Cream of the Crop Tomatoes
 

Serious tomato lovers are going to want to pay attention to what is going on [URL="https://awhaley.com/cream-of-the-crop"]Cream of the Crop Tomatoes.[/URL]

They have [URL="https://awhaley.com/seeds/vegetables/tomato-cream-of-the-crop"]a few varieties available[/URL], and I get the feeling that the pipeline is packed with new varieties that will be released soon.

For those of you who may not have made the connection, these are the tomatoes that Frogsleap Farm has been working on.

This is a fabulous collaboration that is producing great tomatoes and combining flavor and aesthetic with vigor, disease resistance and shelf-life extension!

Thanks Fred. Some of the available tomatoes look like Maglia.

Also, I noticed the increased disease resistance. Is bacterial wilt just harder to combat? Or, not as common as other diseases in tomatoes?

Jeff

[url]https://awhaley.com/seeds/vegetables[/url]

Fred,I'll link to Aaron's Home Page as well, above, so folks can see what else he offers and how to buy them.

I'm so very Happy that Aaron left SSE to move north with his family to build up his company.

Another person who was dealing with Aaron was Linda Sapp of her TGSC company, sending him small amounts for commercial seed production.And she was very pleased.

And let's not forget that you as well were also interacting with Aaron as well and probably still are.

Linda sold her Co to a husband/wife team from CA, so whether or not Linda encourages them to do the same,well,we shall see.

Carolyn

Thanks for the tip Fred.

I'll probably order E33-F1 and have it run my insect gauntlet/garden.

The other high Brix OP looked mighty interesting too.

I am growing 5 of their 6 releases this year. They were out of stock of one, otherwise I would have grown all 6.

Ironically, E33-F1 is the only one to succumb both plants I planted this year. The other 4 are all doing well, with 6M56-2-OP being really stellar. I have 3 of them all doing very well with robust plants and good production. The others are making it OK in my harsh conditions, but 6x20-6A-OP is not presenting as it was represented on the AP Whaley site. My fruit are GWR, very similar to Lucky Tiger and Mark M's 3C3 he shared with me a few years ago, whereas the tomato is supposed to be burgundy with bold green stripes.

The picture shows 3C3 on the left and 6X20-6A-OP on the right as I am growing them this year.

I don't know much about bacterial wilt, probably because I don't think I have encountered it.


It looks like there are a couple of somewhat resistant cultivars, but it is very difficult to control.

[QUOTE=jtjmartin;711073]Thanks Fred. Some of the available tomatoes look like Maglia.

Also, I noticed the increased disease resistance. Is bacterial wilt just harder to combat? Or, not as common as other diseases in tomatoes?

Jeff[/QUOTE]

He definitely deserves the business!

[QUOTE=carolyn137;711075][url]https://awhaley.com/seeds/vegetables[/url]

Fred,I'll link to Aaron's Home Page as well, above, so folks can see what else he offers and how to buy them.

[/QUOTE]

Fred, have you tasted these yet? Anyone else?

I often see tomatoes described as doing 'well in greenhouse or field', but never see how it pertains to being grown in a container (other than patio tomatoes). Which is more applicable? container growing is definitely not field growing and more likely that greenhouse tomatoes are grown in a container.

TIA

I haven't tasted these yet, but a friend is growing them, so I will be tasting them later this season.

My recommendation is based on previous interactions with the principles and I think they are both brilliant at operating at the interface between exciting and practical. I have worked with them and have the utmost respect for what they are doing. I have tasted other Frogsleap varieties, and they are very good. For those who don't know, we worked with Frogsleap Farm for a few years and I can only hope they got a fraction of the benefit that we got from working with them.

Wow, I still have a few seeds for 3C3, will have to grow it next year.

Thanks Fred for posting the site. I enjoyed looking through. Does anyone know why the cream of the crop tomatoes are identified by numbers rather than names? Are these still trials in progress?

[QUOTE=hl2601;711135]Does anyone know why the cream of the crop tomatoes are identified by numbers rather than names?[/QUOTE]


[B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]Those were/are the internal codes for those particular varieties... and nobody has gotten around to giving them 'proper' names yet - or, if they have, they have yet to update the website.[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]

[QUOTE=Salsacharley;711086]6x20-6A-OP [/QUOTE]


[B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]I hope that was just a seed mix-up as I was going to purchase that same variety (along with 6X5-2-OP).[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]
[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]I'd love to see pictures of the other varieties, if it's not too much trouble.[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]
[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
:D

I don't have any 6X5-2-OP or E33-F1 pictures. 6X5-2-OP is just now setting and ripening, and E33-F1 plants died, but here's a picture of 6M56-2-OP, 6X20-6A-OP (off type). I'll have to pick some 6X4-2-3A-OP and take a picture later. There are a couple of Stupice and Amish Gold in the upper right hand corner of the pic that you can disregard.

The E33 had a long holding time on or off of the vine. The 6x4-2-3A OP was very bushy. Both lines tasted great and weathered the disease and pest pressures as well or better than every other variety.

Here's a shot of 6X4-2-3A-OP on the left, and 6X5-2-OP on the right. They are all sweet and tasty.

[B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]Thanks for the photos, Salsacharley![/FONT][/SIZE][/B]

I grew E-33 and 6x20 and 6x4.

6x20 looked exactly like E-33. I grew 6 plants of each so not a mix up on my part.

They all performed well for me. I wish I had received the true 6x20.

Bill

Reviving this old thread as I haven't found much info on the now named Cream of the Crop varieties and am considering trying several of them next year. Red Torch F1, Bronze Torch F1, Prairie Fire, Sparky XSL F1, Pink Champagne, and Tropical Sunset all look interesting to me as I really enjoy sweet/fruity larger cherry or elongated types sliced in half with a bit of salt and pepper - current favorites for that use include Black Cherry, Sweet Cream, and Blush. Looks like AAS judges preferred Red Torch over Maglia Rose and Pink Tiger, and Sparky bested Pink Bumble Bee, Chocolate Sprinkles, and Red Zebra in their view. If you've tried them, any input on plant sizes, yields, flavor profiles etc. would be appreciated.

Maglia Rosa, Pink Tiger and Pink Bumblebee were never submitted to AAS judges.

That doesn't mean that Red Torch isn't better, it just means that they were not compared head by AAS judges.

Although some of them may have been included as controls. But that seems unclear.

[QUOTE=Fred Hempel;759728]Maglia Rosa, Pink Tiger and Pink Bumblebee were never submitted to AAS judges.

That doesn't mean that Red Torch isn't better, it just means that they were not compared head by AAS judges.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Fred Hempel;759730]Although some of them may have been included as controls. But that seems unclear.[/QUOTE]

I agree, they may have just been mentioned as varieties that have similar traits rather than ones grown together with the submissions for direct comparison. My apologies for possibly incorrectly connecting the dots.

Has anyone grown any of these Cream of the Crop varieties?

I'm particularly interested in any taste reviews on Tropical Sunset.

Thanks,
Linda

I grew Tropical Sunset. It's a nice cherry and produced well. I actually trialed it next to Sunrise Bumblebee and decided I like Tropical Sunset better. They're both good tomatoes, but Tropical Sunset is a bit bigger and easier to pull off the plant. It seems like we had to tug quite a bit to get the Sunrise Bumblebee off and that often caused the top of the tomato to crack. That's fine if you're eating them right away, but when we're taking them to friends or saving them for a couple of days we tend to use the Tropical Sunset. Both have a similar sweet flavor.

Mapletree, thank you SO much for the review! I'm happy that Tropical Sunset grew well for you and that you liked the flavour. I'm looking forward to growing it next year :).

Linda

More on Cream of the Crop Tomatoes
 

I'm the breeder for Cream of the Crop Tomatoes. Although I've long enjoyed Tomatoville, I'm not a frequent visitor, so I missed this thread. First of all, it is good to hear that some of you have had good experience with our varieties. Of our OP varieties my favorites are probably Apricot Zebra and Pink Champagne. Aaron and I are true believers in the AAS evaluation process. It allows for a rigorous evaluation over multiple locations by various expert growers. On the AAS application you must identify several appropriate check varieties that are similar to the applicant variety. The folks at AAS may accept those, and/or may add others they think are appropriate. Our Red Torch F1 was a AAS National winner, and along with Bronze Torch F1 has won several regional competitions. Both are extremely productive, early and have great flavor. We have a couple of new AAS winners that will be announced very soon - both are the result of using molecular markers to incorporate multiple disease resistance genes into flavorful heirloom-derived parent lines.

Fantastic news!

I grew Prairie Fire this season and it's very tasty! It's great that it's compact too :).

Linda