Cornabel F1 Tomato Review & Photos

A gorgeous, heavy-yielding hybrid. It grew to about 8.2 feet (2.5 m) in my greenhouse. The flesh isn’t watery at all, it’s very “sugary” and dense. Absolutely perfect for ketchups and sauces. The fruits are all identical in size.

September 29th.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any photos of the ripe ones. I will definitely be repeating it this season. Seeds were from Olya’s group buy.

heavy-yielding

Ksyusha, check your spelling. The name Cornabel comes from the word Corn, meaning horn. It is a hybrid. If you grow out F2 seeds, it might reproduce the shape, but it loses its disease resistances.

An excellent hybrid! The plant is wispy and thin, takes up very little space, but the fruit trusses are massive. It is a very dense tomato, absolutely ideal for slicing and drying! The smaller ones can go into canning jars.

I am planting Cornabel and Andine Cornue this season specifically to see how they differ. I’ll try to take photos of everything, take notes, and report back.

I didn’t like it. It grew out as a strictly “processing” tomato. Sure, it’s productive and hassle-free, but the flavor was completely bland. Grew it in the greenhouse. Won’t be repeating it, I’d rather stick an extra bush of a truly tasty variety in its place.

(Quoting Nataly’s photos)

That looks so yummy, my mouth is watering!!!!

It grew out as a strictly “processing” tomato. Sure, it’s productive and hassle-free, but the flavor was completely bland.

Well, it *is* a processing tomato. You literally can’t find anything better for sun-drying. It’s also great in canning jars, I prefer large ones so I have fewer skins to spit out later.

Well, it *is* a processing tomato. You literally can’t find anything better for sun-drying. It’s also great in canning jars, I prefer large ones so I have fewer skins to spit out later.

Abbattista is just as productive, also very meaty like a paste tomato, and has an elongated shape, but it is actually tasty. Very sweet and tomatoey. I can’t speak for disease resistance though, because in our dry climate tomatoes practically never get fungal diseases, we only get BER during extreme heat waves. So if disease resistance is critical for you, then go with Cornabel. But if it’s not a big deal, you’re better off planting a real heirloom variety. It tastes better, and you can save your own seeds.

I grew Cornabel F1 back in 2017 in a polycarbonate greenhouse. The bush was wispy and frail, set very little fruit, dropped blossoms in the heat, and was the very first one to catch Leaf Mold. The fruits seemed way too dry to me (I understand it has a different purpose), but they were too soft for whole-fruit pickling. It just didn’t work out for me.

You literally can’t find anything better for sun-drying. It’s also great in canning jars

Also great for slicing into “pucks” for freezing, and for making Achuchuk salad. Plus, it has great resistance to bad weather and high yields (mine grow in the northeast corner of the greenhouse).

dropped blossoms in the heat

We officially hit 97°F (36°C) this year. And inside the greenhouse under the sun it was way worse… 🤦‍♀️ but it did just fine, set a ton of fruit.

I’ve planted it for two years now. Southwest section of the greenhouse. Yield was just so-so. And on top of that, it gets absolutely hammered by BER. But I bought seeds from Zolushka again, going to try one more time. Apparently, I’m doing something wrong.

Southwest section of the greenhouse. Yield was just so-so. And on top of that, it gets absolutely hammered by BER

Maybe move it away from the “prime spot”? Add some nutrients? I also noticed it hates when the soil dries out (yes, it is prone to BER). I mulch it heavily with compost (just like I do with all my hybrids and cherries) and water it a little more frequently.

Maybe move it away from the “prime spot”? Add some nutrients? I also noticed it hates when the soil dries out (yes, it is prone to BER). I mulch it heavily with compost (just like I do with all my hybrids and cherries) and water it a little more frequently.

Svetlana, I get the part about the location. And I understand about the watering now too. But what do you mean by adding nutrients? If you could explain in detail.

My Cornabels usually sit in the greenhouse on the very edge of the furthest bed. I plant them on the edge because they are so skinny. It’s not the brightest spot there, and watering is infrequent, but all my beds have a very thick layer of grass mulch that I constantly replenish. I planted them in a brighter spot this season, and the result was exactly the same—a massive yield. I’ve never had BER with it. In the spring, I prep the bed with synthetic mineral fertilizer, and I always add dolomite lime and wood ash. During the season, I feed them once or twice with liquid fertilizer.

Cornabel is purely a processing hybrid. You shouldn’t expect some amazing fresh flavor from it, IMO it is exclusively for drying or making paste. It’s probably great for freezing too, since it has so little juice, it probably stays denser and doesn’t turn to mush after thawing. I’ve tried drying other supposedly “dry” tomatoes, and no, it’s just not the same. Cornabel is completely unmatched for me right now.

Cornabel is purely a processing hybrid. You shouldn’t expect some amazing fresh flavor from it,

Thanks. Now I realize I’ve never actually eaten a tasty tomato.

Thanks. Now I realize I’ve never actually eaten a tasty tomato.

No, no, no, I completely disagree, Cornabel tasted really good! I planted 1 bush (well, 1 survived) outdoors in the dirt, the yield was low, but that was my own fault. But the flavor was actually really good. Meaty, no acid, a surprisingly solid tomato flavor. I tried to dig some seeds out to save, but couldn’t find any!!! Planned it for planting again.

No, no, no, I completely disagree, Cornabel tasted really good! I planted 1 bush (well, 1 survived) outdoors in the dirt, the yield was low, but that was my own fault. But the flavor was actually really good. Meaty, no acid, a surprisingly solid tomato flavor. I tried to dig some seeds out to save, but couldn’t find any!!! Planned it for planting again.

I was just joking. I’ve been growing it for three years now. It is the absolute best hybrid (out of the 15-20 I’ve tried). And taste-wise, it beats a lot of heirlooms. I like it way better than Rugantino. Granted, this was my first time growing Rugantino and it was a bad year. In 2020 I’m going to plant both of them again, and I’m even planting out the F2 generations of each. Going to compare.

I grew 6 bushes of Cornabel last year. I’ve been growing it ever since it hit the market or group buys. It’s perfect for drying and paste. Never got BER once. The first trusses had fruits weighing 7 oz (200 g). I don’t really like paste tomatoes in salads. But they kept perfectly until November, and by that time they were totally fine for a salad. I tossed the smaller ones into tomato juice. Made some Achuchuk with them. The yield is phenomenal. Had enough for absolutely everything.

Planning to plant 6 bushes again this year.

Lana_s_Kavkaza, they look so beautiful dried! I could devour a whole plate of those tomato chips! Going by looks, I like Cornabel better. It seems a bit juicier and it doesn’t have that pointy nose, I don’t really like those pointy ends. I think Cornabel would be great for baked Provence-style tomatoes too, I really loved making those this year!

Mama Antona, absolutely gorgeous!

I’ve been planting CORNABEL since 2016, and I’m planning to grow it again this year. I love its yield, shape, and of course, its flavor 😋. It is not just a dry processing tomato. The smaller ones went straight into wide-mouth canning jars. They don’t turn to mush when marinated, you can actually slice them into rings later. Once I canned CORNABEL and BURATINO in the same jar, and later sliced both varieties into beautiful rings. 👍. I haven’t saved my own seeds yet, but I probably should save some this year and try growing the F2s. I know people in our region who plant saved seeds and grow them in open ground. I grow all my tomatoes exclusively in the greenhouse.

I planted Cornabel F1 last year outdoors under plastic at the dacha. The yield was outstanding, the fruits were beautiful, and even the ones laying on the dirt from their own weight didn’t catch any diseases or rot. But I didn’t like the taste at all, neither fresh nor canned. Probably just because I had other heirlooms that were much tastier. But I will say it was perfect for making lecho, because it stored longer than the rest, allowing me to take my time and make two big batches of lecho later on. That is a huge plus for me personally.

Here is a photo of the Cornabel tomato, already ripening on the bushes in August.

I was just joking. I’ve been growing it for three years now. It is the absolute best hybrid (out of the 15-20 I’ve tried). And taste-wise, it beats a lot of heirlooms.

I completely agree. Planted it 3 years in a row. It is the best hybrid out there both for taste and yield, and I’ve never had a spot of BER on it. I buy my seeds from a trusted seller on social media.

A heavy-yielding processing hybrid.

Perfect for literally any occasion, it pumps out fruit in both hot and freezing cold summers despite everything. I had a broken-off growing tip that I rooted, and it managed to set 5 full, heavy trusses. This year, the fruits surprised me with their varying shapes, massive size, and how fragile the trusses were.

Thanks to GalinaD for the tip about long-term storage.

I am planting Cornabel and Andine Cornue this season specifically to see how they differ. I’ll try to take photos of everything, take notes

Anya, did it not work out?

Anya, did it not work out?

It did! And even though I never actually took any notes, I remember the results vividly).

Here is how they ranked, from worst to best:

Cornabel – I used this as the baseline to compare the rest against. I don’t think I need to describe it here.

Andine Cornue – Even though it’s technically Cornabel’s parent, it completely disappointed me. Just four tiny, bland little tomatoes. But maybe it just didn’t like my garden.

But the Opalka variety blew my mind. It was absolutely identical to Cornabel in plant shape, fruit shape, and taste, but it actually beat it in total yield!!