Smackdown! Dona F1 vs. Ramapo F1
Well, take it easy folks. Just kidding and looking for
attention. I have no need to smack anybody and certainly
not over which tomato variety they choose to like.
Anyway, I did have a chance last season to compare Dona F1
with Ramapo F1. This was a comparison that Carolyn suggested
and, as it turned out, a rather good suggestion at that
since the two are pretty similar. I apologize for not
reporting sooner but I've been away from the computer for
some time.
So, here goes:
The comparison was done late in the season (latter half
of September 2010) because of the difficulty in obtaining
the seeds for Dona F1, which I received only in mid May.
Shortly thereafter I germinated a couple and ended up
with one plant and one plant of Ramapo F1. All of the
Dona F1 seeds germinated readily (3 or 4 days) though
all were "helmet-heads", i.e. the outer seed case
remained stuck to the cotyledons. Through carelessness
in separating that, I lost two of them.
Also, last season I had an infestation of Late Blight
which destroyed a Moreton F1 plant that I had hoped also
to compare. By extensive spraying with Daconyl and
copper soap I was able to keep this under reasonable
control and obtain a harvest. Both the Dona F1 and Ramapo
F1 plants (one of each) were relatively free of disease
and produced good fruit by the end of August.
Best production was in mid to late September. Dona F1
is earlier than Ramapo F1 by about a week to ten days.
Other than that, the plants are very similar - regular
leaf, vigorous, etc. I lack the technical knowledge to
provide much more of a description for now.
The fruits are also very similar, being almost identical
in shape, nice and round, relatively large when grown in
good soil and slightly flattened. Dona F1 is slightly
more orange in color than Ramapo F1.
Now the taste test. After sampling a few fruits of each
in a fairly casual manner, I was able to get a good
sample of quality fruit from each plant, ripe at the
same time, two of each. These were sliced and placed on
separate plates. No attempt at double-blind or anything
like that. Tasting was done (I'm the one, results are
at my discretion alone.) with and without any dressing
(salt, vinegar, oil).
Both Dona F1 and Ramapo F1 are relatively mild in flavor.
Neither one possesses a blow-the-top-off-your-head
intensity of taste. So, if you like that, and I do
sometimes, neither one of these is, as the Irish would
say, your only man. Both however, are well-flavored,
not bland and very fine salad or slicing tomatoes. Both
of them outclass such varieties as Early Girl, Big Boy,
Celebrity, etc. by a country mile.
Ramapo F1 had a plain and simple tomato flavor. No
complexity there at all. I like it as many others will.
Dona F1 is much more complex and subtle. It possesses
numerous overtones of flavor that, in my opinion, would
require the techniques of a wine-taster to evaluate
fully. I am not that person, so I can't provide that
sort of analysis. Overall, though, my conclusion is
that Dona F1 is superior in taste to Ramapo F1 for
its subtlety.
So there! That's what I think. Take it as you wish.
To finish up this commentary, I still have seeds and
intend to repeat the trial again this year. I will
grow more Dona F1 though as I prefer it. I'm also
hoping to get a good Moreton F1 plant for further
comparison and to have more people to help with tasting.
Anyone who has suggestions for what characteristics to
look for this time or for improvements in the description
is welcome to add their comments. I will try to take
any of them into consideration. Please bear in mind
though, that I am one person, no longer young and
probably can't satisfy everyone's wishes. In that light,
I encourage any readers of this piece to conduct their
own trial comparisons and report the results.
Finally, please remember - it is Dona F1 hybrid and
anything else being sold under the name of Dona is not
the same. Like those or not, as you will, but they are
not the same.
Thanks for reading.
carolyn137
sneezer2Original Author
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carolyn137
sneezer2Original Author