A repeat for this season. Uluru Ochre remains among my favorites, though the yield let me down a bit… but with such a “great” (terrible) summer, I’m not surprised.
Dwarf Uluru Ochre. Repeated this variety in the greenhouse; it is among my favorites for determinate/dwarfs. Bush height up to 70 cm (28 inches), no pruning, productive, and still a very tasty and beautiful, unique variety unlike any other! Fruits are quite large, up to 400g (14 oz).
A magnificent variety in terms of taste! The flavor has notes of mango and papaya. Otherwise, a worthy representative of the Dwarf Tomato Project series, but it does not like the heat of greenhouses.
Quote by Agnia Agarthy:
A magnificent variety in terms of taste! The flavor has notes of mango and papaya.
I haven’t tried either mango or papaya, so I found it difficult to describe the taste of this variety… maybe something spicy.
Grew outdoors in 2019. Sown for seedlings in mid-February, potted up twice, the last time into 2-liter (0.5 gallon) pots. It is amazing as a seedling. Moved to its permanent grow spot on May 11, we didn’t cover it at all. It ripened from late July, the color is distinctive, the bushes are extremely dense, productive, and it can crack. I didn’t like the taste; apparently, it’s an acquired taste.
For me, this is tomato number 1… taste, yield, beauty…
Grew outdoors (Kaliningrad)…
P.S. Here’s a little secret to this tomato… you have to wait for it, let it get overripe, right up until it’s almost a soft mush… and then you peel the skin off and eat it whole… it tastes like an exotic fruit… there is absolutely no classic tomato flavor present…
I can eat like four of them (about 300 grams / 10.5 oz each) in one sitting…
Grew outdoors. A slow starter (stubborn), like all dwarfs; the first fruit was on August 15 (sown February 15). The yield wasn’t thrilling, the fruits were a bit small, but given such a short summer and wild weather swings, it’s not surprising. Until the end of June, it was under row covers due to cold nights, and in early August the summer suddenly ended, so I had to pick them green from the bush. But I did like the taste! Dense, buttery flesh. Will repeat it in the greenhouse.
A superb variety. The taste is the bomb. Beautiful on the outside, even more beautiful on the inside. Rich tomato aroma, sweet with a hint of tartness. Gorgeous, there are no other words for it.
Outdoors, the bush height was 1.5 m (5 ft). A stocky, handsome plant. Doesn’t get sick. It took a very long time to get going, didn’t want to set fruit. Today is August 28, and there are still many green ones. About 15 fruits on the bush.
It was a very slow starter, despite the hot summer. It bore fruit in waves, a lot at a time. I had to sweat a lot while trying to prune/shape it. It produced a literal jungle. The fruits and branches grew so close together that there was nowhere to squeeze a knife in to harvest. I didn’t fully appreciate the taste fresh, because it ripened when other varieties were already sitting in crates in every corner of the house. By late September, it was completely weighed down with green fruits. I fermented/pickled them in a barrel with other latecomers—the taste is the bomb! I will repeat it. Next year it will go into pots outdoors. The greenhouse is too cramped and hot for it.
A tomato with a very beautiful color. Seeds from @Svetikk
Copying this from last year’s report. Didn’t plant it this year due to an abundance of green-fruited types, but I will definitely plant it next year.
Just some pics of my favorite. The yield didn’t disappoint this time either.
Quote by Pico:
P.S. Here’s a little secret to this tomato… you have to wait for it, let it get overripe, right up until it’s almost a soft mush… and then you peel the skin off and eat it whole… it tastes like an exotic fruit… there is absolutely no classic tomato flavor present…
Hmm, I need to try that, because it’s very productive, gorgeous stocky strong bushes, but I didn’t like the taste—it was spicy and sort of had a tobacco aftertaste… But the community uniformly praises this very specific flavor.
Edited January 17, 2022 by Oksana Evgenievna
Quote by Oksana Evgenievna:
…spicy and sort of had a tobacco aftertaste…
You describe it like a good red wine) I will plant it in 2022.
Quote by nierika:
You describe it like a good red wine) I will plant it in 2022.
You know, it is similar! There is a certain astringency present in the fruits. I just don’t like wine, maybe that’s why the taste didn’t click with me.
Quote by Oksana Evgenievna:
You know, it is similar! There is a certain astringency present in the fruits. I just don’t like wine, maybe that’s why the taste didn’t click with me.
Well, if I read “tobacco notes” in a wine description, I buy it immediately. Alright, I’ll stop going off-topic now.
Quote by Oksana Evgenievna:
Grew outdoors in 2019. Sown for seedlings in mid-February, potted up twice, the last time into 2-liter (0.5 gallon) pots.
Hello. Tell me, do I understand correctly, did it continue growing in the 2-liter pots or did you later move it to a large bucket?
Quote by Tatiana77:
Hello. Tell me, do I understand correctly, did it continue growing in the 2-liter pots or did you later move it to a large bucket?
No, it only grew in 2 liters as a seedling before going to its permanent spot, because it was planted way back in February. It was transplanted in May into open ground in a regular garden bed and fruited there. For heaven’s sake, no buckets or pots! We have unfathomable heat—tomatoes won’t survive in buckets here, the roots will overheat. Tomatoes self-shade themselves, but a limited soil volume in our conditions is just not an option. The air heats up to +32-+40°C (90-104°F) in the shade, and such temperatures last for weeks. Accordingly, the soil in a pot would be the same temperature. Here, tomatoes drive their roots deeper not so much in search of water (they are regularly watered in the irrigation trenches), but to get away from the scorching surface into normal temperature conditions.
Edited April 24, 2022 by Oksana Evgenievna
So my Uluru Ochre has ripened. An absolute favorite, I will plant a whole bed of it. Yes to papaya, no to tobacco notes? This is not a tomato in our traditional understanding; it is a fruit. I’ll try planting one in the greenhouse, if it retains even half of its flavor—it will be on my list forever.
Also my favorite. Primarily for the taste. Not a tomato, an exotic fruit. Beauty and yield are both there, despite the fact that it is short in stature.
Quote by nierika:
Yes to papaya, no to tobacco notes?
Hm, well, the taste of papaya actually reminds me of tobacco. That’s exactly why I don’t eat papaya. 😂 True, I’ve never tasted actual tobacco, it’s just a similar “aftertaste” like when someone nearby has been smoking.
Sowed for seedlings on March 8, it popped up quickly, developed just like a regular indeterminate. Planted out in open ground in early June. Made me happy with both yield and taste, did not get sick. Stored and ripened indoors very well.
By April 6, the dwarfs had 4 true leaves. The first fruit was picked on July 29.
Mass coloring of the fruits began on August 5.
The tomatoes that were picked green ripened perfectly indoors and lasted until November, maybe they would have lasted longer, but we ate them. The last photo is from October 21.
