The first year I tried crossing tomatoes, I made three crosses between some of my favorite varieties.
Tim’s Taste of Paradise crossed with Red Grape: this produced a feeble plant with small and average flavored fruits, I decided not to grow any F2s.
Brad’s Atomic Grape crossed with Red Grape: there were only two seeds in the cross-pollinated tomato and only one of them germinated to become an F1 Hybrid. It made a torpedo-shaped red grape-sized tomato with anthocyanin blush on the shoulders and tasted great, I will definitely explore F2s.
Brad’s Atomic Grape crossed with Tim’s Taste of Paradise: the first generation F1 hybrid between the two looked promising. It wasn’t blockbuster flavor, but it had interesting color with red and yellow bicolor skin and an anthocyanin blush. The flavor was light, not bland but also not prominently sweet nor acidic, making it great for fresh snacking.
The F2 plants segregated into a few types: some had anthocyanin, some had stripes, some had bicolor. There was a striped anthocyanin one that had the amazing fruity yet umami flavor of Tim’s Taste of Paradise, but was bigger, definitely worth growing as part of regular line-up. I decided to call it Mandy’s Magic Marbles after my mom and her magic marbles that have inspired and supported me so much.
