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Post by paulf on Oct 14, 2019 14:36:06 GMT -5
Even with the 2 week slow start to the season, tomatoes in my garden produced not only a large crop but a very tasty one as well.
Total weight of harvested tomatoes was at 351 pounds. For eighteen plants that comes to about 19 1/2 pounds per plant. We had a total of 658 tomatoes for an average per plant of 36.6/plant.
Top producers were: Heatherington Pink, almost 41 pounds; Joe's Pink Oxheart at almost 36 lbs. and Canadian Heart at just over 31 lbs.
A Big Beef plant gave 91 tomatoes but other growers say this was not a real BB with the average size only 3 ounces. So it was a large salad sized and I don't count or weigh cherries or salads. Heatherington Pink grew 79 fruits, Joe's Pink Oxheart 60 and G's Yellow Belgian (aka No Name Belgian) 47 tomatoes on a single plant.
The largest single tomato winnow was Homer's German at 27.1 ounces harvested on the last day before frost. There were many large tomatoes on the vines late in the year which for me is unusual. Next largest was a Canadian Heart at 26.8 oz. and Rebel Yell at 23.9 ounces.
As for average size tomatoes, Rebel Yell came in at 14.8 oz. average, Canadian Heart, 12.3 and Homer's German, 11.7 ounces. Maybe you can tell I like large tomatoes rather than small and hearts.
The most important metric for me is flavor. This was the most outstanding year for me ever so far as flavor is concerned. Of the 18 varieties grown (not counting the four cherries and salads for my wife) sixteen varieties were in the 5/5 category. Not making the 5/5 rating was the Big Beef at 3/5, (I am told to get the real not fake news BB next year) and Homer's German goes to 4/5 only because the last several tomatoes of the year were 4/5. The early HG was a 5/5.
The varieties rated exceptional by the judges, me and my wife, were Willow's Bulgarian (aka Unknown Bulgarian from the USDA purchased many years ago and renamed by me for my granddaughter for growing in my garden only), G's Yellow Belgian (similar story ), Heatherington Pink, Joe's Pink Oxheart, Marianna's Peace (smooth skinned) and Canadian Heart.
Too many reds, pinks and hearts this year. More blacks and bi-colors next. Peppers did better than ever now that I have been planting early and mid season sweet peppers so maybe next year I will do my completely anal counting and measuring like I have for the past 20 years on tomatoes. At least I don't weigh and measure the green beans. By the way, pumpkins are a success: two orange beauties on several hills...that is a first.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 14, 2019 15:10:29 GMT -5
Glad you had such great success, paulf! Hope next year is even better! So why don't you count the beans??
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Post by paquebot on Oct 14, 2019 17:16:06 GMT -5
41 pounds off a Heatherington Pink? When I grew that one a pair didn't total that. Had some real nice big slicers but not a lot of them.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 16, 2019 10:02:00 GMT -5
Congratulations on such a fine tomato year, paulf!
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 17, 2019 8:37:53 GMT -5
paulf , is a serious tomato grower! I don't keep records quite that accurate but out of 15 plants I know that I donated over 150 lbs to the retirement home because each tray I take is about 10 lbs. I don't know how many pounds I kept but my freezer is full of enough chopped tomatoes, whole frozen tomatoes, stewed tomatoes and pasta sauce to carry us through the winter. Big Beef was a good tasting and reliable producer for me like always. Brandywine Red was excellent but Brandywine Pink was a so-so producer this year. I always grow the Pink but the results differ from year to year. Red was better this year. Brandymaster was new for me this year and it was really good. Will grow again. Red Oxheart was so-so and will not grow next year. Brandy Boy was good and I will grow them again. Cherokee Purple was exceptional and will definitely grow again. I saved seeds. Black cherry was also very good and I saved seeds. Sun sugar was excellent like always. Will grow again. Fox cherry tastes like a larger tomato in a small package that is bigger than the average cherry tomato. This was good for starting the season but was not eaten much after the slicers started ripening. Will probably grow again.
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Post by paulf on Oct 17, 2019 19:26:01 GMT -5
I have recently been informed by my boss that growing cherry tomatoes or salad sized is no longer necessary. We have recently only been eating large slicers and small tomatoes go to waste. Room for three more real tomato plants.
Having grown Black Cherry even before it was introduced by TGS, I have never saved seeds since I thought it was a Sapp cross. I see it is listed as an heirloom by TGS, so BC must be more stable than I thought it may be. My refreshed seed was always a purchase from the original source, TGS. Do saved seeds grow true to variety?
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Post by paquebot on Oct 17, 2019 20:09:10 GMT -5
Black Cherry. There have been tons of discussions on this and was on here somewhere, too. A few of us got seed when the original breeder was still alive. As far as any of us knew, it was stable. I grew it 3 years from my own seed and each time was the same. Problems elsewhere began when TGS and others released it. That's when all of the variations showed up. The thought was that the widow released the wrong seeds but nobody knows for certain. All that everyone can agree on is that it started out as supposedly stable and went downhill from there. All I can say is that my seed stock is a direct line to the original.
Might also add that at one time FEDCO had the proper original strain. Their contract grower got seeds from me.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by september on Oct 17, 2019 23:38:43 GMT -5
I got Black Cherry from TGS a number of years ago. It has always been stable from my own saved seeds for me.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 18, 2019 7:31:24 GMT -5
paulf, this is my first year saving the Black Cherry seeds but my chickens must have eaten some in my garden and started a new plant for me at the chicken coop area this year. I let the plant grow and the tomatoes were very good. I have one Fox cherry plant, one Black Cherry plant and one Sunsugar plant. I loved picking and putting them all together in a flat box for the retirement home. They look so pretty with the 3 colors mixed and they just loved them over there. Every tomato was taken before the end of each day that I delivered them according to the receptionist. They absolutely loved them so I just kept taking more over. I will probably grow all 3 again next year.
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