Pink tomatoes from Québec

[SharonRossy]

Off topic, but we had a black lab (also deceased) and the bugger loved my tomatoes. In fact he would unabashedly yank them off, green, look me straight in the eye like "what's your problem?" and then take off and eat them. No matter what I did to barricade the plants, Hugo found a way.
Don't know if I want a blue tomato, but I would love to try a red or pink one from Quebec that could stand up to all the crazy weather.
I'm still hopeful that Anna Russian is going to give me a few toms to try! I keep checking my Bloody Butcher, still nothing ripe! Reisentraube is on my list for next year. I'm hoping gold nugget and sun sugar are good, because this is the first year I'm not growing SunGold.

[Labradors2]

Been there, done that! My previous lab, Sarah Pooch (bless her soul)was a huge tomato thief. One day I decided to take picture of her with a tomato in her mouth. Just as I snapped the picture, she threw it up in the air, caught it, and I was terrified she was going to choke on it. You can just see the red tomato in the back of her mouth {LOL}.

Cherokee Purple surprised me by fruiting early. We just ate the first one tonight.

Linda

[Full Moon]

but I would love to try a red or pink one from Quebec

Have a look at:

- Plourde (Red)
- Dufresne (aka Savignac) (Pink)
- Ledoux Special (Pink)
- Montréal Tasty (Red)
- L'Espagnole Lefebvre (Red)
- Arthur Fowler (Orange)

[SharonRossy]

Hi Fullmoon, so did you get the seeds for them or did you buy them as plants, and if so, where? I confess, it never occurred to me that Quebec developed anything interesting! I realize taste is subjective, but what are your experiences with those varieties?
Linda, that photo of Sarah Pooch looks like my Hugo ! You gotta love a lab! He never touched my cucumbers after his nose got pricked from the spikes.
I can't wait till I get one ripe tomato. Still removing Cuor Di Bue with BER. Very discouraging....

[Rideau Rambler]

This has hijacked into such a random thread, lol!

And fyi Tormato - I plundered in full daylight, shamelessly. Which reminds me, it's almost time to tour that community garden again this season, haha! I'd swipe that tomato again in a second if I didn't have the amazing selection in my garden this year. Tip to those out there who do his swap....when he writes "my fav green, my fav etc" - plant those!

brrrr, super cold here too ( late spring, monsoon rains, 100 degrees and blossom drop now 50 degrees in my zone 4b, ???????) and still awaiting my first ripe tomato of the season. Sharon, you have to seriously consider planting one blue tomato next year. I get so much pleasure out of just looking at mine as they ripen and change colour. They form blue, so gorgeous.

Annapolisseeds.com, check them out for early tomatoes, they are a Maritime company. I have Cole growing from them.

My Jaune Flammee is a bust. Very small plant, small tomatoes, going down fast with early blight, booo, I had high hopes for it. It's the only plant of my 50 that isn't performing up to snuff.

No dogs pinching my tomatoes, just chipmunks, squirrels and birds.

Stay warm

Sara

[SharonRossy]

Sara, I will consider a blue thx. Still chilly, 58 again this morning. It'll probably be 100 tomorrow the way the weather has been swinging. Sorry to hear that about Jaunne Flamme. I think Anna Russian is going to be my disappointment, along with a few others at this rate! It's going to be a hard season to judge.

[Full Moon]

Sharon,

I grew all of them started from seeds. You'll find info on them on Tatiana's site. They are as good as allot of the more "famous" ones.

Every year I have Quebec heirlooms in my garden and not only tomatoes. When I make my grow lists I mostly look at varieties that are grown/from a place with similar growing conditions to mine. Personally I think it's the key to success. Of course I try my luck with some "late" ones but they do not make the bulk of my plantings.

For seeds, I buy local as much as I can. This year I manage to get all my seeds from canadian companies. There are quite a few companies from which you can buy online.

Here's the Seeds of Diversity (canadian) ressources link
[URL="http://www.seeds.ca/rl/rl.php"]

From that list I bought and been happy with:

Solana
Tatiana
Greta's
Cottage Gardener
Jardins du Grand Portage

I'm sure others are fine I just haven't ordered from them yet.

The Montréal Botanical Garden holds the "Seeds Festival" every year in February. Alot of the Quebec seed companies are at this event.
http://calendrier.espacepourlavie.ca/seed-festival-162712

They also hold another event in May where you can buy seedlings.

Do a little research you'll be surprised at what you'll find.
Hope that helps.

[carolyn137]

Sharon, just adding that Glenn Drowns of Sandhill called me yesterday to discuss a few things and I told him I'd called to the attention of others the varieties that Raymond Tratt had sent him from Canada.

He said he is growing out ALL of them this summer for fresh seed, he's one of the very few who will sell no tomato seed over 2 yo, so I wanted to pass this on to you.

I'm sure I also mentioned that Sandhill does NOT sell seeds all year round and why that's so and if you look at the website it tells you when they do and when they don't.

Carolyn

[Rideau Rambler]

Wow, thanks Carolyn! Super good to know that.

Let's tentatively plan for a February meet up at the Mtl Botanical Gardens! Sounds like a great event.

Off to the Sandhill site.......

[Labradors2]

Originally Posted by Rideau Rambler

Let's tentatively plan for a February meet up at the Mtl Botanical Gardens! Sounds like a great event.

Off to the Sandhill site.......

Boo Hoo! I'll miss it as I'll be in NC, but it sounds awesome!

Linda

[Tormato]

A random enough thread, for me.

I think standard poodles are CL.

Sara,

www.tomatoville.com/showpost.php?p=359675&postcount=8

There must have been a solar eclipse that day?

Also, Ledoux Special is "someone's" #1 wished for variety in the upcoming swap.

Gary

[SharonRossy]

Carolyn, thanks for the information. Sara, I agree, we should meet up at the botanical gardens. Fullmoon, I actually do know that about the seed sale, but I guess it slipped my mind. Believe me, I have done hours of research online. I also bought most of my seeds from Canadian sources, Tatiana's being one of my favorites for a variety of reasons. It's true it's probably better to try and grow varieties with similar growing conditions, but its just so tempting to try all those yummy tomatoes!

[Tormato]

"Le Swap" could use a Canadian category next year, oui?

[Labradors2]

Originally Posted by Tormato

"Le Swap" could use a Canadian category next year, oui?

Maybe!

I have gone off the idea of Doucet's tomatoes ever since I went to the taste-testing, hosted by the Sisters of Providence in Kingston this past August. I talked to the new person who is in charge of the tomatoes there now, and asked her about Doucet's varieties. Her comment was that they were developed for commercial trade and that there were much better OP tomatoes out there!!!!! They did have one Doucet tomato for taste testing, which I think was red, which backed up her negative comment IMHO.

I have given up my search for those fantastic pink Quebec tomatoes that will always be in my memory and, instead, will be trying Momotaro (the Japanese hybrid) that seems to be all the rage in Quebec these days, along with Fish Lake Oxheart, originally from Ontario - yeah!

Linda

[MissTati]

Hope this thread isn't too old, but I noticed noone mentioned Prairie Garden Seeds in Saskatchewan

http://www.prseeds.ca/catalogue/tomato.php?C=Tomato

They have quite an extensive listing of all Canadian cultivars including the Quebec pinks.

Hope it helps anyone still interested.
Tatiana