Big Beef Plus F1 new introduction for 2022

[greenthumbomaha]

This week, Johnny's Seeds had a short webinar on their new 2022 introductions.
Big Beef Plus F! was not covered in the presentation, but was brought up in the Q & A. One of the speakers recounted his experience while visiting a farm on other matters. From what I caught, the "plus" is a favorable improvement over Big Beef (which I was never a huge fan of). A few disease packages were introduced (TSWV being one of note for myself), More of an orange flesh, but still red. Holds green shoulders longer.

Johnny's has the seeds for sale. A video of the above presentation should soon be on Johnny's website somewhere in the education section. I hope the Q & A portion will be made available so you can get the takeaway first hand. Can't hurt to give it a try. Thoughts ?

- Lisa

[MissS]

There are a few "plus" varieties being released this year. Big Beef Plus, Better Boy Plus, Lemon Boy Plus and Celebrity Plus. I normally do not grow hybrids at all (with the exception of a few cherries) so I wouldn't know if they improved the flavor. I do know that there is much more disease issues in the past several years than used to be normal. Hopefully they do have some flavor with a better disease tolerance so that grower in the south can still have a good harvest of a tomato that tastes like a tomato should.

[greenthumbomaha]

MissS, those were also mentioned as being new but I had forgotten. Big Beef Plus was the only variety with feedback.

We had a very hot summer and the garden looked like a tomato grave. I grew three Mountain series tomatoes which were left over from my volunteer donation garden. The taste was forgettable, size was good,production was very good but they didn't ripen until just before frost. They are now supplying me with a steady supply of ripening tomatoes, I still have three boxes worth so it all worked out after all. The donation had a historically low tomato harvest for the summer. They ended up giving crates of greenies before shutting down Oct 15.

- Lisa

[Cole_Robbie]

Big Beef (which I was never a huge fan of)

What did you not like about big beef, if I may ask? Whatever the plus improves, it probably isn't flavor.

[Tormahto]

I answered this at another site. The stated improved flavor is likely a stretch.

I, too, am not a fan of BB, and virtually all hybrid tomatoes. SunGold is the exception.

The flavor of BB is nothing special in my garden. What I like least about it is the internal structure. With very large locules having lots of gel and seed, and not a lot of meat, it's basically a large globe rather than a beefsteak. The pic at Johnny's of BB Plus is similar. I understand, in some areas of the country, that growing tomatoes is quite difficult, and getting great flavor out of tomatoes is also difficult. BB is likely the best option. In growing for profit, BB is a productive tomato having a smooth relatively round shape, with a red color that will sell to the widest audience.

[Seven Bends]

My understanding is that the main changes to Big Beef and Better Boy in these "plus" varieties are the addition of the "crimson gene" for deeper red internal color and the addition of TSWV protection.

Here's the link to the Big Beef Plus variety description at Bayer/Seminis: https://www.vegetables.bayer.com/us/en- ... arden.html

Addition of TSWV protection is great but I don't think we have that problem here yet. I don't care about the flesh being darker red; the color is nice as it is. So, I hope these changes don't come at the expense of flavor. I'll probably give Big Beef Plus and Better Boy Plus a try because I'm curious, but being a pessimist and Luddite by nature, I find myself hoping the new "plus" varieties don't replace the originals. Parks introduced the "CR Improved Whopper" many years ago and a lot of people still miss the original.

[MissS]

I am comparing the link given by Seven Bends to Bayer's description and that in my 2022 HPS catalog and Johnny's online and vendors are misleading its buyers in two facts.

Bayer and Johhny's state that Better Boy Plus is highly resistant to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus while Bayer clearly states that it has changed its status to intermediate resistance and that vendors should change this as well. Vendors are claiming far more disease resistance then the plants actually have.

Bayer states that the brix of the new tomato is 5.4 and HPS states that it is 6.2. That is a big discrepancy in the brix count. Johnny's does not mention brix at all.