Artisan Bumblebees

[Setec Astronomy]

The past couple of years I've grown all 3 (Sunrise, Purple, Pink) and I never seem to get a good enough harvest of the Purple and Pink to get a good sense of whether I want to grow them again. Sunrise always seems to be good, I remember getting some very good Purples year before last, don't really remember about the Pink.

What are y'all's feelings on these? I am trying to decide whether to give the Purple and Pink a go again or make room for something else.

[Cole_Robbie]

I have grown a lot of fred hempels varieties. I admire his work as a breeder. You might try maglia rosa if you are looking for a good yield.

Looking elsewhere, I like the ambrosia cherries if I am not picking for market, since they are smaller and don't fill a box quickly, but they are very sweet.

[Labradors]

I prefer Maglia Rosa and Blush. Actually, they are my favourites which I grow every year. I may give Sunrise BB another try this season.

Linda

[Setec Astronomy]

I have grown a lot of fred hempels varieties. I admire his work as a breeder. You might try maglia rosa if you are looking for a good yield.

Looking elsewhere, I like the ambrosia cherries if I am not picking for market, since they are smaller and don't fill a box quickly, but they are very sweet.

The yield problems I had weren't the fault of the variety, they were my problems. But because I didn't get a good yield, I just wanted some other opinions on the Purple and Pink, vs. the Sunshine, since I had such a small sample.

On a side note, Fred is a great guy, always throws in an extra variety or two when you order seeds from him.

[Setec Astronomy]

I prefer Maglia Rosa and Blush. Actually, they are my favourites which I grow every year. I may give Sunrise BB another try this season.

I grow those also, I think last year I grew half of the Artisan catalog. I haven't quite mastered how to tame the semi-determinates like Maglia Rosa, Marzano Fire, Taste Patio, and Spike. Last year I had seedling issues so I had multiple plants (of the same variety) in each container and the semi-determinates got a little wild. Hopefully this year I will do better with my seedlings, but I've decided to skip Spike, even though I enjoy having such a unique-looking tomato plant.

[Labradors]

I agree about Spike. It was such an amazing-looking plant, but the tomatoes didn't keep for long at all. I really like Taste and Taste Patio. I think they taste slightly better than Maglia Rosa! I grow the little guys in pots from the Dollar Store and I found some collapsible cages there, that work well in those pots, although they don't hold out for longer than two seasons .

Linda

[Setec Astronomy]

I agree about Spike. It was such an amazing-looking plant, but the tomatoes didn't keep for long at all. I really like Taste and Taste Patio. I think they taste slightly better than Maglia Rosa!

Ha, I thought you couldn't get Taste anymore, but I see they have seeds at Renaissance Farms. I have only grown Taste Patio because that's all that was available at the Artisan store when I started buying there. Is it worth me trying Taste, or just stick with the Taste Patio?

[Seven Bends]

I grew Sunrise Bumblebee and Pink Bumblebee this year and Purple Bumblebee last year. They were pretty good, but I didn't like any of them enough to want to grow them again.

All three struggled with heat and disease (early blight and septoria) in my garden but survived through fall. Sunrise was able to set fruit all summer, with decent but not great productivity. Pink produced almost nothing until fall brought cooler weather, at which point the plant erupted in tomatoes and it was the most productive plant I had in late September and early October. I don't remember Purple's productivity very well, but I think it was okay to good.

On my plants, Pink's tomatoes were noticeably larger than Sunrise's, and a little more oval/egg-shaped. They (Pink's) tended to be solid and heavy. I remember Purple being about the same size as Sunrise, but I didn't grow them the same year so I'm not sure. I had no trouble with splitting with any of the three, and they all kept a long time after picking.

I found the flavor to be tart but not very interesting when less ripe, and bland and occasionally odd when they'd sat around for awhile on my counter. I found the texture to be a bit like a paste tomato; overall they were firm and the skins were noticeable. I didn't particularly enjoy eating them fresh, but I found that they made a delicious sauce when roasted with olive oil, oregano and garlic.

I know many people really love them. Maybe the Bumblebees aren't well-suited to my climate or simply aren't the kind of tomatoes I personally prefer.

[KarenO]

Some great tomatoes and many have grown the bumblebee series which has been around for quite a while
Lots of new work since though! Have a look at the seeds offered now on the Artisan website. There’s a Kickstarter going at the moment for some really good deals on seeds for new varieties .
KarenO

[Setec Astronomy]

Some great tomatoes and many have grown the bumblebee series which has been around for quite a while
Lots of new work since though! Have a look at the seeds offered now on the Artisan website. There’s a Kickstarter going at the moment for some really good deals on seeds for new varieties .

The famous KarenO! As I noted above, I think I grew half the Artisan catalog last year, including Benevento, Pink Cherrywine and some of the (at the time) unreleased Hybrid Cherries, so I've been keeping up. I just received my Lucky Bee and...wait for it...Midnight Sun seeds!

[Labradors]

Setec, you might like to try Taste, or even Yellow Taste. I'm afraid I didn't pay a lot of attention to Taste Patio vs Maglia Rosa except to note that TP is a little bigger and I thought the flavour was a little better. I will be trying Yellow Taste this season. I'd love to share, but didn't bring all my seeds here with me .

Linda

[Setec Astronomy]

Oh, I was looking at the Artisan site and the Taste is an indeterminate, vs. Taste Patio which is semi-determinate (well Fred calls it a determinate). I might have to give Taste a whirl some time, not sure if it will be this year.

[Labradors]

Taste did fine for me in a round tomato cage i.e. it didn't get all that tall. I just checked on the Renaissance site and he says that Yellow Taste grows to about 4' tall.

Linda

[Setec Astronomy]

My Taste Patios have been about 4' tall, I'd expect the regular taste, if it's an indeterminate, to get a lot taller than that.

[LindyAdele]

I grew all three bumblebees two years in a row, but have since only grown Maglia Rosa. ( Along with snow white cherry, Ildi, and sungold for my cherries).
I loved how they looked, they were much less productive than my other cherries and had a thicker skin. The thick skin is great if you are keeping them, travelling or selling at market. For me personally, we eat the tomatoes constantly in the summer and dehydrate or make salsa with the rest. For drying and fresh eating, I like the thin skins. I know they are slightly more prone to cracking.

In summary : bees were pretty, thick skinned with okay flavour. Well behaved but slightly disease prone plants. Of the Hemple varieties, Maglia Rosa is exceptional for me. This obviously depends on your preferences and growing conditions.