swampr
Global Moderator
Posts: 230
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Post by swampr on Jun 11, 2011 23:20:36 GMT -5
Last year i grew sugary and was very impressed. i liked dr carolyn pink (larger variant) and halleys purple comet's flavor(late to mature). sungold and jolly are long-time favorites. jolly is early but a slow ripener.
i like fruity sweet flavors with enough tartness to make it interesting. ultimately I'd like to have some larger than cherries that have the flavors of the smaller cherries like sungold and sugary. i'm not so much into shapes colors or stripes.
here's my cherry list for this year:
sugary f1
sungold f1
jolly f1
sweet treats f1
sugar snacks f1
jelly bean f1
wow
blush
maglia rose
halleys purple comet
purple haze f1
dr carolyn pink (larger variant)
amish salad
sweet baby girl f1
kazachka
petit chocolate
ambrosia pink
ambrosia red
ambrosia giant
gajo de melon
ivas red berry
hawaiian cherry
sungold x black cherry x juliet
pearly pink
plus about a dozen crosses and a few f2s from some of the above.
i'm curious to hear what others think of these or others. many are new for me this year.
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jcm05
Administrator
Posts: 1,685
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Post by jcm05 on Jun 13, 2011 6:12:12 GMT -5
Purple Haze is not a cherry. ;D We've discussed this before. Even though we don't agree on the sized fruit that should be called a cherry, I do agree about the types of flavor I prefer in cherry tomatoes. Its what makes Black Cherry great IMO. It doesn't characterize sungold though. That has it's own unique flavor. Sugary was too sweet for me an didn't otherwise have much character to it's flavor. Below are the ones I'm growing. Last year what was supposed to be Green Doctors turned out to have clear skin. Likely a result of releasing and naming a still segregating crossed variety. The flavor was very good which I didn't expect from green doctors. I've heard nothing good about it from people who know. The plants I am growing are strictly from saved seed and not my original source. I'm also growing out some purple haze segregates from a promising F2 plant last year which produced cherry-sized fruit and I have many F1 and F2 hybrids from crosses I made that will likely produce cherry-sized fruit. Also interested to see if the hype about wow and blush is warranted. Thanks to the person who shared those seed with me. Texas Star is something I was given by a friend who says it is a bicolor cherry with very good taste. He believes it was from an unknown cross or could possibly be mixed up Isis Candy. Well at this point I can say that their growth habit at this point looks absolutely nothing like Isis Candy so I'm certain it is unrelated. I have two plants of each growing in neighboring beds to compare. IMO a tomato should not be called a "cherry" if its more than 1.5" or say more than 1.5 oz tops. Essentially "bite-sized". To me, Black Cherry is what I would call the upper limit to the size of a cherry tomato. About an ounce or so and 1.25" max. Sungold is the perfect size cherry tomato fruit to me. Dr. Carolyn Pink I grew a few years ago while it was still segregating (another variety distributed before being stable) and it produced decent flavored red fruit in the 1.5oz range. The world could use another good pink cherry I think. Sweet Quartz F1 is OK but not great. There really are very few excellent open pollinated cherries other than Black Cherry which Vince Sapp really struck gold with. Gardener's Delight is another good one. Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherry Black Cherry Green Doctors (frosted?) Isis Candy Sungold F1 Wow Blush Sweet Quartz F1 Texas Star     |
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Post by willyswoodpile on Jun 14, 2011 0:06:41 GMT -5
I've got ---
Black Cherry
Chadwick Cherry
Anna Aasa
Purple Haze
Gold Keeper
Sweet Baboo
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paulf
Tomato Gardener
Posts: 70
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Post by paulf on Jun 14, 2011 9:58:23 GMT -5
You guys and your cherries..... In 40 years of tomatoing my list of cherries is shorter than your list for this year. Generally we grow ONE only because my wife likes cherries every once in a while. Last year it was Sungold which was a nice tasting tomato, but it tended to split. Black Cherry is the only cherry I have ever picked and eaten while messing in the garden. 5 stars! Hawaiian Cherry and Fox cherry were OK ..... but I like big tomatoes better.
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Post by poypoyking on Jun 14, 2011 14:35:37 GMT -5
Sungold tastes fine to me until the first Black Cherry is ripe. Once I get a bite of that wonderful black cherry I am pretty much done eating sungolds, they are all left for the wife. They are just too sweet after that.
This year I only have Sungold, Black Cherry, and Sweet 100 for cherries. Those were the only ones I could find at the market after my seed starting disaster this year.
Next year I will be growing Black Cherry, Sungold, Sweet Beverly, Reisentraube, and Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherry. Might add a 6th, but I don't want to take away from my salsa maters.
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maf
Breeder in Training
Posts: 102
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Post by maf on Jun 14, 2011 20:14:39 GMT -5
All my cherry types seem to be F1's this year. What is it with cherries and F1's? None of my large tomatoes are F1.
Crimson Grape
Mountain Magic
Piccolo
Sungold
Sungrape
Still haven't grown Black Cherry, must put it on the list for next year!
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jcm05
Administrator
Posts: 1,685
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Post by jcm05 on Jun 15, 2011 5:26:19 GMT -5
All my cherry types seem to be F1's this year. What is it with cherries and F1's? None of my large tomatoes are F1. Crimson Grape Mountain Magic Piccolo Sungold Sungrape Still haven't grown Black Cherry, must put it on the list for next year! Yes, make sure to try black cherry next year. Best cherry next to sungold in my opinion. Although, they have completely different flavors. If you need seed for it lemme know. Also, personally I wouldn't call mountain magic f1 a cherry. Little on the large side for that but the flavor was very good and texture not too bad considering how long they held on and off the vine. |
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maf
Breeder in Training
Posts: 102
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Post by maf on Jun 15, 2011 8:29:20 GMT -5
Also, personally I wouldn't call mountain magic f1 a cherry. Little on the large side for that but the flavor was very good and texture not too bad considering how long they held on and off the vine. Thanks for the heads up, I'm with you on this one. I see Mt. Magic often described as a large cherry, but for me anything much over 35mm is not a cherry, have to start thinking of this one as a small salad tomato. I grew Tommy Toe one year and I even thought that was bordering on too large for a cherry, at least with the largest fruit which I had trouble distinguishing from the small red salad tomatoes once picked. |
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PVP
Tomatophile
head spellerer
Only an Amateur
Posts: 798
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Post by PVP on Jun 15, 2011 12:03:25 GMT -5
I see Mt. Magic often described as a large cherry, but for me anything much over 35mm is not a cherry ... If I remember correctly, the breeder of Mountain Magic refers to it as "a Campari size" or "a cocktail tomato." However, he can speak for himself, but I'd defer to his definition of size rather than other descriptions. |
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maf
Breeder in Training
Posts: 102
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Post by maf on Jun 15, 2011 12:36:21 GMT -5
I see Mt. Magic often described as a large cherry, but for me anything much over 35mm is not a cherry ... If I remember correctly, the breeder of Mountain Magic refers to it as "a Campari size" or "a cocktail tomato." However, he can speak for himself, but I'd defer to his definition of size rather than other descriptions. Yes, that is sensible; the places where I have seen it described as a large cherry are seed merchants and internet forums, not described as such by the originator. I never understood the cocktail tomato thing though, if this is the size I am expecting I will just call it a salad or saladette tomato. |
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maf
Breeder in Training
Posts: 102
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Post by maf on Jun 15, 2011 12:39:58 GMT -5
All my cherry types seem to be F1's this year. What is it with cherries and F1's? Still haven't grown Black Cherry, must put it on the list for next year! ...and its not F1 Just remembered I am growing one non-F1 cherry this year, Tess's Land Race Currant, which I understand is a very small cherry rather than a true currant. |
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swampr
Global Moderator
Posts: 230
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Post by swampr on Jun 15, 2011 20:27:40 GMT -5
In USDA language "small" tomatoes will not pass through a 2 4/32" hole but will pass through a hole that is 2 9/32" diameter.
Tomatoes smaller than that are extra small. I should have used that term instead of cherry in this post. there is no usda size grade for cherry, although there may be some reference to "cherry" in the import regulations.
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swampr
Global Moderator
Posts: 230
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Post by swampr on Jun 15, 2011 20:39:45 GMT -5
black cherry has lots of visual appeal. i brought a large assortment of tomatoes to a gathering on labor day last year and the black cherries disappeared quickly. those people had never seen or tried them before. personally i'd rate it as very good but not great for flavor. very good fro an o.p. just my opinion.
In the realm of extra small fruit, the interspecies crosses have a special appeal. nobody seems to have captured the sungold fruity sweet flavor in a stable op yet. I suppose that is because there are multiple recessive genes involved.
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Post by poypoyking on Jun 15, 2011 22:57:29 GMT -5
We all have different taste buds for which I am thankful. Nothing tastes as good to me as a Black Cherry, while my wife prefers the Sungold. The Black Cherry just has so much depth!  |
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