Tomato ‘Janet’s Jacinthe Jewel’
Although I am concentrating on small and sensible tomatoes this year I couldn’t resist a few big ones! I know they are often ugly and misshapen and their flavour is often said to be poorer than some others but I love them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think that even the most oddly shaped fruit is beautiful.*
So I decided to grow this beauty from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds (in the USA). Although it looks like some ancient Heirloom it is actually a new variety, bred by Brad Gates in the Napa Valley, California. Brad is best known for his stripey toms and the blue ones (which I am not that keen on, having tried them last year). This is supposed to have large fruits that are sweet. I am pleased to say that it has been easy to grow and a lot of flowers set on the trusses. Most trusses have four or five fruits and they seem to be about 500g or so as the description says. They start off a beautiful green with stripes but these seem to disappear as the fruit ripens. I had to check what colour these are supposed to go and this one is not quite there yet – it should go to a true orange. I am looking forward to picking and tasting it.
The name struck me as odd but, upon a Google, I discovered that jacinthe is a colour – slightly paler than Persian orange – whatever that is. It also means ‘hyacinth’ which is what confused me!
- But things can go too far – as a post soon will show!
The Biking Gardener 
Great shapes
yes but i just ate that one and I can report that it looks better than it tastes 😦 Not very impressed really.
Oh dear…. I still love ‘Black Russian’ for flavour… :-0
I must admit, and i was talking to someone about toms yesterday, I am gravitating towards the the black/pink/ purple kinds which seem to have a rich, complex flavour. If I cpuld only grow two they would include a ‘black’ one and, predictably, ‘Sungold’.
That’s really a neat-looking tomato. And I find myself gravitating toward the non-perfect, non-red, non-ball-shaped varieties the longer I grow. You’re absolutely right!