Topic: Best tasting Cherry tomato

[jesssands]

If you like Piccolo and Piccolino (try them from the supermarket - probably both the same) then I can tell you they come 90% true to flavour

Quick question for you Vinlander... I have some piccolo in the fridge, love them, like sweets! If I take some seeds out, do I need to dry them out, if so for how long? I'd like to try this, altho I only have the space to grow a couple of plants. Thanks

[Razzle]

Grown and tried several including Sungold, Sweet 100 ect, But personally I liked best, the old heritage variety
" Broad Ripple Yellow Currant " which is still available from Heritage seed merchants. Very sweet taste and one of those that when you just eat one or two, it turns into several at least.

[Vinlander]

If you like Piccolo and Piccolino (try them from the supermarket - probably both the same) then I can tell you they come 90% true to flavour

Quick question for you Vinlander... I have some piccolo in the fridge, love them, like sweets! If I take some seeds out, do I need to dry them out, if so for how long? I'd like to try this, altho I only have the space to grow a couple of plants. Thanks

If you wipe all the jelly off the seeds then some of them will produce roots in a week.

Actually this is the first year I've used fresh jellied Piccolo in this way (sown just last Thur) but it's worked for everything else.

NB. I can't guarantee they will all sprout quickly - and that's a pain if you plant in pots - so it's best to chit them - I always chit/sprout all my early half-hardys in those lidded brick-shaped clear polypropylene microwaveable food containers you can buy at the pound shop - some takeaways and readymeals use them too (the City Kitchen ones are particularly good pots - the Katsu Chicken is the best! - Ken Hom's ones are good too).

I cut up a poor-quality one to make a flat 10mm high platform, drape some kitchen roll over it so it dips in 3mm of water in the bottom of the good one, shut it and microwave the whole thing to sterilise it before putting the seeds in. It means you can put the whole thing in a propagator that doesn't have to be sterile.

Works a treat, though I like to let the seed leaves appear before transplanting - and that means you have to leave maybe 20mm space around each seed so the roots don't meet in the paper - and so you can tear some paper out with the roots to avoid damaging them.

I keep meaning to move chitted seeds into a separate sprouting container but I'm never yet been vigilant enough...

Cheers.

PS. don't forget labelling - no seedling should ever be allowed mix with others if it isn't individually labelled.

[Tora]

My favourite in both taste and permance is Mexico Midget. I got some seeds from a kind person on A4A several years ago and have grown it every year since. The balance of sweet & tangy is perfect and one plant yield so many little fruits. I and OH always end up eating loads while we are at the plot.
Other varieties I keep going back are Sunbelle and Black Cherry but they don't come even close to Mexico Midget!

[gazza1960]

Did those year before last Jessands,I took the seeds from the Piccolo and placed them in a jam jar of warm water and over a week just changed the water every day and the jelly falls away,after 7 days just placed the seeds on a wet piece of kitchen paper with a wet piece above and they ALL sprouted
brilliantly,although I did lose some as I potted them on the fruits were great.

I Emailed a tomato grower who advised that although she could not provide me with Piccolo seeds from scratch the seeds from the fruits I purchased
in Tesco would work fine for 1 season but not after..!!!!!!!!!!!

I will buy and do them again this season as they were bloomin tasty.

Gazza

[goodlife]

Sweet 100 - can you still get this variety? - I'm not sure.. did "Sweet Million" supersede Sweet 100 - I'm confused?

I haven't look about sweet 100 seeds for couple of years..but Sutton's seeds used to sell them.
edit to add: found this http://www.tomatodirt.com/sweet-100-tomato.html

[jesssands]

Thanks Gazza and Vinlander for the replies. I had read about fermenting them in a jar too. But whilst I could not wait, I had taken some seed and dried them on kit paper then put them on a saucer, they look clean enough but if that fails I have kept back one little lonely piccalo tom in the fridge to go again!! Will give them a try and see how it goes x

[cleo]

I  still rate sweet million-been saving the seeds for 20 odd years now. It may be classed as a hybrid but it`s not-the seeds come true.

[Vinlander]

Thanks Gazza and Vinlander for the replies. I had read about fermenting them in a jar too. But whilst I could not wait, I had taken some seed and dried them on kit paper then put them on a saucer, they look clean enough but if that fails I have kept back one little lonely piccalo tom in the fridge to go again!! Will give them a try and see how it goes x

I checked my my  fresh (and jelly-less) Piccolo seeds on  Thur - after 7days @ ~ 80F/27C  - and 11/15 were ready to transplant  (waving their leaves 20mm above the damp kitchen paper)  and the other 4 were showing roots yesterday.

I think this proves that it is the jelly that is the issue - so  drying is unnecessary if you want a quick result.

If you are saving scores of seeds for future years then it ends up much less fiddly to use fermentation - and it does a better job of removing stuff that can harbour problems while they are waiting to be used.

But if you want 10-20 seeds right now then you can't beat just getting the jelly off.

Cheers

[GREGME]

I  still rate sweet million-been saving the seeds for 20 odd years now. It may be classed as a hybrid but it`s not-the seeds come true.

Yes I too think this is really good variety, reliable, sweet v productive, early and does really well even with multiple stems and trusses. Didn't realize you could save seeds though.

[tricia]

I'm still trying to find one with thin skins - although I believe I read somewhere that thick skins are mainly due to lack of sun and warmth - like last year!

Tricia

[jesssands]

my piccalos have chitted after just 2 days in the airing cupboard in the take away container.
Thats brills!
Now, I want to try my fav from Sainsbury too.. vittoria I think its called x

[galina]

I'm still trying to find one with thin skins - although I believe I read somewhere that thick skins are mainly due to lack of sun and warmth - like last year!

Tricia

To a lesser extent skins are affected by environmental conditions.  But mostly, it is breeding - thick skinned tomatoes are preferred by supermarkets, because they don't bruise or split and rot during transport and handling.  Most old heritage/heirloom varieties are thin skinned and would never survive the trip to the shops, most shop tomatoes are thicker skinned or very elaborately packaged.

[galina]

my piccalos have chitted after just 2 days in the airing cupboard in the take away container.
Thats brills!
Now, I want to try my fav from Sainsbury too.. vittoria I think its called x

That was fast.  Hope they will do well for you.