Tomatoes with good shelf life & flavor
 

I'm probably asking for the moon, but what suggestions do you have for tomatoes with both very good shelf life and at least decent flavor? "Long Keeper" has incredible shelf life, but has pretty poor flavor, I think. (I've kept unblemished fruit until March!) Candidates can be of any size, but I've generally found that larger toms go bad sooner than smaller ones.

Any thoughts?

-GG

Like how long? Compared to let's say Big Beef (many people have grown this). Big Beef is considered 'short life' for hybrid standards, but I think it has what I would say decent (and certainly longer than most heirlooms).
Red Brandywine had the only year I grew it, quite good shelf life, taste was ok, not the best red. Tastyno f1 had insane shelf life, about 2 months during the summer and to still good quality texture and everything, it could have gone 2 more in shriveled state easily. Too sweet for my taste though.

At least a month when picked at blush stage -- longer would be better. Of course, I'm thinking of Fall, when most
good ones are long gone.

The best keeper I grow is Sweet Orange II, a cherry from Tim Peters.

It doesn't crack when the rains come. I eat them during the summer, then pick all the remaining fruit before frost and put them one layer deep on a tray in a cool room. We eat them as they ripen. One year I decided to see how long they would remain good, so no one was allowed to eat the last few. They were still good in mid-March.

Seeds were offered by Uprising Seeds this year, but the variety must have changed as theirs start to desiccate just a couple days after harvest.

I sent them some of Tim's original seeds so they could compare them. I wonder how they did?

At least a month is quite long, and certainly longer than most hybrids also. You should probably look at the spanish long keepers de colgar varieties from ilex. Pretty sure a few people already tried some. Must be some decent ones among them.

... Pretty sure a few people already tried some....

I would be interested in their experiences
Vladimír

In his 2017 catalog and I'm sure also at his website, [url]www.sandhillpresevation.com[/url] Glenn Drowns of Sandhill Preservation lists the following long keeping ones under the title of Keeping

I'll just list the names, if you want to know more about each one, can you can read it at the website above if interested.

Giraffe
Green Paint
Green Thumb
Lenan Yellow
Old Fashioned Garden Peach
Ruby Treasure
Winterkeeper
Yellow Out Red In, which Glenn notes he thinks is the best of the keeping tomatoes.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

[QUOTE=zipcode;667022]At least a month is quite long, and certainly longer than most hybrids also. You should probably look at the spanish long keepers de colgar varieties from ilex. Pretty sure a few people already tried some. Must be some decent ones among them.[/QUOTE]

I've been getting many de Colgar varieties from Ilex, initially from his listings in the SSE Yearbooks, since due to EU regulations he can't sell seeds in Europe.

By now he knows what I like, the biological diversity of the Spanish varieties is truly outstanding. And many in Portugal as well. When the Spanish brought back seeds from Mexico the plants had small yellow fruits but with accidental crossing and selection many wonderful varieties appeared. At that time Portugal and Spain were one country.

Ilex drives the backroads to small villages and towns looking for family heirlooms and has been very successful in doing that.

My seed producer group grew out many of them and yes, some are for hanging until they ripen, the Italians did as well, going way back when there was no refrigeration.

I can't say the the de Colgar ones that the seed producers grew out were all that popular.

Again, they were popular when there was no refrigeration, and that's a long time ago.

I think I remember Ilex saying in a thread here that he would sell seeds to anyone. If interested please PM me and I can give you his e-mail address.

Ilex is also very special to me since he's been the source of soft turrone, a wonderful delight made of honey and ground almonds.:D:yes::?:


Carolyn

I noticed that Damskiye Palchiki aka Lady Fingers from Tania were staying good for exceptionally long time this summer. Will be growing more. They do not seems to get as soft soon and skin stays firm longer.
[url]http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Damskie_Palchiki[/url]

Thanks for the suggestions! I have tried a couple of hybrids -- Fantom and Burpee's Red October. Both had better shelf life than most, but not into the range I hope to find. I'd like to put the produce section of my grocery stores out of the tomato business (for me anyway), ideally for a couple of months. I never thought of Sandhill, and never had heard of Ilex. So I'll PM you, Carolyn -- thanks.

-GG

Do share if you find something that has good flavor and stores
well. I don't mean seeds necessarily, but variety and how you
store them.

I was under the impression that growing conditions and proper
storage temp/low humidity (?) is what is needed for long storage.

If you succeeded in storing some until March, you are doing
something right. Impressive.

I've tried PrincipeBorghese from Franchi seeds and it does have
good flavor and did last for some time but barely till Thanksgiving.
No, probably early November. I ended up dehydrating halfway,
then freezing. I don't think I have a good place for long storage.
Even with blemish free fruit I had a ton of fruit flies set in.

If you pick a tomato at color break :
Try not to blemish/ squeeze it/them while picking and during the storage.
Washing in vinegar water can/may help kill any harmful bacteria on the fruit.
Make sure to dry it/them well after washing.
It/they have to be ventilated. Any air stagnation together with moisture is an invitation for rotting.
I find wicker basket beast for keeping just about any fruit. As it aerates.

I've just remembered Piennolo, the Italian long-keeper. I'm growing it this year and it seems to be keeping pretty well although I haven't strung it up. The taste is pretty good fresh too :)

Linda

[QUOTE=Labradors2;667209]I've just remembered Piennolo, the Italian long-keeper. I'm growing it this year and it seems to be keeping pretty well although I haven't strung it up. The taste is pretty good fresh too :)

Linda[/QUOTE]

Here's Tania's page for it

[url]http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Piennolo_Del_Vesuvio#tab=General_Info[/url]

Carolyn

[QUOTE=Labradors2;667209]I've just remembered Piennolo, the Italian long-keeper. I'm growing it this year and it seems to be keeping pretty well although I haven't strung it up. The taste is pretty good fresh too :)
Linda[/QUOTE]

How large are they typically -- a bit larger than a cherry? Maybe 1-2 oz? (I can't really tell from Tania's photo.)

-GG