Tomatoes for 2025

[SPedigrees]

I am thinking of growing an heirloom tomato next summer, rather than the Arctic Plenty variety I grew this year. I think that now with my indoor grow light kit, if I start the plants early they might have a hope of ripening before frost. A short growing time was my main reason for planting Arctic Plenty variety, but while very *plentiful* (like their name) they fell short on flavor.

Has anyone grown Riesentraube cherry tomatoes, and how was your experience with them?

Their general description is :
(Solanum lycopersicum). This old German heirloom was offered in Philadelphia by the mid-1800s. The sweet, red 1-oz fruit grow in large clusters. The name Riesentraube means “giant bunch of grapes” in German. This is likely the most popular small tomato with seed collectors, as many favor the rich, full tomato flavor that is missing in today’s cherry types. To top it all off, the large plants produce massive yields.

Tomato Seeds, Riesentraube

Experience the joy of growing your own Riesentraube Tomatoes with seeds from RareSeeds.com. Shop now for pure, natural, non-GMO heirloom seeds!

www.rareseeds.com

 

[heirloomgal]

I am thinking of growing an heirloom tomato next summer, rather than the Arctic Plenty variety I grew this year. I think that now with my indoor grow light kit, if I start the plants early they might have a hope of ripening before frost. A short growing time was my main reason for planting Arctic Plenty variety, but while very *plentiful* (like their name) they fell short on flavor.

Has anyone grown Riesentraube cherry tomatoes, and how was your experience with them?

Their general description is :
(Solanum lycopersicum). This old German heirloom was offered in Philadelphia by the mid-1800s. The sweet, red 1-oz fruit grow in large clusters. The name Riesentraube means “giant bunch of grapes” in German. This is likely the most popular small tomato with seed collectors, as many favor the rich, full tomato flavor that is missing in today’s cherry types. To top it all off, the large plants produce massive yields.

Tomato Seeds, Riesentraube

Experience the joy of growing your own Riesentraube Tomatoes with seeds from RareSeeds.com. Shop now for pure, natural, non-GMO heirloom seeds!

www.rareseeds.com

I've grown it, I liked it very much. I thought it was considerably above average for a red large cherry. It isn't super sweet like Sungold, it's more balanced. I was surprised how much I liked it actually, I had read it was sour but the year I grew it I thought it had complex and balanced taste. Rich.

Sub-Artic Plenty is extremely popular here, but I don't know why. There are so many better tomatoes out there that mature just as early. Moskvich is a great early tomato, beautiful red beefsteak. Marmeladnye Krasnye
is a good one too. Russia has developed a lot of wonderful early varieties.

 

[SPedigrees]

Sub-Artic Plenty is extremely popular here, but I don't know why. There are so many better tomatoes out there that mature just as early.

Probably its popularity is because it was developed in your country. I chose it because of how early it bears fruit, and with our short growing season this was a draw. These tomatoes were fine in salads, and made 4 big containers of spaghetti sauce, one eaten and the other three in the freezer. However for snacking, they were lacking in taste.

My dad is 98 and since he and his wife (he remarried after my mom passed) have everything as do I, gifts these days are usually edibles. So recently I sent them a wine and fruit box, and also happened to send a photo of my kitchen counter covered in Arctic Plenty tomatoes. He wrote back that he would have liked a box of those! I wrote back that these were not the best tasting tomatoes. He concurred, saying that he always buys heirloom tomatoes at the fruit market because they have the best taste. Reminded that he always keeps a box of cherry tomatoes on the kitchen counter to snack on, I realized that home-grown heirloom tomatoes would make the perfect gift.

Thanks for the review of Riesentraube tomatoes. These are the only heirloom cherry tomatoes in all my seed catalogs. No telling, at my dad's age, if he will still be here to share in next summer's harvest, but I'm going to grow them regardless.

On edit: is there anything one can do to (additives to the soil, fertilizers) that will ensure against sourness?

 

[digitS']

With all the rain that you had in the 2024 growing season, SPedigrees, ..

. I would have expected that "lacking in taste" would have been not so much to do about sourness but being bland.

Yes, I used to grow Subartic Plenty and was happy enough to move on from those. Keep in mind that I usually need not be concerned about too much rain during the time that tomatoes are ripening but, it happens sometimes and they have lost flavor.

Steve