Epoch - semi-determinate tomato from South East Asia

Not very much can be found on the internet regarding the Epoch tomato. It is a hybrid variety that is allegedly bacterial wilt resistant, among other things.In my own growing, I'm discovering that it is definitely a cool tomato variety. By cool, I mean I like it. So far, although I haven't eaten any of its fruit, it is doing well.I have about a half dozen of these tomato plants in our garden. As of today, I estimate that the tallest one has achieved 5.5 feet in height, and it appears likely that it will continue along that vein until I decide to chop it.It is a fairly prolific producer, and sets well, even during the heat. It doesn't appear to have any problems with scrounging for water. In my own observations, it is fairly drought resistant and the only indication you'll have that it needs water is that some new fruit that it'll set may suffer from blossom end rot. Topping it off with a heavy dose of deep watering seems to fix the trick, and the fruit didn't start cracking like mad when my remedial watering spree ended up soaking the ground for a good hour at a decent trickle.All things considered, a nice variety for the tropics.Some quick specs, and I promise I'll write more later:Name: EpochType: Semi-determinatePollination: HybridEstimated height: 6-7 feet (I'll let you know more when it finishes growing upward, if ever.)Time to maturity and first fruit set: 90 days, at leastIn regards to fruit set and maturity, we may have inadvertently delayed the onset of the fruiting because of some garden work. About a week after the tomatoes were set out into the garden, my father decided to rework the entire garden and this required uprooting everything we wanted to save, and demolishing the garden, rebuilding it, and then two weeks later, putting everything back into the garden. Needless to say, the tomato plants were very unhappy with us, and have probably had to delay their fruiting in order to make up for lost time when they should've been building an extensive root system.My guess is that the Epoch tomatoes probably set first fruit after 65 days normally, but given how long it takes for the plant to grow its fruit to sufficient size before they start ripening, you can expect to wait more than a few weeks while the fruit grow larger... and larger... and larger.Now, if you live in American Samoa, and you want to grow tomatoes, be aware that you're going to need a barrier against everything from flying foxes (yes, fruit bats), and those pesky Myna birds that those braniacs in Western Samoa imported and released into the wild... Not only do they make tons of noise in the morning, these pests eat green tomatoes like there is no tomorrow. Before we put up the barriers (rat wire around the sides, and fish net over the top), easily 75% of our tomatoes were ending up as breakfaster for these pesky birds. We'd come out in the morning and chase them all away, but not before our tomatoes were pecked. Too bad gun laws here are so restrictive. If it were up to me, I'd rather shoot my tomatoes myself than have them pecked to pieces by those birds.Oh, and before I forget, Epoch tomatoes are kind of like rounder, pointed... Roma-esque tomatoes. Not quite as longish as a Roma, but definitely Roma-like in its overall shape. Yeah, yeah... I'll post what they taste like later, when I get to eat my first one. I'll let you know if they're good for paste, or salads, or both. Myself, my first Epoch tomato is going to go into a sandwich. Mayonnaise, salt, and two slices of fresh, homemade bread. Okay, so I'll probably buy my sandwich bread, but I hope you all realize that I'm not going to have the honor of the first tomato out of the garden since the makeover. My father, as land owner, and executive chef in the family, will have to have the first. But I'll definitely get the second one. :-)

Update: 8/23/2007

 Last night, I had my first tomato sandwich from the second batch of ripened tomatoes.

The Epoch tomato variety is definitely good for paste and salads... and sandwiches. It is very fleshy, which is good for paste, but also very tasty.

I also had a few slices of the T01 hybrid tomato that somehow got mixed up with my Kewalo seedlings. It is sweeter than the Epoch tomato. I'm still waiting on my first ripe Kewalo. We'll see how that goes, but I expect that it will be good too.

Back to the Epoch, to which this post was dedicated. Epoch is a Vietnamese hybrid roma tomato. The flavor is well balanced tartness and sweetness when allowed to ripen on the vine. Picking it too early will result in a tomato that is less balanced in flavor, but still better than what you can buy in a store.

That's it... Now the race is on to see which Kewalo produces the first ripe fruit.