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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 15, 2018 9:58:33 GMT -5
Let's talk about varieties you tried, but didn't like and why you didn't like them.
Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato. Let me start with the positives. It grew into a huge bush and was VERY prolific.
now for the negatives. It had a watery taste And no flavor to speak of. The fruits were TINY! I'm trying to find a word that would describe their size and shape. Rice shaped, about the size of an English Pea.
I might would grow them again from different seed just to see if that is a true example. You never know, I might have grown a crossed specimen because I only grew one and had nothing to compare it to.
My next variety would be fairy tale eggplant.
The positives. The fruit is PRETTY! I mean it's spectacular looking. The plant is small and it doesn't take much room to grow. It's very productive, last year I had several fruit growing at a time and it continued through the season. I want to say I had about 15 eggplants growing on one tiny plant! You pick them, it grew more. We mowed the area and I be dogged if it didn't come back and tried to regrow itself.
It sound like a marvelous plant, doesn't it? Well, it had one downfall. It didn't taste worth a hoot! Bitter and Mushy. I've grown it on 2 separate occasions too. I even knew I didn't like it when I planted it last year, but I thought, what the heck, Lets try it one more time.
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 15, 2018 10:13:32 GMT -5
Probably won't be popular for saying it, but one of the varieties I was less than enthused about was Blue Lake green beans. They grew very well. They grew a LOT of beans for me. But somehow, they just didn't seem like they had much flavor. Can't explain why, others that ate them seemed to think they were fine. To me, they had the equivalent of the "grocery store tomato" thing going on, just lacked something I couldn't put my finger on.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 15, 2018 10:18:50 GMT -5
Probably won't be popular for saying it, but one of the varieties I was less than enthused about was Blue Lake green beans. They grew very well. They grew a LOT of beans for me. But somehow, they just didn't seem like they had much flavor. Can't explain why, others that ate them seemed to think they were fine. To me, they had the equivalent of the "grocery store tomato" thing going on, just lacked something I couldn't put my finger on. I know EXACTLY what you mean. Now then, I'll tell you why we feel that way. It's because WE know what a good old fashioned green Bean SHOULD taste like. You want a great tasting green Bean? Look up Bill Best and order you a Greasy Cut Short variety. He has some great ones. Ive got to restock. I lost All my bean varieties when we moved from the farm. Sadly, I've done germination test and most won't sprout as they are many years old. I lost some rare beans I fear are not replaceable. One was called Ralph bean that was grown by a barber many years ago.
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 15, 2018 11:03:54 GMT -5
I looked up Bill Best... dog gone, how would a feller pick just one?!! I see 3 or 4 that are callin' to me.
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Post by september on Jan 15, 2018 11:10:59 GMT -5
I always grow Roma (or Roma II) bush beans (can't remember which version because I been saving my own seeds so long) and one year thought I would try the pole version of them. I hated the pole Romas, they were much slower to mature, lumpy and irregular and got too seedy faster.
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 15, 2018 11:16:50 GMT -5
I always grow Roma (or Roma II) bush beans (can't remember which version because I been saving my own seeds so long) and one year thought I would try the pole version of them. I hated the pole Romas, they were much slower to mature, lumpy and irregular and got too seedy faster. I have tended to like some of the wide/flat beans in the past, Roma being one of them. I've never grown them, though, at least not yet. My dad was always a fan of Kentucky Wonder pole beans. Good flavor, but he would let them fill out enough that they'd usually get pretty tough. One thing I did find out, though, is that when they're left to mature into a shelling out kind of bean, they are pretty good eats, like soup beans. He still has some in his freezer from years ago and they're still pretty good. Something I find interesting... In the last big garden I had, there were Blue Lake bush beans and Blue Lake pole beans, some of each. The Japanese beetles ignored the bush beans completely but just went nuts over the pole beans. I always wondered what it was about the pole beans that they found so appealing that was totally lacking in the bush beans.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jan 15, 2018 11:24:25 GMT -5
Well, I guess that I won't be disappointed that my Fairy Tale eggplant didn't do anything for me last year! And I won't seek it out to try again. Cherokee Purple comes to mind when there are these kinds of discussions. The only one from the Cherokee Line that I've had success with was Golden Cherokee- I thought that one was productive and tasted good. Cherokee Purple just tasted like a big ball of tomatoey sugar to me. It was way too sweet and had zero depth. I did not want to eat them. I do think I should try them again sometime, but there's only so many spaces in the dirt! Sungold is not my favorite cherry tomato either. I know, everyone loves it, but there are so many other better tasting cherry tomatoes. Give me a Black Cherry, Lemon Drop or Sweet Sharon any day. Purple Calabash is the one and only tomato that has ever achieved the rank of "Spitter" in my garden. I didn't even use those tomatoes in anything. They were overly acidic and had an unpleasant flavor. They went right into the compost after I was reassured that it wasn't just one tomato, it was the whole plant.
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Post by september on Jan 15, 2018 11:35:48 GMT -5
I grow Fortex as my main pole bean, and in the last few years have accumulated enough end of the season dry seed beans to have a go at cooking them to use some of them up. Just have never gotten around to it. I should soak a cup or two and try them in my next soup to see how they taste.
The Roma's are at their best fresh, they are so tender that they can't take much cooking and don't freeze well. I do end up using the frozen ones in soups as nice filler because they turn to mush when cooked.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 15, 2018 12:01:26 GMT -5
I looked up Bill Best... dog gone, how would a feller pick just one?!! I see 3 or 4 that are callin' to me. Yes Sir! When it comes to Beans, he's THE MAN!
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Post by paulf on Jan 15, 2018 12:15:28 GMT -5
Several years ago when my late tomato friend, Pie Girl (Denise Kjar) was still planning the Mid-West Tomato Fest in Lincoln, Nebraska we usually had 75 people bring over a hundred varieties to taste. Purple Calabash was the "#1 Spitter of All Time" loser. It was the only variety voted to never bring back to the tasting.
For some reason we keep trying different varieties of green beans and keep going back to Blue Lake Bush green beans. I will check out Bill Best and try again to find one we like as much as our long-time regular.
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Post by spike on Jan 15, 2018 12:36:27 GMT -5
Red Chinese Long Beans. bleh Took them forever to get going, which I could live with. Beautiful beans and lots of them once they got the lead out! But at no point could I find a way to eat them. No matter when picked or what I did with them they were tough, rubbery, slimy and just yuck. Now I might grow them again (if I have seeds left) way out back on the fence for the rabbits but that was a failed experiment.
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 15, 2018 13:19:01 GMT -5
It's funny how some of us can love a variety while another hates it. I had a hard time finding a tomato I liked better than the Cherokee Purple variety that one of the ladies brought to the farmers market last year. (Couldn't grow any last year, long story.) Then again, there weren't many heirloom tomatoes other than that there. Most were tasteless and crunchy and varieties I suspect were just grown for mass production, not flavor. I think the two favorite flavors of tomato that I've actually grown for myself have been Pink Brandywine and Ponderosa Red. There are quite a few strains of Pink Brandywine anymore and I'm not sure if they still have that original flavor. Haven't seen a Ponderosa Red in probably 20 years, not sure where I ever got the seed way back when. I think my least favorite tomato flavor has been with the standard Roma paste tomato. They make a nice texture for a tomato paste or sauce and they produce like crazy but flavor... well, they really don't have much. And sandwich material, not for me.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jan 15, 2018 14:05:10 GMT -5
It's funny how some of us can love a variety while another hates it. I had a hard time finding a tomato I liked better than the Cherokee Purple variety that one of the ladies brought to the farmers market last year. (Couldn't grow any last year, long story.) Then again, there weren't many heirloom tomatoes other than that there. Most were tasteless and crunchy and varieties I suspect were just grown for mass production, not flavor. I think the two favorite flavors of tomato that I've actually grown for myself have been Pink Brandywine and Ponderosa Red. There are quite a few strains of Pink Brandywine anymore and I'm not sure if they still have that original flavor. Haven't seen a Ponderosa Red in probably 20 years, not sure where I ever got the seed way back when. I think my least favorite tomato flavor has been with the standard Roma paste tomato. They make a nice texture for a tomato paste or sauce and they produce like crazy but flavor... well, they really don't have much. And sandwich material, not for me. I am convinced there is a lot to be said for terroir. It's wonderful to be able to share our tomato seeds from all over the country and all over the globe, but the fact remains that there are reasons that certain varieties of tomato have "always" been grown in certain areas. Most times I think we get lucky and are still able to produce a tasty specimen when we're out of the right region for a tomato. But every once in a while some varieties really struggle. I think the Cherokee line is one of those. They just don't like our all over the map weather in Wisconsin. I think they prefer it warm and steady, which is why they are a fabulous choice for southern gardeners. I would love to taste a Cherokee Purple grown by a friend in the south.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 15, 2018 14:12:31 GMT -5
spike Red noodle beans are my favorite bean for Szechwan dry fried beans. Not those deep fried beans you see in restaurants, these are cooked in a little oil with some dried shrimp and Szechwan preserved vegetable, ground up in a FP. They are cooked 10 min. over med-high heat, then 1-1 1/2 hours over very low heat, in a broad pan, stirring occasionally to dry them out. The texture is unlike any other bean dish, with those very chewy beans (which most people don't recognize) and crunchy crumbs, which, again, most people won't recognize, unless they've made it with me! I have countless varieties that I grew once, and never again. Many were mentioned here - fairy tale (tiny plant, no production); matt's wild cherry (wiped out by disease, next to others with no problems); and every variety related to Cherokee splits almost 100% for me, and not because of heavy rains. Last season, with the carbon cross, I could hardly get any usable flesh from the tomatoes. A cherry tomato, ISIS CANDY, that I grew when it first came out, then again, many years later, thinking that maybe it was "improved", since many were still speaking so highly of it. Unfortunately, I had the same results. The problem, both times, was that the mottled appearance of the tomatoes never really showed when it was ripe: some that were over-ripe, had green in them, while some that appeared totally ripe were very under-ripe when I'd bite into them. Some rotted on the vines, while appearing green, then there were the spitters, that appeared exactly the same as some of the ripe ones, that tasted good! Anyone else notice this? Grape tomatoes are something that seem to have about 1 in 10 spitters, even though the rest are good! When they first came on the market, I tried them in the off season, and they were actually better than cherry tomatoes in stores....but there were those spitters! And it even happened when I grew my own, one season, so, never again! Since I have never had this happen with cherries (except Isis Candy, being unripe), I'll stick with cherries. And there have been many peppers, through the years, that simply weren't hot enough. lol
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 15, 2018 15:02:21 GMT -5
I try growing and experimenting with a lot of things. Different vegetables, and new-to-me varieties of vegetables I'm already familiar with. Most things I like to some degree, or I could at least use in a cooked dish with other, tastier varieties. But every once in a while I run into a variety that doesn't produce at all, or is a true spitter.
Southern Pink eggplant - Beautiful hot pink/mauve color, nice production. Bitter as all get out, unusable even after salting. Ewww.
Black Cherry tomato - maybe this is one of those terroir things. I had such high expectations, and the plant was extremely productive, but the flavor was just mediocre. I watched so many of them rot on my counter because I didn't want to eat them, and then they rotted on the vine because no one else ate them, so there was no point in picking them.
NuMex Suave Orange (no heat habanero) - Ridiculously productive plant, totally covered in beautiful glowing orange fruits. But they had very little flavor, and what flavor they did have was unpleasant. The advertised fruitiness just wasn't there. I cut down that beautiful plant in midseason when I realized I had no intention of eating anything it produced.
Basil, Lettuce Leaf - Grew great, but it had a hot and bitter flavor. Ick.
Hill Country Red okra - The pods were too tough and fibrous by the time they were 3" long! There are far better okras.
Bush Goliath tomato - The plant I grew was extremely dense, and set all of the tomatoes deep inside the plant. In my hot, humid, wet climate, this meant that the fruit rotted before ripening. I've been leery of all bush-type tomatoes ever since.
There are probably some more varities that have been real losers for me, but these are the ones that came to mind quickly.
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 15, 2018 15:18:43 GMT -5
I am convinced there is a lot to be said for terroir. Hmmm... You might be very right about that! It would only make sense that the soil growing a veggie would affect the taste of it. And soils vary from place to place. I suspect there are factors we haven't even begun to explore in even the best of our modern science. We spent a few gardening seasons in southeast Pennsylvania, Amish county. I grew up there and my wife and I spent several summers there helping to take care of my parents. But on our trips to see our son in Phoenix, AZ, we visited a market garden type of place. The veggie varieties looked similar but the varieties were totally different than anything from back in good ol' Lancaster county, PA. They even had a peach orchard, which I'd have really not even thought possible in that kind of climate.
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Post by Gianna on Jan 16, 2018 21:29:04 GMT -5
It's wonderful to be able to share our tomato seeds from all over the country and all over the globe, but the fact remains that there are reasons that certain varieties of tomato have "always" been grown in certain areas. Most times I think we get lucky and are still able to produce a tasty specimen when we're out of the right region for a tomato. But every once in a while some varieties really struggle. Totally agree. Many (most?) heirlooms adapted to the east or Midwest are often sub-standard here in our Mediterranean, SoCal climate. I'd rather try seeds from Italy or France (etc). As for varieties that have been disappointing, I'll select a whole group - acorn squash. Seriously tasteless. Once you've eaten kabochas or even buttercups, there's no going back.
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 18, 2018 8:46:01 GMT -5
I received a free packet of tomato seeds with an order from Totally Tomatoes I guess a year ago...so I thought I'd try it...
It was a yellow tomato...Giallo De Summer...Not on my 'grow it again' list... It was very mealy and bland...
It read on the packet...(which I still have...why???)... "An attractive beefsteak with true yellow to pale orange skin and yellow flesh. Fruits weigh 6 to 7 oz. with a flavor that is surprisingly pleasant for a yellow tomato. Excellent for growing in hot, humid areas. Indeterminate."
"Surprisingly pleasant"...Not...
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aqua
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Post by aqua on Jan 18, 2018 17:19:17 GMT -5
ooooh what a very nice thread to read. I really did enjoy all the back-and-forth of the posts. ladymarmalade, the Ananis are my favorite- and they were a pack of free seeds! My first successful standard, and the taste is just amazing. I think I mighta shed a tear or two when I tasted it- just humbled that I could grow such a delicious, beautiful tomato. But I will NEVER grow again: Aunt Ruby's German Green, and San Marzano. They turn into sacks of foul liquid, I do mean FOUL, I have been forbidden to ever grow them again. Which is no problem because that smell- eeeew! Also Hansel and Gretel eggplant, they are poor performers. (I love eggplant) Casper does good for me, so do the long skinny Japanese kind. My space is so limited, I have to have heavy producers to earn their keep.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 18, 2018 19:23:24 GMT -5
I never had any luck with San Marzano, either. But what I experienced was poor health and low production, not turning foul on the vine.
However, I have also experienced the problem of tomatoes that become sacks of foul liquid as they ripen, without visible signs of pest or disease damage. It does seem to be variety-related, as though some kinds of tomatoes go bad if they ripen under hot conditions. Sometimes I can get around it by picking the tomatoes at first blush and ripening them indoors. But some varieties are just icky when I grow them, no matter what I do.
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 18, 2018 23:09:18 GMT -5
A couple of years ago, I bought some Pink Brandywine tomatoes from a farmers market in Knoxville. One of the oddest tomatoes I ever had. (Actually, I bought 4 or 5 of them and they were all the same.)
They looked like very nice specimens, nice size, shape and color. But when I sliced them open in preparation for a nice juicy tomato sandwich, the smell was almost that of ammonia and it had a bitter twang to the flavor, it's somewhat hard to describe. But it was pungent and very off-putting. The tomatoes looked ripe but didn't look rotten. As much as I despise wasting food, I could not eat any of them.
When I said something to the people who sold them to me later on, I was basically told I didn't know what a good vine-ripened tomato tasted and smelled like. I guess those years of growing them didn't give me a clue... :/ Needless to say, they were of no help in figuring it out. The Pink Brandywine tomatoes that I had grown in Pennsylvania, both before and since, have given some very find tomato flavor.
That's my strangest tomato experience. Have had good ones and not so good ones since, but none like that.
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