JD’s Special C-Tex

tam91 · October 16, 2011

This is one I am considering - what have your experiences been?

I love Black Krim and Cherokee Purple, but I haven't gotten great production from CP. Always looking for another good black tomato.

Heritage · October 16, 2011

tam91,

For me JD's is fairly early, a heavy producer, and has a fantastic flavor. Although, for each of the two years I've grown it I've had one plant (in ten) produce pink beefsteaks (with lousy flavor). This makes me think it may not be completely stable. Otherwise, it is a near perfect tomato for my growing conditions.

Steve

b54red · October 16, 2011

Like you I am a real fan of the black tomatoes and I have grown a lot of them. Most of them taste good but many are not very productive for me.

Jd's is a great tasting tomato. I have grown it several times and it can be very productive but then again sometimes it is not. It doesn't seem to split quite as bad as Black Krim and sometimes the tomatoes are a good bit larger. Like most of the blacks and other dark tomatoes the flavor is really enhanced by hot weather that isn't too wet.

If you want production then you really need to grow Indian Stripe. It usually out produces all of the other dark tomatoes in my garden. This year Spudakee, Big Cheef and Dana's Dusky Rose were also very productive but Cherokee Purple was less so. Another that can be very productive and also produce large fruit is Gary O' Sena; but make sure to keep it at least moderately pruned or it will get out of control.

I had a volunteer black come up this year and make the darkest and richest tasting tomatoes I have ever grown. It was by far the best tasting tomato in my garden this year so I plan on growing a few next year and see if it repeats itself. It was much darker than any black I have grown so I'm assuming it was some kind of cross between two blacks or a mutation of some kind.

tam91 · October 16, 2011

Interesting re. the possible instability - it will be interesting to see if anyone else is experienceing that.

I am considering most of those other varieties also, depending upon space. Indian Stripe for sure, hopefully I have the right variety this time (last year was a wrong variety). Haven't looked into Big Cheef - I'll have to go read up on that one.

Wow, your volunteer sounds really interesting - I hope you can stabalize it - sounds like one I would love to try one day.

I think the blacks are my absolute favorite - pinks close behind. Except for Captain Lucky, which I just love.

Another one I grow - not the best taste of the blacks, but pretty good, is Nyagous. For me, it just pumps them out, where the other blacks are a bit stingy. So while not my total favorite, it is "old reliable" - if I'm looking to eat a black tomato, I can usually find one there.

tam91 · October 16, 2011

Wow, that Big Cheef potato leaf mahogany tomato looks amazingly good! No sources for seed listed on Tania's site though.

kath · October 16, 2011

Black Krim was my favorite dark for taste for a couple of years until JD's, which I've grown for the past three years. JD's is also early for me and very productive. I've tried dozens of darks so far and JD's still #1 for me, although Amazon Chocolate PL and "Chocolate Beefsteak" from casino were as good this year, I think- all three of those will be back to compete again in 2012.

The fruits were the largest on this year's JD's and the seeds were from a different source than my original seeds for this variety- the plant habits were the same for both sources. It seems to want a cage- not easy to prune it to a single vine but that's ok with me- it also doesn't get more than about 6' tall.

tam91 · October 16, 2011

I've become a Florida Weave convert - so they can go wild if they like - if they get over the top, they can just come back down. I'm too lazy to prune I'm afraid.

cottonpicker · October 16, 2011

KATH..... I'm just wondering IF you've grown Indian Stripe & Dana's Dusky Rose???
If so, your opinion..........?

LarryD

kath · October 16, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by cottonpicker

KATH..... I'm just wondering IF you've grown Indian Stripe & Dana's Dusky Rose???
If so, your opinion..........?

LarryD

I grew 2 plants of Indian Stripe last year and found that the fruits were even smaller than JD's, they had about the same productivity and growth habit, but had more catfacing and misshapen fruits and I didn't like the flavor as much as JD's. I'm not a fan of Cherokee Purple though, preferring Black Krim the years that I grew both of them.

Grew Dana's Dusky Rose this year- first fruits were in the second week of Aug. from a 6/13 plant out and none reached 7 oz. Productivity was much less than JD's. They had too acidic a taste for me and had lots of white spots in the outer walls of the fruits. BER was also an issue for this one.

b54red · October 17, 2011

I had just the opposite with JDs and IS the past two years; but agree that JDs is usually larger and tastier. My problem is that most don't live as long as IS in my garden and I have much more of a problem with sunscald on JDs.

The first DDR that I grew didn't have much flavor but my second planting which matured when the temps were very hot was comparable with most other blacks in flavor. During late summer and early fall I have a real hard time telling any of them apart because they all get really dark and flavorful. There is also little difference in size once the really hot weather sets in down here. Unlike many of the pinks and reds the blacks will frequently set good amounts of fruit even in the hottest weather. For the last two months most of the ripe tomatoes I have been getting are from IS, DDR, and Spudakee and most of them have been small. Now that cool nights have moved in many of the pinks and reds are setting much more fruit and I'm seeing some larger tomatoes developing.

Iva · October 17, 2011

I simply love JD's. I've grown over 50 dark varieties and this one is staying on top. The color, the productivity and taste are great! Sweet and delicious with that 'dark' taste. Plus, it really is one of the earliest large tomatoes to produce in my garden...

semi_lucid · October 17, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

I had a volunteer black come up this year and make the darkest and richest tasting tomatoes I have ever grown. It was by far the best tasting tomato in my garden this year so I plan on growing a few next year and see if it repeats itself. It was much darker than any black I have grown so I'm assuming it was some kind of cross between two blacks or a mutation of some kind.

Is the plant still alive?

Have you considered taking some cuttings and carrying them through the winter under some florescent lights?

kath · October 17, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

I had just the opposite with JDs and IS the past two years; but agree that JDs is usually larger and tastier. My problem is that most don't live as long as IS in my garden and I have much more of a problem with sunscald on JDs.

The first DDR that I grew didn't have much flavor but my second planting which matured when the temps were very hot was comparable with most other blacks in flavor. During late summer and early fall I have a real hard time telling any of them apart because they all get really dark and flavorful. There is also little difference in size once the really hot weather sets in down here. Unlike many of the pinks and reds the blacks will frequently set good amounts of fruit even in the hottest weather. For the last two months most of the ripe tomatoes I have been getting are from IS, DDR, and Spudakee and most of them have been small. Now that cool nights have moved in many of the pinks and reds are setting much more fruit and I'm seeing some larger tomatoes developing.

My experience is quite limited since I've only grown a plant or two each year and I only started with these varieties in the past few years. One thing for sure is that we don't get the intense heat that you do and therefore don't see that dark coloring- my guess is that the taste is not as good either. Sunscald is probably less of a problem here, too.

I grew Spudakee last year and didn't like it any better- probably preferred the flavor of Cherokee Purple. This year I'm probably throwing Black Krim back into the mix and will regrow Amazon Chocolate PL and casino's "Chocolate Beefsteak" because they were as good as JD's for me this year- and bigger. I still grow plant of IS and CP each year for neighbors who favor them, so I may try them again sometime to see how they do in another year, but my goal is to find the ones of each color that are the most tasty, productive and reliable in my garden. So only time and experimentation will tell.

gdaddybill · October 17, 2011

JD's was a good producer for me this year and very tasty. Like most heirlooms it cracked so badly late in the season I couldn't harvest many. Had good production from Cherokee Purple and it was so sweet it almost overwhelmed a BLT. Nyagous has been a very productive and long lasting variety in past gardens and the year before last I had Black Sea Man (on hybrid rootstock) and Black from Tula (this one growing in a large pot). Liked them both-juicy flesh, just enough acid,sweet with melting flesh and complex tomato flavors but thought the Black from Tula was a little better. Grafted Black Sea Man was very vigorous and produced late into the season but stress-cracked so bad they would rot before they ripened even when brought indoors with a bit of color showing.

greyghost · October 17, 2011

Generally speaking, I've found Indian Stripe and Dana's Dusky Rose to be
similiar in taste except DDR has a bit of a "wine" follow-up taste. I think my
Indian Stripe might be more productive and for a longer period-maybe the
fruits are larger than DDR-need to grow both a couple more seasons to be sure.

Kath, I had been getting white spots on toms also-started last year.
My good tomato buddy told me they were from STINK BUGS. This year I
paid more attention and I swear he's correct about this. I noticed light-
colored halos on the surface of toms after fruits were covered by SB's-
on both tomatoes and peppers as well. I've noticed the whitish areas in
the wall under the halos on both. Taste didn't seem to be affected but
the fruits are terribly unappetising given that SB's inject a solution to dissolve
the pulp in order to "suck it up". What do you think?? I don't think I had any
stink bugs at all in '09, also no halos or white spots. Some SB's in '10 (I actually thought they might be beneficial at first until bigdaddyj told me
otherwise!) when I first started seeing the white spots. In '11, we had an
absolutely heavy infestation and no mistaking the white areas/halos.

cry:

October 16, 2011	#4
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Interesting re. the possible instability - it will be interesting to see if anyone else is experienceing that. I am considering most of those other varieties also, depending upon space. Indian Stripe for sure, hopefully I have the right variety this time (last year was a wrong variety). Haven't looked into Big Cheef - I'll have to go read up on that one. Wow, your volunteer sounds really interesting - I hope you can stabalize it - sounds like one I would love to try one day. I think the blacks are my absolute favorite - pinks close behind. Except for Captain Lucky, which I just love. Another one I grow - not the best taste of the blacks, but pretty good, is Nyagous. For me, it just pumps them out, where the other blacks are a bit stingy. So while not my total favorite, it is "old reliable" - if I'm looking to eat a black tomato, I can usually find one there. __________________ Tracy

October 16, 2011	#5
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Wow, that Big Cheef potato leaf mahogany tomato looks amazingly good! No sources for seed listed on Tania's site though. __________________ Tracy

October 16, 2011	#7
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	I've become a Florida Weave convert - so they can go wild if they like - if they get over the top, they can just come back down. I'm too lazy to prune I'm afraid. __________________ Tracy

October 16, 2011	#8
cottonpicker Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SE PA..near Valley Forge Posts: 839	KATH..... I'm just wondering IF you've grown Indian Stripe & Dana's Dusky Rose??? If so, your opinion..........? LarryD __________________ "Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause". Victor Hugo

October 16, 2011	#1
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	JD’s Special C-Tex This is one I am considering - what have your experiences been? I love Black Krim and Cherokee Purple, but I haven't gotten great production from CP. Always looking for another good black tomato. __________________ Tracy

October 16, 2011	#2
Heritage Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,255	tam91, For me JD's is fairly early, a heavy producer, and has a fantastic flavor. Although, for each of the two years I've grown it I've had one plant (in ten) produce pink beefsteaks (with lousy flavor). This makes me think it may not be completely stable. Otherwise, it is a near perfect tomato for my growing conditions. Steve

October 16, 2011	#3
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Like you I am a real fan of the black tomatoes and I have grown a lot of them. Most of them taste good but many are not very productive for me. Jd's is a great tasting tomato. I have grown it several times and it can be very productive but then again sometimes it is not. It doesn't seem to split quite as bad as Black Krim and sometimes the tomatoes are a good bit larger. Like most of the blacks and other dark tomatoes the flavor is really enhanced by hot weather that isn't too wet. If you want production then you really need to grow Indian Stripe. It usually out produces all of the other dark tomatoes in my garden. This year Spudakee, Big Cheef and Dana's Dusky Rose were also very productive but Cherokee Purple was less so. Another that can be very productive and also produce large fruit is Gary O' Sena; but make sure to keep it at least moderately pruned or it will get out of control. I had a volunteer black come up this year and make the darkest and richest tasting tomatoes I have ever grown. It was by far the best tasting tomato in my garden this year so I plan on growing a few next year and see if it repeats itself. It was much darker than any black I have grown so I'm assuming it was some kind of cross between two blacks or a mutation of some kind.

October 16, 2011	#6
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Black Krim was my favorite dark for taste for a couple of years until JD's, which I've grown for the past three years. JD's is also early for me and very productive. I've tried dozens of darks so far and JD's still #1 for me, although Amazon Chocolate PL and "Chocolate Beefsteak" from casino were as good this year, I think- all three of those will be back to compete again in 2012. The fruits were the largest on this year's JD's and the seeds were from a different source than my original seeds for this variety- the plant habits were the same for both sources. It seems to want a cage- not easy to prune it to a single vine but that's ok with me- it also doesn't get more than about 6' tall.

October 17, 2011	#10
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I had just the opposite with JDs and IS the past two years; but agree that JDs is usually larger and tastier. My problem is that most don't live as long as IS in my garden and I have much more of a problem with sunscald on JDs. The first DDR that I grew didn't have much flavor but my second planting which matured when the temps were very hot was comparable with most other blacks in flavor. During late summer and early fall I have a real hard time telling any of them apart because they all get really dark and flavorful. There is also little difference in size once the really hot weather sets in down here. Unlike many of the pinks and reds the blacks will frequently set good amounts of fruit even in the hottest weather. For the last two months most of the ripe tomatoes I have been getting are from IS, DDR, and Spudakee and most of them have been small. Now that cool nights have moved in many of the pinks and reds are setting much more fruit and I'm seeing some larger tomatoes developing.

October 17, 2011	#11
Iva Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Slovenia, EU Posts: 249	I simply love JD's. I've grown over 50 dark varieties and this one is staying on top. The color, the productivity and taste are great! Sweet and delicious with that 'dark' taste. Plus, it really is one of the earliest large tomatoes to produce in my garden...

October 17, 2011	#14
gdaddybill Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Burton, TX Posts: 294	JD's was a good producer for me this year and very tasty. Like most heirlooms it cracked so badly late in the season I couldn't harvest many. Had good production from Cherokee Purple and it was so sweet it almost overwhelmed a BLT. Nyagous has been a very productive and long lasting variety in past gardens and the year before last I had Black Sea Man (on hybrid rootstock) and Black from Tula (this one growing in a large pot). Liked them both-juicy flesh, just enough acid,sweet with melting flesh and complex tomato flavors but thought the Black from Tula was a little better. Grafted Black Sea Man was very vigorous and produced late into the season but stress-cracked so bad they would rot before they ripened even when brought indoors with a bit of color showing.

October 17, 2011	#15
greyghost Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: southeastern PA Posts: 760	Generally speaking, I've found Indian Stripe and Dana's Dusky Rose to be similiar in taste except DDR has a bit of a "wine" follow-up taste. I think my Indian Stripe might be more productive and for a longer period-maybe the fruits are larger than DDR-need to grow both a couple more seasons to be sure. Kath, I had been getting white spots on toms also-started last year. My good tomato buddy told me they were from STINK BUGS. This year I paid more attention and I swear he's correct about this. I noticed light- colored halos on the surface of toms after fruits were covered by SB's- on both tomatoes and peppers as well. I've noticed the whitish areas in the wall under the halos on both. Taste didn't seem to be affected but the fruits are terribly unappetising given that SB's inject a solution to dissolve the pulp in order to "suck it up". What do you think?? I don't think I had any stink bugs at all in '09, also no halos or white spots. Some SB's in '10 (I actually thought they might be beneficial at first until bigdaddyj told me otherwise!) when I first started seeing the white spots. In '11, we had an absolutely heavy infestation and no mistaking the white areas/halos. cry: