2026 tomato selection

Where were the seeds from? Mine were from Pennard Plants. I think the seeds didn't germinate last year either. The packet was only from 2024, and I got good germination a few years ago from the packet I ordered in 2022. The seeds were very small, which is quite unusual for a beefsteak tomato.

I got them from Ebay Nutsncones, i.e King's Seeds in 2024 and I remember complaining that only 3 of the 6 seeds germinated,  they offered to refund only if I ordered further seeds costing equal or more than the honeymoon, so I would lose out on postage twice over. I wasn't impressed.

Where were the seeds from? Mine were from Pennard Plants. I think the seeds didn't germinate last year either. The packet was only from 2024, and I got good germination a few years ago from the packet I ordered in 2022. The seeds were very small, which is quite unusual for a beefsteak tomato.

I got them from Ebay Nutsncones, i.e King's Seeds in 2024 and I remember complaining that only 3 of the 6 seeds germinated,  they offered to refund only if I ordered further seeds costing equal or more than the honeymoon, so I would lose out on postage twice over. I wasn't impressed.

Silly from them! Just refund the price of the packet and you're more likely to keep the customer, surely? eBay sellers are terrified of bad feedback/disputes too, so it's unusual for them to be refund-shy like that. A packet of cauliflower seeds bought from JustSeed via eBay arrived with the seeds smashed to dust and they happily sent me a replacement packet for free, and Premier Seeds issued a refund for a packet of Orange Habanero seeds which had zero germination, no questions asked. I know Nutsncones is only a reseller and relies on Kings providing quality seeds, but the seller is ultimately responsible for a customer receiving a defective product. 

It's a shame, Honeymoon is one of the nicest hybrids I've tasted.

I reduced my "short" list of 45 to 20 for sowing today. Some of my choices were based on G&G recommendations on my list of tomato seeds. Thank you for your help. 
Many of the seeds are old so I've sown 3 of each in a 20 module tray. Depending on how they germinate, I may sow some of the others later. 

Aurora
Auntie Madge
Belarussian Heart
Bitesize
Bloody Butcher
Chadwick Cherry
Ciliegia
Darby Striped
Gardener's Delight
Gardener's Ecstasy
Gardener's Sweetheart
Graham's Tom Thumb
Matt's Hornet
Mountain Princess
Muchamiel
Red Cherry
Rosella
Ruthje
Unknown Black
Whippersnapper

Just potted up the last of the seedlings. Five of them failed to germinate - Gardener's Delight, Matt's Hornet, Mountain Princess, Rosella and Ruthje. 
There's only one "Unknown Black" which seems to be a potato leaved variety. Considering the seeds were saved in 2016, that one seedling is a little trouper!
I've resown Mountain Princess, also Oregon Spring and another one, ?Rabinka. The extremely good news is that all 3 are showing signs of life - so I may not need your seedlings - JJB & SC.

^^ That's really good news Veggie. Only just this morning I was eyeing up the seedlings to judge whether they would travel.

Greenhouse:

Some of these seeds are bit old or dodgy, so it's going to be a mixture of 8 plants from whatever germinates.

Black Beauty - I don't really like anthocyanin tomatoes, but the seed was given to me by a friend so I feel obliged to grow it
Big Daddy F1 - red beefsteak
Burlesque F1 - red beefsteak
Bountiful F1 - red, ribbed beefsteak
Honeymoon F1 - pink beefsteak
Rebel Yell - red beefsteak, Stump of The World x Bear Claw
Girl Girl's Weird Thing - dark, striped beefsteak, a mutation of Green Zebra
Big Cheef - dark beefsteak, though I think this didn't grow true to type the last time I tried it, Brandywine Sudduth x unknown
Daniel Burson - dark beefsteak, Indian Stripe (a strain of Cherokee Purple) x Daniels
Rosedale - dark pink beefsteak, from a cross of Cherokee Purple x Summerpink F1
Cowboy - dark beefsteak

Unfortunately none of Honeymoon germinated, and the one Bountiful which did germinate conked out today.

TMTT, do you have a favourite that you grow every year?

I have some favourites, but not ones I grow every year.

Honeymoon F1 - as mentioned previously, it's the best hybrid beefsteak I've tasted and I would grow it most years if the seed germinated!
Mat-Su Express - love it for its earliness and taste, but it wasn't very productive last year and the fruit varies in size a lot
Girl Girl's Weird Thing - haven't grown it for a few years due to trying other varieties, but managed to get 1 seed to germinate for this year
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye - the first dark beefsteak I grew, superb taste and good production, and I would grow it every year if the fruit didn't go soft so quickly

I think most of the production issues have been due to the greenhouse getting too hot during heatwaves.

I have some favourites, but not ones I grow every year.

Honeymoon F1 - as mentioned previously, it's the best hybrid beefsteak I've tasted and I would grow it most years if the seed germinated!
Mat-Su Express - love it for its earliness and taste, but it wasn't very productive last year and the fruit varies in size a lot
Girl Girl's Weird Thing - haven't grown it for a few years due to trying other varieties, but managed to get 1 seed to germinate for this year
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye - the first dark beefsteak I grew, superb taste and good production, and I would grow it every year if the fruit didn't go soft so quickly

I think most of the production issues have been due to the greenhouse getting too hot during heatwaves.

I have spare girl girl weird thing if you want a couple more. I can send them to you.

I have some favourites, but not ones I grow every year.

Honeymoon F1 - as mentioned previously, it's the best hybrid beefsteak I've tasted and I would grow it most years if the seed germinated!
Mat-Su Express - love it for its earliness and taste, but it wasn't very productive last year and the fruit varies in size a lot
Girl Girl's Weird Thing - haven't grown it for a few years due to trying other varieties, but managed to get 1 seed to germinate for this year
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye - the first dark beefsteak I grew, superb taste and good production, and I would grow it every year if the fruit didn't go soft so quickly

I think most of the production issues have been due to the greenhouse getting too hot during heatwaves.

I have spare girl girl weird thing if you want a couple more. I can send them to you.

Thank you very much for the offer but don't worry about it, 1 plant is all I need. The seed was my own self-saved from 2021 so that's probably why the germination wasn't very good. 

I have some favourites, but not ones I grow every year.

Honeymoon F1 - as mentioned previously, it's the best hybrid beefsteak I've tasted and I would grow it most years if the seed germinated!
Mat-Su Express - love it for its earliness and taste, but it wasn't very productive last year and the fruit varies in size a lot
Girl Girl's Weird Thing - haven't grown it for a few years due to trying other varieties, but managed to get 1 seed to germinate for this year
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye - the first dark beefsteak I grew, superb taste and good production, and I would grow it every year if the fruit didn't go soft so quickly

I think most of the production issues have been due to the greenhouse getting too hot during heatwaves.

I have spare girl girl weird thing if you want a couple more. I can send them to you.

Thank you very much for the offer but don't worry about it, 1 plant is all I need. The seed was my own self-saved from 2021 so that's probably why the germination wasn't very good. 

I believe mine are from exactly the same stock. 99% sure they’re your seeds from seed swap 2021.