Mat-Su Express -- how are your results?

[Greatgardens]

Sort of a continuation of a thread at TV...

I got some seeds from Marsha last year (thanks, again!), tried it, and really liked it! It had the following characteristics for me in 5b:
1. A tidy plant -- at most 5-6 ft. tall when grown in an apx. 10 galllon, square planter using a Burpee "Pro" cage around it. It required minimal pruning to keep it under control. (And love those potato leaves!)
2. Early (although I set the plant out in late June, so it had ideal weather from the start.)
3. Productive -- more on that in a minute.
4. Good flavor -- juicy, sweet/tart, and could hold it's own with anything that I grow.

5. The only downside was that it produced a fair amount of catfacing early, and after an initial flush of larger fruit, produced a lot of small, odd-shaped fruit. (But, hey, they all still tasted great cut up!)

Late last summer, I traded some MSE seeds with another gardening friend who also had grown it. From pictures, he had a little better luck with the fruit, so I want to grow it in comparison to my "version." I already started some seeds from both as a test to see if I could see any difference in the seedlings. Zip visible differences up to about 6 weeks. BTW, my single remaining test plant is already flowering at under 1 ft. I'm going to try to keep one plant alive through the winter. (Sounds shaky at best!)

So with this preface, it would seem that a fair number of folks have tried MSE. How did it do for you? What did you like, and what did you think could be better? Are you planning to continue growing it? Do you have a version that produces better fruit size/shape?

-GG

[Nan6b]

Sadly, it did not do well when I grew it in my mother's garden. The plant struggled, and was not early. The fruit was about 4-5 oz and didn't have much taste. That was in 2018. I think the growing conditions were a big factor.
-That was the year of record rainfall. No supplemental water was applied, after the plant was established. (So the amount of water was uneven.)
-The soil was almost pure clay. Garden cloth was used.
-Septoria was present.
So there were reasons for its performance.

[Labradors]

I liked the taste, but was really annoyed that it didn't have any pedicel abcission (the knobby bit above the fruit that makes it easy to pick). These were really difficult to pick and I always forgot to take my clippers out to the veggie garden with me.

[Tormahto]

I could care less about shape. Early blooming in likely cooler weather, likely causes the catfacing. Would you want to start and transplant later? I wouldn't. For a fairly early red, it has exceptional taste in my garden. Later tomato varieties will taste better, but a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush.

An earlier and better tasting tomato? In my garden and its conditions, Pervaya Lyubov (smoother shape, and an even tidier plant) is about all I can come up with.

[Greatgardens]

Had not heard of Pervaya Lyubov. Double Helix Farms seeds? Sounds interesting. I've had generally good luck with the Eastern European varieties. Nice looking tomato from pics. Another variety that I'm going to try for the first time this year is Pale Perfect Purple. Likely smaller fruit, but worth a try here.
-GG

[peebee]

This will be grown yearly here; produced the earliest & it's still alive in my S. CA garden. I have to pull it out every spring cuz it refuses to die out, when I have to make room for new plants. Yes the fruits get smaller & the yield is less as the plant ages but as long as I can get an occasional tomato during the winter I'm not complaining.
Thanks to AKMark, is he on board here yet?

[Mark_Thompson]

Anyone have any extra Mat-Su Express seeds laying around I could buy off you?

[Rajun Gardener]

Anyone have any extra Mat-Su Express seeds laying around I could buy off you?

I sent you a Pm, I have seeds and no payment is necessary. I don't think there's a person here that would sell seeds unless it's a vendor from their website. If you're not familiar with the tomato addiction yet, you're gonna have a bigger garden than you planned.

FYI, next time you're looking for seeds, post in the Seeds Wanted area and I'm sure you'll get responses. Be careful, some members are enablers and before you know it they'll plan a garden for you.

[PlainJane]

I was not impressed. The fruit was small, not plentiful and not flavorful. The plant struggled more than just about anything else in the garden. I grew about 38 varieties, 2 plants in each 30gal grow bag, in 5-1-1 mix. Carbon, right next door, produced at least 20 fruit with typically great flavor.
The way it goes sometimes!

[Mark_Thompson]

I sent you a Pm, I have seeds and no payment is necessary. I don't think there's a person here that would sell seeds unless it's a vendor from their website. If you're not familiar with the tomato addiction yet, you're gonna have a bigger garden than you planned.

FYI, next time you're looking for seeds, post in the Seeds Wanted area and I'm sure you'll get responses. Be careful, some members are enablers and before you know it they'll plan a garden for you.

I’ll use that section next time for sure....Ugh, enablers! I already have enough self control issues as it is.

[HL2601]

Mat-Su really struggled in my garden,but my conditions are tough. With Denver's intense heat, wind and high elevation, the plant just never thrived. I think I only had 3 fruit. Black Krim-next to it-had 22 tomatoes...