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Koala Doug · September 23, 2020

No duds this year for me, thankfully. But the extended heatwave for my area (another top-5 historical heatwave - just like 2018) means that I had to give the container plants extra waterings just to stay alive. And extra water tends to lead to more bland and watery tomatoes. C'est la vie!

OTV Brandywine was the best for taste this year. It was intensely flavored, with very little sweetness, and a pleasing amount of tartness. Most of the red fruit averaged about ten to twelve ounces for me (I only get 2-5 hours of sunlight per day) and, as a side bonus, it was the first plant to ripen this summer. This was one of the two plants I grew in honor of Carolyn's passing last year (the other was Dr. Carolyn). I'd rate it a solid 9.4 out of 10.

Dwarf Peppermint Stripes really surprised me. It was another strongly flavored variety that leaned on the tart side of the sweetness/acidity scale. The fruit typically came in around seven to eight ounces and are a really pretty sight to behold - darker green with lighter green stripes and pink blushing at the bottom (as well as inside). My rating would be an unexpectedly happy 8.8 out of 10.

Loxton Lass is an orange dwarf variety that put out a large amount of blossoms... typically eleven to fourteen per cluster. The fruit was an amazing shade of orange with small locules and a very meaty interior. It is a sweet tomato, so it doesn't have much of an acidic bite. It also doesn't have the flavor intensity of the first two, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This was my smallest slicer coming in at about six ounces on average. I'd give it a respectable rating of 7.4 out of 10.

Dr. Carolyn wasn't a disappointment for me, but I had higher hopes for it's flavor (though the weather surely was a negative factor). The fruit was mostly about 3/4ths of an ounce and a really beautiful pale yellow color. It was fairly mild though, and that surprised me. It was also the last plant to give up its first ripe fruit (yet another unexpected surprise). I'd give it a 7 out of 10.

All plants were very productive (and are still producing) and will be trialed a couple of more times in the coming years before I render my final judgement on them. I like to grow a variety at least three different times before I can truly decide if it works for me. Hopefully next year will be a bit more normal (historically speaking)... these heatwaves are brutal and the plants don't like it anymore than I do.

September 23, 2020	#47
Koala Doug Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Detroit Posts: 688	No duds this year for me, thankfully. But the extended heatwave for my area (another top-5 historical heatwave - just like 2018) means that I had to give the container plants extra waterings just to stay alive. And extra water tends to lead to more bland and watery tomatoes. C'est la vie! OTV Brandywine was the best for taste this year. It was intensely flavored, with very little sweetness, and a pleasing amount of tartness. Most of the red fruit averaged about ten to twelve ounces for me (I only get 2-5 hours of sunlight per day) and, as a side bonus, it was the first plant to ripen this summer. This was one of the two plants I grew in honor of Carolyn's passing last year (the other was Dr. Carolyn). I'd rate it a solid 9.4 out of 10. Dwarf Peppermint Stripes really surprised me. It was another strongly flavored variety that leaned on the tart side of the sweetness/acidity scale. The fruit typically came in around seven to eight ounces and are a really pretty sight to behold - darker green with lighter green stripes and pink blushing at the bottom (as well as inside). My rating would be an unexpectedly happy 8.8 out of 10. Loxton Lass is an orange dwarf variety that put out a large amount of blossoms... typically eleven to fourteen per cluster. The fruit was an amazing shade of orange with small locules and a very meaty interior. It is a sweet tomato, so it doesn't have much of an acidic bite. It also doesn't have the flavor intensity of the first two, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This was my smallest slicer coming in at about six ounces on average. I'd give it a respectable rating of 7.4 out of 10. Dr. Carolyn wasn't a disappointment for me, but I had higher hopes for it's flavor (though the weather surely was a negative factor). The fruit was mostly about 3/4ths of an ounce and a really beautiful pale yellow color. It was fairly mild though, and that surprised me. It was also the last plant to give up its first ripe fruit (yet another unexpected surprise). I'd give it a 7 out of 10. All plants were very productive (and are still producing) and will be trialed a couple of more times in the coming years before I render my final judgement on them. I like to grow a variety at least three different times before I can truly decide if it works for me. Hopefully next year will be a bit more normal (historically speaking)... these heatwaves are brutal and the plants don't like it anymore than I do.