Stupice first on the vine
For the third year running, and no surprise, Stupice is the first tomato to start fruiting. This extra-early heirloom is said to be from Czecholslovakia, and its performance hasn’t been even nearly beat for earliness in the 70+ varieties, heirloom and modern hybrid, that I’ve tried over the last four years. The toms are kinda small, maybe 2-4ozs (56-112g). Taste is tart (perhaps not for those sensitive to the mildly acidic) and, um, fantastic… This year, all of the tomatoes are really ahead, with fruit appearing on at maybe two dozen early and mid-season varieties before the end of June. Mmmmm…. (Now, to finish semi-staking, or shall we sprawl?!)
If you’re a micro farmer I guess that would make us folk, who grow potted veggies in a makeshift greenhouse on our driveways, “Nano farmers”… :-)
Teri: Well, nano- if you like, but I’d say you’re micro-farmers, too! I think there’s only one useful line to draw, if we have to label things, and that’s between big, “conventional,” industrial farms, and everyone else growing food… ;)
(Sorry for bringing back post from the past … going through your blog these days, and a lots of questions are cropping up!)
Have you tried Sub-Artic Plenty and Glacier? How would they compare with Stupice in term of earliness and quality?
EtienneG: I’ve tried Sub-Arctic Plenty a couple of times, I don’t remember details right off, but it didn’t beat Stupice. Probably have a rating somewhere on a list, like Nah, OK, or Great, and it wasn’t great, either. Of course, that doesn’t mean much more than how it did here in this particular field and conditions. Stupice has always come through first, once at least with really fantastic, tart flavor, the rest just fine. The really early toms I’ve tried tend to be quite small, 2-3oz, so for market, they’re kinda specialty/novelty, unless you grow a lot! I’ll probably try SAP again this year at the new farm if I have seed left. You should try it as well, if you’re looking for super early. I haven’t heard of Glacier.
Commenting on old posts is cool, nothing’s ever dead on the Web! :)