My best tomato season ever

[Sequim]

Our weather this season (2012) has been the worst in my long career but thanks to my two new personal greenhouses and a new (to me) variety named Bella Rosa it has already become my best season ever. And its not over yet.

My forum searches have yielded no helpful information about Bella Rosa, so I feel compelled to reveal my enthusiasm for this awesome variety. I hope I'll hear from someone who has had experience with it.

Bella Rosa is my first experience with determinate plants. Previously I thought determinates deliver a single large crop over a relatively short period, and then lapse into semi-retirement. But when the first crop was about finished I was astonished to see the plants burst into a second bloom. The second bloom crop is still delivering and is larger than the first. Now the plants are stronger than ever and I'd make a small wager that they would finish a third bloom if weather would permit.

Bella Rosa seems to offer all that can be asked of a large-fruited variety. The deep red fruit is smooth and easy to peel, has excellent flavor and no core. The harvests are huge and ripe fruit holds well on the vine. The plant is resistant to many pathogens (V FF A St TSWV) and it is said to thrive in hot, humid Florida weather (I'm in the Pacific Northwest).

My west greenhouse is climate-controlled and the plants are hydroponically grown. These advantages helped to mitigate our weather conditions that cause local outdoor growers to wait until June 1 or later to set out their plants. I suspect that any June 1 set-outs this season probably perished.

I made two small Bella Rosa plantings from seed; February 5 and March 11. The plants are hydroponically grown, initially in an indoor grow tent under lights. Three of the February plants were moved to my climate-controlled west greenhouse and later six of the March plants were moved to my unheated east greenhouse. Pictures of the February plants bearing their first crop are thumbnailed below.

There was a third planting on May 20, intended to be the successor for the February plants. But these plants lost their home when the February launched its second bloom, so I transitioned the youngsters from hydroponic to soil containers and gave all but 2 of them to local growers with greenhouses. I'll tell you more about these two plants tomorrow in a "Growing in Containers" post.

I keep a log of my plants' performance. Highlights for the two Bella Rosa plantings follow below. I expect the February plants to easily reach 40 pounds per plant before being stifled by loss of daylight here at 48+ degrees latitude. This doesn't compare well to the 76 pounds per plant typically yielded by nitrogen-gobbling Dutch hybrid cordons in commercial greenhouses, but then neither do the pale rocks that ship out of those greenhouses compare well to the delicious Bella Rosa fruits. I highly recommend this variety for anyone in a warm climate, or with a greenhouse to create one.


Pete

P. S. My other plants, also making great contributions to my best season ever:

• Six Sweet Cluster cordons
• Five Sun Gold twin cordons
• Six Sun Sugar cordons

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Performance highlights

February 5 planting (day 0): 3 Bella Rosa plants

March 21 (day 48): Juvenile plants moved to west greenhouse (heated). Spring weather on the Olympic Peninsula is like winter in other areas. Sunlight is rare, heavy overcast is the norm, and rain is frequent. The plants were better off under lights in the grow tent but had outgrown the space.

March 29 (day 56): Bloom is heavy and first fruit has set.

May 19 (day 107): First Bella Rosa harvest; a nice 11 ounce tomato.

May 28 (day 116): Larger Bella Rosa are ripening; today harvested one 20.6 ounce and one 18.3 ounce.

June 30 (day 149): Bella Rosa plants have started their second bloom.

July 24 (day 180): The first bloom harvest has ended with total harvest of 67 tomatoes averaging 15.0 ounces totalling 54.3 pounds (18.1 pounds per plant). But the plants have not been resting; the fruit of the second bloom is sizing up nicely. Meanwhile the cordon varieties are filling the gap nicely.

August 15, 2012 (day 195): Harvesting of the second bloom fruit begins.

September 12, 2012 (day 223): Total harvest to date from both blooms is 153 tomatoes averaging 11.4 ounces totaling 91.7 pounds (30.5 pounds per plant and more on the way).



March 11 planting (day 0): 6 Bella Rosa plants

May 18 (day 68): Juvenile plants moved to east greenhouse (unheated).

July 18 (day 99): First harvest; one 7.4 ounce tomato.

September 12 (day 185): Total harvest to date is 196 tomatoes averaging 8.5 ounces totaling 103.9 pounds (17.3 pounds per plant with more on the way).

[Diriel]

Wow, that looks good! So Bella Rosa is an F1 hybrid. Still, nice results.

[b54red]

I have posted in the past about Bella Rosa in regard to TSWV resistant tomatoes. It is the only one I have tried that has really good flavor. The biggest weakness in the variety for me is that it doesn't seem to be as resistant to fusarium as it should be. It is labeled to have resistance to two races of fusarium as is Big Beef but when planted in my garden it is hit much harder than Big Beef by the disease. I will continue to plant a few because it is very good for a resistant hybrid and when not hit by fusarium is a massive producer of very large fruits. It is the best tasting of all the determinate hybrids that I have grown over the years and does seem to have the ability to keep on producing long after most determinates are through.