Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cafe Bule 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom variety known for producing masses of dark, pear-shaped cherry tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Growers describe it as “well-behaved” and not overly aggressive in its growth. The foliage is relatively light-colored, taking on a purplish-blue hue in strong sunlight. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, beautiful … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cosmic Eclipse 🌍 Origin: A visually stunning novelty release from Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms, USA). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Grows to about 1.5–1.7 meters (5-5.5 ft) in a greenhouse, slightly shorter in open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small to medium cocktail-sized round fruits (usually under 100g / 3.5 oz). The … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Couilles de Taureau (Huevo de Toro) 🌍 Origin: A very old European heirloom. Originally from Spain under the name “Huevo de Toro”, it was later popularized in France under the literal translation “Couilles de Taureau” (which translates to “Bull’s Testicles”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), standard regular leaf. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cherokee Rosse 🌍 Origin: A unique novelty release bred by the famous Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms, USA). 🌿 Plant Habit: Appears to act as a semi-determinate or compact indeterminate. Grown outdoors, it reaches just over 1 meter (about 3.5 – 4 ft) in height. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Oblate (flat-round) beefsteaks … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cherokee Tiger Large 🌍 Origin: A beautiful Canadian variety originally developed by breeder Bill Minkey. Note: People often ask if this is part of the Dwarf Tomato Project. It is not a true project Dwarf, but rather a compact, semi-determinate variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate. In a greenhouse setting, it typically … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cherokee Lime Stripes 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom variety discovered by breeder Bill Jeffers. It is believed to be a natural mutation or cross involving ‘Cherokee Green’. Sometimes traded as “Cherokee Lime Stripes (Purple Green)”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. In open ground, it can stay relatively compact (around 1 meter / … Read more
🌿 In Loving Memory of Stas (Forum Pioneer) Stas was one of the founding pillars of our gardening community. A true innovator, he was building custom LED grow lights and experimenting with light spectrums years before it became mainstream. Though he lived a quiet and solitary life, he generously shared his brilliant DIY mind and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Winterizing Roses & Climate Shifts 🌹 Winterizing Roses: Growers debate the best time to cover roses and other tender perennials for winter. Some prefer getting it done early in mid-October, while others wait for a hard frost in November to naturally kill off pests like whiteflies before covering. 🧅 Checking on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Storing Harvests Without a Root Cellar 🥕 No Basement? No Problem: Growers discuss creative ways to store root vegetables (carrots, beets, radishes) and potatoes through the winter when you don’t have a traditional root cellar (погреб). 🥫 Canning is Key: When cold storage space is limited, canning vegetables into ready-made soup … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): End of Season & Brussels Sprouts 🥦 Late Brassica Harvests: Growers share their early November harvests. Crops like broccoli, kohlrabi, kale, and daikon radishes can survive light frosts and stay in the garden quite late into the season. 🌱 Brussels Sprouts Debate: Is it worth growing Brussels sprouts? Some growers feel … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Fall Planting Onion Sets 🧅 Size Matters for Fall Planting: A great discussion on planting overwintering onion sets (севок). Pro Tip: For fall planting, it’s always best to use the absolute smallest onion sets (under 1 cm / 0.4 inches in diameter). Larger sets are much more likely to bolt (go … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cleota Pink 🌍 Origin: An old, relatively rare family heirloom from Tennessee, USA. It is highly prized by heirloom collectors for producing massive pink fruits on potato-leaf vines. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, Potato Leaf (PL). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large pink beefsteaks. They are exceptionally meaty but retain a very juicy flesh … Read more