Is there a list of BER NEVER varieties ?

BlackBear · July 20, 2017

Hi all ...

I was wondering if there was a list of "BER Never " Varieties of Tomatoes .

It would be interesting to note ....

imp · July 20, 2017

Isn't BER more of a cultural issue than a variety issue? Poor watering - too much, too little?

BlackBear · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp

Isn't BER more of a cultural issue than a variety issue? Poor watering - too much, too little?

I think the uneven cultural "practice " doesn't help ...but not all varieties are the same

when it come to BER .

I just would like to identify some well know ...."BER NEVER " varieties .

I quote Dr. Carolyn .......From 2001 (Victory Seeds site ?)

"Not all varieties of tomatoes get BER. Some never do, others are horrible. That's not surprising since certainly there are slight physiological differences between varieties. After all, almost all garden tomatoes, with the exception of the currant tomatoes are in the same genus and species, Lycopersicon lycopersicum. And we humans are all in the same species, Homo sapiens, var. sapiens....and look how different some of our physiologies are. Whoa!
So, BER is a physiological condition, cannot be cured, and current literature data suggests it cannot be prevented. It occurs on some, but not all varieties of tomatoes, is usually seen early in the season and then stops, for most folks. It would be nice to say that you could even out your watering, prevent droughts and heavy rainfalls, ensure even and not rapid growth of plants and not disturb the roots by shallow cultivating. But on a practical basis, I think ............" etc.

Ricky Shaw · July 20, 2017

Cherry tomatoes don't get them, little globes seem to resist, as well as hybrids. Get past that and it's conditions nearly every time to my way of thinking. And some just don't like containers.

Fed and watered exactly in the same way, same mix and 15 gal pot size. Last year's two Rose De Berne had BER on 19 of 20 toms. Right beside them, two Crnkovic Yugoslavian with much larger toms and zero BER. The kicker was the RDB's looked great, nice green with no leaf curl. The Crnkovic looked dead, curled and silvery, but every cluster had perfect fruit. Almost like it uses every bit of energy toward tomato development and sacrifices the foliage.

Ricky Shaw · July 20, 2017

And I forgot to add my point. That I'm sure plenty of people grow Rose De Berne with no problem, but my conditions seem to make the BER impossible.

**carolyn137** · July 20, 2017

As for the quote from me that Black Bear noted above in a post, for me, after growing 4000 plus varieties I have never seen BER on any heart varieties nor on any cherry tomatoes.

And that goes for both external BER as well as internal BER.

Carolyn

oakley · July 20, 2017

Are you having BER problems now or just a conversational/curiosity question?

If I was having trouble I would note down the ones affected. I rarely see it....maybe
once/twice a season and usually early mid August when I am knee deep in ripe toms
so I only remember saying to myself once, "cool, BER!". Too many at that time to care.

But never on cherries or my hearts so Carolyn confirms that. Good to know.

Labradors2 · July 20, 2017

Ricky, The Rose de Berne that I grew one year had BER while other varieties did not. For that reason, I decided not to grow RdeB again

Linda

AlittleSalt · July 20, 2017

The varieties I saw BER on and in this year were mostly Pink When Ripe slicer varieties.

MadCow333 · July 20, 2017

La Roma II from a local nursery: I don't know whose seeds they use. But I bought a bunch of these plants on clearance last year and literally crammed too many of them into big pots. Even so, they took off and made vast quantities of roma tomatoes with AMAZINGLY little BER except right at the start. I made these tomatoes into sauce. But my mom says they were good in salads, too. Everything I have read online gives no praise whatsoever to the flavor of La Roma II. But they were disease resistant, easy keepers, and they made loads of roma tomatoes. I reckon this is why that particular nursery raises so many La Roma II plants. They seem to thrive and produce in this particular region. I opted to go with exclusively San Marzano this year.

San Marzano: Last year's were the Worst plants I've had for BER. One of my 3 San Marzanos never outgrew its BER issues and made nothing buy BER tomatoes. The other 2 did okay after they matured. None of these plants big producers, and they were also late in the season. So I am growing many of them from seed this summer to get enough San Marzanos.

Bonnie Heinz Super Roma (Heinz 8009) - Some BER problems early in the season and very late in the season. It was acceptably BER-free for the most part. But I didn't like this tomato. Very dense and hard with thick skin and was not great for sauce & cooking. Will not buy this one again. Might be okay for the canning factories, but was a waste of space and fertilizer for me.

eta: Some red oxheart that I grew from seeds a co-worker got from Italy: No BER. There might have been one or two tomatoes very late in the season when temps were getting cold enough to interfere with setting fruit. But was essentially BER-free. I battled Septoria leaf spot like crazy on these plants, though. Never could eradicate it, but I did get many real nice tomatoes from these anyhow.

BlackBear · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by oakley

Are you having BER problems now or just a conversational/curiosity question?

If I was having trouble I would note down the ones affected. I rarely see it....maybe
once/twice a season and usually early mid August when I am knee deep in ripe toms
so I only remember saying to myself once, "cool, BER!". Too many at that time to care.

But never on cherries or my hearts so Carolyn confirms that. Good to know.

For me it is not much of a trouble ever ...once every 2 years ..

I have a couple early fruit ....colour/ripen ......they show BER ....I remove them

and the next fruit are Just fine etc. etc.

Not to be difficult or anything ....but I am Growing Zolotoe Serdtse a heart ..

...It is absolutely LOADED with heart shaped fruit ...and It looks to be a very good producer .... With 4 plants going ....I had a few BER at first so removed them and everything went good after that .....Plants are Loaded !

We did have an extra Hot spell early season ...which did not help I think.

There are some varieties that never get BER or even have problems with cracking
Splitting for that matter ........I would give Matina/Tamina as one example .

Worth1 · July 20, 2017

BER is a figment of your imagination brought on by moldy bread or maybe an under cooked potato.

Worth

MissS · July 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

BER is a figment of your imagination brought on by moldy bread or maybe an under cooked potato.

Worth

Really?

SharonRossy · July 20, 2017

Worth has been working outside in the sweltering heat too long, lol!

Worth1 · July 20, 2017

Sort of robbed it from Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol when Jacob Marley showed up.

Cant remember what the exact words were.
Time to read again.

Worth

July 20, 2017	#1
BlackBear Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Nanaimo , BC Posts: 961	Is there a list of BER NEVER varieties ? Hi all ... I was wondering if there was a list of "BER Never " Varieties of Tomatoes . It would be interesting to note .... __________________ So Many Tomatoes ...So Little Time !

July 20, 2017	#6
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	As for the quote from me that Black Bear noted above in a post, for me, after growing 4000 plus varieties I have never seen BER on any heart varieties nor on any cherry tomatoes. And that goes for both external BER as well as internal BER. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

July 20, 2017	#10
MadCow333 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NW PA 6A Posts: 159	La Roma II from a local nursery: I don't know whose seeds they use. But I bought a bunch of these plants on clearance last year and literally crammed too many of them into big pots. Even so, they took off and made vast quantities of roma tomatoes with AMAZINGLY little BER except right at the start. I made these tomatoes into sauce. But my mom says they were good in salads, too. Everything I have read online gives no praise whatsoever to the flavor of La Roma II. But they were disease resistant, easy keepers, and they made loads of roma tomatoes. I reckon this is why that particular nursery raises so many La Roma II plants. They seem to thrive and produce in this particular region. I opted to go with exclusively San Marzano this year. San Marzano: Last year's were the Worst plants I've had for BER. One of my 3 San Marzanos never outgrew its BER issues and made nothing buy BER tomatoes. The other 2 did okay after they matured. None of these plants big producers, and they were also late in the season. So I am growing many of them from seed this summer to get enough San Marzanos. Bonnie Heinz Super Roma (Heinz 8009) - Some BER problems early in the season and very late in the season. It was acceptably BER-free for the most part. But I didn't like this tomato. Very dense and hard with thick skin and was not great for sauce & cooking. Will not buy this one again. Might be okay for the canning factories, but was a waste of space and fertilizer for me. eta: Some red oxheart that I grew from seeds a co-worker got from Italy: No BER. There might have been one or two tomatoes very late in the season when temps were getting cold enough to interfere with setting fruit. But was essentially BER-free. I battled Septoria leaf spot like crazy on these plants, though. Never could eradicate it, but I did get many real nice tomatoes from these anyhow. Last edited by MadCow333; July 20, 2017 at 06:50 PM.

July 20, 2017	#2
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Isn't BER more of a cultural issue than a variety issue? Poor watering - too much, too little?

July 20, 2017	#4
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	Cherry tomatoes don't get them, little globes seem to resist, as well as hybrids. Get past that and it's conditions nearly every time to my way of thinking. And some just don't like containers. Fed and watered exactly in the same way, same mix and 15 gal pot size. Last year's two Rose De Berne had BER on 19 of 20 toms. Right beside them, two Crnkovic Yugoslavian with much larger toms and zero BER. The kicker was the RDB's looked great, nice green with no leaf curl. The Crnkovic looked dead, curled and silvery, but every cluster had perfect fruit. Almost like it uses every bit of energy toward tomato development and sacrifices the foliage.

July 20, 2017	#7
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	Are you having BER problems now or just a conversational/curiosity question? If I was having trouble I would note down the ones affected. I rarely see it....maybe once/twice a season and usually early mid August when I am knee deep in ripe toms so I only remember saying to myself once, "cool, BER!". Too many at that time to care. But never on cherries or my hearts so Carolyn confirms that. Good to know.

July 20, 2017	#8
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,896	Ricky, The Rose de Berne that I grew one year had BER while other varieties did not. For that reason, I decided not to grow RdeB again Linda

July 20, 2017	#9
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	The varieties I saw BER on and in this year were mostly Pink When Ripe slicer varieties.

July 20, 2017	#12
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	BER is a figment of your imagination brought on by moldy bread or maybe an under cooked potato. Worth

July 20, 2017	#14
SharonRossy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,140	Worth has been working outside in the sweltering heat too long, lol!