Does anyone know the difference between the "Champion" tomatoes? EM Champion vs. Bush Champion II specifically.

Thanks for your help.

Following. I think it means a competition sized one, from competition seeds, but I'm not sure. I'm growing Minusinsky Champion now.

EM Champion is a relatively large red heart on a determinate plant. A fused blossom fruit (very rare?) may get to 1 1/2 lbs, or more.

Taste, for me, was "good" to "very good", a "6" to "7". (Most hearts in my garden are "excellent" to "superb", "8's to "9"s) It's one of the best determinate varieties of any shape or size that I've tried, of a very, very few that are borderline very good.

Tormato wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:02 am EM Champion is a relatively large red heart on a determinate plant. A fused blossom fruit (very rare?) may get to 1 1/2 lbs, or more.

Taste, for me, was "good" to "very good", a "6" to "7". (Most hearts in my garden are "excellent" to "superb", "8's to "9"s) It's one of the best determinate varieties of any shape or size that I've tried, of a very, very few that are borderline very good.

Ooooh, Tormato... you know how to make a girl's heart go pitty-pat. Willing to part with a few precious seeds?

SusieQ wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 12:20 pm

Tormato wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:02 am EM Champion is a relatively large red heart on a determinate plant. A fused blossom fruit (very rare?) may get to 1 1/2 lbs, or more.

Taste, for me, was "good" to "very good", a "6" to "7". (Most hearts in my garden are "excellent" to "superb", "8's to "9"s) It's one of the best determinate varieties of any shape or size that I've tried, of a very, very few that are borderline very good.

Ooooh, Tormato... you know how to make a girl's heart go pitty-pat. Willing to part with a few precious seeds?

PM me a mailing address for seeds.

Pitty-pat? I may have to include a few hearts of my own discovery; "Swoon" and "Heartthrob".

Last year I wrote the following about EM-Champion: EM-Champion – SEASON’S BEST and grown outdoors! It had superb taste and a DTM of 65. Except for one plant of Pervaya Lyubov (which I’ve been planning to try), all my outdoor plants will be EM-Champion next year, and I’ll try it in my greenhouse too.

It produced lots of fruit from 65 days until frost.

Tatiana writes, "“Sprawling determinate plants with wispy regular leaf foliage grow up to 3' tall and are excellent for growing in pots. High yield of red fruits, from perfectly shaped hearts to slightly ribbed/ruffled. 6-12 oz. Delicious balanced flavor, meaty flesh.

Steve

BlackBear from TV said EM champion was the winner for taste & productivity in his garden, too- container-grown in British Columbia.

[mention]SusieQ[/mention]

Yes. EM-Champion is an early, determinate, acidic, oxheart-shaped, productive, OP, red, large tomato. Last I checked, it was only available in Canada (commercially, anyway). It's been gaining popularity over the last six months or so, but I didn't hear a lot about it without searching out the information before then.

Champion F1 is a hybrid that I believe has been replaced by Champion II F1. It's not an oxheart. It's kind of early. It's supposed to have large, round, red fruits. It's indeterminate. According to Reimer Seeds it resists these diseases: "V, FF, N, A, TMV, TYLCV".

Bush Champion II F1 is like a bush version of Champion II F1. Some people prefer it, however. It's determinate and VFFASt (according to Reimer Seeds).

I grew Champion II F1 and Bush Champion II F1, in 2018; they were both stunted after a while, but I got one to three fruits on the bush one). I've never grown EM-Champion, but it has been of interest to me (along with varieties like Li Cun, Dina, Kalinka, Klein Early, Ondraszek, Deviz, and Gruntowy) since probably early 2016 or before.

sjamesNorway wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 2:04 am Last year I wrote the following about EM-Champion: EM-Champion – SEASON’S BEST and grown outdoors! It had superb taste and a DTM of 65. Except for one plant of Pervaya Lyubov (which I’ve been planning to try), all my outdoor plants will be EM-Champion next year, and I’ll try it in my greenhouse too.

It produced lots of fruit from 65 days until frost.

Tatiana writes, "“Sprawling determinate plants with wispy regular leaf foliage grow up to 3' tall and are excellent for growing in pots. High yield of red fruits, from perfectly shaped hearts to slightly ribbed/ruffled. 6-12 oz. Delicious balanced flavor, meaty flesh.

Steve

Steve,

How many outdoor plants are you going to have?

sjamesNorway wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 2:04 am Last year I wrote the following about EM-Champion: EM-Champion – SEASON’S BEST and grown outdoors! It had superb taste and a DTM of 65. Except for one plant of Pervaya Lyubov (which I’ve been planning to try), all my outdoor plants will be EM-Champion next year, and I’ll try it in my greenhouse too.

It produced lots of fruit from 65 days until frost.

Steve

Steve, I'm wondering how it performed for you in the greenhouse then? (I grow both indoors and out.) Was there any variance in taste or productivity with the change in conditions?

Hi Susie. I'm sorry for the late reply. I didn't see your post because there is a variety called only "Champion", which I'm not interested in. I haven't grown EM-Champion in my greenhouse yet.

Steve

Tormato, I will have 4-5 outdoor EM-Champion plants (and 1 Pervaya Lyubov). I don't grow many plants outdoors because of the short season here.

Steve

Sounds good, but does anyone have a picture of a mature plant? The "sprawling" part concerns me as regards containers. Is the foliage cover pretty good?

Also, aren't there quite a few Determinate heart varieties? (Or are determinate hearts fairly unique?)

Are EM-Champion seeds available in the US or Canada?

Greatgardens wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:14 am Sounds good, but does anyone have a picture of a mature plant? The "sprawling" part concerns me as regards containers. Is the foliage cover pretty good?

Also, aren't there quite a few Determinate heart varieties? (Or are determinate hearts fairly unique?)

When I grew EM-Champion in a container sprawling was not a problem. I used a small cage and extra canes . It did need some cover from the sun to keep the fruit from scalding but that was a hot year, here. I remember that the Ondrszek det. next to it was much more sprawling and need more support.


I got it from Tatiana.
It had good balanced flavour.



Fairly early I see.

sjamesNorway wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:29 am Tormato, I will have 4-5 outdoor EM-Champion plants (and 1 Pervaya Lyubov). I don't grow many plants outdoors because of the short season here.

Steve

Perhaps in your conditions EM Champion will be the better tomato.

Here, if I grew 4-5 EMC and 1 PY, by season's end I'd be kicking myself as to why I didn't plant 2. In my garden, PY is a week or more earlier, AND better tasting.

Barb_FL wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:04 am Are EM-Champion seeds available in the US or Canada?

The enabler is in the US.

PM me a mailing address.
WARNING: Captain Hook still has the "drops".

Greatgardens wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:14 am Sounds good, but does anyone have a picture of a mature plant? The "sprawling" part concerns me as regards containers. Is the foliage cover pretty good?

Also, aren't there quite a few Determinate heart varieties? (Or are determinate hearts fairly unique?)

I can't think of another determinate heart, offhand, but I know plenty of indeterminate ones.

Tormato wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:48 pm

sjamesNorway wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:29 am Tormato, I will have 4-5 outdoor EM-Champion plants (and 1 Pervaya Lyubov). I don't grow many plants outdoors because of the short season here.

Steve

Perhaps in your conditions EM Champion will be the better tomato.

Here, if I grew 4-5 EMC and 1 PY, by season's end I'd be kicking myself as to why I didn't plant 2. In my garden, PY is a week or more earlier, AND better tasting.

I haven't grown Pervaya Lyubov successfully yet. I tried the last 2 years, with seeds from 2 different sources, but none germinated. If the new seeds are viable, I'll go with 3 EMC and 2 PY this year because of your recommendation.

Steve

Ginger2778 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 6:35 am Following. I think it means a competition sized one, from competition seeds, but I'm not sure. I'm growing Minusinsky Champion now.

Marsha, since you've offered Minusinsky Champion to members, and Tormato was equally gracious to me with EM Champion seeds, I will grow them out this season as a side-by-side comparison and report back later this year.

Based on the descriptions I've read - including our own Tormato's - I'm quite excited to grow this variety (and a few others ) .