Black from Tula flesh soft and mealy?

johnhamilton1 · June 25, 2015

One of my Black from Tula plants was the first to have ripe fruit this year. The tomatoes look good, but the flesh is soft and mealy and doesn't have much flavor Tastes like a mid-winter grocery store tomato. Yuck! This is my first year with Black from Tula. Black Krim was one of my favorite varieties last year and I assumed the Black from Tula would be similar. What has been your experience with Black from Tula? I have a Sweet Chelsea Cherry next to the Black from Tula and those have tasted terrific. My other varrities probably won't have ripe fruit for another week or so. I am almost tempted to pull the two Black from Tula plants out and replace them with something else.

b54red · June 25, 2015

I grew Black from Tula last year and it was very good and had a decent shelf life for a black tomato. Possibly you let yours get overripe or it had too much water the last week or so before it was picked either will ruin the taste and texture. Black Krim was actually more prone to this than Tula in my experience but I did think BK was a more exotic flavor than Tula although I found BK a bit more prone to being mushy if slightly overripe.

My favorite black tomatoes are Indian Stripe, JD's Special C Tex, and Spudakee.

Bill

**carolyn137** · June 25, 2015

I don't like most so called black varieties, but I do like Black From Tula very much and have grown it many times since I got it when it was first offered in the 1996 SSE Yearbook, see this link:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Black_from_Tula

The same variety can differ as to taste and flesh consistency as to where grown, geographically, as well as by the same person a second time in a different season, depending mostly on what the weather is in any given season,

Which is why if a variety is liked by many and it doesn't perform the first time I grow it, I always give it a second chance,

Carolyn

brooksville · June 25, 2015

This is what is happening in our garden right now. It is absolutely unbelievable how the flavor has changed as the season progressed. This is especially true for the blacks, BW, GB and STOW. The flavor is outstanding. The fruit is smaller, but I would rather have excellent flavor vs larger fruit. I also have been picking all blushing fruit on Sun., Wed., and Fri. I hate seeing the stinkbug stings!!

brooksville · June 25, 2015

I completely read this post wrong. Tired, sorry.

ginger2778 · June 25, 2015

Quite often, the first fruits off a tomato plant are not nearly as tasty as they are later on. I wouldn't pull them, just wait about a month. The mushy fruits can be used to make sauce, which will be wonderful with them.

Fred Hempel · June 25, 2015

First impressions with tomatoes are often wrong.

I would never judge a tomato by a fruit that ripened 2 weeks earlier than everything else.

I don't even like to sell the first tomatoes out of my field. They have been overwatered, because I need good production. Later on (with consistent warm weather, and less water per fruit) tomatoes typically taste much better -- across the board.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnhamilton1

One of my Black from Tula plants was the first to have ripe fruit this year. The tomatoes look good, but the flesh is soft and mealy and doesn't have much flavor Tastes like a mid-winter grocery store tomato. Yuck! This is my first year with Black from Tula. Black Krim was one of my favorite varieties last year and I assumed the Black from Tula would be similar. What has been your experience with Black from Tula? I have a Sweet Chelsea Cherry next to the Black from Tula and those have tasted terrific. My other varrities probably won't have ripe fruit for another week or so. I am almost tempted to pull the two Black from Tula plants out and replace them with something else.

Fred Hempel · June 25, 2015

And cherries are often the exception to the rule, tasting better from the get-go.

b54red · June 25, 2015

Another reason not to give up in Black from Tula is that almost without exception black tomatoes get better the later in the summer you go. Last year it was one of my earliest tomatoes but nothing special til later in the summer when the flavor became much more intense. I think it is the usually lower amounts of rainfall and the intense heat. The best tomato I ever tasted was a Black Krim that came off the vine ripe in early August. I had heard about that mysterious smokey flavor that sometimes happens in black tomatoes and I have had it happen a few more times and every time it was during long hot spells with little if any rain.

Bill

johnhamilton1 · June 26, 2015

Thanks for the feedback. You'll have given me a lot to think about. We have had some heavy rains. Maybe less water would help. I will see how they taste as the season progresses. The idea about using them for sauce if the taste fresh doesn't improve is a good idea. Also the Black from Tula that has produced the early ripe fruit is next to another that hasn't had fruit ripen yet. I wonder if one plant can produce better tasting fruit. Last year my two Black Krim both taste good, but one plant produced a lot of small fruit and the other produced fewer, larger fruit.

Gardeneer · June 26, 2015

THanks for the reviews of BFT. I am growing one plant for the first time. It is really healthy and robust, with lots of flowers and have some fruits set already. I look forward to do a side by side review with CP and Arbuznyi. So far CP is beating them both in earliness. And I have no doubt about CP's taste since it is the 4th season I am growing it.
Will BFT become a regulat in my garden ? Time will tell.

Gardenner.

Gerardo · June 27, 2015

One of my Black from Tulas did something similar with a single orb ripening of the 1st cluster, and yes, it was mushy and not very good. However, the 2nd and 3rd clusters just went into a batch of Bolognese pasta along with some Cosmonaut Volkov, a big Rutgers, and two Japanese BT. All got tasted before they went in and my 3 y.o. gave 'em the thumbs up.

Pots practically clean before they went into the sink, a very good sign!

So in short, as others have advised, give it some time and hope for consistent weather. Black from Tula is a great tasting tomato, and in my garden relatively prolific.

I hope they improve for you.

June 25, 2015	#1
johnhamilton1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 16	Black from Tula flesh soft and mealy? One of my Black from Tula plants was the first to have ripe fruit this year. The tomatoes look good, but the flesh is soft and mealy and doesn't have much flavor Tastes like a mid-winter grocery store tomato. Yuck! This is my first year with Black from Tula. Black Krim was one of my favorite varieties last year and I assumed the Black from Tula would be similar. What has been your experience with Black from Tula? I have a Sweet Chelsea Cherry next to the Black from Tula and those have tasted terrific. My other varrities probably won't have ripe fruit for another week or so. I am almost tempted to pull the two Black from Tula plants out and replace them with something else.

June 25, 2015	#3
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I don't like most so called black varieties, but I do like Black From Tula very much and have grown it many times since I got it when it was first offered in the 1996 SSE Yearbook, see this link: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Black_from_Tula The same variety can differ as to taste and flesh consistency as to where grown, geographically, as well as by the same person a second time in a different season, depending mostly on what the weather is in any given season, Which is why if a variety is liked by many and it doesn't perform the first time I grow it, I always give it a second chance, Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

June 25, 2015	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I grew Black from Tula last year and it was very good and had a decent shelf life for a black tomato. Possibly you let yours get overripe or it had too much water the last week or so before it was picked either will ruin the taste and texture. Black Krim was actually more prone to this than Tula in my experience but I did think BK was a more exotic flavor than Tula although I found BK a bit more prone to being mushy if slightly overripe. My favorite black tomatoes are Indian Stripe, JD's Special C Tex, and Spudakee. Bill

June 25, 2015	#4
brooksville Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: South Georgia Zone 8a Posts: 179	This is what is happening in our garden right now. It is absolutely unbelievable how the flavor has changed as the season progressed. This is especially true for the blacks, BW, GB and STOW. The flavor is outstanding. The fruit is smaller, but I would rather have excellent flavor vs larger fruit. I also have been picking all blushing fruit on Sun., Wed., and Fri. I hate seeing the stinkbug stings!!

June 25, 2015	#6
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Quite often, the first fruits off a tomato plant are not nearly as tasty as they are later on. I wouldn't pull them, just wait about a month. The mushy fruits can be used to make sauce, which will be wonderful with them.

June 25, 2015	#8
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	And cherries are often the exception to the rule, tasting better from the get-go.

June 26, 2015	#10
johnhamilton1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 16	Thanks for the feedback. You'll have given me a lot to think about. We have had some heavy rains. Maybe less water would help. I will see how they taste as the season progresses. The idea about using them for sauce if the taste fresh doesn't improve is a good idea. Also the Black from Tula that has produced the early ripe fruit is next to another that hasn't had fruit ripen yet. I wonder if one plant can produce better tasting fruit. Last year my two Black Krim both taste good, but one plant produced a lot of small fruit and the other produced fewer, larger fruit.

June 26, 2015	#11
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,916	THanks for the reviews of BFT. I am growing one plant for the first time. It is really healthy and robust, with lots of flowers and have some fruits set already. I look forward to do a side by side review with CP and Arbuznyi. So far CP is beating them both in earliness. And I have no doubt about CP's taste since it is the 4th season I am growing it. Will BFT become a regulat in my garden ? Time will tell. Gardenner.

June 27, 2015	#12
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	One of my Black from Tulas did something similar with a single orb ripening of the 1st cluster, and yes, it was mushy and not very good. However, the 2nd and 3rd clusters just went into a batch of Bolognese pasta along with some Cosmonaut Volkov, a big Rutgers, and two Japanese BT. All got tasted before they went in and my 3 y.o. gave 'em the thumbs up. Pots practically clean before they went into the sink, a very good sign! So in short, as others have advised, give it some time and hope for consistent weather. Black from Tula is a great tasting tomato, and in my garden relatively prolific. I hope they improve for you.