Tomatoes 2021

Gardening with Rabbits

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No cherries: Does this mean that you have been missing out on Sungold and Sun Sugar, @seedcorn ? Some people don't care for them, calling the flavor "cloying." I like them.

Years ago, I grew what was available and now considered an heirloom. Seedy little things but I wanted something to snack on while in the garden. Those golden cherries being introduced to the market was a special delight for me.

A few years ago, I began growing Yellow Jellybean. I'm even more happy with that one. It might be yellow but the fruit tastes more like a red tomato to me. Maybe it's just that they are quite different from the golden.

Steve
Sungold and Supersweet 100 are my favorite and when I make the rounds through the garden I snack on those and DS likes in salads too.
 

seedcorn

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You might like "Elfin". It is a determinate OP grape (unlike the rampant commercial hybrid). Not sugar-sweet, but meaty & thin-skinned - like mini-Romas, but with much smaller seeds. HUGE terminal flower clusters, and tomatoes 1" long or less (probably leaning toward "less" if pot grown). The plants can actually be grown within a large tomato cage, although they will overflow somewhat. I've never tried them in pots, but in the ground the plants put out new branches & continue to bear until frost. The Grandson likes to take them to school for snacks, if that tells you something. And because it is OP, you can save seeds!
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How tall do they get? Determinant? But new branches keep bearing?
 

heirloomgal

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You might like "Elfin". It is a determinate OP grape (unlike the rampant commercial hybrid). Not sugar-sweet, but meaty & thin-skinned - like mini-Romas, but with much smaller seeds. HUGE terminal flower clusters, and tomatoes 1" long or less (probably leaning toward "less" if pot grown). The plants can actually be grown within a large tomato cage, although they will overflow somewhat. I've never tried them in pots, but in the ground the plants put out new branches & continue to bear until frost. The Grandson likes to take them to school for snacks, if that tells you something. And because it is OP, you can save seeds!
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@Zeedman you sure have fine looking gardens.
 

Zeedman

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@Zeedman you sure have fine looking gardens.
Only the ones at home. Those gardens receive a great deal of TLC; I turned under 3" of shredded leaves & grass clippings for the last 3 years (along with wood ashes & charcoal) and DW has been tireless in keeping them weed-free.

The rural garden is another story, and one best saved for another day. :th
 

flowerbug

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Only the ones at home. Those gardens receive a great deal of TLC; I turned under 3" of shredded leaves & grass clippings for the last 3 years (along with wood ashes & charcoal) and DW has been tireless in keeping them weed-free.

The rural garden is another story, and one best saved for another day. :th

wouldn't Elfin be indeterminate if it keeps bearing until frost?
 

Zeedman

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I think you used the wrong quote. ;)

The literal definition of "determinate", as I've always understood it, is that the growing tips terminate - not the plant. I understand the reason behind your question though, because most determinate tomatoes have a concentrated set, after which they senesce. Those two characteristics are not necessarily intertwined. Elfin is a bit of an oddity... I sometimes refer to it as semi-determinate, because it has characteristics of both phenotypes. Those huge terminal flower clusters bloom gradually, so the tomatoes on them often ripen over a period of weeks, and new (smaller) branches continue to sprout. You might also notice from the photo that the leaf cover is not dense; I've joked before that the plant is using the huge numbers of green tomatoes as leaves, which may have a grain of truth.

I think maybe Elfin as a tomato is analogous to half-runners in beans; it benefits from support, but doesn't need much of it. I once grew the hybrid grape tomatoes from which Elfin was bred, and those are as strongly indeterminate as most cherry tomatoes - at least twice as tall as Elfin.
 

flowerbug

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I think you used the wrong quote. ;)

yes, i didn't think i had a quote in there at all...


The literal definition of "determinate", as I've always understood it, is that the growing tips terminate - not the plant. I understand the reason behind your question though, because most determinate tomatoes have a concentrated set, after which they senesce. Those two characteristics are not necessarily intertwined. Elfin is a bit of an oddity... I sometimes refer to it as semi-determinate, because it has characteristics of both phenotypes. Those huge terminal flower clusters bloom gradually, so the tomatoes on them often ripen over a period of weeks, and new (smaller) branches continue to sprout. You might also notice from the photo that the leaf cover is not dense; I've joked before that the plant is using the huge numbers of green tomatoes as leaves, which may have a grain of truth.

I think maybe Elfin as a tomato is analogous to half-runners in beans; it benefits from support, but doesn't need much of it. I once grew the hybrid grape tomatoes from which Elfin was bred, and those are as strongly indeterminate as most cherry tomatoes - at least twice as tall as Elfin.

i think i'll go with the below link description as it all reads about as my understanding has been:


yes, there might be oddities, nature can do that...
 

seedcorn

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Anyone grow Jersey Devil? Sounds interesting to replace San Marzano’s.
 

heirloomgal

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Anyone grow Jersey Devil? Sounds interesting to replace San Marzano’s.
I've grown that one. It is an unusual shape, and I think that is part of it's appeal. Meaty, dry flesh. But it was a large fruited variety, and I find that the larger ones produce less than the small more plum shaped canning tomatoes.
 

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