Grape Tomatoes?

[Greatgardens]

True grape tomatoes are quite unique, IMO. Although they are not as sweet as really sweet cherry tomatoes, some do have decent sweetness, and they have a meaty, "crunchy" solid texture that make them very desirable (especially for salads). I even grew some tasty gold grape toms. from seeds I saved from Aldi. They visibly were identical to the tomatoes I bought in the store.

The best I've grown to date is Burpee's Napa Grape. But perhaps there are better ones now? What are some good ones that you've grown or wanted to try?

[Fred Hempel]

We have released one called Creamsicle Grape

It is the only one we grow, and it is pretty versatile. Makes great sun-dried or oven roasted tomatoes.

[Wi-sunflower]

I have been saving seeds from an orange grape I also got from Aldi. Same experience in that it's the same as what we bought. At the time it was the first orange grape I had ever seen. Not yellow or gold but ORANGE. Personally I think that tomato is as close to the original Sun Gold as anyone has gotten with grow-outs.

Here is my page on it. http://knapps-fresh-vegies.com/aldi-orange-grape.html

Carol

[zipcode]

The commercial grape tomato makes evident the problem of commercial F1s: they all screen for the same desirable genes. Not sure who introduced this type of grape, the crunchy one with dimples and a distinct taste, there's definitely no old variety with such characteristics. Now they are many f1 all almost a clone of the other. They are really good though .

[Greatgardens]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

We have released one called Creamsicle Grape
It is the only one we grow, and it is pretty versatile. Makes great sun-dried or oven roasted tomatoes.

Hi Fred-
I checked your web site. Creamsicle Grape is a true grape tomato -- not a cherry tom.? Approximately what size are the fruits?
Thanks.

[Greatgardens]

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

I have been saving seeds from an orange grape I also got from Aldi. Same experience in that it's the same as what we bought. At the time it was the first orange grape I had ever seen. Not yellow or gold but ORANGE. Personally I think that tomato is as close to the original Sun Gold as anyone has gotten with grow-outs.

Here is my page on it. http://knapps-fresh-vegies.com/aldi-orange-grape.html
Carol

Hi Carol-
I suspect we are talking about the the same Aldi tomato. They used to carry these, but I haven't seen them in several years. But I would quibble about them being like Sungold (at least as I grew them).

[Fusion_power]

I'm curious if that Aldi grape was by chance named "Zima"? If so, I can tell you a ton of things about the genetics, where it was developed, who developed it, and a few things about how and why it was released.

[Fred Hempel]

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

Hi Fred-
I checked your web site. Creamsicle Grape is a true grape tomato -- not a cherry tom.? Approximately what size are the fruits?
Thanks.

It is a true grape tomato. Dry, firm, long shelf-life. About the size of Sungold. But the comparison is only for size. It is totally different. A grape.

[Greatgardens]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

I'm curious if that Aldi grape was by chance named "Zima"? If so, I can tell you a ton of things about the genetics, where it was developed, who developed it, and a few things about how and why it was released.

That does sound familiar, but I can't say for certain. I grew it in 2016, and still have the seeds. Up here in the Midwest, those purchased from Aldi were awesome off-season. But I only grew the F2's one time, and in the summer they were just another good tomato. I'd love to hear any info you have about Zima.

[Greatgardens]

@Fred Hempel -- Thanks for the additional info!

[Greatgardens]

Here's another tangent to the original question... Are there any Determinate true grape tomatoes? I've kept pretty much up to date on the dwarf project released varieties, and I don't remember any grape dwarfs (yet).

Edit: Is Elfin (OP) a grape tomato or a grape-shaped cherry? I've seen it described both ways. I've also seen it described as Det. and Indet. So maybe it is semi-det.? Looking through my seed collection, I found a package of Elfin from Tomato Growers Supply, but no date on the package. Their description is "grape shaped cherry." The seeds are absolutely tiny and dark-colored.

[Wi-sunflower]

There is 1 determinate grape that I know of - Sprite. I've only grown it a couple of times and can't tell you the taste as I don't care for red tomatoes.

As far as I can remember, that Aldi orange grape was NOT Zima. I don't know what company it came from. But from another store I got another orange grape called Sunbelle from a company called Sunset. I believe they are a Canadian Greenhouse grower. Similar but not exactly the same. http://knapps-fresh-vegies.com/sunbelle.html

Someone gave me some Zima seeds and we grew them for the first time last year. But I never even saw them as we were busy and the tomatoes were really weedy last year.

Carol

[Greatgardens]

Yes, yours do look more orange than I remember mine, but it's been 5 years, so I'm not sure. And with gold/orange tomatoes, the longer they sit, the darker they get. I think that I remember seeing your listing for the Aldi orange and that prompted me to buy a small container of tomatoes at Aldi. I really liked them, and saved the seeds. Maybe I'll give yours a try. I really should grow them side-by-side to compare, but I have more tomatoes now than I can give away.


And thanks for the info on Sprite!

[Fusion_power]

This was from the time Doug Heath was working for one of the large commercial tomato breeders in California. He had a small orange fruited tomato that was super sweet but lacking in other desirable traits for a commercial tomato. He bred in disease resistance, a better grape tomato shape, and some improvements to the flavor. A couple of times during the years he was working on it, the executives tried to release it but he kept telling them it was not yet ready. Finally about 10 years ago, he decided it was ready for prime time and released it as Zima. The only other info I have is that supposedly the small orange fruited parent was his children's favorite. A person who worked with him thought it was a holdover from a previous breeders work but he had no records showing the source.

I spoke with Randy Gardner about super sweet small orange fruited tomatoes about 5 years ago. He was of the opinion that it was a small orange tomato he and a few other breeders had worked with over the last @20 years.

I have Hibor which is a small pear shaped super sweet orange tomato. I've often wondered it it might have been the parent of one of the current generation of sweet orange cherry/grape tomatoes being grown commercially.

[MrBig46]

This year I am growing Creamsicle grape, as Fred writes - dry, firm, long shelf-life.I'm quite sorry that I don't grow a Czech variety of such an orange Datlo tomato (see Tatiana.TsTOMATObase) for comparison, dry, sweet, crunchy. I've always considered it a cherry. I have no choice but to compare it next year. I'm expecting some more seeds from the inheritance after Carolyn (from Shawn) among them one that has "hroznové" (English grape) in the name. An old Czech variety that I don't know anything about, nor what color the fruits are.
Vladimír