What J and L originals have you tried?

[root_grow]

I'm trying to figure out an order from J&L, but all the pretty J&L originals and other varieties not really available elsewhere are overwhelming! My web searches haven't turned up much about them, so I'd love to hear any experiences anyone has had growing their beautiful tomatoes. Since I'm hoping to sell more produce this year, I'm trying to balance impulses with practical considerations, like reliable flavor and production.

I'm especially curious about Ambrosia Gold, Bosque Bronze cherry (though I know this one's brand new), Wild Tiger and Royal Purple, but I'm curious about any of them for future reference.

Not J&L originals, but not easy to find: Pink Champagne, Josefina, Iva's Red Berry, Pearls of Wisdom, Justyna. I really just need Chimayo chile seeds, but they might get lonely all by themselves in that big envelope...

What J&L varieties have you grown? What did it do, how tall did they get, how long did it take, how did it taste, how abundant were they? Any experiences in more northern or cooler climates?

[Nan6b]

I grew Wild Tiger before it was stabilized. I think it's only at F6 right now. But it was GOOD! Mine was a very large cherry, about 3 bites. Beautiful green & red mottled or striped, maybe some gold in there. Taste was GREAT! That spicy goodness of the gwr's, a very intense flavor with tart and plenty of sweet. It did not produce overly much, but was probably only getting 6 hours of sun a day. It grew to be about 6-7 feet tall, but politely, not like Sungold which reaches out to encompass the whole garden.
I did not like Danube and it did not do well for me.
They have one called Butter Apple, which has about 2-4 oz yellow fruit with yellow stripes. Taste is very good; better than average, strong (surprising for a yellow) tomato-ey. It produced steadily through every type of weather, up till frost. The plant was smaller; maybe the vines reached 5-6', but I didn't keep tying it up so I don't really know.

[Ginger2778]

One year I grew 14 JandL varieties. 11 weren't as described! Maybe Lee has gotten better now about selling stabilized varieties.

[Nan6b]

They do seem to sell a lot of varieties that are not yet stable. But they mark them as "experimental". They send you experimentals as a bonus sometime. I always give them feedback when I grow those.

[Ginger2778]

They do seem to sell a lot of varieties that are not yet stable. But they mark them as "experimental". They send you experimentals as a bonus sometime. I always give them feedback when I grow those.

It was yesrs ago, and he didn't mark as experimental then.Good that he does now.

[MissS]

They do seem to sell a lot of varieties that are not yet stable. But they mark them as "experimental". They send you experimentals as a bonus sometime. I always give them feedback when I grow those.

It was yesrs ago, and he didn't mark as experimental then.Good that he does now.

Yes, as I recall, Marsha had a really hard time growing those plants that she thought were stable.

[Ginger2778]

They do seem to sell a lot of varieties that are not yet stable. But they mark them as "experimental". They send you experimentals as a bonus sometime. I always give them feedback when I grow those.

It was yesrs ago, and he didn't mark as experimental then.Good that he does now.

Yes, as I recall, Marsha had a really hard time growing those plants that she thought were stable.

Not sure I would call it a hard time, because I just grew them like any others, but it was disappointing to see so many be not true to the description, you expect one thing and get another.
J and L also lists trial as well as experimental, what's the difference?
And Baker Creek is well known for unstable seeds too.

[Labradors]

I grew Eva's Red Berry. Many people love it, but I found it one-dimensional super sweet with no complexity to the taste.

Linda

[root_grow]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences! Marsha, I’m sorry to hear your experience was so disappointing with that many off types. At least some people seem to get what they expected though, so maybe I’ll get just a couple and plan to grow them separate of the regular grow space to see what they produce, not relying on them yet. Maybe they can go in pots or something.

Wild Tiger is still really interesting - I’m not aware of other gwr bicolors in that size category on indeterminate non-dwarf plants. Maybe Lucky Tiger? I love sweet-tart green tomatoes, it would be nice to have a salad sized one that doesn’t have Green Zebra’s acidity.

Butter Apple goes on the list to try eventually. Yellow tomatoes always lure me in with how pretty they are. I already have maybe too many oranges and yellows lined up for next year though.

And good to know about Iva’s, too.

[Ginger2778]

I grew Iva's Red Berry 3 years in a row. To me it tastes wonderful, and not one dimensional. Isn't it amazing what growing conditions can do to taste? Oh people taste things differently. It was unreal productive for me. I'm taking a break this year, but it will be back next year I think.