GWR Throwdown aka Borderline Obsession

fordido · May 20, 2016

Thanks to this group, I've caught the tomato fever. And I have it bad. If I'm not outside obsessively checking over my tomato babies, I'm inside reading posts dating all the way back to 2008.

The last two years, I only grew two cherries & a Cherokee purple and still had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with.. So, naturally this year I've graduated to 16 tomato plants. Just what I needed! haha Thanks to reading an obscene number of your posts & years of general lurking, I have a great grow list this year, if I do say so myself. This group is a wealth of knowledge!

2016 Grow List
Stump of the World
Rebel Yell
Dester
Brandy Boy
Kellogg's Breakfast
Hawaiian Pineapple
Gary'O Sena
Indian Stripe
Paul Robeson
Little Lucky
Great White
Solar Flare
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
Large Barred Boar
Nectar cherry
AND
Aunt Ruby's German Green

Well, actually not ARGG because a gosh darnoodley cutworm took it out the day after I planted it!!

Which means I'm now completely obsessed with the idea of a GWR. I've never seen one, much less tasted one. So next year, I'm devoting 2 spots in my garden to a tiny GWR Throwdown.

So please chime in with your votes on which two should battle head-to-head for my first GWR taste test! Points deducted from any varieties that lean toward the tart side of the spectrum, I like my tomatoes balanced but with a definite hit of sweetness. Here are my current contenders:

Aunt Ruby's German Green
Cherokee Green
Green Giant
Malakhitovaya Shkatulk
Absinthe
Hugh's (whoops, this is a yellow! Thx Carolyn)
Humph
Grub's Mystery Green

Assuming I'm a GWR fan, I hope to make my way through the entire list eventually. But in the meantime, which two varieties would you pick to convert my boring supermarket-tomato eating friends & family to the dark (green) side?

And thanks in advance for enabling my obsession. For some reason, I'm getting no support from my husband whatsoever!!

**carolyn137** · May 21, 2016

Being a GWRipe lover myself and having grown many starting back in the early 90's,of the following

Aunt Ruby's German Green
Cherokee Green
Green Giant
Malakhitovaya Shkatulk
Absinthe
Hugh's
Humph
Grub's Mystery Green

I'd chose these two

Cherokee Green and Malakhitovaya Shkatulk, with a nod to Humph as well

Hugh's is not a GWRipe

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Hugh%27s

Notice the history.

Carolyn

Cole_Robbie · May 21, 2016

I like Green Doctor's Frosted, which is a cherry, and Esmerelda Golosina, a saladette. They are both very sweet. Jade Beauty is another GWR I like, although the other two are sweeter, I think.

TightenUp · May 21, 2016

Love grubs mystery green. A staple in my garden

imp · May 21, 2016

Well, that is only 6 more than you think you have room for, but you have a whole season or 2 to figure out how to get all of them in....

salix · May 21, 2016

I can recommend Grub's Mystery Green and Malakhitovaya Shkatulka.

NarnianGarden · May 21, 2016

I've only grown GMG, Green Zebra and this year it'll be Esmeralda Golosina. I loved GMG and GZ, but GMG did not get vigorous enough to resist the diseases, so it came down early. (that sort of dampened my enthusiasm)
Malachitovkaya Shtatulka is on the grow-to list, but before that, another Russian to try: Siberian Malachite, a smaller-fruited green-and-yellow-striped.
I hope to share some seeds later on in a swap, as it seems to be a relatively new variety...

fordido · May 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

I'd chose these two

Cherokee Green and Malakhitovaya Shkatulk, with a nod to Humph as well

Carolyn

I was hoping you'd reply Carolyn! I've seen several posts alluding to your love of GWRs, but when I tried to search again for specific ones I had trouble finding those posts. Thank you! And also thanks for the clarification on Hugh's. That ones Srill in my list for a yellow.

fordido · May 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I like Green Doctor's Frosted, which is a cherry, and Esmerelda Golosina, a saladette. They are both very sweet. Jade Beauty is another GWR I like, although the other two are sweeter, I think.

I hadn't even thought to try a cherry/saladette... great, now I've got a whole new GWR category to try!

Thank you!

fordido · May 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by TightenUp

Love grubs mystery green. A staple in my garden

I hear a lot of great things about this one.. thank you!

fordido · May 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp

Well, that is only 6 more than you think you have room for, but you have a whole season or 2 to figure out how to get all of them in....

I only had 'room' for 12 this year but it's quickly jumped To 16.. I think that means I'm officially a tomatovillian now!

fordido · May 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by salix

I can recommend Grub's Mystery Green and Malakhitovaya Shkatulka.

Thank you!

ginger2778 · May 21, 2016

You might not have heard of Cherokee Lime, (love this-3rd year growing)but that and Aunt Ruby's GG are my top ones, followed by Esmeralda Golosina, a potato leaf saladette with sweetness and enough acid to make the taste great, so it would be my third choice.
If you need some seeds of Cher. Lime, just pm me.
Folks not a general offer.

fordido · May 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

You might not have heard of Cherokee Lime, (love this-3rd year growing)but that and Aunt Ruby's GG are my top ones, followed by Esmeralda Golosina, a potato leaf saladette with sweetness and enough acid to make the taste great, so it would be my third choice.
If you need some seeds of Cher. Lime, just pm me.
Folks not a general offer.

You're right, I've never heard of Cherokee Lime! How do you feel like it compares/differs from Cherokee Green in your garden? I'll look into Esmeralda Golosina too.. a couple mentions there..

Thanks for the seed offer! Very kind of you.

nancyruhl · May 21, 2016

My go-to variety is Cherokee Green because of production. This one seems to really turn them out for me. I am trying a few new ones this year, Cherokee Lime (thanks, Ginger), Esmeralda Golosina, and one of the dwarf releases. While I don't think you would be disappointed with the flavor of any of those mentioned, I would like to put in a good word for Zebra Rita. It is an improvement of Green Zebra, not quit as bitey but with great sweet/tangy profile.

May 20, 2016	#1
fordido Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Missouri Posts: 31	GWR Throwdown aka Borderline Obsession Thanks to this group, I've caught the tomato fever. And I have it bad. If I'm not outside obsessively checking over my tomato babies, I'm inside reading posts dating all the way back to 2008. The last two years, I only grew two cherries & a Cherokee purple and still had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with.. So, naturally this year I've graduated to 16 tomato plants. Just what I needed! haha Thanks to reading an obscene number of your posts & years of general lurking, I have a great grow list this year, if I do say so myself. This group is a wealth of knowledge! 2016 Grow List Stump of the World Rebel Yell Dester Brandy Boy Kellogg's Breakfast Hawaiian Pineapple Gary'O Sena Indian Stripe Paul Robeson Little Lucky Great White Solar Flare Pink Berkeley Tie Dye Large Barred Boar Nectar cherry AND Aunt Ruby's German Green Well, actually not ARGG because a gosh darnoodley cutworm took it out the day after I planted it!! Which means I'm now completely obsessed with the idea of a GWR. I've never seen one, much less tasted one. So next year, I'm devoting 2 spots in my garden to a tiny GWR Throwdown. So please chime in with your votes on which two should battle head-to-head for my first GWR taste test! Points deducted from any varieties that lean toward the tart side of the spectrum, I like my tomatoes balanced but with a definite hit of sweetness. Here are my current contenders: Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherokee Green Green Giant Malakhitovaya Shkatulk Absinthe Hugh's (whoops, this is a yellow! Thx Carolyn) Humph Grub's Mystery Green Assuming I'm a GWR fan, I hope to make my way through the entire list eventually. But in the meantime, which two varieties would you pick to convert my boring supermarket-tomato eating friends & family to the dark (green) side? And thanks in advance for enabling my obsession. For some reason, I'm getting no support from my husband whatsoever!! Last edited by fordido; May 21, 2016 at 08:22 AM.

May 21, 2016	#2
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Being a GWRipe lover myself and having grown many starting back in the early 90's,of the following Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherokee Green Green Giant Malakhitovaya Shkatulk Absinthe Hugh's Humph Grub's Mystery Green I'd chose these two Cherokee Green and Malakhitovaya Shkatulk, with a nod to Humph as well Hugh's is not a GWRipe http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Hugh%27s Notice the history. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

May 21, 2016	#4
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	Love grubs mystery green. A staple in my garden __________________

May 21, 2016	#6
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	I can recommend Grub's Mystery Green and Malakhitovaya Shkatulka. __________________ "He who has a library and a garden wants for nothing." -Cicero

May 21, 2016	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I like Green Doctor's Frosted, which is a cherry, and Esmerelda Golosina, a saladette. They are both very sweet. Jade Beauty is another GWR I like, although the other two are sweeter, I think.

May 21, 2016	#5
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Well, that is only 6 more than you think you have room for, but you have a whole season or 2 to figure out how to get all of them in....

May 21, 2016	#7
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	I've only grown GMG, Green Zebra and this year it'll be Esmeralda Golosina. I loved GMG and GZ, but GMG did not get vigorous enough to resist the diseases, so it came down early. (that sort of dampened my enthusiasm) Malachitovkaya Shtatulka is on the grow-to list, but before that, another Russian to try: Siberian Malachite, a smaller-fruited green-and-yellow-striped. I hope to share some seeds later on in a swap, as it seems to be a relatively new variety...

May 21, 2016	#13
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	You might not have heard of Cherokee Lime, (love this-3rd year growing)but that and Aunt Ruby's GG are my top ones, followed by Esmeralda Golosina, a potato leaf saladette with sweetness and enough acid to make the taste great, so it would be my third choice. If you need some seeds of Cher. Lime, just pm me. Folks not a general offer.

May 21, 2016	#15
nancyruhl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Metro Detroit, Michigan Posts: 1,051	My go-to variety is Cherokee Green because of production. This one seems to really turn them out for me. I am trying a few new ones this year, Cherokee Lime (thanks, Ginger), Esmeralda Golosina, and one of the dwarf releases. While I don't think you would be disappointed with the flavor of any of those mentioned, I would like to put in a good word for Zebra Rita. It is an improvement of Green Zebra, not quit as bitey but with great sweet/tangy profile.