I Need a Red Cherry Tomato

[dustyrivergarden]

I usually grow a hybrid cherry tomato Juliet they hold well grow very easy...and do not crack. sort of like a roma cherry tomato. very nice in a salad.

Originally Posted by dustyrivergarden

I usually grow a hybrid cherry tomato Juliet they hold well grow very easy...and do not crack. sort of like a roma cherry tomato. very nice in a salad.

Juliet is the variety our daughter will not let me stop growing. They are tomato producing machines from spring to fall. Their mild sweet taste do not appeal to me but they seem to be perfect for her taste palate. I planted Jaune Flamme, Black Cherry, and Sungold F1 this year in hopes of persuading her some other varieties are better. She liked the Sungold, but production was sparse so she still had to eat ten Juliet tomatoes for every Sungold produced. I'm going to try it again in 2012 in hopes the others will produce as well as the Juliet.

Juliet has one characteristic as a hybrid which I really enjoy. It drops a lot of tomatoes on the ground which eventually produce volunteer plants the following spring. I sometimes let a few grow to see what happens. I get F1 fruit sometimes which are still shaped like the Juliet, but almost the size of a Roma. They are usually tasteless so I don't harvest them. This past season I got tomatoes which were about two inches long but only the diameter of a pencil. They looked more like chile peppers than tomatoes. The Juliet volunteers help keep my gardening life interesting.

Ted

[DiggingDogFarm]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

If it's bigger than a currant or garden pea, it's a cherry.

If it's bigger than one bite, it's a saladette.

If it's bigger than a saladette, it's a slicer.

If it's bigger than a slicer, it's a beefsteak.

If it's bigger than a beefsteak, it's usually on my BLT.

If it's bigger than that, it's on the evening news.

Those are consistent with my definitions.

[Tracydr]

I found Reisentraube to taste about like a grocery store tomato, my biggest disappoint last year. Even dehydrated wasn't that great. Everyone who tasted them agreed, very grocery store flavor.
Isn't Matt's more of a currant? I'm going to grow one this year, or two or three.
Looking for a good grape sized tomato as well.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I found Reisentraube to taste about like a grocery store tomato, my biggest disappoint last year. Even dehydrated wasn't that great. Everyone who tasted them agreed, very grocery store flavor.
Isn't Matt's more of a currant? I'm going to grow one this year, or two or three.
Looking for a good grape sized tomato as well.

What a disappointment that Riesentraube didn't work out for you. I think it's a great variety and a pseudo cherry that has a taste similar to many of the best beefsteak varieties, and most cherries I find don't have much depth of flavor with some wonderful exceptions.

Matt's Wild has tiny fruits but is not a currant type as you can see if you go to Johnny's , who introduced it, where it's called a cerasiforme type thus Iding it as not being a currant variety.

Didn't take the time to go back to the beginning of this thread so I don't know what I posted but if you're looking for a great tasting wee fruited, non currant variety I highly suggest Sara's Galapagos and I've been lilsting it my seed offer but doubt I will for 2012 b/c of seed age.. In my seed offer coming up I'll be offering Wild Sweetie which is also a wee fruited non currant variety and has been spoken of highly here and there.

OK, I don't like the taste of Matt's Wild at all, I must confess.

As for a great grape variety I don't think you can go wrong with Santa, the original being as F1 and being the variety that started the so called grape craze many years ago and there should be lots of OP seed of that one floating around since 99/100 F2 seeds saved from the F1 give plants/fruits true to form, according to Andrew Chu who was the first to make the word grape tomato known to those who didn't know it before, ahem, the offtype beng round and has a lower sugar concentration.

If you don't mind growing an F1 grape I think the new one bred by Dr. Gardner called Smarty F1 is darn good as well. I offered seed for it in a seed offer here a year or so ago along with Mountain Magic F1 and Plum Regal F1, all bred by Randy Gardner. I know Johnny's sells seeds for Smarty but didn't Google it to find other sources.

As for other red cherries I'm sure I must have posted in this thread but again, didn't go back to look.

[Fusion_power]

I've grown most of the cherry tomato varieties mentioned in this thread and have compared them extensively. It gets down to whether you want a very sweet tomato or a very flavorful tomato. It is rare for a cherry to combine both. My best so far is Camp Joy with Anait a close second.

I have a new variety that I am working with from the Sunlucky breeding lines that I am calling Plum Lucky. It is a pink oval with a nipple on the end. The fruits are about 2 to 2.5 inches long and just under an inch diameter. The breeding involves Sun gold and Brandywine. So far it is a very sweet delightful tomato with a burst of flavor. I'm hoping that will be stabilized in another year or so.

DarJones

[Sun City Linda]

I am reading along as I am always searching for good cherries. Will try Camp Joy this year Darrell and wait to hear more on Plum Lucky. I especially like large cherries! Also trying the gift cherry seed from Marko. thanks, Linda

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

I am reading along as I am always searching for good cherries. Will try Camp Joy this year Darrell and wait to hear more on Plum Lucky. I especially like large cherries! Also trying the gift cherry seed from Marko. thanks, Linda

Linda, I also like Camp Joy, which is also known as Chadwick's Cherry. Alan Chadwick , the well known English gardener, developed it when he was at Bountiful Gardens in CA and the trials, etc. were done at Camp Joy which is/was a gardening/retreat area for those at Bountiful Gardens.

If i t's red cherries, please look at the one called Casino Chips which was a somatic mutation of the much larger variety called Casino. Many of us got seeds for it via the offer here at Tville and I was very impressed with it and expect to offer seeds of it in my upcoming annual seed offer here if I have enough seeds.

And there are other large red cherries I like as well, but you can always go to Tania's data base and pull up the pages on cherry tomatoes to see if any others appeal to you.

I too will be trying Marko's red cherry.

Hope that helps.

[Sun City Linda]

Thanks Carolyn, I am glad you like Camp Joy as I like most tomatoes that you do. Going thru the ones in your book. So far LOVE Druzba, E of E also a keeper looking forward to Dr Lyle and German Head this year among many others! Linda

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by SEAMSFASTER

I had rights to irrigation water just once a week, so I probably had more issues with fruit splitting than many other growers.

Among 22 cherry (3-18 gram range in my little sample) varieties I grew this year, Sweet 100 was the worst for splitting. I could not get any ripe ones to market and the firm ones were not worth eating. The ripe ones sure were tasty, but I couldn't eat enough...

Super Sweet 100, Red Grape, Bicolor Cherry and Green Grape also had some moderate problems with splitting. The other 17 varieties displayed only minor or no tendency to split.

I had more problems with splitting among the larger, softer-skinned varieties than among the cherries.

How did you like the flavor of Green Grape? I have seeds and debating if I should waste space or not.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

What a disappointment that Riesentraube didn't work out for you. I think it's a great variety and a pseudo cherry that has a taste similar to many of the best beefsteak varieties, and most cherries I find don't have much depth of flavor with some wonderful exceptions.

Matt's Wild has tiny fruits but is not a currant type as you can see if you go to Johnny's , who introduced it, where it's called a cerasiforme type thus Iding it as not being a currant variety.

Didn't take the time to go back to the beginning of this thread so I don't know what I posted but if you're looking for a great tasting wee fruited, non currant variety I highly suggest Sara's Galapagos and I've been lilsting it my seed offer but doubt I will for 2012 b/c of seed age.. In my seed offer coming up I'll be offering Wild Sweetie which is also a wee fruited non currant variety and has been spoken of highly here and there.

OK, I don't like the taste of Matt's Wild at all, I must confess.

As for a great grape variety I don't think you can go wrong with Santa, the original being as F1 and being the variety that started the so called grape craze many years ago and there should be lots of OP seed of that one floating around since 99/100 F2 seeds saved from the F1 give plants/fruits true to form, according to Andrew Chu who was the first to make the word grape tomato known to those who didn't know it before, ahem, the offtype beng round and has a lower sugar concentration.

If you don't mind growing an F1 grape I think the new one bred by Dr. Gardner called Smarty F1 is darn good as well. I offered seed for it in a seed offer here a year or so ago along with Mountain Magic F1 and Plum Regal F1, all bred by Randy Gardner. I know Johnny's sells seeds for Smarty but didn't Google it to find other sources.

As for other red cherries I'm sure I must have posted in this thread but again, didn't go back to look.

Thanks for the information, Carolyn. I had 7-8 Reisentraube plants, n the same garden with all my other plants so I have no idea why they were such sputters. I would say it was just me but I took a large plate of them to a family function and they were unanimously "so-so", compared to the rave reviews of all the other tomatoes on the same platter. The general description was " tastes like a grocery store cherry".
The only reason Matt's interests me is that I've heard several people in the area have great success in the heat of the summer and even throughout the winter growing it but I would proabably grow it more as a "staple" rather than hoping that it had spectacular flavor. I was also looking at Tess's Landrace Currant for a similar reason.
Im still searching for a great red cherry or grape, sort of like the OP and I will start a new thread so as not to sidetrack.
Going to Wikipedia now to learn more about the differences between cerisaforme type and regular type small tomatoes.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

How did you like the flavor of Green Grape? I have seeds and debating if I should waste space or not.

Tracy, I know you didn't ask me this question but I'm sure that seamfaster will also chip in. Green Grape, bred by Tom Wagner, used to be the go to green when ripe cherry, but I and quite a few others now prefer Green Doctors, or Green Doctors Frosted, the latter one having a clear epidermis so it really does look like frosted grapes.

If you go to Tania's site you'll find a couple of places selling seeds for both (I think Casey's Heirloom tomatoes and Glecklers) and other sites selling usually just Green Doctors.

[roper2008]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Thanks for the information, Carolyn. I had 7-8 Reisentraube plants, n the same garden with all my other plants so I have no idea why they were such sputters. I would say it was just me but I took a large plate of them to a family function and they were unanimously "so-so", compared to the rave reviews of all the other tomatoes on the same platter. The general description was " tastes like a grocery store cherry".
The only reason Matt's interests me is that I've heard several people in the area have great success in the heat of the summer and even throughout the winter growing it but I would proabably grow it more as a "staple" rather than hoping that it had spectacular flavor. I was also looking at Tess's Landrace Currant for a similar reason.
Im still searching for a great red cherry or grape, sort of like the OP and I will start a new thread so as not to sidetrack.
Going to Wikipedia now to learn more about the differences between cerisaforme type and regular type small tomatoes.

I have grown Matt's Wild Cherry. It is a very good tasting cherry tomato. It
is sweet and has a good tomato flavor. Only drawback is it is very small, and
you have to do a lot of picking to fill a bowl.

[SEAMSFASTER]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Tracy, I know you didn't ask me this question but I'm sure that seamfaster will also chip in. Green Grape, bred by Tom Wagner, used to be the go to green when ripe cherry, but I and quite a few others now prefer Green Doctors, or Green Doctors Frosted, the latter one having a clear epidermis so it really does look like frosted grapes.

If you go to Tania's site you'll find a couple of places selling seeds for both (I think Casey's Heirloom tomatoes and Glecklers) and other sites selling usually just Green Doctors.

I grew Green Grape in 2010 and didn't care for it much. I waited for that "amber blush" before picking.

I've had a bit more education, experience and good advice since then.

In 2011, I learned to wait, wait, wait - until they were nearly all amber and soft ripe (see pic). Then they were fabulous tasting! Quite sweet, but not overwhelming. "Spicy" as others suggest, but I don't know quite how to describe that. Distinctive, fruity, juicy and very pleasant flavor, no undesirable aftertaste. Tough to get to market without special care (and self-discipline...).

Green Doctors Frosted has been high on my "Must Get" list for several months now. Guess I better get with it before someone buy's 'em all out!

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

I've grown most of the cherry tomato varieties mentioned in this thread and have compared them extensively. It gets down to whether you want a very sweet tomato or a very flavorful tomato. It is rare for a cherry to combine both. My best so far is Camp Joy with Anait a close second.

I have a new variety that I am working with from the Sunlucky breeding lines that I am calling Plum Lucky. It is a pink oval with a nipple on the end. The fruits are about 2 to 2.5 inches long and just under an inch diameter. The breeding involves Sun gold and Brandywine. So far it is a very sweet delightful tomato with a burst of flavor. I'm hoping that will be stabilized in another year or so.

DarJones

Which small tomatoes (cherry, plum, grape or currant) would you describe as most flavorful?