia Red - not the earliest DTM, but a very good sweet red cherry tomato.
Japanese Pink Cherry - A sweet pink tomato that tastes very good - looks supermarket ready.
Oranje Van Goeijenbier - an orange cherry that tastes good.
Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blue - A blue tomato with an old fashion balanced taste - a looker.

Where to get seeds for these 5? PM me - I have seeds saved back.

[Cole_Robbie]

Ambrosia Red was really good. I think it's my favorite red cherry - to eat, anyway. The fruit are a little small and don't fill up a box very quickly, but it will still have a place in my cherry mix.

[nancyruhl]

Originally Posted by Ed of Somis

Yes, if you have not grown Sungold....you need to find out what all the hype is about. I really liked mine last year....but it does split easily. Black Cherry is my go-to cherry. Also, try a Brandywine (also much hype/history with it). Sudduth's is very good!

I have grown and liked Brandy Boy, Brandywine, Sudduths, Cowlicks Brandywine and others. All are very good, though Sudduths is the least productive. This year I found the one I will probably be sticking with. It is called Brandyberry Pink from Delectation of Tomatoes. While the tomato in the picture was the first and largest, it produced many nice tomatoes and is still going.

[Gardeneer]

Thanks , Nancy
I have the seeds for Brandy Boy and Brandywine Sudduth. I will grow them both to make an evaluation. Productivity is my number one criterion . I have read all positive reviews on the taste of both of them. So the productivity should decide for me.

[JLJ_]

Originally Posted by midstroke

Also where do you buy your seeds? Thanks

Two great places to buy seeds are Sand Hill Preservation in Iowa and Victory Seeds in Oregon. Google or other web search engine will easily find their sites for you.

Both are family operations that are dedicated to preservation of true seed for heirloom varieties. Both have websites that are well worth spending some time looking over -- not only for seed listings but also for other materials there. Sand Hill gives more seed for lower prices, but they tell you clearly that you need to order well in advance from them as their time is very limited. Victory costs more, but ships more quickly. Victory also puts a *lot* of effort into informational materials -- you could spend days exploring the various historical and other parts of their website.

[midstroke]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Kath has been gracious enough to offer me some seeds to try. And i ordered Carolyns book. Next step is order the rest of seeds i need and build a seed starter area in the garage. Mid

[zipcode]

Best cherry I grow is Galina. Sensitive to everything however.
But generally if you want production forget about cherries, get some beefstakes. They get 2x the production easily.