Spotlight on the Bumble Bees

Review

This year I have tried a couple of new "artisan" tomatoes (whatever that means) - the Pink Bumble Bee and the Sunrise Bumble Bee.

These are wonderful tomatoes, plentiful, sweet, strong, pretty - VERY pretty and gorgeous.

These were my first 2 types to fruit and they have been providing me with an ongoing source of tomatoes ever since.

The Pink Bumble Bee won the Digger's Club cherry tomato taste test.... I still am in two minds if I prefer it or Tommy Toe. The pink is a glowing red / orange / pink tomato with a kind of muted stripe.

Both BBs form gorgeous trusses of about 6 tomatoes - most are oval / small egg shaped but some round as well.

The Sunrise BB is the most beautiful I have ever seen (although I there are many tomatoes I haven't seen). It is a yellow tomato and many of them have red blushes. I swear it glows.

I would highly recommend both of these - for yeild alone - but also taste, beauty and hardiness.

I purchased them as Seedlings from the Diggers Club.

Pink Bumble Bee

Sunrise Bumble Bee

Spotlight on Barry's Crazy Cherry Tomato

I have been fascinated by this tomato every since I saw the pictures on the internet of these massive trusses of tomatoes - I have never seen anything like it before and I was eager to see what they grew like and taste like.

I purchased mine as a seedling and it quickly grew and produced massive sprays of flowers. Not as many as I saw on the internet - but certainly a lot more than I was used to.

The foliage is pretty and lace like. The tomato itself is very cute with a tiny beak and seeing them in clusters is quite something. A real novelty.

When ripe they are a pale yellow / white

Pros: Prolific, easy to grow
Cons: Mine got some leaf disease when other varieties didn't. Very easy to fall off their stems. 

Taste

This was the big disappointment for me. I purchased this as part of the trio of top cherry tomato tasters from the Digger's Club. It came in second in last year's taste test. I don't know what I was expecting but I don't think it is a good as Tommy Toe. Great for kids to pick and enjoy and not a bad tomato at all. Just don't know if I would say it is number 2 in taste.

Will I grow it again?

No - plenty of others to try.

Seedling: The Digger's Club

2017 Vege Garden

Well it has been almost a year since I started this blog. Last year was my first vege garden and I made lots of mistakes.

The start of this second year has seen errors too.

I started my seedlings way too early. We had a spring like couple of weeks in Winter so I started the seedlings and then the weather got very cold and they died....... then I spent too many weeks "mourning them" (read disheartened and couldn't be bothered planting out more) then ended up purchasing some seedlings from the Digger's Club and then also planting out seeds a little late.

Anyhow - the purchased seedlings are going great and I am particularly eager to see how Barry's Crazy Cherry will go.

It is showing great promise with lots of clusters of flowers.

Spotlight on ........ Red and Black tomato (AKA Indigo Apple)

Review

This is one of the "black" tomatoes that are selling everywhere. The black is really a gorgeous deep aubergine colour. This one has the grandiose name of Red and Black here in Australia but apparently known as Indigo Apple in the USA (a much nicer name I think).

It is a salad size tomato about the size of a golf ball. It got early blight for me but that might have been due to my underfeeding at first.

It is a good producer without being prolific. You need to be really really patient with this tomato as it takes about 18 weeks from transplant to harvest. It is slow to ripen and it is really important to keep it on the bush for longer - at least a few days after you think you can pick it. The bottom needs to be bright red before you pick it. It is also important to pick it before watering. Both of these will have an impact on the taste and it can be quite bland unless you pick it at the right time. I have red reviews on a lot of "black" tomatoes and this seems to be a common factor.

The black comes out with exposure to the sun. The more sun the tomato gets the "blacker" it becomes. Below you can see a tomato that has been exposed to our really really hot days recently and did not even have the shade of leaves from the bush. It is not ready to pic as you can see green on the bottom.

Cutting

When totally ripe the skin is a little thin and the tomato is juicy and holds together well. It does have a lot of seeds.

Taste

As stated above you must pick this tomato under the right conditions to get the best taste. It has a nice balance of sweet and tang and I rate the taste 8 out of 10.

Will I grow it again?

I think I will put it in next year. It is a pretty little tomato with a nice taste.


Seeds: The Digger's Club

Spotlight on ......... Cucamelons

Review

Also known as Mouse Melons, Mexican Sour Gherkin or Sanditta. I planted these as a novelty and something else to put into my salads.

Again, I made the mistake of thinking small fruit - small pot - and hence put a few in hanging pots (2 in 1 pot and 1 in another pot). After seeing other people's photos of a massive vine I thought I would have problems but they seem to be going well.

They take a long time to produce but suddenly you will have a whole lot of tiny little melons. They are very small and can easily fit into a teaspoon.

Like most fruit / vegetables the cucamelon is packed with goodness.

Lypocene, a carotenoid found in large quantity in melon, improves cardiac functions.

Beta carotene, known for its remarkable antioxidant and anti-aging properties, also keeps you young at heart and prevents age-related cardiac problems.

The roughage in melon and its very low energy, along with help from vitamin-C, carotenoids and potassium helps to reduce cholesterol and keep your heart safe from a variety of dangerous conditions.

Melons also contain phytonutrients which have very good effects on the health and proper functioning of internal organs, eyes, and the secretion system.

                               Source: https://berryfruit.info/cucamelon-fruits-health-benefits

Here are a couple picked and ready to eat. I have shown them below next to a cherry tomato for size.

Cute aren't they?

 

Shown next to a Black cherry tomato to show relative size. They are very small.

Taste.

These are supposed to taste like cucumbers with a hint of lemon or lime. I somewhat agree but would add very watered down. The flavour is not strong at all. The first time I tasted one I didn't quite get a flavour. I was expecting the flavour to hit me in the face - especially as they are known as Mexican Sour Gherkin. The next time I concentrated and could taste the cucumber and lemon.

Will I plant them next year?

Yes - they are fun and I will plant them hanging again and they won't take up much space. There is only 2 of us here at Chez BeaJay so we don't need a massive crop. They are very cute and I am enjoying munching on them in salads and straight off the vine.

Seeds: The Digger's Club

Spotlight on ...... Black Cherry Tomato

Review 

This is a great large cherry sized tomato bursting with flavour and goodness. It is a strong bush and very prolific with lots of tomatoes on sprays of about 6 - 8..

Black Cherry is an unusual tomato and will be remembered for its purple/brown colour.... almost what you would call puce. The colour took me a little by surprise - I guess the brown look of it. I am used to red / yellow / orange and even blackish (being really dark purple) but this definitely has a brown look.

I found the bush to be quite resistant to disease - when all of my other bushes had early blight, Black Cherry was green and lush.

It takes about 9 weeks to harvest from transplant.

Taste

It is a sweet and tangy tomato that has a deep flavour. I am very pleased with the taste of this tomato and it has become a favourite.

Will I grow it again?

You betcha I will. If you buy grocery store cherry tomatoes, do yourself a favour and grow this instead. It will save you money and give you the satisfaction of biting into a delicious globe bursting with yumminess (is that a word?) instead of the hard bland cherry tomatoes you buy.


Seeds: The Digger's Club

Spotlight on ......... Tigerella Tomato

I LOVE this tomato. It was the first tomato that ripened for me to taste in my new vege garden. It is a stunning salad sized tomato and it a vibrant red with orange stripes. The skin is rather thin when completely ripe and it is a very juicy tomato.

This looks great in a salad and also tastes fab sliced on cracker and served with cheese.

This is a prolific bush and I do believe that it's producing season is long. It is a little prone to splitting so make sure you pick them early - don't leave them on the bush for too long.

It took about 10 weeks from transplant to harvest.

I purchased these as seedlings from the Digger's club and loved them so much I purchased the seeds too.

Today's crop

Cutting

Cuts well and holds together.

Taste

It has a sweet flavour with enough tang to make it taste good. It is not zingy like some of the more acidic tomatoes but has flavour and is nice to eat. It doesn't has as much depth as the darker / black tomatoes but it is a good clean taste.

Will I grow it again?

Absolutely - hence buying seeds after purchasing the seedlings. I will also save some from the plant. Children would love this unusual stripey tomato.

Seeds and Seedlings: The Digger's Club.