Red Cherries agony

NarnianGarden · February 15, 2017

It's time to make a preliminary list for this year's tomatoes, and the choice of red cherries is proving a tough one.
Since I had both Rapunzel f1 and Sweet Aperitif, I was trying to find enough information and reviews on thir flavor and growth habit... Flavor being really the deciding factor, not only lovely trusses.
As my space is as always limited, I likely cannot grow them both.. Then I remembered, heck, I have Fox too - and it's supposed to be sweet!
Any experiences with growing Fox and how it fares in comparison with hybrid cherries?

Ah the agony of decisions..

bower · February 16, 2017

Sorry I don't know any of those three!
It's funny but red cherries seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to my growout choices. Peacevine is our favorite for early production and classic tomato taste, and seems to tolerate all growing conditions including indoors in winter (huge plant though) and outdoors. I also grew Gardener's Delight one year and they were sweet and productive but, at least in that year, they didn't have a lot of flavor besides sweetness. Kimberley was about cherry sized if not a true cherry. And many other early red tomatoes are a little larger than cherries.... Only a couple I actually liked for taste in the determinates: Napoli a Fiaschetto and Alaska.
I guess personally my interest in red tomatoes has really waned.

There are always some reds in F2 growouts as well so that kept me topped up with reds, but little interest in eating them myself as long as there's something else available.

Red Dwarf is a microdwarf cherry we've grown a couple of times and good enough for a winter tomato, when there is nothing black, orange, yellow, bicolor, pink....

Now I've said a load of irrelevant stuff without answering your question at all

but at least it'll get bumped up where someone else may see it.

NarnianGarden · February 16, 2017

Thanks bower for your two Canadian cents

Gardener's Delight is a true and tested variety, so is Sweet Million F1.. But I am going to try some new ones this season, and I'm hesitant now. Rapunzel F1 came with the swap and it looks beautiful, but perhaps I should just go with an OP, and try the Fox seeds.
All reviews about it are favorable ..

RobinB · February 16, 2017

I grew Sweet Aperitif in 2015 (seeds from Jeff Casey at Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes). What I got was a HUGE 7-8' plant that was absolutely covered in small, round, red tomatoes that were extremely sweet if you waited until they were really red before you picked them. My main complaint with this one was the ease at which they fell off the plant once they were ripe. That said, I loved this one so much that I did a cross with one of my Dwarf Tomato Project white cherries and I'm growing out the F2 this season.

Here's some photos of my Sweet Aperitif plant from 2015:
SweetA-plant.jpg
SweetA-plant-closeup.jpg
SweetA-greenies.jpg
SweetA-ripe.jpg

Cole_Robbie · February 16, 2017

I am not a big fan of red cherries in general, but Ambrosia Red was excellent for me last year; it is extremely sweet, much more so than Sweet Million. Tommy Toe has been good the past two years, if you like a more acidic, tomatoey flavor.

AlittleSalt · February 16, 2017

I wish I could help, but we haven't grown them. We do like Ambrosia Red. It is sweet and produces a large plant.

ddsack · February 16, 2017

Quote:

I grew Sweet Aperitif in 2015 (seeds from Jeff Casey at Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes). What I got was a HUGE 7-8' plant that was absolutely covered in small, round, red tomatoes that were extremely sweet if you waited until they were really red before you picked them. My main complaint with this one was the ease at which they fell off the plant once they were ripe. That said, I loved this one so much that I did a cross with one of my Dwarf Tomato Project white cherries and I'm growing out the F2 this season.

Robin, thanks so much for posting this as well as the photos above. I'll be growing this out this season, and was wondering what it was like.

February 15, 2017	#1
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Red Cherries agony It's time to make a preliminary list for this year's tomatoes, and the choice of red cherries is proving a tough one. Since I had both Rapunzel f1 and Sweet Aperitif, I was trying to find enough information and reviews on thir flavor and growth habit... Flavor being really the deciding factor, not only lovely trusses. As my space is as always limited, I likely cannot grow them both.. Then I remembered, heck, I have Fox too - and it's supposed to be sweet! Any experiences with growing Fox and how it fares in comparison with hybrid cherries? Ah the agony of decisions..

February 16, 2017	#2
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Sorry I don't know any of those three! It's funny but red cherries seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to my growout choices. Peacevine is our favorite for early production and classic tomato taste, and seems to tolerate all growing conditions including indoors in winter (huge plant though) and outdoors. I also grew Gardener's Delight one year and they were sweet and productive but, at least in that year, they didn't have a lot of flavor besides sweetness. Kimberley was about cherry sized if not a true cherry. And many other early red tomatoes are a little larger than cherries.... Only a couple I actually liked for taste in the determinates: Napoli a Fiaschetto and Alaska. I guess personally my interest in red tomatoes has really waned. There are always some reds in F2 growouts as well so that kept me topped up with reds, but little interest in eating them myself as long as there's something else available. Red Dwarf is a microdwarf cherry we've grown a couple of times and good enough for a winter tomato, when there is nothing black, orange, yellow, bicolor, pink.... Now I've said a load of irrelevant stuff without answering your question at all but at least it'll get bumped up where someone else may see it.

February 16, 2017	#4
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	I grew Sweet Aperitif in 2015 (seeds from Jeff Casey at Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes). What I got was a HUGE 7-8' plant that was absolutely covered in small, round, red tomatoes that were extremely sweet if you waited until they were really red before you picked them. My main complaint with this one was the ease at which they fell off the plant once they were ripe. That said, I loved this one so much that I did a cross with one of my Dwarf Tomato Project white cherries and I'm growing out the F2 this season. Here's some photos of my Sweet Aperitif plant from 2015: SweetA-plant.jpg SweetA-plant-closeup.jpg SweetA-greenies.jpg SweetA-ripe.jpg

February 16, 2017	#5
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I am not a big fan of red cherries in general, but Ambrosia Red was excellent for me last year; it is extremely sweet, much more so than Sweet Million. Tommy Toe has been good the past two years, if you like a more acidic, tomatoey flavor.

February 16, 2017	#6
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I wish I could help, but we haven't grown them. We do like Ambrosia Red. It is sweet and produces a large plant.