Tuesday, September 25, 2012

2012 Winners and Losers

I have really been slacking about getting this list done but here it is for 2012!!!!! There are 2 that I despised but wont bother talking about because they were not stable varieties nor is there seed available commercially. Please...keep in mind as usual, this is ONLY my opinion.
The Losers or AKA Waste of Garden Space:

The first big disappointment I grew this year and will never show up in my garden again is:
Every single one of the Dwarves I grew from the Dwarf Project. I know that saying this will not make me popular in some circles but I"m willing to risk it for my followers. The following is what I grew and grown in France by Seb with a very similar report as mine.
Wild Fred
Mr. Snow
Summertime Gold
Summertime Green
Some were grown in pots and some were actually put in the garden. All produced poorly with small fruits. Although the tastes were average, they still left me confused and disillusioned. Not at all up to the hype you hear about them. The Mr. Snow in the garden, grew to 7 ft. Not sure how that fits the dwarf catagory. Sebastien had almost identical results in France. He also was disappointed.  Saying all that, the growers that work on the Dwarf project are amazing. They have put tireless effort and years into these varieties. This is in no way to diminish their work. Just trying to be true to my findings. If you've thought about growing any of these, move on.
There were other disappointing tomatoes but honestly I believe they were crossed seed so I will spare them the bad review. If I was sure they were 100% not crossed I would be more forthcoming in my critique of them.
The All-Star List:
The first one is:Marmande Garnier Rouge. This is a French, 1970ish selection of Marmande kept by a private collector for years. The most beautiful tomato I think I have ever grown. Super producer. Never quits pumping out tomatoes until the first frost. The taste is excellent with a more firm meaty interior with plenty of juice. Very tomatoey taste.

Banjan Rumi
 
Banjan Rumi. A small, beefsteak looking yellow orange tomato from Afghanistan. This little guy was amazing. You get a much better taste then you are expecting from a small tomato. VERY juicy and sweet. Got many good reviews on it from all of my volunteer tasters.
Blackberry. A purple/black heirloom from Kentucky. What I liked about this black was not only it's production and sweet taste but it seems to genetically be programmed to not scar or crack which can be a problem with many of the blacks. The appearance factor pushed it above some of the other blacks that are equally as good in taste.

So these are the ones that either stood above or below all the others. There were many that were very good but didn't have that little bit extra to make me grow them again or rave about.
Hope you all find this helpful and had a great season!

Post Script: I forgot to add Honeydrop Cherry to my favorites list. This was by far, the best cherry tomato I have ever grown. Heads above Black Cherry. Super sweet and a very nice cantoloupe color. Comparable to Sungold but an open pollinated variety. If I didn't grow for seed, this would be the only cherry I ever grew for the rest of my life.


4 comments:

Unknown said...

I.m glad I am the not the only one disappointed by the Dwarf tomatoes this year.I tried Dwarf Mr Snow and Tasmanian Chocolate.I have had no ripe fruit yet and also have 6 foot plants

j.sparwasser said...

Hi there. I've been a follower of this blog since yesterday. I'm interested in dwarf tomatoes cultivation. I've got no garden, but just two balconies where to grow tomatoes, peppers and some kinds of Southern Italian cucumbers. As regards tomatoes, I'm planning my 2013 balcony gardening. I'd like tp grow one Siletz, one Neptune and some Hahms Gelbe. Any suggestion will be welcome (Giuseppe)

j.sparwasser said...

Hi there. I've been a follower of this blog since yesterday. I'm interested in dwarf tomatoes cultivation. I've got no garden, but just two balconies where to grow tomatoes, peppers and some kinds of Southern Italian cucumbers. As regards tomatoes, I'm planning my 2013 balcony gardening. I'd like tp grow one Siletz, one Neptune and some Hahms Gelbe. Any suggestion will be welcome (Giuseppe)

Tomatoaddict said...

Hello Giuseppe,
The only experience I have had with growing dwarf varieties were the ones I've mentioned in this post. Since you do not have a garden but must grow in pots,if you go on Gardenweb.com, you might find more valuable information from people that actually have grown a lot of dwarf tomatoes. Hope this helps.
Terry