Campari Tomato Seeds

[JimWWhite]

Does anyone know where I can find packets of Campari tomato seeds? I've checked all the local stores and all the catalogs but can't seem to find anything on them. I've thought maybe buying a package of the tomatoes and saving some of the seeds and trying to start them but I've seen some posts where the poster claims they won't germinate or they won't be true to the parent. All I know is they are the best tomatoes for putting in a dehydrator. And they're great just by themselves or in a salad. Anyone know anything about this tomato?

Thanks!
Jim

 

[lesa]

Sorry, Jim don't know anything about those- but I am glad to see you back. I have been thinking about your bees... how are they doing?

 

[thistlebloom]

I found this:


"Village Farms Sinfully Sweet Campari tomato packs more in flavor and versatility than the average variety. Low in acidity with an exceptionally sweet taste, Campari is known for its firm juicy flavor. The Campari variety is owned and bred by Enza Zaden seed company in Holland and distributed in North America through Westgro. Exceptional sales results of Sinfully Sweet Campari have further strengthened and secured Village Farms long term relationship with Westgro and Enza Zaden."

Apparently they don't sell the seeds.

 

[Greenthumb18]

Hi Jim!,

The only place I see them available online is on ebay:


http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=campari+tomato+seeds

The last bid on their is quite pricey! $9.00 for a packet of seeds That's overpriced!

Hope this helps

 

[digitS']

I really know nothing about this except, what I've read.

A discussion amongst gardeners who have saved seed from store-bought fruit was that they didn't think they are hybrids. These folks were quite happy with the plants and fruit from them . . .

Realize that plant genetics can be patented even if they are non-hybrid, non-GMO. The owners of the patent can decide how and if their genetic material is sold or propagated.

Steve

 

[JimWWhite]

Sorry, Jim don't know anything about those- but I am glad to see you back. I have been thinking about your bees... how are they doing?

The bees are doing great but we did lose a hive this year. Sometimes a hive no matter how healthy it is will just die out. What I'm told happened was that it got cold for several days and nights and the workers huddled around the queen and did their thing to try to keep the hive temp to a certain degree and didn't go up a level to get honey. They'd completely devoured all the honey stored in the hive body but there were six out of nine frames immediately above them in a medium super that were full of honey they didn't attempt to get to so they basically starved to death. As I said, it happens. We still have four and we're about to go in and harvest honey once the temps look like their going to stay in the forties or higher during the night. We should get quite a bit. We've been seeing a lot of activity on sunny days with the workers coming in with their pollen sacs full. The poplar tulips and maples are in bloom now and they are going after that like crazy. But I'm coming out of hibernation and working on getting the garden ready. I've got a cart of romaine lettuce, several varieties of cabbage, and onions hardening off now and we'll be putting them in the planter boxes this weekend. I'll probably have to cover them some nights but that won't be too difficult.

I did find that you can propagate the Campari tomatoes. The seeds are not sterile as some on the internet would have you to believe. I bought a package of them at CostCo a couple of weeks ago and 'fermented' the seeds and planted 24 starter pots. All of them have sprouted up and look healthy. I hope to be able to move them out to the garden in late March. There are several good articles on various blog sites where people have propagated them from saved seeds and have gotten results and claim the fruit is exactly like the parents. It will be interesting to see how mine do. Looking forward to spring!!! Good to be back too!!!

 

[Prizewinner]

I bought campari tomatoes at the store this year and took the seeds out of them. I started them in a cold frame in March and planted the plants in April. Since late June I've been picking lots of campari tomatoes. They're the same size, they are the same color, and they taste the same. I saw that campari tomatoes are hybrids but apparently they're not! I hope this info helps you out.

 

[JimWWhite]

I bought campari tomatoes at the store this year and took the seeds out of them. I started them in a cold frame in March and planted the plants in April. Since late June I've been picking lots of campari tomatoes. They're the same size, they are the same color, and they taste the same. I saw that campari tomatoes are hybrids but apparently they're not! I hope this info helps you out.

I've been meaning to pick this thread back up and report on my findings. I did exactly the same thing and planted 12 campari tomato plants back in late April and the vines are so loaded now. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow and post them. As far as I can tell they are really the same as what you buy at CostCo or Sam's. You need to let them stay on the vine a little longer even though they look like they're ripe. I've found its best to let them go from a bright orange/red to a darker red and you'll taste the difference. The other thing I've noticed is the vines don't have the heavy foliage like other varieties have. Almost skimpy. Probably the selective processing the Europeans did to develop the variety. But they are very sweet and very tart when you bite into one. They've got less juice than most tomatoes, more like a Roma. But a lot more flavor. And another thing I've noticed is that we have had problems with tomato horn worms in past years but they've not made themselves noticeable this year with these plants. Could be a coincidence.

Teresa has taken the larger ones and has started to dry them in her Excalibur dehydrator. The flavor is unbelievable. I've about worn out my salt shaker and my garden stool in the early evenings...

Pics tomorrow!

 

[Teka]

I saved the seeds as well and have several of the plants growing well in my garden, full of clusters of fruit. They seem to be very prolific and tolerant of the heat. I also am growing Kumato tomatos -- as found in Trader Joes. My search of Campari classified it as a "club" tomato in that the seed sales were closely controlled, but also that seeds could be saved for personal use.

Kumatos aren't close to ripening yet, but will keep all posted. The Kumato is a smoky-flavored brown tomato about 2" in diameter.

 

[JimWWhite]

I'm going to revive this old post only because I want to do a final report on the results of growing my own Campari tomotes. The harvest was good and long. We were taking tomatoes as late as the middle of September. The first month we got Campari tomatoes that were the proper size, form and taste of what you buy in the stores. But as the season got longer the tomatoes got smaller. I watered regularly and it rained as well. I added Miracle Grow at one point to see what it would do but we still got tomatoes about half the size of a standard Campari. Still very tasty but small. One good thing about the Campari is the vines were not heavy. None of them were. The plants put out a lot of fruit and were prolific but the plants looked stringy, even after adding the Miracle Grow. I can only think that's the way they were developed by the breeders. Anyways, it's going to be a lot easier to clean up the vines this fall as a result. This year we only planted the Camparis. There were eighteen plants in all in the garden and on the patio in big pots. I think next year I'll plant five or six but also go with some larger standard types of tomatoes as well. Teresa put most of the Camparis up either as stewed tomatoes in canning jars or dried them in her big dehydrator and put them in the freezer in Seal-A-Meal bags. And let me tell you they are the best on salads and pizzas. Very sweet and very tart.

So, Campari tomatoes can be grown from saved seeds and they seem to make with the same look, taste and properties of their parent fruit. Try a few in your garden next spring and you may be surprised.