Tomatoes that set fruit in cool temperatures

[carpenterlady]

It snowing here. It has been to cold to snow where I live. So maybe there is hope for spring after this endless winter. It has been so cold this year Lake Superior is almost frozen over. The local news is forecasting a cool summer, based on other years the lake has been frozen over. I live about twenty miles from Lake Superior, still within the lake effect area. So I think I need to reevaluate my tomato list for 2014. I am looking for recommendations for tomatoes that set fruit in cool temperatures. Early to Mid season maturing. I don't usually try anything over 80 days, last year I did get some 85 day maturing tomatoes, but it was warm. I know days of maturity don't mean much, but I know a late maturing tomato won't ripen here. Hope you folks know some good ones I haven't tried over the years. Thank you.

[bower]

Hi carpenterlady, I totally sympathize!

The year I started growing heirlooms was absolutely brutally cold, and not very fruitful I must say, so ever since I've been looking for those early-midseason gems that will put out even when the weather says no. Last year we did cold tolerance trials here, setting out the plants in the greenhouse in mid April, a month earlier than normal. We did have a hot summer afterwards, but the early ones speak for themselves. Since Stupice is a well known early small tomato I grew it as a 'clock' so you can judge how early the slicers are relative to little Stupice in the same conditions.

Stupice days from seed germination to blush. 120
Pervaya Lyubov Stupice + 1 days. Pink beefsteak. Finished early.
Black Early Stupice + 3 days. Black beefsteak. Set well in fall too, after the heat.
Yaponskiy Krab. Stupice + 7 days. Pink beefsteak. Finished early.
Zolotoe Serdtse. Stupice + 7 days. Bright orange heart, very firm, huge producer.

Of the above, I would only rate Z. Serdtse as seeming impervious to the cold and setting and growing fruit below the minimum temperatures that are normally required for tomatoes. The others did well in cool temps, but not really in bitter cold.

From previous years, I had heavy and early fruitset from a Chernomor PL indeterminate (one of those going by the name "Black Sea Man") ripening at Stupice + 7-10 days.

Of the truly delicious but later blacks, I had a good crop from Indian Stripe (Stupice + 18 days) in a good year, and my friends at the farm swear by Cherokee Purple and grow it every year (it was super late that bad year though, mostly ripened in a box). There are a lot more tomatoes in that 'midseason' window that may be good producers in a cool year, but I don't know yet.

Searched down by reputation for early production, these are on my list to try:

Prudens Purple
Missouri Pink Love Apple
Siberskiy Velican Rozoviy (Siberian Giant Pink) esp. recommended for a bad year
Tarasenko 6
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
Amazon Chocolate
Northern Lights
Azoychka rep is very early
Malakhitovaya Schkatulka (Malachite Box)
Arbuznyi (Watermelon-like)
Black Pear

Good luck ! And if you do have a cold year, let us know how your chosen var's produce for you.

[FarmerShawn]

Looks like a good list that Bower has supplied - I know a few of them. I'd add Pink Honey (AKA Siberian Pink Honey, incorrectly, I understand) for a nice big sweet heart that is surprisingly early for me.

[discoprincess]

Supposedly Red Siberian sets fruit in cooler temperatures.

[Worth1]

Posting links to plants that set fruit in cooler weather for me.
I am doing this because I hate the spelling errors I get and it will show information on the variety.
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/GREGORI...ductinfo/5582/
This one I turned a person on to in Alaska he couldn't say enough good about it.
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/OREGON-...ductinfo/2712/
One of the first to set fruit for me in 2008.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/SILETZ/productinfo/2831/

This one did well.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/GLACIER/productinfo/4518/

We get from cool to hot real fast here so many times the cold tolerant determinate tomatoes do best for me.
I rely on smaller fruited cherries and grapes for the summer.

All of the tomatoes I listed above plus aurora set fruit with temps in the 60's sometime 50's at night maybe lower.
All of them withstood temps in the 30's at night and 40's in the day time early on without stunting.
I'm doing this from memory but it is real close.
Red rocket did well also.

Worth

[carolyn137]

And I'd add Moravsky Div, Kimberly, Bloody Butcher, Matina and Anna Russian as well.

Carolyn

[akgardengirl]

Here in Anchorage, AK "Vorlon" does real good and it's a fairly big one with good taste. Native Sun sets well in the cooler temps...it's a mild yellow slicer (for Alaska standards). Last summer everything did good since the temps were above normal.
Sue B.

[Cole_Robbie]

I had Sibirsky Skorospelyi last year; it did well in the cool spring.

[MrBig46]

I shall test Russian tomato Iceberg this year.
Vladimír

[RJGlew]

The list below is taken (without permission) from Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes (http://www.caseysheirloomtomatoes.ca). I would add Moskvich to this list since it is a star for me here.

Guide to the Best (Non-Cherry) Tomatoes To Grow Outdoors in Calgary (zone 3a)

Dwarf Arctic Rose (p. 17)
Lime Green Salad (p. 24)
Forest Fire (p. 40 )
JD’s Special C-Tex (p. 26)
Kimberley (p. 43 )
Rosella Purple (p. 26)
Vorlon (p. 26)
Korol Gigantov (p. 44 )
Azoychka (p. 27)
Ludmilla’s Red Plum (p. 45 )
Big Sungold Select (p. 27)
Lyana (p. 45 )
Citron Compact (p. 28)
Mano (p. 45 )
Native Sun (p. 30)
Matina (p. 45 )
Orange-1 (p. 30)
Maya & Sion’s Airdrie Classic (p. 46 )
Sugary Yellow (p. 31)
Mr. Stripey (p. 34)
Moravsky Div (p. 47 )
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye (p. 34)
Mountain Princess (p. 47 )
Martino’s Roma (p. 37)
Principe Borghese (p. 37)
Al-Kufa (p. 38)
Silvery Fir Tree (p. 49 )
Bloody Butcher (p. 39)
Sophie’s Choice (p. 49 )
Early Siberian (p. 39)
Stupice (p. 49 )
Sugary Pounder (p. 49 )

[Cole_Robbie]

Early Siberian (p. 39)

I am glad to learn that I can just call the tomato Early Siberian, so I can stop butchering the spelling of the name in Russian.

[carolyn137]

Tania has a list of early tomatoes as well, and quite a long one, but when I went to fetch it this is what I got:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/C...Early_Tomatoes

Carolyn, who will ask Tania if the "bug" has been found.

[joseph]

The tomatoes that did best for me last year in my frost/cold tolerant trial were:

Jagodka
Nevskiy Red
Matina (Wow that has showed up on several lists)

They grew robustly in cool spring temperatures and set lots of early fruit.

My "Nevskiy Red" is not the same variety as the "Nevsky" listed in tatiana's database.

I have previously really liked the small fruited Bradley. (Not the large fruited variety by the same name.)

[b54red]

There are a lot to chose from in the above posts so I'll only add a few more. Fish Lake Oxheart does well in the cooler weather and is very early and has decent taste which some early tomatoes don't. Kosovo is another heart that produces early and plentifully. I find many of the black tomatoes set and produce well in cooler weather but to me they need real heat for their full flavor to come through.

Bill

[Sun City Linda]

I see someone mentioned Moskvich. It is really a great tasting early that thrives in cold, wet weather.