They are wonderful, aren't they? I sometimes find them at my local Sam's Club. I am about 100 miles north of NYC.

We get them at Costco. They're very good...they tide us over until fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes are ripe (which seems like a loooong time away).

I don't think you can grow them from seeds.

dcarch

Apparantly you can.......
Check on the tomato growing forum.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: Compari from seed

Hmmm...I assumed they were hybrid. May have to pick up a package and ferment me some seeds...

Posted by lindac "Apparantly you can.......
Check on the tomato growing forum.
Linda C "

Compari I believe is a hybrid. By definition, you can't grow from saved F1 seeds. I understand true seeds are not availble for sale. The are fake seeds on eBay however.

dcarch

Hybrid or not...it might be fun to try a couple and see what develops. I saw some posts by people who have had success with seed from Costco Camparis. They seem a lot like Stupice, which has done well for us, and I'm always after early, tasty tomatoes.

I have tomatoes on plants in my yard, and so I do not buy them. They are only cherry tomatoes, but they have a very good flavor, and I use them in salads. I also have sweet basil plants that are still growing from last summer and still putting out new leaves, and I've never had this happen past January before. My chili plants now have ripe chilies on them, but most of them are not very hot. Even though we had the coldest winter I can remember here, nothing got damaged, despite a temperature down to 38 degrees.

For some reason, however, I have trouble growing tomatoes in the summer, but I haven't given up yet. I think if I continue to grow indeterminate plants, then I should have indeterminate results. The best tomatoes I have grown are the volunteer plants that only grow in the winter. Lately I have started feeding all of my plants, and perhaps this is why I'm getting better results, especially with the basil lasting so long. I haven't been to the tomato forum yet.

Tomatoes stop producing fruit when the temperature reaches 85F. If you, publickman, live far South you will not get summer tomatoes - too hot. You can plant seeds in December and have tomatoes until the heat of the summer.

Peppers (sweet or hot) are actually perennials so you could grow them year 'round if the temperature stays above 32F and will keep producing for many years. Yes, feeding them helps tremendously since they take up nutrients in the soil and when those are depleted, the plants die from starvation. Do use only fertilizers that are made for vegetables and say so on the package. Fertilizers that are "all purpose" usually contain chemicals that you really do not want to ingest.

Nancy

Posted by katiec "-----Hybrid or not...it might be fun to try a couple and see what develops. I saw some posts by people who have had success with seed from Costco Camparis. They seem a lot like Stupice, which has done well for us, and I'm always after early, tasty tomatoes."

As Lars said, volunteers are fun to grow. I always have a few every year. Last year, I had a Black Cherry volunteer with fruits size of a golf ball.

If you like Stupice, you may want to try Silex and Moskovich , very early good tasting cold tolerant mid size tomatoes.

If you like Compari/hybrid, you may want to try Carmello, and Momotaro. They are sweet, and productive.

dcarch

You can grow them from seeds....if commercial growers are growing acres of them there are seeds to be had.
But I don't expect you can order them from Burpee.

Ruthanna recommended the brown "Kumato" tomatoes, so I tried them, and I think they may be better winter tomatoes than the Campari.

I second dcarch's suggestion for Momotaro tomatoes. I grew them last summer for the first time. They are wonderful

Posted by cloudy_christine "Ruthanna recommended the brown "Kumato" tomatoes, so I tried them, and I think they may be better winter tomatoes than the Campari. "

That's another one you can't grow because seeds are not sold to the general public. Sometimes it is also known as" Rosso Bruno" in USA and Canada.

Tastewise, definitely better then normal store plastic golf balls, though there are many people who do not care for the taste.

dcarch

Dcarch, the Black Cherry tomatoes are great, aren't they? Duane once kindly sent me some plants. I wish the garden stores would stock them; I buy plants not seeds since I have room for only one or two. Thanks for the recommendations. I'll watch for those varieties.

Kumato tomatoes are amazing.

Thanks for the info, Nancy. I'm not as far south now as I was when I lived in Texas - I'm in Los Angeles about 2-1/2 miles from the ocean, and so it does not get hot in the summer, since we have cool ocean breezes at that time. I don't think it got abover 85 degrees last summer, but it did the summer before.

My favorite summer tomatoes are Dona, which I used to grow in Venice. I haven't seen the plants in the nurseries here for a while, however, and so I might have to order some seeds.

The fertilizer I've been using says that it is for vegetables, and so I guess it is okay. I tried to avoid using it, but I think I need something. My chili plants seem to get eaten by bugs.

Lars

I've got a mess of tomatoes growing in pots on the patio...they are really prolific this year! Large red cherries and Ace 55's. (radish, spring onion, lettuce too)
I did have to cover them one night when the temps dipped, but they all made it thru.

I love the Costco Campari's!! A few years ago, I had a few sitting out on the counter for quite some time and upon cutting into them they were all sprouted inside. Hmmmm, I think I'll go ahead and stick these into a couple of pots. Months go by and those plants were sooo beautiful, big, green & lush with tomatoes galore.
The tomatoes never grew past the size of a marble, nor did they ripen. Pretty much sat on the vine for months and just kinda "cooked" away in the desert heat. So, it truly proved to me growing hybrids are time and water wasters.
And I've found that Costco stops selling the Campari's here during the winter...some others looking similar (starts with an A) are on the shelves now.

Posted by cloudy_christine "Dcarch, the Black Cherry tomatoes are great, aren't they? Duane once kindly sent me some plants. I wish the garden stores would stock them; I buy plants not seeds since I have room for only one or two. Thanks for the recommendations. I'll watch for those varieties. "

You don't know how good is Black Cherry until you have tried:

Black Cherries pizza
Black cherries, sun dried.
Black Cherries tomato powder.

I have about 80 seedlings waiting for spring.

dcarch :-)

Oh my goodness!

Christine, you could purchase the seeds for Black Cherry and only start a few each year. Kept cool and dry, the seeds will last for several years. Or, you could save a few seeds each year from what you grow to use the next season.

I have been buying the extra large,
supposedly "vine-ripened" tomatoes
for sandwiches for my resident tomato fanatic.
Also a few Roma's for his dinner salads.

So after reading this, I checked for the
Sunset Camaris.
Sure enough, one of the stores here has them.
Some from Canada,
some from Mexico.
So I bought a box of the Canadian ones.
In spite of the exorbitant price.

Flavor was very much like the Romas,
But they are a lot juicier.
Needless to say,
We were both very disappointed.

No more $4.97 a pound for Camaris
When the $1.59 a pound large slicers are just as good.

Do you suppose they weren't true Camari's?

Rusty

Rusty, I bought 2# of Camparis (5.99) at Costco yesterday and the were really tasty. Maybe it's because I'm relatively close to where they're grown. The pack date was March 9. I seldom find decent tomatoes in the grocery store this time of year.

dcarch, I have some Moscovich seeds to try, and I think I ordered Siletz, too. Is this the same Black Cherry that you grow?

Here is a link that might be useful: Victory Seeds

Not exactly. My were darker. Dark purple.

dcarch

Some of last years: