Storage Tomatoes, Anyone?

Hi, all.

I've been home with a bad cold this week so I've been nursing myself on the couch while playing around on the computer, looking at online seed catalogs (a dangerous thing) and researching options for storage or cold-hardy veggies.

A while back, I had come across Burpee's Long Keeper seeds for sale. Up until then I'd never heard of such a thing as a "storage" tomato.

Which got me thinking today about what other varieties there might be available out there that could last a few months...I've read about storing toms on the vine by pulling them by the roots in the fall & hanging them upside-down in a cool part of the house, but those toms didn't seem to be "storage" toms in particular...so I started surfing the web & came across this thread on another gardening forum. A lot of good info, but unfortunately nobody had the willpower to refrain from eating their storage tomatoes in the Fall so I still don't know which keep best, have the best flavor, etc.

But anyway, somehow in my surfing I came across the Amishland Seeds page listing the Russian 'Zhiraf' (or 'Giraffe' in English) tomato. I think I learned about this variety from the post linked to earlier. I went ahead and bought some of that 'Zhiraf' seed--I figure it's worth trying--but I'm curious about other varieties, etc.

SO, after much preface, here is my question: has anyone on this forum ever purposely grown "storage" tomatoes? What little info I can find seems to indicate that they're not particularly tasty, but I'm curious none the less. Thanks in advance!

Ilma

I haven't but I remember reading something about them. I would give it a try if I were you but I would probably run into the same problem as the others, lol, eat em to quick!

I was thinking that to me taste is everything in tomatoes so I didn't think I'd try storage toms until they come up with one that tastes delicious. Then I remembered that store-bought aren't the tastiest either, so maybe storage tomatoes would be better. I'll have to check into these further and give them a try. Thanks for the heads up.

quiltbea wrote:I was thinking that to me taste is everything in tomatoes so I didn't think I'd try storage toms until they come up with one that tastes delicious. Then I remembered that store-bought aren't the tastiest either, so maybe storage tomatoes would be better. I'll have to check into these further and give them a try. Thanks for the heads up.

That's exactly it, quiltbea--I remember last winter going to the market and looking at those round tough, tasteless orbs for--what?--$3. a pound or so and then buying them anyway because that's all there was.

I'm thinking these "storage" tomatoes can't possibly be *worse* than mid-winter grocery store toms...but we'll see...

I saw a show (can't remember which now) where this guy was walking through Italy and they had storage tomatoes hanging on the porch. They had been hanging for a few months. They picked a couple and gave him one. He said it tasted just as good as a fresh tomato. I had completely forgot about that. Thanks for the links.
I think I'll have to add some to the garden next year. I already miss my tomatoes.

Stripesmom, do either of these varieties look familiar from that show?

Giallo a Grappoli

Grapploi d'Inverno

Seeds for both types are being offered by solana seeds in Quebec. Here is the page where they are listed but you'll need to scroll down to see pictures of the varieties in question.

I'm in the middle of compiling a list of tomatoes that allegedly "store" well--if anyone knows of any varieties or has heard of any, please let me know. I'll post the list once I've found at least one source that sells seed for that variety. Right now I've got a handful, but could certainly use more leads!

Oh, they didn't really give a close up and didn't mention the variety, it was a show about Italy mostly. I just remembered that it was odd that they could keep tomatoes hanging around that long and they were still good. I'd never heard of it before. You are certainly tempting me with all these seed sites, lol. I have a full list of seeds to order and will have to pair it down some. I plan on planting at least 72 tomato plants next year, but want to experiment.

I still have some toms growing on the vine out in the glasshouse . I am happy to play at seeing how long they store. I'll put one of the laden vines in on Sunday .

I suspect that around 5 o C in the cold office building will work so long as I turn the dehumidifier down a couple of clicks.

At minus three centigrade ( perhaps too cold ) four toms on the vine in the fridge from the glasshouse were slightly soft after 14 days residence .
The taste was a bit bland but with some home grown well boiled beetroot , goats cheese & a splash of balsamic vinegar they went down the hatch without any come back .

Plantoid, what I've been reading seems to indicate that amongst the keeper toms, the yellow ones fare better than the red ones as far as taste & "keepability" goes...if you're wanting to play and if you happen to have a variety of colors, would you be willing to hang up a couple of different ones to see if the color thing holds for regular toms, too?

stripesmom wrote:...snip...I plan on planting at least 72 tomato plants next year, but want to experiment.

for experimenting! I've got way more seeds than I have space as it is and now with adding these "storage tomatoes" to the list, well--the more the merrier, LOL!

mollyhespra wrote:Plantoid, what I've been reading seems to indicate that amongst the keeper toms, the yellow ones fare better than the red ones as far as taste & "keepability" goes...if you're wanting to play and if you happen to have a variety of colors, would you be willing to hang up a couple of different ones to see if the color thing holds for regular toms, too?

Yes I have beefsteak that are almost fully ripe & two other kinds that are almost ripe though I think all are red toms and not any yellow ones.

Thanks for playing, Plantoid! Keep us posted on how those toms fare!

In the meantime, here is some more information I found on storage tomatoes.