Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio (Spongillo) - Page 5

ilex · March 30, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locomatto

The majority of longkeeping tomatoes use the Alc gene as a way to extend their storage. However there are other ways to accomplish the same thing. The nor and rin genes (alleles of Alc), for example, will also extend the shelf life of tomatoes when used in an F1 hybrid.
.

Yes, but I have a hard time describing those nor and rin balls as tomatoes

MrBig46 · March 30, 2017

I think that Piennolo del Vesuvio is such a new endemic species, which is tied to a specific area around Vesuvius (weather and soil), which is not found elsewhere. Nowhere I have not read that somewhere else than in nearby Vesuvius someone managed to make Piennola and keep them until spring. For these tomatoes, I became a member of the Italian website Agraria and nobody from other regions in Italy was growing Piennolo successful. This also confirmed me Eugenio, the main website moderator (who lives in the region Vesuvio DOP).
Vladimír

ilex · March 30, 2017

I know people who have grown them, and said they had fantastic flavour and lasted for a long time, in California.

I need to plant them and see myself if I can grow them. I would be very surprised if I can't.

Locomatto · March 30, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilex

Yes, but I have a hard time describing those nor and rin balls as tomatoes

HA!

- OK, you got me there!

cwavec · March 30, 2017

I have been able to find a small map of the area of production, in two
versions. Unfortunately, I was not able to extract it from the sponsoring
website or to change the size to make it easier to see.

It includes the entire area of the Vesuvius national park and thensome,
comprising the territory, apparently according to political boundaries, of
18 comuni or municipalities. It's a large area, directly to the east of the city
of Naples. It does not include Pompei. Here are the urls of the two
versions I have found:

http://www.qualigeo.eu/prodotto-qual...l-vesuvio-dop/

and
http://www.foodinitaly.com/prodotti/...DOP-17705.html

On both of these, you can choose at the top left of the little chart to show
the geographical terrain, with or without a map of major roads, or satellite
imagery, with or without labels.

An interesting point is that the "zona di produzione" includes a great
variation in types of land, from the area immediately along the coast
to places pretty far inland, and slopes in all directions from the center
of the volcanic cone. There must be substantial variety in weather, soil
types and a good many other factors. It would be interesting to see the
actual locations of some of the individual producers to guess what actual
characteristics they are or are not taking advantage of.

VenetoGardens · September 23, 2021

I was looking through this posting. Does anyone know where I can get these seeds in the USA? thanks. Dave

Fred Hempel · September 24, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilex

I know people who have grown them, and said they had fantastic flavour and lasted for a long time, in California.

I need to plant them and see myself if I can grow them. I would be very surprised if I can't.

I would be surprised too.

We recently began growing Kenneth's Piennolo and it is a rare combination of shelf-life and flavor.

Fusion_power · September 25, 2021

This thread has been hanging around for 4 years now. Sandhill Preservation has seed of Piennolo, King Humbert, and Principe Borghese. I mentioned this earlier in this thread, but repeating if anyone wants the seed. The version of Piennolo is potato leaf. Original source of seed was Craig Lehoullier about 11 years ago.

asmx91 · September 26, 2021

@ VenetoGardens
I have seeds from Pienello del Vesuvio, but it is about 4 years old - and - it didn't work
well with me. PM me
I am taking the Spanish "penjar" kinds

paradajky · September 26, 2021

How do these compare to the ramallet tomatoes? I've been considering trying to grow one of the longer life tomatoes, if I can figure out the disease issues at home.

zipcode · September 27, 2021

I have bought these in Naples (I mean the tomatoes), and they were really expensive compared to the normal stuff. I can say with some confidence that even those grown in the designated areas will not necessarily be good (mine were awful).
The biggest problem of these vs ramallet is that the ramallets of these size are multiflora (or most are), a pretty big advantage.

eyolf · September 28, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

This thread has been hanging around for 4 years now. Sandhill Preservation has seed of Piennolo, King Humbert, and Principe Borghese. I mentioned this earlier in this thread, but repeating if anyone wants the seed. The version of Piennolo is potato leaf. Original source of seed was Craig Lehoullier about 11 years ago.

I use Tapatalk on my phone: a couple of other forums enable the "like" feature, but not here.

But I "like" this post.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

paradajky · June 17, 2023

I found someone last year who lives in Mallorca but was unable to ship me ramallet seeds from the country, oh well. So meantime, I'm growing Kenneth's Piennolo from Grow Artisan this year!

It's the first to flower in my bucket garden (2 plants), and my family's ground garden (3-4, our labels faded in the sun oops)! It's also the tallest so far, two weeks after final transplant, when compared to all our tomatoes planted this year. So far so good!

Would you all keep this one to 1-2 stems, or would you let it grow all its suckers? Last year I watched several videos how the Italians grow these varieties, and they snip the tops to keep them shorter at 3-4ft tall probably for ease of harvest, so I think they might be indeterminate? They also seem to reduce watering as the fruits/plants mature, almost like a dry farming method, maybe that's how they get such good flavor in Italy. Hmm.

Fusion_power · June 19, 2023

More foliage relative to fruit load is desirable to improve flavor. This is true for all tomatoes including piennolo. Of the piennolo varieties I've grown, only Principe Borghese is determinate. The others are all compact indeterminate. Exceptional flavor in Piennolo is tied to the soil they are grown in and the genetics of the plants. I've had exceptional flavor only when grown in mineral rich soils.

paradajky · October 24, 2023

Hi: my Kenneth's Piennolo bunch lasted somewhere between 30-45 days, hung up in a dark area, before a couple tomatoes began to rot. Not wanting that to spread, I stashed the remaining good ones in the freezer.

Fresh, they made an amazing quick sauce for noodles - probably better than any of my other tomatoes. The first few to ripe were very dry and almost hollow on the inside, but the next several bunches turned out very well. If I decide to grow tomatoes next year, these will definitely be on the list.

I would really like to try growing ramallet some day. Not sure my conditions will allow for storage beyond 30-45 days, it might be because my area is too humid (65-85% relative humidity most of the time at moderate temperatures). Oh, well, this was fun and I hope a few others from this forum will give the Piennolo a go!

March 30, 2017	#65
cwavec Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: PA - 5b Posts: 92	Zona di Produzione I have been able to find a small map of the area of production, in two versions. Unfortunately, I was not able to extract it from the sponsoring website or to change the size to make it easier to see. It includes the entire area of the Vesuvius national park and thensome, comprising the territory, apparently according to political boundaries, of 18 comuni or municipalities. It's a large area, directly to the east of the city of Naples. It does not include Pompei. Here are the urls of the two versions I have found: http://www.qualigeo.eu/prodotto-qual...l-vesuvio-dop/ and http://www.foodinitaly.com/prodotti/...DOP-17705.html On both of these, you can choose at the top left of the little chart to show the geographical terrain, with or without a map of major roads, or satellite imagery, with or without labels. An interesting point is that the "zona di produzione" includes a great variation in types of land, from the area immediately along the coast to places pretty far inland, and slopes in all directions from the center of the volcanic cone. There must be substantial variety in weather, soil types and a good many other factors. It would be interesting to see the actual locations of some of the individual producers to guess what actual characteristics they are or are not taking advantage of.

March 30, 2017	#62
MrBig46 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Czech republic Posts: 2,534	I think that Piennolo del Vesuvio is such a new endemic species, which is tied to a specific area around Vesuvius (weather and soil), which is not found elsewhere. Nowhere I have not read that somewhere else than in nearby Vesuvius someone managed to make Piennola and keep them until spring. For these tomatoes, I became a member of the Italian website Agraria and nobody from other regions in Italy was growing Piennolo successful. This also confirmed me Eugenio, the main website moderator (who lives in the region Vesuvio DOP). Vladimír

March 30, 2017	#63
ilex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Spain Posts: 416	I know people who have grown them, and said they had fantastic flavour and lasted for a long time, in California. I need to plant them and see myself if I can grow them. I would be very surprised if I can't.

September 23, 2021	#66
VenetoGardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Loomis Basin, CA Posts: 7	I was looking through this posting. Does anyone know where I can get these seeds in the USA? thanks. Dave

September 25, 2021	#68
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	This thread has been hanging around for 4 years now. Sandhill Preservation has seed of Piennolo, King Humbert, and Principe Borghese. I mentioned this earlier in this thread, but repeating if anyone wants the seed. The version of Piennolo is potato leaf. Original source of seed was Craig Lehoullier about 11 years ago.

September 26, 2021	#69
asmx91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Germany Posts: 849	@ VenetoGardens I have seeds from Pienello del Vesuvio, but it is about 4 years old - and - it didn't work well with me. PM me I am taking the Spanish "penjar" kinds

September 26, 2021	#70
paradajky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2021 Location: Coastal Southern CA Posts: 164	How do these compare to the ramallet tomatoes? I've been considering trying to grow one of the longer life tomatoes, if I can figure out the disease issues at home.

September 27, 2021	#71
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	I have bought these in Naples (I mean the tomatoes), and they were really expensive compared to the normal stuff. I can say with some confidence that even those grown in the designated areas will not necessarily be good (mine were awful). The biggest problem of these vs ramallet is that the ramallets of these size are multiflora (or most are), a pretty big advantage.

June 17, 2023	#73
paradajky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2021 Location: Coastal Southern CA Posts: 164	I found someone last year who lives in Mallorca but was unable to ship me ramallet seeds from the country, oh well. So meantime, I'm growing Kenneth's Piennolo from Grow Artisan this year! It's the first to flower in my bucket garden (2 plants), and my family's ground garden (3-4, our labels faded in the sun oops)! It's also the tallest so far, two weeks after final transplant, when compared to all our tomatoes planted this year. So far so good! Would you all keep this one to 1-2 stems, or would you let it grow all its suckers? Last year I watched several videos how the Italians grow these varieties, and they snip the tops to keep them shorter at 3-4ft tall probably for ease of harvest, so I think they might be indeterminate? They also seem to reduce watering as the fruits/plants mature, almost like a dry farming method, maybe that's how they get such good flavor in Italy. Hmm.

June 19, 2023	#74
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	More foliage relative to fruit load is desirable to improve flavor. This is true for all tomatoes including piennolo. Of the piennolo varieties I've grown, only Principe Borghese is determinate. The others are all compact indeterminate. Exceptional flavor in Piennolo is tied to the soil they are grown in and the genetics of the plants. I've had exceptional flavor only when grown in mineral rich soils.

October 24, 2023	#75
paradajky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2021 Location: Coastal Southern CA Posts: 164	Hi: my Kenneth's Piennolo bunch lasted somewhere between 30-45 days, hung up in a dark area, before a couple tomatoes began to rot. Not wanting that to spread, I stashed the remaining good ones in the freezer. Fresh, they made an amazing quick sauce for noodles - probably better than any of my other tomatoes. The first few to ripe were very dry and almost hollow on the inside, but the next several bunches turned out very well. If I decide to grow tomatoes next year, these will definitely be on the list. I would really like to try growing ramallet some day. Not sure my conditions will allow for storage beyond 30-45 days, it might be because my area is too humid (65-85% relative humidity most of the time at moderate temperatures). Oh, well, this was fun and I hope a few others from this forum will give the Piennolo a go!