Black Tomato Ranking Question

[SharonRossy]

Looks like I'll have to try MC next year! This year is just underway and I'm already making plans for next year!

[crmauch]

Originally Posted by kath

I grew them side-by-side one year and much prefer Sungold. Sun Sugar doesn't have the zip that Sungold does- just sweetness. I thought the skins of Sun Sugar were thicker and it split just as much for me as Sungold did.

Interesting as Sun Sugar (when I saw plants on sale) was being sold as 'split resistant'.

[kath]

Originally Posted by crmauch

Interesting as Sun Sugar (when I saw plants on sale) was being sold as 'split resistant'.

Could have been one of the years we had too much rain- I don't have a record of what year I tried it but it was before 2010 when I started keeping records of tomato varieties grown each season. Ymmv-

[Baizanator]

I've had good luck with Cherokee Purple, Black Bear and Big Cheef. All are tremendous.

[SharonRossy]

My CPs are really starting to put out fruit. Wish the rest would catch up.

[NewWestGardener]

Usually black ones are quite mushy and taste bland in my garden, but the seeds I passed on to my friend in way more northern climate can grow a whole world differently, the intense summer heat helps although they have shorter growing season. Dana's Dusty Rose stood out 2 years back but it had lots of weird shaped fruit. I grew Amazon Chocolate last year, unremarkable. Japanese Black Trifele was highly productive but was a real spitter, so is black cherries (tried 3 years in a row).

My new favourite is Indian Stripe PL (from Carolyn's most recent seed offer), not only they are super productive, and set really early, they are the best tasting so far!

[venturabananas]

I'm growing Dwarf Wild Fred for the first time this year and in my garden it is at the top of the list of black tomatoes I've grown. Better than Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Gary'O Sena, Paul Robeson, Black Plum, and Black Prince. Tasty, nice texture, productive, unblemished fruit, with a small and easily manageable plant. What's not to like?

[jmsieglaff]

DewayneMater, good recommendation on the Black and Brown Boar. I enjoy the flavor and look of this tomato very much! I think next year if I go through with the trial of a variety of black tomatoes this will be one of them. This year I had it in a 5 gallon bucket, which it did fine in there for a while, but it outgrew the container and wasn't doing the best, so I harvested good sized green fruit and removed the plant.

I saved seed from a couple fruits on the plant.

[jmsieglaff]

Just another observation, we've had a summer with temperatures a bit below normal thus far. The Black Krims this year are the best looking fruits I've had from the variety, good formed fruit, very little cracking, and setting quite a few as well. The flavor has been very good too, maybe not the best I've had, but despite the lack of hot weather they're very tasty. How are Black Krims doing elsewhere?

[taboule]

Mostly Black Krims, the biggest so far at 14.6 oz. Super flavor as always.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Just another observation, we've had a summer with temperatures a bit below normal thus far. The Black Krims this year are the best looking fruits I've had from the variety, good formed fruit, very little cracking, and setting quite a few as well. The flavor has been very good too, maybe not the best I've had, but despite the lack of hot weather they're very tasty. How are Black Krims doing elsewhere?

Surprisingly my Black Krim has also had no issues with splitting like most of the other blacks I am growing. It is right next to my BTDP which is the worst splitter this year. For flavor JD's is the best so far but with the intense heat we are getting right now one of the others could give me some that taste better before the season is over. This has been a great year for the black tomatoes after last years near total failure. The dry conditions and intense heat just give them a little something extra in the flavor department. Now when reaching for a tomato for a salad or sandwich I find myself more and more choosing one of the blacks whereas early in the year I favored the pink ot red beefsteaks.

Bill

[Cole_Robbie]

Does anyone else dislike Black Brandywine as much as me? The one year I grew it...blech! My Cherokee Purple grown next to it was excellent.

[camochef]

Now that this years gardens are in high production, I want to say 1st of all, that this has been a fantastic year for "black" tomatoes.
My usual Bear Creek, Dana's Dusky Rose, and Amazon Chocolates have been doing great. In taste and production as well as size. Even the usually medium sized DDR's are yielding some really large sized tomatoes.

This year I brought back Cherokee Purple with a plant I purchased from Agway from a company called Homegrown Harvest. It was producing the best tasting "black" from the gardens. Fantastic taste coupled with great production of good-sized fruits.

Then along came the first ripe German Johnson-Benton Strain/ Bear Creek cross. Definitely the best tasting tomato of the year so far!
While German Johnson -Benton Strain is normally a regular leafed pink and Bear Creek is a potato-leafed Black with Brandywine/Cherokee Purple parents, The German Johnson/Bear Creek cross is the best of both worlds. It is Potato Leafed. It is Dark Colored (black), it is large, and quite productive, and it is delicious. It is also later than any other tomato in my garden as far as ripening. Even later than Purple Dog Creek.

I've shared these with friends, and couldn't believe the comments they've received as far as taste, even over my usual favorites. Right now, I have very few seeds as what I have is already spoken for. (I'm not spending much time this year saving seed). So please don't besiege me with requests.

As of this time, German Johnson-Benton Strain/Bear Creek cross is #1 with Cherokee Purple at #2; Bear Creek is a strong #3, and DDR is at #4.
I'm working on a Amazon Chocolate/German Johnson Cross that's producing a large pink fruit which is superior to Amazon Chocolate, which might be eliminated from future gardens as I really want to decrease my tomato gardens.

I had 41 plants this year after losing about 20 to severe wind storms. It was just too many tomatoes, even after giving most away to friends and neighbors. Still it was better than the hundreds I used to have each year. Still trying to get down to about 10 or so.
Concentrating more on other crops...like spinach!
Enjoy!
Camo

[salix]

Glad to read your latest ratings, Mike. Good luck on stabilizing the new favourite, and also on decreasing your tomato plantings. I suspect you'll get to that point about the same time I do...

[SharonRossy]

Had my first CP ever yesterday, and I loved it! It was everything I had hoped for in a black tomato. I'm still waiting for Indian Stripe to ripen and JBT. Camo good luck. Wow, ambitious! Keep us posted. I've been wanting to try DDR but just can't seem to get to it with so many varieties out there!
Sharon