Green Giant

[Materlvr]

Has anyone grown this variety? What do they taste like? Do they taste like a tomato ?

Thanks so much

[ddsack]

They don't taste like a red when ripe tomato, but they have a juicy sweetness that is very nice, perhaps having some notes of kiwi or green melon to some people. Ripeness is determined by feel, when the fruit has some "give" when squeezed gently. Many GWR (green when ripe) varieties develop a bit of a yellowish cast and some may have a spot of red inside near the bottom when they are ripe. I believe Green Giant is one that tends to remain greener looking near the end of maturity.

[Frosti]

Ive grown Green Giant two times now. 2 Years ago it was by far the best tasting big tomato in a pretty bad season (too cold and too wet).
Last year it was still pretty good, but it didn't flash me the way it did 2 years ago.
I'm growing it again this season.

Green Giant is a potato leaf plant and produces medium to large oblate fruits. The fruits turn ever so slightly yellow when ripe. You're best advised to touch the fruit regularly and determine ripeness this way, since GG tastes best when it is just ripe enough to be eaten.
I like Green Giant and I recommend it.
2 Years ago the fruits were very sweet.

IMG_6969.jpeg

IMG_6970.jpeg

[Mark_Thompson]

All time favorite. Taste way better than a tomato

[MissS]

All time favorite. Taste way better than a tomato

Taste way better that a tomato????

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

2nd season growing Gigante Verde, and one of the 1st ones to pop up after being planted last Wednesday.

IMG_3725 (1).jpeg

The Gotch

[Materlvr]

Thanks everyone

[pepperhead212]

I only grew them once, last year, and did not get a single edible fruit from 2 plants! Weird thing is, it had no problems with the leaves, despite being PL, which are frequently prone to disease, and the fruits were not getting BER, but were getting something that would soften them, in spots, turning yellow, but they weren't ripening, and not getting nearly as large as expected. And there was nothing I found growing in any of them, in those . And no other tomatoes have ever had this problem.

[Mark_Thompson]

All time favorite. Taste way better than a tomato

Taste way better that a tomato????

Oh yeah, for sure. I’ve got a few friends who don’t particularly care for tomatoes that are still asking me about that one green one I brought by five years ago. Green Giant doesn’t make fans it makes disciples

[Mark_Thompson]

I’m just a nobody though, don’t take my word for it. Ask Craig LeHoullier, he’ll tell you

IMG_4304.jpeg

[MissS]

@Mark_Thompson Did you grow Cherokee Green (the real one) yet and see which you like better?

[Mark_Thompson]

@MissS Grew it once in a tough year. I’ll have to give it another shot though.

[claire838]

I only grew them once, last year, and did not get a single edible fruit from 2 plants! Weird thing is, it had no problems with the leaves, despite being PL, which are frequently prone to disease, and the fruits were not getting BER, but were getting something that would soften them, in spots, turning yellow, but they weren't ripening, and not getting nearly as large as expected. And there was nothing I found growing in any of them, in those . And no other tomatoes have ever had this problem.

Did you ever figure out the name of the variety or think about trying it again in different soil or location?

[pepperhead212]

It was named Green Giant, and I never considered growing it again after that!

[Shule]

Ho ho ho.

I grew Green Giant in 2015 (started indoors under lights with mylar around the growing area; transplanted into our front yard). It was the juiciest tomato I've grown, as far as I recall. Ripened in the sun, the fruits were incredibly rich and really good (one of my favorite tomatoes for taste). Shade-ripened ones were a lot different. It was best fresh; I tried cooking it, but it lost its flavor. The fruits were large. The plants were PL (I grew three, from Baker Creek). They produced. They got a scary contagious fruit rot disease late in the season that I'd never seen before and thankfully haven't seen since. The rotting started with a long vertical slit instead of the usual dark or flattened circles.

I grew it again in 2017, but my seeds were cross-pollinated by Golden King of Siberia.

[Shule]

All time favorite. Taste way better than a tomato

Taste way better that a tomato????

Some people say it tastes like a melon. That's not my personal opinion.

[Tormato]

It's my favorite green tomato, because, in my garden, it tastes like a pink.

[Shule]

It's my favorite green tomato, because, in my garden, it tastes like a pink.

Very interesting. They taste a lot different than each other in my garden (however, I've never had another green-when-ripe that tasted like Green Giant). Now I need to figure out if in your garden pink tomatoes taste like Green Giant does in my garden or if in your garden pink tomatoes taste like pink tomatoes do in my garden. Maybe one day we can teleport tomatoes.

I always wonder what the same varieties taste like in other people's gardens.

[Tormato]

It's my favorite green tomato, because, in my garden, it tastes like a pink.

Very interesting. They taste a lot different than each other in my garden (however, I've never had another green-when-ripe that tasted like Green Giant). Now I need to figure out if in your garden pink tomatoes taste like Green Giant does in my garden or if in your garden pink tomatoes taste like pink tomatoes do in my garden. Maybe one day we can teleport tomatoes.

I always wonder what the same varieties taste like in other people's gardens.

I hear that much of Idaho has alkaline soil. My guess at my soil pH would be in the 5-6 range. Specific varieties might taste vastly different in our gardens.