Nova F1 and Glitter F1 orange grape tomatoes?

[habitat-gardener]

Has anyone grown either or both Nova F1 and Glitter F1 grape tomatoes?
Johnny's offers Nova F1 and I've heard from one local person that it was their best in-garden-snacking variety last year, in a garden that had all nematode-resistant varieties.
I've just read about Glitter F1 -- it's from the breeder of Juliet F1, Known-You. I've seen seeds offered at Osborne and TGS. It's supposed to be very sweet. I wonder how it compares to Juliet in bulletproofness.
And, just for fun, are there any OPs that are comparable? The only one that comes to mind is Blush, which is yellow rather than orange.

[seanm]

I'm also looking for a good orange grape, because my kiddo tends to devour any I buy from the store. (Perhaps I don't need to be so picky...)
I'd love to hear more about Nova or Glitter, but also, anybody know the deal with 'Santaorange' from Johnny's? They want $23.50 for a packet, must be the most expensive tomato they sell! Huh?
Also would love to find seed for "Sungrazer", the orange grape from the "Galaxy Suite" sold by High Mowing seeds (but they've been out since last year). I've planted the yellow/white counterpart "Moonbeam". Its little, but has a nice tropical flavor, and produced like crazy right till frost. I still have some handfuls ripening on my counter (Nov 21st in Boston!)

[Seven Bends]

It looks like the "Galaxy Suite" varieties are open pollinated, so if you can find seeds from someone you'll be able to save your own. I didn't see hybrid vs. OP stated in any of the descriptions, but this article from Cornell (the breeder) has a photo of the Starlight variety, including a card that says it's open pollinated: https://cals.cornell.edu/news/skys-limi ... -varieties Seems likely that if one of them is OP, they all are.

You could try contacting Phillip Griffiths (the breeder) at Cornell; maybe he could point you to a seed source or provide seeds: https://cals.cornell.edu/phillip-david-griffiths

[seanm]

Reporting back that I tried Glitter this year, and it was quite good! Good, long-lasting production of pretty tasty bright-orange slightly-stubby grapes. Vines lasted all season without major disease, though it was a remarkably easy year for the disease-pressure here. I have to admit that my kid ate most of them, but the ones I tried tasted pleasant enough. Had a good shelf-life on the counter like a typical grape. A little firm for my taste, but not *too* firm/crunchy. Will grow again due to kid-approval and trouble-free vine

[Labradors]

@seanm , have you ever grown Sungold F1? The flavour cannot be beaten and it's early too!

[habitat-gardener]

I grew Sun Dipper F1, a wasp-waisted long thin sort-of grape, a couple years ago. The people I shared it with thought it was sweet and wonderful. But in my dry-summer climate, it seemed like at least half the fruits split before they ripened. I ended up eating a lot of those in the garden, or taking them home to put in the freezer, if they hadn't gotten moldy yet. The plants were not overwatered, either -- just the usual 2-3 gallons hand-watered about every 10 days. I still have some seeds and will probably try it again because it's nematode-reistant. Maybe it will do better with more consistent watering (drip irrigation).

[seanm]

Yes, I've grown SunGold off and on over the years, but I must be the only one not totally enamored. I keep looking for something a little better behaved, as Sungold splits in the rain, and in my garden at least it sometimes has a kind of funky after-taste that I dislike. Sort of like a ground-cherry; I've heard Coyote and a few others also have that. The good news is that this past year I also tried SunOrange, and its my new keeper. It didn't split, it gave slightly larger fruit than Sungold, and I didn't detect any off-notes in the flavor. Produced well till the end of the summer, too. I've also tried Sunsugar, and I like SunOrange a lot better.

[habitat-gardener]

Yes, I've grown SunGold off and on over the years, but I must be the only one not totally enamored. I keep looking for something a little better behaved, as Sungold splits in the rain, and in my garden at least it sometimes has a kind of funky after-taste that I dislike. Sort of like a ground-cherry; I've heard Coyote and a few others also have that. The good news is that this past year I also tried SunOrange, and its my new keeper. It didn't split, it gave slightly larger fruit than Sungold, and I didn't detect any off-notes in the flavor. Produced well till the end of the summer, too. I've also tried Sunsugar, and I like SunOrange a lot better.

I agree, I will occasionally try a Sungold from a neighbor's plant, but when I've grown it I quickly grew tired of the aftertaste. I much prefer Sun Sugar. One year I grew Galina's and Sun Sugar side by side, and they were indistinguishable. I should grow Galina's again to see how it does in my climate. Last year, my Sun Sugar plant was looking airy, and not as productive as in my previous climate, until I installed drip irrigation in late August. It then filled in and became a dense monster plant! (Other hybrids also responded to additional and more-regular irrigation in this way.)

The one drawback of Sun Sugar, to my taste, was that it was sweet with full flavor only if picked at full fluorescent orange. The ones that looked ripe when I picked them, but were not that intensely colored, were not nearly as sweet, and we ended up roasting those along with the other less flavorful varieties. Most other cherry tomatoes that I've grown are worth eating even if they are not picked at exactly the peak moment. For instance, Tommy Toe is good at any stage of ripeness. Rosella and Black Cherry and Chocolate Sprinkles were also good as long as they had developed some color.

[Greatgardens]

O.P. -- do you need Nematode resistance? One of the best gold/orange grape varieties I've grown is the Aldi Orange Grape (saved seed) from Knapp's Fresh Vegies. I doubt it has any specific disease resistance, but I had no trouble except Septoria, which affects all my tomatoes every year. I don't know if this is still sold, but it is inexpensive if available. The best grape I've grown is Ruby Crush. Also good is Napa Grape from Burpee. And finally, Tami G from Bonnie Plants. Not so good as the others, but super-easy to just buy a Bonnie plant locally -- if that is of value to you. They are somewhat expensive, but I manage to catch them on sale at the "Big Box" stores, and pick up a few.

[habitat-gardener]

O.P. -- do you need Nematode resistance? One of the best gold/orange grape varieties I've grown is the Aldi Orange Grape (saved seed) from Knapp's Fresh Vegies. I doubt it has any specific disease resistance, but I had no trouble except Septoria, which affects all my tomatoes every year. I don't know if this is still sold, but it is inexpensive if available. The best grape I've grown is Ruby Crush. Also good is Napa Grape from Burpee. And finally, Tami G from Bonnie Plants. Not so good as the others, but super-easy to just buy a Bonnie plant locally -- if that is of value to you. They are somewhat expensive, but I manage to catch them on sale at the "Big Box" stores, and pick up a few.

I'm always on the lookout for good nematode-resistant varieties, but I may have another garden plot to use this year that does not seem to have nematode problems, and I have been mapping the parts of my plot that did not show nematode damage.

I will be trying Ruby Crush F1 this year, since I picked up a pack at Harris's sale last April.