Start Picking Apart My List

daninpd · February 17, 2009

Okay, here's the list of seeds I'm starting this week for a garden that holds 35 plants and a deck that holds 4. I also have seeds coming from another big trade that may change my priorities pretty soon. The garden is in an area (Monterey Bay, CA) that often has cool summers, so start picking apart the list and help me choose the ones I'm going to give the neighbors.

Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red
Anana's Noire
Anna Russian
Beauty King
Brandywine Yellow
Buckbee 's New 50 Day
Bulgarian #7
Chadwick Cherry
Chapman
Cheetham's Potato Leaf
Cuostralee
Druzba
Earl of Edgecombe
Eva Purple Ball
Golden Queen
Goose Creek
Green Grape
Indian Stripe
JD's Special C-Tex
Julia Child
KBX
Legend
Lida Ukrainian
Lillian's Yellow Heirloom
Linnie's Oxheart
Mexico Midget
Mr Bruno
Murray Smith
Noir de Crimee
Old German
Opalka
Orange Minsk
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
Pink Ping Pong
Purple Dog Creek
Riesentraube
Ruby Gold
Russian #117
Sandul Moldovan
Spear's Tennessee Green
Stump of the World
Tennessee Britches
Texas Star
Tidwell German
Ukrainian Heart
Valencia
Zogola

**nctomatoman** · February 17, 2009

I would consider eliminating the following:

Ananas Noire
Buckbee's New 50 Day
Druzba
Earl of Edgecomb
Green Grape
Old German
Riesentraub
Ruby gold
Valencia

Just based on inferior flavor relative to others you have....for a large bicolor, I would sub. Lucky Cross for Old German and Ruby Gold.

but this is just me...based on my taste experiences with some of those on your list. Many on your list I've yet to grow....

habitat_gardener · February 17, 2009

Love Apple Farm in Ben Lomond (near Santa Cruz), California, sells its plants onsite, but it has an extensive list online and the ones that do best in coastal conditions are marked. The "coastal" ones are mostly cherries, but a few medium-size, too.

Here in Palo Alto, we have cool nights (not as cool as yours, probably) and I've successfully grown large tomatoes such as Aunt Ginny's Purple and Pruden's Purple. With larger tomatoes, I usually get a few luscious large ones during the warmest 2-3 weeks of July or August, then small ones the rest of the season. So for a coastal site I'd probably choose the 4 or 5 large tomatoes that I most want to taste, and focus more on medium size fruit. But there have been surprises. Aunt Ruby's German Green is the only large tomato that has consistently produced large tomatoes throughout the season. Opalka was another great-tasting and fairly prolific one with medium to large fruit. Last year, which wasn't a great tomato year, I had a pretty good harvest of Cherokee Purple and Orange Strawberry (which was especially good), both medium size. The year before, Black Krim was a great-tasting and prolific early-season tomato, so maybe Noir de Crimee would do well for you.

Of the other ones on your list that I've tried, Druzba (at a neighbor's warmer site in a container) was worthwhile. I grew Russian 117 last year -- it was good, but only got 2 tomatoes, but I'll try it again because 2008 was not a good season. Of the cherries, I've grown Riesentraube (cherries were too small and the taste not distinctive enough for me), Green Grape (liked them at first, then it seemed like they wouldn't ripen until they were ready to fall off the plant), and Chadwick Cherry (ok taste, but haven't been very productive the 2 times I've grown them), and none of these have been as productive as other cherries for me. Cherries that have done much better for me (and that I loved) include Tommy Toe, Black Cherry, Sungold F1, Sun Sugar F1, and Galina's Yellow.

If your site is sheltered (a south wall next to a house), or if you can grow some larger-fruited varieties in a spot where they get the most heat, you may be able to get larger tomatoes or larger yields. I grow a few larger-fruited varieties each year, but the bulk of my harvest always comes from the small and medium size varieties. My garden site is open (no structures nearby) and gets bay breezes every afternoon, as well as ground-level cold winds later in the season.

rnewste · February 17, 2009

Dan,

I am 30 miles north of you in Campbell (Santa Cruz foothills). As you noted a cool weather, foggy climate in your area, I would suggest you evaluate early varieties such as Stupice, Gregori Alti, Cold Set, Bloody Butcher, and additional Siberian originating varieties. Your weather in Monterey is quite "challenging" in growing Summer crops.

Perhaps Gary Ibsen at TomatoFest could give you some additional recommendations as he grows for seed in your neighborhood.

Ray

montanamato · February 17, 2009

Scotia is good for cool climates and tastes better than many...I also like Siletz , though I may be the only one...
We have cool nights too, but very hot , windy days....The determinate reds do best and I still grow many of the ones people rave about, but the actual ripe on the plant harvest can get discouraging...
I would cut Buckbees 50 day, production good, but it was not early for me, and not tasty either...

Jeanne

pbud · February 17, 2009

I'm in Oakland, near Emeryville, so also have cool summer weather to contend with. I'll second habitat gardener's advice and add Cherokee Green to the list. For some reason that tomato has consistently produced outstanding large fruit in my cold weather. Two years ago I crossed Brandywine and Sugar Lump to try and get a med/lg good tasting cold weather tomato...only on F2 this summer so we'll see. Last summer it produced golf ball sized good tasting tomatoes. I have also a mystery cross - mother is Earl's Faux, father unknown - that produced fantastic tomatoes in the F2 generation last year.

I've got seeds for both - pm me if you want some and I'll send them out to you.

Paul

daninpd · February 17, 2009

It's really funny trying to grow things in the little micro-climates we live in near the ocean on the left coast. I'm in the Prunedale "sunbelt" and have done well with things like Cherokee Purple the last 4 years. Last year Jaune Flamme, Matina, Cherokee Green, Danko, Anna Maria's Heart, NAR, Brandywine Sudduth's, Aker's West Virginia and Black Cherry produced well here.

One of the things I'm considering in making my choice is a note I got back from Dr Carolyn when I sent my copy of her book for her to sign in 2007 and included a note asking if there were any tomatoes she thought "you should grow at least once in your life." Her list at the time was:
Aunt Gertie's Gold
German Red Strawberry
Cherokee Green
Earl of Edgecombe
Chapman
Tidwell German
NAR

That's part of why Earl, Chapman and Tidwell are on this year's list despite other advice (sorry NC)- some things you just have to try for yourself. I do appreciate all of your opinions. I grew Aunt Gertie's on Dr C's advice and got a plant that produced 2 tomatoes- but 2 of the best tomatoes I've ever tasted- I'll give up one spot in the garden for that- at least for one year.

Thanks for the opinions!

**nctomatoman** · February 17, 2009

No problem! Advice is just opinion to be considered, but we all need to go on the journey by ourselves. It really is a matter of both taste and performance. German Red Strawberry just doesn't like to grow well for me. Earl of Edgecombe was just another orange bland tomato. I find Elbe, Yellow Brandywine and Aunt Gertie's Gold to be essentially indistinguishable - all fine tomatoes, but I need only one, and YB yields better for me.

What I try to do is to separate the hype/brand new thing/gotta grow it from the reality. But then again that's me - quite stubborn - and usually if something is advertised or pushed at me or gets lots of hype I will kind of go in the opposite direction!!!

There is absolutely no substitute for personal experience with all of these. And the journey has been worth it all - what fun it has been and will continue to be!

piegirl · February 18, 2009

Ditto Craig on the Old German. I am in the midwest, zone 5 - three tries with OG. A total of 4 or 5 fruit - that were absolutely great - very creamy, mild, taste - different, interesting but production is awful, very large plant, took up a lot of space. Even late in the season, when temps cool, it didn't set - so I am not sure where it would do well.
Green grape - interesting but you can do without it. Piegirl

barefootgardener · February 18, 2009

Old German has been one of my must haves since the first time I grew it 6 years ago. I think the taste is superb and is one large beautiful tomato. It does well in my Midwest Zone 4 Garden when started early from seed. The plants do get huge, but I usually get about 7 to 10 LG fruit's from one plant. It is well worth growing for me in my soil and climate. Last year was the first time I couldnt get the fruit to ripen. But then again hardly any of the many Tomato varieties I planted ripened on the vine.

creister · February 18, 2009

I've grown Green Grape twice, once in the fall, and once in the spring. I thought the fall ones were just wonderful, while the ones in the summer were good. Would Sophie's Choice be good for your climate? Something to look into.

February 17, 2009	#2
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I would consider eliminating the following: Ananas Noire Buckbee's New 50 Day Druzba Earl of Edgecomb Green Grape Old German Riesentraub Ruby gold Valencia Just based on inferior flavor relative to others you have....for a large bicolor, I would sub. Lucky Cross for Old German and Ruby Gold. but this is just me...based on my taste experiences with some of those on your list. Many on your list I've yet to grow.... __________________ Craig

February 17, 2009	#3
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Love Apple Farm in Ben Lomond (near Santa Cruz), California, sells its plants onsite, but it has an extensive list online and the ones that do best in coastal conditions are marked. The "coastal" ones are mostly cherries, but a few medium-size, too. Here in Palo Alto, we have cool nights (not as cool as yours, probably) and I've successfully grown large tomatoes such as Aunt Ginny's Purple and Pruden's Purple. With larger tomatoes, I usually get a few luscious large ones during the warmest 2-3 weeks of July or August, then small ones the rest of the season. So for a coastal site I'd probably choose the 4 or 5 large tomatoes that I most want to taste, and focus more on medium size fruit. But there have been surprises. Aunt Ruby's German Green is the only large tomato that has consistently produced large tomatoes throughout the season. Opalka was another great-tasting and fairly prolific one with medium to large fruit. Last year, which wasn't a great tomato year, I had a pretty good harvest of Cherokee Purple and Orange Strawberry (which was especially good), both medium size. The year before, Black Krim was a great-tasting and prolific early-season tomato, so maybe Noir de Crimee would do well for you. Of the other ones on your list that I've tried, Druzba (at a neighbor's warmer site in a container) was worthwhile. I grew Russian 117 last year -- it was good, but only got 2 tomatoes, but I'll try it again because 2008 was not a good season. Of the cherries, I've grown Riesentraube (cherries were too small and the taste not distinctive enough for me), Green Grape (liked them at first, then it seemed like they wouldn't ripen until they were ready to fall off the plant), and Chadwick Cherry (ok taste, but haven't been very productive the 2 times I've grown them), and none of these have been as productive as other cherries for me. Cherries that have done much better for me (and that I loved) include Tommy Toe, Black Cherry, Sungold F1, Sun Sugar F1, and Galina's Yellow. If your site is sheltered (a south wall next to a house), or if you can grow some larger-fruited varieties in a spot where they get the most heat, you may be able to get larger tomatoes or larger yields. I grow a few larger-fruited varieties each year, but the bulk of my harvest always comes from the small and medium size varieties. My garden site is open (no structures nearby) and gets bay breezes every afternoon, as well as ground-level cold winds later in the season. Last edited by habitat_gardener; February 17, 2009 at 06:21 PM. Reason: add info on varieties in original poster's list!

February 17, 2009	#8
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	No problem! Advice is just opinion to be considered, but we all need to go on the journey by ourselves. It really is a matter of both taste and performance. German Red Strawberry just doesn't like to grow well for me. Earl of Edgecombe was just another orange bland tomato. I find Elbe, Yellow Brandywine and Aunt Gertie's Gold to be essentially indistinguishable - all fine tomatoes, but I need only one, and YB yields better for me. What I try to do is to separate the hype/brand new thing/gotta grow it from the reality. But then again that's me - quite stubborn - and usually if something is advertised or pushed at me or gets lots of hype I will kind of go in the opposite direction!!! There is absolutely no substitute for personal experience with all of these. And the journey has been worth it all - what fun it has been and will continue to be! __________________ Craig

February 17, 2009	#1
daninpd Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Prunedale, CA Posts: 134	Start Picking Apart My List Okay, here's the list of seeds I'm starting this week for a garden that holds 35 plants and a deck that holds 4. I also have seeds coming from another big trade that may change my priorities pretty soon. The garden is in an area (Monterey Bay, CA) that often has cool summers, so start picking apart the list and help me choose the ones I'm going to give the neighbors. Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red Anana's Noire Anna Russian Beauty King Brandywine Yellow Buckbee 's New 50 Day Bulgarian #7 Chadwick Cherry Chapman Cheetham's Potato Leaf Cuostralee Druzba Earl of Edgecombe Eva Purple Ball Golden Queen Goose Creek Green Grape Indian Stripe JD's Special C-Tex Julia Child KBX Legend Lida Ukrainian Lillian's Yellow Heirloom Linnie's Oxheart Mexico Midget Mr Bruno Murray Smith Noir de Crimee Old German Opalka Orange Minsk Pink Berkeley Tie Dye Pink Ping Pong Purple Dog Creek Riesentraube Ruby Gold Russian #117 Sandul Moldovan Spear's Tennessee Green Stump of the World Tennessee Britches Texas Star Tidwell German Ukrainian Heart Valencia Zogola

February 17, 2009	#4
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	Dan, I am 30 miles north of you in Campbell (Santa Cruz foothills). As you noted a cool weather, foggy climate in your area, I would suggest you evaluate early varieties such as Stupice, Gregori Alti, Cold Set, Bloody Butcher, and additional Siberian originating varieties. Your weather in Monterey is quite "challenging" in growing Summer crops. Perhaps Gary Ibsen at TomatoFest could give you some additional recommendations as he grows for seed in your neighborhood. Ray

February 17, 2009	#5
montanamato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 1,038	Scotia is good for cool climates and tastes better than many...I also like Siletz , though I may be the only one... We have cool nights too, but very hot , windy days....The determinate reds do best and I still grow many of the ones people rave about, but the actual ripe on the plant harvest can get discouraging... I would cut Buckbees 50 day, production good, but it was not early for me, and not tasty either... Jeanne

February 17, 2009	#6
pbud Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Posts: 173	I'm in Oakland, near Emeryville, so also have cool summer weather to contend with. I'll second habitat gardener's advice and add Cherokee Green to the list. For some reason that tomato has consistently produced outstanding large fruit in my cold weather. Two years ago I crossed Brandywine and Sugar Lump to try and get a med/lg good tasting cold weather tomato...only on F2 this summer so we'll see. Last summer it produced golf ball sized good tasting tomatoes. I have also a mystery cross - mother is Earl's Faux, father unknown - that produced fantastic tomatoes in the F2 generation last year. I've got seeds for both - pm me if you want some and I'll send them out to you. Paul

February 18, 2009	#9
piegirl Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 791	Ditto Craig on the Old German. I am in the midwest, zone 5 - three tries with OG. A total of 4 or 5 fruit - that were absolutely great - very creamy, mild, taste - different, interesting but production is awful, very large plant, took up a lot of space. Even late in the season, when temps cool, it didn't set - so I am not sure where it would do well. Green grape - interesting but you can do without it. Piegirl

February 18, 2009	#10
barefootgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Zone 4b Posts: 1,291	Old German has been one of my must haves since the first time I grew it 6 years ago. I think the taste is superb and is one large beautiful tomato. It does well in my Midwest Zone 4 Garden when started early from seed. The plants do get huge, but I usually get about 7 to 10 LG fruit's from one plant. It is well worth growing for me in my soil and climate. Last year was the first time I couldnt get the fruit to ripen. But then again hardly any of the many Tomato varieties I planted ripened on the vine.

February 18, 2009	#11
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	I've grown Green Grape twice, once in the fall, and once in the spring. I thought the fall ones were just wonderful, while the ones in the summer were good. Would Sophie's Choice be good for your climate? Something to look into.