Post by meizzwang on Jul 12, 2018 13:55:28 GMT -5
Here's a beautiful, new cultivar, bred by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms, that lives up to its name! Even though we haven't had warm enough conditions to get maximum sugar content, Candy Sweet Icicle (CSI) is already pretty sweet! They're not just sweet, they also have some fruity or maybe even savory flavor to them as well! Plants are crazy productive and not overly gigantic in size, so long as you keep the nitrogen down. I'm watering these 1X per week to keep the flavor maximized. 100% organic not because I'm against regular fertilizers, but it seems when the plants aren't pumped on high ratios of NPK, the fruit develop slower, which might allow them to process micronutrients/humic acid, etc. more efficiently.
Overall, Candy Sweet Icicle is easy to grow plant. It did get very tiny symptoms of a fungal disease on the lower leaves in the beginning when the weather was cooler, but that's from having the leaves sit in wet dirt. Once those leaves were pruned out and the plants were infrequently irrigated, the disease completely disappeared. The fruit don't ripen all at once, but they do come in "waves."
The seeds that I acquired directly from Brad Gates in 2017 are very uniform, this line has definitely been stabilized.
Maturity-wise, seeds were started first week of March, and I got the first harvest probably first week of July. There were a few other varieties ahead of CSI, but it "didn't take forever" compared to other varieties like blue boar berries (still don't have a ripe fruit on that one, and it was planted on the same day, grown in same environment, same exact care, etc).
Under my conditions (coastal, Mediterranean climate), it's best to let CSI hang on the vine for a week or two after they turn color to maximize sweetness. Flavor is most intense after many warm days over 80F (27C). They're still excellent flavored when picked a few days after they turn color, but my family judges flavor on sugar content alone! Environment plays a huge role in flavor, but if a tomato still tastes decent when your weather isn't, that a sign that it has good genetics!
I'm not sure what to think of those green shoulders, it seems they don't go away even as the fruit gets really ripe. However, the fruit does seem to turn darker red the longer you leave it on the vine. perhaps that's the best way to figure out when to pick them at peak ripeness.
this fruit below should probably hang for another few days, up to a week more. Parts of it will turn darker red, indicating peak maturity:
Productive! The second wave of fruit will likely mature after these are all done, which means you'll get a steady harvest:
Candy Sweet Icicle to the left, Sweet Cream to the right. Both have whispy foliate that looks like they're wilting when it gets hot-don't be fooled, they aren't crying for more water!
If you have any experience with Candy Sweet Icicle, feel free to post here!
Overall, Candy Sweet Icicle is easy to grow plant. It did get very tiny symptoms of a fungal disease on the lower leaves in the beginning when the weather was cooler, but that's from having the leaves sit in wet dirt. Once those leaves were pruned out and the plants were infrequently irrigated, the disease completely disappeared. The fruit don't ripen all at once, but they do come in "waves."
The seeds that I acquired directly from Brad Gates in 2017 are very uniform, this line has definitely been stabilized.
Maturity-wise, seeds were started first week of March, and I got the first harvest probably first week of July. There were a few other varieties ahead of CSI, but it "didn't take forever" compared to other varieties like blue boar berries (still don't have a ripe fruit on that one, and it was planted on the same day, grown in same environment, same exact care, etc).
Under my conditions (coastal, Mediterranean climate), it's best to let CSI hang on the vine for a week or two after they turn color to maximize sweetness. Flavor is most intense after many warm days over 80F (27C). They're still excellent flavored when picked a few days after they turn color, but my family judges flavor on sugar content alone! Environment plays a huge role in flavor, but if a tomato still tastes decent when your weather isn't, that a sign that it has good genetics!
I'm not sure what to think of those green shoulders, it seems they don't go away even as the fruit gets really ripe. However, the fruit does seem to turn darker red the longer you leave it on the vine. perhaps that's the best way to figure out when to pick them at peak ripeness.
this fruit below should probably hang for another few days, up to a week more. Parts of it will turn darker red, indicating peak maturity:
Productive! The second wave of fruit will likely mature after these are all done, which means you'll get a steady harvest:
Candy Sweet Icicle to the left, Sweet Cream to the right. Both have whispy foliate that looks like they're wilting when it gets hot-don't be fooled, they aren't crying for more water!
If you have any experience with Candy Sweet Icicle, feel free to post here!
