Grew Dona in a large pot for the first time this Spring after purchasing by accident. For me, Dona had a pleasing flavor that was on the...Read More sweet side, not acidic. It has been a relatively problem free plant. It's tomatoes are medium-sized, round or somewhat heart shaped. I would definitely recommend trying it.
Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA | February 2011 | positive
We live in the Torrance/Palos Verdes area, in the southern part of Los Angeles. I tried a couple of Dona plants a few years back (mostly ...Read Morebecause they were available and new to me), and fell in love with them! Nice sized fruit, you don't have to wait all summer, and good flavor. Getting Dona plants is more hit-and-miss around here now, but it (along with Champion and Early Girl), is one of my main varieties now. I highly recommend trying it if you want, in the words of another poster, a workhorse variety that will keep cranking them out!
This french hybrid tomato sells extremely fast in our area. Of course, learning of the high demand/low supply, I wanted it that much mor...Read Moree and went to great lengths to get a plant. The plant is smallish, great for a small garden. The fruit the size of a golf ball. Disease resistant and very productive. The taste was extremely disappointing. I found it very mealy, like a grocery store tomato. I won't grow it again. However, I would love to taste the fruit from somebody that loves Dona. Would like to learn what the big woop was about b/c I sure didn't experience it in my own garden.
What continues to puzzle me is the fact people love it or hate it. No in-between. I did not love it.
Central Valley, CA (Zone 9a) | February 2010 | positive
Very productive and very tasty. One of the best tasting tomatoes I have grown. Does well even in a hot, dry area. It is one of the few...Read More varieties that are reliable every year. The seeds I purchased were an open-pollinated variety from Tomatofest.
I grow 100 tomato plants every year. I have grown at least 12 new varieties every year for 15 years. That is a lot of tomatoes. Usually I...Read More find only one variety a year that I like and continue to grow in greater numbers.
Donas are our mainstay tomato. They are fantastic. When I hear reviews that say the plant is small and the tomatoes are round and tasteless I know they do not have a Dona.
No matter the weather,and we have it all here, they produce large amounts of slightly flattened,blemish free, incredibly tasty, crack free fruit.The plants are indeterminate and grow right out of my 5 foot hight concrete reinforcing wire cages.
If I had to grow just one tomato,heaven forbid, it would hands down be Dona. Spring Grove,Mn.
I have planted Donas for my fall garden in Houston, Texas now for many years. They are usually tremendous producers for me. Not too large...Read More but the plants are always loaded down and often have to be multiple staked and tied off. I have had them get as tall as 9 feet and being indeterminate, I have also cut them back and left some of them in place for the summer garden as well.
The only problem I have had is finding them available to transplant in the garden. They sell out so fast whenever they show up at the various usual locations.
I have grown Dona for 5 years here with good success, just south of san francisco, california. the summers are dry, cool to warm, calm to...Read More windy, and low humidity here. I like the flavor of Dona, and it produces consistently high quality fruit with excellent disease resistance.
A 1993 fresh market round red from Vilmorin. It is one of the two French hybrids that I am familiar with, the other being Joker from the ...Read Moresame company. I don't know where folks are getting the idea that this is an heirloom or even open polinated. The Dona sold by major seed suppliers is the French hybrid. It has 6 - 8 ounce fruit and is resistance to tobacco mosaic virus, verticillium wilt race 1, fusarium wilt races 1 and 2, and nematodes.
This is the third year for me growing the French hybrid 'Dona' and I have had excellent results here in the hot and dry Sacramento Valley...Read More. Heavy producer of medium, red and very sweet fruit. Heavy foilage prevents sun scald which is very important here although I frequently use burlap sheets hung on the cages to shield the vines on 100 degree plus days.
Dona has been an excellent producer in my garden in the Central Valley of California. There is almost no humidity in the summer here (it...Read More doesn't rain from May through October), but the summer heat causes many beefsteak-types to drop their flowers. The Dona tomato produces well and early, and the taste is great.
I grew this tomato several years ago and although the fruit were small,they were pretty good. Production in hot,humid West KY was dissapo...Read Moreinting.The skins were paper thin and didn't toughen up in the heat,but I am using the garden space for tomatoes that seem to do better in my gardening conditions.
I've tried this three years in a row down in hot and humid Houston. Good vine growth, but only produced a handful of small maters. The ...Read Morematers were very sweet (a little too much for me) and tasty. It might do better in a cooler climate.
Grew Dona in a large pot for the first time this Spring after purchasing by accident. For me, Dona had a pleasing flavor that was on the...Read More
We live in the Torrance/Palos Verdes area, in the southern part of Los Angeles. I tried a couple of Dona plants a few years back (mostly ...Read More
This french hybrid tomato sells extremely fast in our area. Of course, learning of the high demand/low supply, I wanted it that much mor...Read More
Very productive and very tasty. One of the best tasting tomatoes I have grown. Does well even in a hot, dry area. It is one of the few...Read More
I grow 100 tomato plants every year. I have grown at least 12 new varieties every year for 15 years. That is a lot of tomatoes. Usually I...Read More
Dona is a good, medium sized "workhorse" tomato with a nice old-fashioned tomato flavor. Exceptional flavor for a hybrid.
I have planted Donas for my fall garden in Houston, Texas now for many years. They are usually tremendous producers for me. Not too large...Read More
I have grown Dona for 5 years here with good success, just south of san francisco, california. the summers are dry, cool to warm, calm to...Read More
A 1993 fresh market round red from Vilmorin. It is one of the two French hybrids that I am familiar with, the other being Joker from the ...Read More
This is the third year for me growing the French hybrid 'Dona' and I have had excellent results here in the hot and dry Sacramento Valley...Read More
Dona has been an excellent producer in my garden in the Central Valley of California. There is almost no humidity in the summer here (it...Read More
I grew this tomato several years ago and although the fruit were small,they were pretty good. Production in hot,humid West KY was dissapo...Read More
I've tried this three years in a row down in hot and humid Houston. Good vine growth, but only produced a handful of small maters. The ...Read More