To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Purple or black tomatoes (slightly off topic)
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 14:05:38 -0600
One of the things about hot weather is that large fruited tomatoes are
likely to quit fruiting. NAFEXer Chris Inhulsen in south GA has talked
about this. Cherry tomatoes tend to do fine, but I am told that they taste
different. I know someone who dislikes cherry tomatoes, so I had her taste
some "Cherry Brandywine" I'd grown. She said they tasted like real, full
sized tomatoes. I got my seed from SSE member Marianne Jones of Tennessee.
She'd be happy to sell you seeds (I can't find mine, only the few I have
left from my original order) and probably can be found on the Net. She is
one the of the people who claims everything tastes great, whereas GA SSE
member Charles Case says he offers only the best 200 of the 700 varieties he
has tried. I went through HIS listings, and as suspected, found he offers
mostly medium to large, no huge, varieties almost entirely reds. He has to
deal with the heat, so size is a limiting factor, and let's face it, there
are a lot more reds to choose from, and since red varieties don't have
novelty to offer, they'd better have good taste, good resistance, or good
production to be passed on.
For good production in the heat, I'd recommend Pink Ping Pong and Cherry
Brandywine, both about the size of ping pong balls, though they are shaped
and flavored quite differently. Porter is one recommended for hot Texas
summers, but let me warn you, the ones I grew two years running had a sort
of overripe taste that my husband would detect and complain about no matter
how I tried to disguise them, even in cooked dishes. I wasn't so fond of it
myself, so I dropped it. I wonder how the yellow/red bicolors would do in
your climate? They seem to grow well in TN and GA, and have a sweet, almost
fruity flavor compared to other types. I adore them dried. Donna