Quick Summary of Chinook Tomato
- 🌍 Origin: A gorgeous release from the renowned Canadian tomato breeder Karen Olivier.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (very tall) and vigorous. The vines are strong and easily reach the roof of a standard greenhouse (over 6.5 feet / 2 meters). It requires heavy-duty staking and tying due to the massive fruit load. Responds well to being pruned to 3 stems.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful purple, heart-shaped tomatoes. They are very uniform, smooth, and completely resistant to cracking.
- 👅 Flavor: Dense, aromatic flesh with a rich, slightly spicy/complex flavor profile. The texture is buttery on the cut. Pro Tip: Must be eaten fully ripe to experience its true flavor potential.
- 🧬 Genetics Note: As a relatively new variety, growers have observed some genetic segregation in leaf types. The breeder intended it to be a Regular Leaf (RL), but some seeds may throw out Potato Leaf (PL) seedlings.
Another gorgeous new release this season from Karen Olivier (Canada).
The handsome CHINOOK!
It truly became my absolute favorite this season and the crown jewel of my greenhouses! The tomatoes are heart-shaped, purple-colored, all perfectly even and smooth, as if they were calibrated. Dense, aromatic flesh with a spicy, rich undertone—that’s how I perceived the taste when I first tried them. They have a buttery texture when sliced. Completely resistant to cracking.
You definitely need to taste these fruits when they are fully ripe to experience the full charm of their flavor.
The plants themselves have massive yield potential, loaded with numerous fruits. The stems are sturdy and strong, growing right up to the very top of the greenhouse (approx. 6.5+ ft). At the end of the season, I had to tie the stems directly to the roof crossbars.
The bushes require mandatory pruning/training and strong supports for both the stems and the fruit trusses. Under my conditions, they easily handled being trained to 3 stems.
This variety is truly fantastic! Try it! Grow it! You won’t be disappointed!
Edited October 23, 2023 by Yaroslavna
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On 10/23/2023 at 4:29 PM, Yaroslavna said:
CHINOOK
Natalia, what kind of leaf type is it supposed to have? My seedlings just put out their first true leaves, and they turned out to be potato leaf (PL).
On 3/29/2024 at 3:21 PM, T@tka said:
Natalia, what kind of leaf type is it supposed to have? My seedlings just put out their first true leaves, and they turned out to be potato leaf (PL).
Good evening, Tatiana!
All of my plants (I grew three in different greenhouses) had regular leaves (RL), not potato type… The leaves are large and firm, but definitely not potato leaf.
Karen’s original strain of this variety also has regular leaves.
You should definitely keep an eye on your plants… it will be interesting to see what grows out of them in the end ))
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On 3/29/2024 at 3:21 PM, T@tka said:
Natalia, what kind of leaf type is it supposed to have? My seedlings just put out their first true leaves, and they turned out to be potato leaf (PL).
Tanyusha, I also have potato leaves (PL) on mine, and they seem to be growing kind of slowly. Let’s hope they catch up with the rest and delight us with their taste!
Edited April 3, 2024 by tannychonsik
My seedlings are still very small, but they are regular leaf.
Mine are also little babies with regular leaves.
Good evening, girls!
I just double-checked with Karen again regarding the leaf type for the Chinook variety…
Here is what she replied to me:
…. Chinook is a regular leaf tomato… it should be regular leaf so I would advise to grow the regular leaf seedlings…
Well, what can we say in this case… the variety is young and not fully stabilized yet, so apparently, different leaf variations are possible. We will grow them and observe… I don’t think the plants with potato leaves will be any worse or less interesting than the ones with regular leaves.
Good afternoon, ladies!
I also have potato leaves (PL). I ordered my seeds from Olga Degtyareva.
On 4/25/2024 at 2:09 PM, Mokushka said:
Good afternoon, ladies! I also have potato leaves (PL). I ordered my seeds from Olga Degtyareva.
@Mokushka Natalia, thanks for chiming in.. Olga and I got our CHINOOK seeds directly from Karen.
So, it seems that in the first year, the variety showed stability for both me and Olya. But in the second year, apparently, this potato leaf segregation started appearing. All we can do is keep observing…
I am growing it for the first time. Seeds are from Olga Degtyareva. Mine is regular leaf, sets fruit very well, and the leaves are completely healthy.
