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'Bellstar' Tomatoes
 
Sub-Category: Plum
Main-Season
 
Sub-Category 2:
Description: Main-season plum tomato with crimson, 4- to 6-ounce, very firm fruit. No disease tolerance.
Days To Maturity: 70
Seed Sources:
 
Rating Summary
 
Overall: (4.2 Stars)Overall
Taste: (4.2 Stars)Taste
Yield: (4.0 Stars)Yield
Ease/Reliability: (4.2 Stars)Ease/Reliability
 
Reviews
 
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Number of Reviews: 4

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KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease

Reviewed on 11/11/2015 by Linda J - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Broome, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

My favorite variety for canning, salsa and bruschetta. Also a good salad or fresh eating tomato. Little trouble with blossom end rot.
 

Reviewed on 12/26/2010 by Ferdzy - An intermediate gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Ontario, Canada
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Correct name for this variety is actually Bellestar. I want to grow heirloom varieties, so it takes a particularly good non-heirloom tomato to catch my attention. This one has it. The plants are short and small, but will need good support as they produce so many tomatoes they will collapse under their own weight. The tomatoes are not the best for eating fresh, although they are okay. For canning, though, they are excellent - we liked their flavour in sauce better than ANY Italian tomato we have had - and we have had many. Opalka and Amish Paste have an edge on Bellestar for flavour in sauce, but not by much. Bellestar is the better tomato for small gardens and I would think they could be grown in containers. They are determinate, and I actually like that in a canning tomato - make your sauce, pull out the plants and have space to plant next years garlic. It is a plan. These did very well in a cold, wet summer and very well in a hot, dry summer. Cannot comment on disease resistance; I have not had any diseases in my garden yet. (*knocks wood*) UPDATE: Spoke too soon about diseases. Had septoria leaf spot in the tomatoes this year (2011); Bellestar was the worst affected of all. They lost most of their leaves by late summer, and while the tomatoes ripened, they stayed on the small side. I would say yield was reduced by at least a third. Still, we got a couple quarts of tomatoes per plant on average.
 

Reviewed on 02/13/2007 by Sher0462 - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Converse, Wyoming, United States
Frost Free Season: Fewer than 103 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

This is my favorite sauce tomato and is good for eating out of hand too. I got my original seed from High Altitude Gardens in Idaho and have sved my own seed since. I have had no problem with disease in my plants and they have good frost tolorance for a tomato.
 

Reviewed on 10/26/2004 by russell - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Ontario, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

In a one year trial with 15 other varieties, Bellstar was in the bottom 25% for yield, producing only 7-10 pounds of fruit per plant while those in the top 25% produced 15-20 pounds per plant. The taste was good but not exceptional for me to plant this variety again.
 




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