Kumato Tomato
 

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BNJPI[/url] 12 April 2013 Kumato Tomato Seedlings
The seeds were obtained from a package of tomatoes purchased in the supermarket. The seeds were treated as one would in saving tomato seeds. Germination was slow, but now they appear to be doing just fine. This is my first introduction to this tomato.

There are several old threads here about Kumato and saving seeds. It also goes by the name Russo Bruno.

I've been saving and growing them out mainly for plant sales as people know the name. But personally I think there are better tasting brown varieties to grow. But for a store bought tomato there are better than most of the cardboard things in the winter.

Carol

[QUOTE=Wi-sunflower;340092]There are several old threads here about Kumato and saving seeds. It also goes by the name Russo Bruno.

I've been saving and growing them out mainly for plant sales as people know the name. But personally I think there are better tasting brown varieties to grow. But for a store bought tomato there are better than most of the cardboard things in the winter.
Carol[/QUOTE]

The package that I bought was over-ripe and a bit mushy, so I never had a chance to try them. I will give them a try for this year.

[URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27243[/URL] IN the first image at 1/2 oclock are Kumatos that I grow every season from seeds(Canadian)that came from store bought tomatoes here in Fl.This was my 5th year growing them.Now down here they have a Mexican grown tomato package in the stores that are not as good as my original purchase.They are really good producers,4/6, 2-3 inch globes on a branch.I get up to 30-50 globes per 7-10ft. plant.Want to call it a determinate but grows like a cherry.Can be eaten full ripe and even green.Lasts a long time on the kitchen table.Good choice.I know from the last I looked no seeds availiable for purchase and I think by using the name you can get into hassle advertising them for resale.Young seedlings did not like the hardening heat here in FL.But once they take hold they are off and running.Nice real dark foilage,pretty plant.Have fun.

I grew Russo Bruno in 2008. Very Prolific plant. I saved the seeds from Hawaii 2 years before that.

[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/kumato/2618197778/in/photostream[/url]

most kumato tomatoes i see in the store come in plastic trays. they are bigger than cherries and smaller than beefsteaks. today in the supermarket i saw tomatoes listed as kumato but they were in a bin and sold as single tomatoes. they were mostly in the 12 ounce range.

[URL]http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_rn=9&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=11&gs_id=16&xhr=t&q=rosso+bruno&es_nrs=true&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=rosso+bruno&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45175338,d.dmg&fp=695ace5f41d5f958&biw=1037&bih=376[/URL]

Hey folks it's Rosso Bruno, not Russo Bruno, see above, and when Syngenta introduced Kumato F1's to the US they changed the name to Rosso Bruno F1.

I for one can 't stand the taste of them any more than I could stand the fictitous background that Syngenta gave for them..:lol:

Carolyn

Camochef grew it last season from seeds he saved and had the same reaction as Carolyn- said he yanked the plant out of the garden along with Delicious.

Like Carolyn i haven't bothered to grow them afterwords either. So many better tomatoes out there.

I think they are delicious from the store in winter, far superior to anything else in the store. They taste like a real tomato, not the usual cardboard in winter. But I wouldn't compare the taste to the heirlooms from the garden. They do keep forever though, an interesting and useful trait.

Sorry Carolyn, I didn't bother to look it up before I posted the wrong spelling for the alt name.

In winter they may have decent taste. Hubby has bought them several times and likes them. But in summer they just don't compare to heirloom brown / black / purple varieties like Cherokee Purple or Carbon.

We has a field day / tasting at my farm 3 years ago. There were at least a dozen varieties on the brown / black /purple table and I especially made sure the Rosso Bruno I grew were there. Even tho I'm not a big tomato eater, I tasted many on that table and the Rosso Bruno were almost tasteless compared to the others there. Very blah.

If you have limited growing area, you can find many better varieties to use your space on.

Carol

I think I must have peculiar taste buds because I like the Kumato which I have grown. I do find, though that you need to choose the right degree of ripeness. If they get too ripe they are incredibly sweet but with no other flavour and I agree not pleasant. I like them when they are bronze/green. I agree that the plants produce very well, the tomatoes keep well once picked and at the end of the season even the less mature ones will ripen well. Some of the store ones I have bought have not had a lot of flavour.

This season I have had a problem with the Kumato seedlings and another 'black' variety Fioletevyi Kruglyi. The seeds have germinated well but the seed leaves have been very pale, almost yellow. They have eventually turned green but then the true leaves have come through being very pale. The plants are slow growing and the leaves become yellowish, tinted with red at the growing tip and just green on the veins. I have not had this same problem before or with the other 40+ varieties that I am growing this year. We have had a dreadful Spring, very cold and dull. All the plants have bottom heat set at 16 deg Centigrade and the greenhouse thermostat to maintain the air temperature 10 deg C. This has usually increased in the daytime. I have also used additional grow lights. The growing medium is potting mix with perlite and vermiculite added.

I am wondering whether the problem with these seedlings is environmental. Has anyone any ideas, please?

Gill

Do your leaves look like any of these?
[url]http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289[/url]

Even though the symptoms are of deficiency, the actual
problem can be an excess of something else:
[url]http://www.totalgro.com/concepts.htm[/url]

In this case, the problem may not be so much an excess or
deficiency as a genetic relative inability to take up a particular
nutrient from the soil. You could take a plant showing the symptoms
and try a foliar feed with something that contains chelated minerals.

Tomato Kumato needs salt (NaCl). The interesting:[URL="http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/cda/controller/pageSGT/0,9459,35868_6908150_6917901_4482451,00.html"]http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/cda/controller/pageSGT/0,9459,35868_6908150_6917901_4482451,00.html[/URL]
Vladimír

Thank you for your replies Dice and Mr. Big 46.

Dice- the problem is as the seedlings are emerging. The seed leaves are very pale and the following real leaves are also very pale. The sowing medium is the same for all my other varieties which, with the exception of Fioletovyi Kruglyi are all fine. It is just those 2 which are emerging very pale. However time has passed and the weather improved and these still small plants are improving and becoming greener. I can only assume that despite trying to help with extra lighting etc these 2 varieties just need that bit more!

Mr Big- when I initially read your reply I thought you were saying that Kumato plants needed salt( NaCl)! Strange I thought! However the article made it all clear. Yes I agree that salt, in moderation, greatly improves the flavour. There is, here, such a great 'health lobby' against using salt but, although I cut down on using it for some things, I still use it on my tomatoes. Thank you for the link to the interesting article.

Gill

[QUOTE=gill_s;341232]
Mr Big- when I initially read your reply I thought you were saying that Kumato plants needed salt( NaCl)! Strange I thought! However the article made it all clear. Yes I agree that salt, in moderation, greatly improves the flavour. There is, here, such a great 'health lobby' against using salt but, although I cut down on using it for some things, I still use it on my tomatoes. Thank you for the link to the interesting article. Gill[/QUOTE]For health reasons I've learned that you should use sea salt, which isn't pure NaCl,
but contains eg. potassium as well.

[QUOTE=gill_s;341232]here is, here, such a great 'health lobby' against using salt but, although I cut down on using it for some things, I still use it on my tomatoes.[/QUOTE]Here as well. There were Public Service Announcement ads in the late 80's showing someone shaking salt onto all this food and then warning of all these health risks. Unless you have High Blood Pressure or Congestive Heart Failure, there is actually little medical risk to salt.


That said, I do use less than I used to. Once you can lower your salt threshold by gradually using less in every meal, you can get by with less, and you really notice it when you taste something salty. This is part of why I avoid most processed foods and chains like Applebee's now. ;)

[QUOTE=MrBig46;341226]Tomato Kumato needs salt (NaCl). The interesting:[URL="http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/cda/controller/pageSGT/0,9459,35868_6908150_6917901_4482451,00.html"]http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/cda/controller/pageSGT/0,9459,35868_6908150_6917901_4482451,00.html[/URL]
Vladimír[/QUOTE]
I have an apology to make. I think you did mean that the plants need salt!

I had skimmed the article about tomatoes in Spain. Now that I have time I have read it in more detail and have absorbed the fact that Kumato is grown because it tolerates the saline coastal soils. Presumably that means that it actually needs some salinity to grow well. I wonder how much though. I shall have to try and see, starting at very little.

I must in future make sure I read things[B] thoroughly [/B]before commenting!
Gill

[QUOTE=gill_s;341304]I have an apology to make. I think you did mean that the plants need salt!

I had skimmed the article about tomatoes in Spain. Now that I have time I have read it in more detail and have absorbed the fact that Kumato is grown because it tolerates the saline coastal soils. Presumably that means that it actually needs some salinity to grow well. I wonder how much though. I shall have to try and see, starting at very little.

I must in future make sure I read things[B] thoroughly [/B]before commenting!
Gill[/QUOTE]

I signalized only, that salt can be the problem in growing tomato Kumato. Kumato is often growing hydroponics and Syngenta keeps back all about it.
I shall grow tomato RAF this year in two containers (about 30 l). I shall water once in the week ( cca 1 g salt/ 1 l water). It is my test. I don´t plan to grow Kumato sometimes.
Vladimír

For a medium-fruited brownish tomato that tastes good even in cooler climates, I have to go with Black and Brown Boar.

[QUOTE=MrBig46;341588]I signalized only, that salt can be the problem in growing tomato Kumato. Kumato is often growing hydroponics and Syngenta keeps back all about it.
I shall grow tomato RAF this year in two containers (about 30 l). I shall water once in the week ( cca 1 g salt/ 1 l water). It is my test. I don´t plan to grow Kumato sometimes.
Vladimír[/QUOTE]
It will be interesting to see how the Raf responds

[QUOTE=gill_s;341304]I have an apology to make. I think you did mean that the plants need salt!

I had skimmed the article about tomatoes in Spain. Now that I have time I have read it in more detail and have absorbed the fact that Kumato is grown because it tolerates the saline coastal soils. Presumably that means that it actually needs some salinity to grow well. I wonder how much though. I shall have to try and see, starting at very little.

I must in future make sure I read things[B] thoroughly [/B]before commenting!
Gill[/QUOTE]

I know many people who have grown "kumato" and nobody mentioned special problems, so no, it does not need salt to grow well. There are varieties, like RAF (if you can get the real thing as there's a "RAF hibrido" and many things sold under that name), said to be able to grow, and taste better with saline water. In any case, many vegetables taste better with slightly salty water, melons for example.

It's officially a hybrid, but nobody can see segregation in its descendants.

Those that try other old local varieties, don't grow it again. It is interesting as a winter market variety, though.

here is some thing on the smaller Kumato, it is a mini kumato.

[url]http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0029843[/url]

The packaging did not say mini kumato at Trader Joes, just Kumato. I wonder what their marketing reasoning was. Why do I want a Whopper Jr. now?

The local 99 Cent Only store had Clam Shells of 6 or 7 salad size Kumatos today for 99 cents a package. I bought a pack and tried one on a sandwich. It was way above average for a store bought tomato. I might seed one and see how it does in the cooler temps of November in my little greenhouse.

MikeInCypress

Here is a Kumato F2. They do well from saved seed, not a lot of difference, not extremely uniform for me. Some are coming off redder than others, and some are a bit bigger, not as round, especially the redder ones. Some are chocolate color. I remember the shoulders were consistently darker than what I am getting as well. I think my seeds may be F3 since I got them loose. They had them loose all over Spain, Just as popular as RAF, and Mucha Miel. Sounds like you bought Mini Kumatos.

The ones I bought were 2-3 oz. Mexican Grown Brown Tomatoes and had a printed label stating Kumato. We will see what I get when I plant out.

MikeInCypress.

I started a Kumato F2 from seed I got from gill_s. Hi Gill! The fruit looks exactly the same as the ones packaged at Whole Foods here. They hold a long time on the vine, have somewhat thick skins and good flavor.
Actually, I was wondering if Kumato is a variation on Black Prince, since the plant habit is the same and the fruit is very similar with the exception of the thicker skin.
Lee

Hi Lee.

How does Kumato compare to Black Prince for flavour? My Kumato this year are behind yours for ripeness. Everything has been late this year. last year I found that once the tomatoes turned too red they were very sweet. Too sweet for my palate.

How does Fioletovyi Kruglyi compare to Kumato for flavour?

You will be pleased to hear that I eventually had some good seedlings of FK and the plant I have grown on looks very healthy and very similar to the Kumato plant, with similar excellent cropping. The tomatoes are less rounded, slightly more plum shaped. I look forward to ripening.

Gill

I think the Kumato and Black Prince have a similar flavor with the green gel around seed. I agree these tomatoes should be picked when they are just beginning to soften. I have not compared the Fioletovyi Kruglyi this year because it is a bit behind. I lost my first seedlings and had to replant. I really liked it last year and finally have a couple of big, healthy plants in the garden.
Another variety that is somewhat similar is Bedouin. Bedouin is PL and pear-shaped, but its flavor is what I compare all other brown/black tomatoes to.
Lee

[QUOTE=gill_s;341304]I have an apology to make. I think you did mean that the plants need salt!

I had skimmed the article about tomatoes in Spain. Now that I have time I have read it in more detail and have absorbed the fact that Kumato is grown because it tolerates the saline coastal soils. Presumably that means that it actually needs some salinity to grow well. I wonder how much though. I shall have to try and see, starting at very little.

I must in future make sure I read things[B] thoroughly [/B]before commenting!
Gill[/QUOTE]

I planted four tomatoes RAF in the bed and one RAF in the container (with NaCl). Tomatoes from the bed was acidulous. They ended in tomato purée. RAF from the container was altogether unlike tomato. Excellent flavour. I shall be plant tomato this variety like this again in the next year .
Vladimír