JosephineRose wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 12:39 pm I grew Pink Berkeley Tie Dye two years ago and loved it. So last year I did a comparison grow in Earthboxes against GGWT - which is one of my favorites.

Side by side (literally and figuratively), they grew at about the same rate, produced at a similar volume, though PBTD produced some larger fruits. They had similar issues with occasional BER - that was most likely on me misjudging the need for water in a strangely cool and unusually late rainy weather season.

I noted that GGWT seemed to be more of a "red" striped when compared to PBTD. Both were sweet and tasty, but for my palate, GGWT was the better tasting. There is nothing wrong with PBTD - I raved about it the previous season as a solid producer and great tasting tomato. I just prefer GGWT all around.

This year I am trialing Golden Hour and Lucid Gem, and regrowing Pineapple Pig. I will report back my results.

I grew Pineapple Pig as a replacement plant for a San Marzano that died early in 2020. It was a medium producer but I loved the taste and texture.

Golden Hour is one strange variety. Brad calls it a micro-mini, growing 10-20 inches high. It is an indeterminate plant! I won't go into details about the fruit, which are also a bit strange.

Golden Hour and Mini Marzano:

Both are crosses of Brad's Atomic Grape with a micro, as I understand it, and Brad calls them Micro as well. I would say they push the boundary between micro and dwarf, they are both much larger than e.g. Orange Hat or Micro Tina. Both are prolific, GH maybe larger and more prolific. GH has kept fruit and continued to ripen some over our almost-winter; Mini Marzano took a break over the season. Both have a few dozen fruits on the plants and are ripening now.

Golden Hour isn't as popular in our house as some of the others I've grown recently, but Mini Marzano is my MIL's favorite of the bunch. She likes her tomatoes to be red. GH likes to be left on the vine until fully ripe, which means not just golden/orange all over but with faint red stripes as well. Soft to the touch. Lotta Antho in the GH, too, some of the slower-ripening fruits over the winter had purple flesh in the outer layers not just the skin. Some times I couldn't tell the difference between a GH fruit and a Brad's Atomic Grape fruit once they were on the counter.

Those two both seem pretty robust, tolerate pretty much my entire seasonal variation, and produce fairly well in a small plant.

PS Sounds like Tormato and I have similar observations about Golden Hour.

I didn't know Costoluto Genovese and Napa Giant were Wild Boar releases. But now Tormato is making curious about Golden Hour...

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:58 am I didn't know Costoluto Genovese and Napa Giant were Wild Boar releases. But now Tormato is making curious about Golden Hour...

CG and NG were not WB releases.

JosephineRose wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 12:39 pm I grew Pink Berkeley Tie Dye two years ago and loved it. So last year I did a comparison grow in Earthboxes against GGWT - which is one of my favorites.

Side by side (literally and figuratively), they grew at about the same rate, produced at a similar volume, though PBTD produced some larger fruits. They had similar issues with occasional BER - that was most likely on me misjudging the need for water in a strangely cool and unusually late rainy weather season.

I noted that GGWT seemed to be more of a "red" striped when compared to PBTD. Both were sweet and tasty, but for my palate, GGWT was the better tasting. There is nothing wrong with PBTD - I raved about it the previous season as a solid producer and great tasting tomato. I just prefer GGWT all around.

This year I am trialing Golden Hour and Lucid Gem, and regrowing Pineapple Pig. I will report back my results.

I grew Pineapple Pig as a replacement plant for a San Marzano that died early in 2020. It was a medium producer but I loved the taste and texture.

Lucid Gem is my favorite. It’s so beautiful and we loved how it tasted. I think you will enjoy it

@Shule thanks for that rundown.
I don't like soft or short shelf life, so I think I will pass on that tie dye.

Tormato wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:36 am

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:58 am I didn't know Costoluto Genovese and Napa Giant were Wild Boar releases. But now Tormato is making curious about Golden Hour...

CG and NG were not WB releases.

Who released Napa Giant?

According to Tatiana (and stuff I've read), Napa Giant was "Developed by Brad Gates of Napa Valley, California. Released by Wild Boar Farms in 2015."

It doesn't look like your stereotypical Wild Boar Farms tomato, though. It's just pink.

Shule wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 5:44 pm

Tormato wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:36 am

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:58 am I didn't know Costoluto Genovese and Napa Giant were Wild Boar releases. But now Tormato is making curious about Golden Hour...

CG and NG were not WB releases.

Who released Napa Giant?

According to Tatiana (and stuff I've read), Napa Giant was "Developed by Brad Gates of Napa Valley, California. Released by Wild Boar Farms in 2015."

I read the same; that it is from Brad Gates. I can't wait to grow it but I'm out of room for the summer. Maybe this fall.

JRinPA wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:22 pm @Shule thanks for that rundown.
I don't like soft or short shelf life, so I think I will pass on that tie dye.

Somebody needs to cross Summer of Love with Roma VF and see what it does to the texture. Roma VF is the firmest tomato I've ever grown that wasn't a crunchy type. Alternatively, crossing Purple/Pink Bumble Bee with it to actually make it crunchy could be interesting.

Do RIN tomatoes ever split or crack? RIN tomatoes are the ones that never soften when they ripen. I believe Purple Bumble Bee is one.

Shule wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 5:44 pm

Tormato wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:36 am

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:58 am I didn't know Costoluto Genovese and Napa Giant were Wild Boar releases. But now Tormato is making curious about Golden Hour...

CG and NG were not WB releases.

Who released Napa Giant?

According to Tatiana (and stuff I've read), Napa Giant was "Developed by Brad Gates of Napa Valley, California. Released by Wild Boar Farms in 2015."

It doesn't look like your stereotypical Wild Boar Farms tomato, though. It's just pink.

You are correct. Several years ago I read that it was a selection made from Mortgage Lifter, with no mention of Brad Gates, or anyone else developing it. I just assumed it came from an unknown person's garden. I agree, it is not a stereotypical WBF tomato.