Dwarf Gloria's Treat Tomato

This is a beautiful bicolor tomato whose taste rivals that of my favorite indeterminate, Pineapple. The fruits are large and production is impressive. Recommend with no reservations.

Context: I am a novice tomato grower. Consistently confounded by things that happen to my tomatoes. Failed again and again in my hometown of Atlanta due to disease and squirrels. For some reason keep trying. Setup: This grow was my first hydroponic attempt. 5 gallon vessel, dyna grow "grow" nutrients only (nitrogen heavy), some sunlight but mostly 8 hours of a 22k lumen high bay warehouse light per day. Nutrients too strong early on (identified by leaf color and leaves curling and turning over), root rot struggles the entire time (also noted in weird leaves), some disease, and who knows what other unidentified issues. At no point was this plant healthy. I moved apartments in the middle of the grow! Tomato in a uhaul! This plant was germinated in early Feb. First harvest June 26. I'll note that the seedlings showed disease about three weeks in, while the other varieties germinated in the same time/way/place were fine. Results: Where 10 is the best/most expressed trait, here's how I would rate the flavor. Tomato flavor- 2. Not getting much classic tomato flavor. Sweet- 5. Mild but sweet Acidity- 4. Very little, but if you investigate the seed gel there's some interesting punch. Sour (10 sour)- 4. Not very sour, but enough to add interest. Meatiness (10 meaty)- 6. Pretty meaty, but still seeds Juicy- 9. Texture- 7. I let them go a bit too long, but they only had a hint of mealy. Fruity- 6. Mild tomato, but mildly fruity. Earthy- 3. A little something earthy Smoky- 1. More in smell than taste. FOR COMPARISON, here is how I rate a homegrown CELEBRITY (also indoors under the same lights, but in the winter with no sun): Tomato flavor- strong, classic. 7 Sweet- 5. Sweet enough to be good but not the first flavor Acidity- 6. A little tongue burn in the gel Sour (10 sour)- 7. Pucker sour in the gel. Like a sour candy. Meatiness (10 meaty)- 5. Equal split of meat and gel Juicy- 7, very juicy. Not watery at all, very strong flavor. Texture- 6. Not mealy Fruity- 1. Not fruity Earthy- 2. Slight presence Smoky- 0 Summary: Overall, flavor was mildly sweet, almost a tiny bit watery, but not the deliciousness that Craig describes. I also experienced the cracking that you can see on Craig's blog… in theory, hydroponics shouldn't shock a plant with water, but this one seems to like to crack. You could obviously attribute these issues to my grow, but other varieties that received similar abuse produced tastier tomatoes and generally healthier plants in those conditions. I struggled with Gloria at every turn. I got a very low yield (four tomatoes), and clearly need to use a higher p/k nutrient next time and figure out how to control root rot. I may grow Gloria again in soil to see if she can be…glorious. I think she's just a more demanding plant than others.

This is one of those tomatoes that, once you grow it, will be hard to keep out of next year's garden. Very hard. The production and profound health and beauty of the plant alone is profound, and it really does bring a distinctive and delightful texture and flavor to match.

I'll be growing it for the third year in a row. 10 out of 10 would recommend.

The vigorous potato leaf dwarf plant is on the taller side - but still a dwarf when compared to indeterminate varieties that grow at twice the rate vertically. Fruit set is wonderful, it seems to be quite widely adapted, and it deals well with foliage disease pressure. But - the tomatoes! Medium to large, smooth gorgeous hearts, bright yellow with irregular swirls and streaks of red, and utterly supreme, full, balanced, intense flavor. Can you tell how much I love this one?