Dud to you

[lumierefrere]

Since we love lists, I wonder what varieties get raves but were duds to you.

Trying to ignore the specific weather conditions and other variables that can plague us, here are some of mine that were disappointments given all the hoopla:

Marianna's Peace--huh? Couldn't detect the difference between this and Pruden's Purple.

Eva Purple Ball-- Everyone says this is so great. It was next to Alladin's Lamp that was struck hard by blight and the EPB caught it. Should try it again if there's world enough and time.

Black Cherry--productive, yawn-inducing taste-wise. Maybe my expectations were too high? It tastes like a black tomato.

Lime Green Salad--like biting into a lime. Even my dog wouldn't eat it. It was as durable as, and had the appearance of, an artificial Christmas tree. It was in a container and fell nearly 4' off a stack of hay and received no damage. Would be excellent for landscaping purposes tho.

Julia Child--stick with the cookbooks, dear


Barb

[MawkHawk]

I agree with you about Lime Green Salad. A big disappointment for me. Only the deer would eat it.

The worst tasting tomato ever for me was Yellow Canary. It didn't even taste like a tomato to me.

[greggf]

Barb,

I'll agree with you about Black Cherry. It could be my biggest dud, too, compared to what other folks say. At times it tasted like dirt or mud, at other times it was just okay. Sure wasn't a superstar.

I did keep one on my table near me at all times, just to finger and to admire. But I'd rather chew on cat claws.

=gregg=

[Tania]

folks, Black Cherry and Lime Green Salads were one of my 2005-2006 favs, with Lime Green Salad rated higher than Black Cherry by most of the folks who sampled it

Sorry about that.

My dud last year was Dragotsennost (a.k.a Jewel) - tough (although good for canning), and year 2005 pretty much everything was a dud due to a cold and super wet summer...

[tjg911]

black cherry, palla di fuoco, all bi colors i have grown and all yellows i have grown except azoychka, sun gold, aunt gertie's gold (technically those last 2 are not yellow but they are so good i have point that out). lillian's yellow heirloom is too mild for me but on the border line.

tom

[Bryan24]

Dud, dud, let's see, dud.........

Never grown one that I couldn't eat. Never grew one that I didn't WANT to eat. Even Souix, which wasn't my favorite to eat like candy, was good, made VERY good sauce. Maybe I'm just not terribly particular?? I do have those that I want every year, and I do have one's that I LOVE. But I don't recall ever eating a tomato that we have grown, that I didn't like. Now, tomatoes I HAVEN'T grown (like those on burgers and sandwiches), that's another story entirely. We went to lunch today, I had soup and salad, I left the tomato. The girls said something along the lines of the tomato crazy lady not touching the tomato on her plate being weird. It was cold. Whacha gonna do?

laurel-tx

[sirtanon]

I can't say I've ever grown a variety that I didn't want to eat.. but I've had the occasional tomato that I've pulled off the vine, cut up, taken one bite and tossed. Had a Mortgage Lifter this past winter that was that way..odd, because I usually love them. This one was crunchy, bland, and very unpleasant. Had the wierdest texture I've ever tried. Took one bite, and tossed it... and not even in the compost pile (don't want THAT one passing on its DNA) Otherwise, the plant was great. Then again, that one was most likely effected by the cold snap. Otherwise, as a rule, any tomato I grow is pretty much at least worth eating - and certainly FAR better than the cardboard I get on my Subway sandwiches.

[jwr6404]

Maybe it's my PNW, next to puget Sound, area but I have never had a Black variety that grew well and/or tasted well. I succumbed to trying Paul Robeson last year and it developed a disease that caused the plant to turn brown and stop growing. The 2 tomatos I got were tasted and quickly eliminated by the garbage Disposal.

[pooklette]

White Wonder. Blech, that one just didn't do well for me at all. I usually like mild tomatoes but this one was beyond even my threshold. The flavor could have been compared to muddy water.

[Bryan24]

EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gardenmama]

Vintage Wine- so pretty to look at, so astringent to taste. One bite and it was off my list forever.

[Rena]

Ditto Vintage Wine. A cherry called Ono. Snow White and I tried it for like 3-4 years, I am giving up this year.
As far as Black Cherry goes it is REALLY good here. I have to wonder if the heat makes it tasty?

[lumierefrere]

I've heard that before about Vintage Wine. That's why I was so surprised to see raves on it at one of the plant seller sites.

I've wondered about the rain to sun ratio resulting in a decrease in agreeable taste. One year my Black Krim was great, last year tasteless.

[barefootgardener]

I dont go by anybody elses taste bud's but my own. Our tastebuds are all unique in their own way, and what may taste good to one person may not taste good to another. If we make our choices based on what other people say about a paticular variety , without trying it first yourself, then you could be missing out on something that could be incredible tasting to you.

The environment and soil condition's in your garden can vary from year to year sometimes affecting the taste of your vegetables etc...

I would have missed out on a lot of my favorites if I went soley by other peoples judgements and not my own.This is part of the excitement in gardening , growing something totally new to you and anticipating that first taste.Your either gonna be thrilled or dissapointed but that's what gardening is all about from year to year, and thats what brings me back. LOL