2018 AAS Winners

[MickyT]

I just came across an article about the 2018 AAS winners.

Chef's Choice Red F1 (Indet. Beefsteak, 80-85 days)
Red Racer F1 (Det. Cocktail, 57 Days)
Valentine F1 (Indet Red Grape, 55 days)

Has anyone tried these varieties or are they not yet available to public?
I'm pretty big on cherry and grape types and the Valentine F1 looks interesting especially if it's actually a 55 day DTM.

[2mnyrzs]

I just started the Valentine F1, got the seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds.

[nyrfan]

Jung's has Chef's Choice Red.

https://www.jungseed.com/P/00179/Che...+Hybrid+Tomato

[gssgarden]

Tried Chefs Choice Red a couple years ago but didn't do well but last year I tried Chefs Choice ORANGE and it was the best tomato production wise by far for me. One of the first to produce and easily the last up until frost, she'll be back this year again.
BUT Chefs choice PINK and Chefs Choice GREEN did not do well for me last year.

Greg

[Fred Hempel]

I grew Valentine last summer. Right next to Cherry Roma. Fruits are a bit thicker. Flavor is similar and plants are more productive.

[MickyT]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

I grew Valentine last summer. Right next to Cherry Roma. Fruits are a bit thicker. Flavor is similar and plants are more productive.

Thanks Fred. Do you remember if it was really early for you, true to the 55 day DTM indication? Also I've never tasted Cherry Roma, is it a sweet grape tomato? My kids mostly go for sweet, they don't really need complex taste. By the way I'm trying Blush this year, my first Artisan Seeds bred tomato. Very excited.

[Fred Hempel]

Valentine was quite early. Both Cherry Roma and Valentine are sweet grape tomatoes.

Originally Posted by MickyT

Thanks Fred. Do you remember if it was really early for you, true to the 55 day DTM indication? Also I've never tasted Cherry Roma, is it a sweet grape tomato? My kids mostly go for sweet, they don't really need complex taste. By the way I'm trying Blush this year, my first Artisan Seeds bred tomato. Very excited.

[simmran1]

This is the new release info

[The fifth addition to the popular Chef’s Choice tomato series is Chef’s Choice Red which produces globe-shaped, tomato-red beefsteak type tomatoes. Tomato lovers and culinary gardeners will want to grow this firm-fleshed delicacy that has just the right balance of acid to sugar. AAS Judges raved about the prolific yield of the 8-ounce fruits that the strong, 5-foot indeterminate vines produced. You’ll enjoy harvesting 30 or more scar-free fruits throughout the season from this disease-resistant plant with dark green leaves and well-behaved form.]

I have to add-on to a previous post where I also secured seeds to the newly relased Chef's Choice Orange in 2017 and I grew it. Really good production of a market friendly orange tomato with pretty good taste.

The Chef's Choice F1 plant is compact, grows more veretical and is worth looking at.

[Black Krim]

Stupid question... is 15# of fruit from one plant reasonable????

[Nan_PA_6b]

It's doable. We got over 100 Early Girls from one plant. Let's say 4 oz average, that's 25#. That was a prolific plant, mind you.

Nan

[Black Krim]

25# seems far better than the 15# from the new AAS red variety listed in post 8.

[Daryl]

I received some trial plants of Red Racer last year. It was fast and prolific, taste was fair - better than store-bought but not the somewhat tart "knock your socks off" complex flavor that I prefer.

If memory serves, Chef's Choice Red went down early to disease, but we had a terrible year. Warm and wet, cold and wet, wet, wet, wet - days upon days of drizzle. I lost a lot of plants to disease.

[Black Krim]

Originally Posted by Daryl

I received some trial plants of Red Racer last year. It was fast and prolific, taste was fair - better than store-bought but not the somewhat tart "knock your socks off" complex flavor that I prefer.

If memory serves, Chef's Choice Red went down early to disease, but we had a terrible year. Warm and wet, cold and wet, wet, wet, wet - days upon days of drizzle. I lost a lot of plants to disease.

What did survive the wet season?

[Daryl]

Patio Choice Yellow, Candyland Red, my second planting of Sungold, the 2 Klee UFL hybrids Garden Gem and Garden Treasure (http://hos.ufl.edu/kleeweb/newcultivars.html) and Rosella Purple all survived along with the Red Racer, though yields were off.

For background, I usually grow mostly heirlooms and some dwarfs along with hybrid previews from AAS and other sources (trial plants and seeds) but I had 4 surgeries last year and couldn't keep up with disease pressure on most of the heirlooms. Rosella Purple is remarkable to me in its ability to stand up to Late Blight when we get an unusual cold and wet period. Cherokee Purple also stood up to quite a bit of the warm, wet fungi.

I also now grow in my "driveway garden" in large containers since my real garden is now in too much shade. Air circulation is poor, and even the driveway garden is getting more shade than I'd like.

[Black Krim]

Originally Posted by Daryl

Patio Choice Yellow, Candyland Red, my second planting of Sungold, the 2 Klee UFL hybrids Garden Gem and Garden Treasure (http://hos.ufl.edu/kleeweb/newcultivars.html) and Rosella Purple all survived along with the Red Racer, though yields were off.

For background, I usually grow mostly heirlooms and some dwarfs along with hybrid previews from AAS and other sources (trial plants and seeds) but I had 4 surgeries last year and couldn't keep up with disease pressure on most of the heirlooms. Rosella Purple is remarkable to me in its ability to stand up to Late Blight when we get an unusual cold and wet period. Cherokee Purple also stood up to quite a bit of the warm, wet fungi.

I also now grow in my "driveway garden" in large containers since my real garden is now in too much shade. Air circulation is poor, and even the driveway garden is getting more shade than I'd like.

THank you. Late blight is a growing problem here. Otherwise disease resistant varieties are easier to manage. And I look for the AAS as a variety of vegie to try.