PlantFiles: Tomato
Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Yellow Pear'

I'm was having the same problem as blaciris (the post on June 22nd 2009) except now the leaves and branches are turning yellow and then brown. The fruit is shriveling up as well. I have over 20 tomato plants, all different kinds, and none of the others are doing this. It's getting plenty of water, but we are in Redding CA where we get stretches of 105-112F weather so maybe just not good for the hotter climates? It's just weird how they droop and then start changing color?? All my plants are in raised beds and have been fed...I cut all the dead leaves and branches off hoping this would help but went out today & it's still happening. Anyone know what's going on? Would like to keep it, I like to put them in the mix for salads and they are a pretty little mater...

had never even heard of this plant before.... a week or so ago what i thought was our usual volunteer cherry tomatoes started fruiting and the shape was diff -- we kept an eye on them... noted the pear shape past few days... got online and googled... matched up photo with yellow pear tomatoe... have never planted this before... best guess is the mulch/compost we brought in this year or some little birdies.. we also had severe spring storms.. could have blown in .. who knows.. the plants are all healthy.. have them staked... about 6-61/2 feet tall... heavy with fruit... excited to see them turn yellow and taste them... we applied mushroom compost this year.. and so far it's really helped with flavor of our produce... and healthier plants and produce... there are 4 volunteer plants... a very nice surprise... part of what makes gardening so fun for me...

This is the first year of my gardening and I have planted 2 yellow pear tomatoes. They grew really well at first, much faster than my other varieties, already flowering and bearing little tomatoes. However, a couple of weeks ago, the top foliage of one of the plants started to curled up, and gradually the curling developed to the top half of the plant. The leaves are still green and are not turning yellow or sick in any other way, just curling up. It's still flowering and growing and no bugs. It just does not look like soem disease. Lately the other yellow pear seems to start the same thing. I tried to water more but I dont' think the curling is due to lack of water. None of the other variety tomatoes in the same bed have this problem. Does anyone know what could be going on? I'm from South Georgia and the weather has been exceptionally hot and humid in the past month. (there have been a few days above 100F) And there are no shade in my garden so the tomatoes have been exposed to full sun and high heat everyday. Could this be the reason? If so, what can I do to help the plants? According to a few website I checked, it may also be caused by poor drainage of the soil. (There had been a few really bad thunderstorms that could have caused that.) If so, what could I do to loose the soil?

Wow! I had no idea anyone would dislike this little guy. It does taste different than other tomatoes but bland & watery??!!?? No, way! I love my tangy tomatoes, but this one is has its place in my heart, too. It is true that people who aren't usually crazy about tomatoes may be fond of the milder taste - my husband usually avoids tomatoes but liked this one. Also my neighbor usually has to limit how many tomatoes she eats because of the acid, but she could eat a whole bowl of these without consequence. And because it is so prolific I had plenty to share.

Grew several plants of the yellow pear over the last few years with the same disappointing results. Mealy texture and bland taste. The only garden tomato I have ever grown or tasted and did not like. Will not make room in my garden for this again.

We loved these little tomatoes. They were VERY prolific. Tasty and beautiful in a salad or stir fry. Daughter loved eating them fresh out of the garden. This plant kept going when others were dying out at the end of the summer.

The plants literally try to take over any plant near them. This variety produces tons of tiny tomatoes but the taste is bland. If you want a plant for young children, this one is the one to grow. However, you will give lots of tomatoes away because you can't eat them all and you really wouldn't want to.

this one has been invited back to the garden for a couple years, and will be again this year. SWEET 1-2" long, bright yellow, mild tomato flavour, best warm from the vine.

These tomatoes taste like a store brought tomato. Bad texture and the taste is very bland.

I've had a really tough time getting tomatoes to set fruit when the day temps are in the tripple digits and the night temps are in the 50*F-60*F range. Although they did slow down a bit in the heat of the summer, they bounced back into full swing when the temps dropped to the upper 90*F range. To me, while they are sweet, they don't have as "tomato-y" a taste as other cherries - but they are still far superior to the average stuff at the store. And, both my todler granddaughter and my 16 year old son will eat them - neither of them would eat any of the other tomatoes this past season. Maybe it's just the yellow color, and maybe my son is just in the "eat everything in sight" stage, but it's pretty tough to fake out a todler with vegetables. So even though they may not be The Tomato, since they will survive and thrive in the high desert, I will edge them into the positive category. And they ARE cute. Cuteness counts :-)

Cute but unexceptional taste.

Initially I had this marked as a negative, but a few salads later, I find that it's actually quite good. I would definitely grow it again. It's just not an 'off the vine, snacking in the garden' kind of tomato. The flavor is very mellow and unlike any of the reds I planted this year, cherry or regular. It's got great substance when you are eating it with a good salad dressing- tastier in a salad than the other tomatoes which were so good in the garden. Which sounds odd, but the other people that I shared these guys with agree. It was the general favorite for salads, even being a yellow, which kind of put people off at first. Prolific, too!

Rapid growth, great foliage, tons of beautiful tomatoes, but, sadly, very little taste. As I had a bumper crop I'm grateful that the horse liked them. Austin yellow pear is the variety I grew.

Endless supply of 1 1/2" pear tomatoes with great taste, ideal for salads. Indeterminate, 70-80 days from transplant.

Wow, I never expected so much controversy over something as simple as Yellow Pears. I guess it is a perfect example of the fact that Tomato taste varies from person to person. I prefer dark Tomatoes with an earthy flavor and a friend of mine prefers the light colored Tomatoes. I guess that's why we have 10,000 varieties to choose from, so everyone can find a favorite.

I have grown Yellow Pears since I was a kid. And while I have seen photos of varieties that appear different, mine have always been the same regardless of where I got the seeds. I eat them from time to time and they taste fine to me considering that they are a yellow cherry. I have put baskets of cherries on the table at picnics and cookouts and the Yellow Pears usually get picked out and eaten first, so apparantly most people like them or they could be drawn to them due to the shape and color.

And yes they do offer prolific production. I have never counted before but I read once that one plant produced over 1,500 Tomatoes a couple of years ago. The only thing I don't like is the fact that the tend to crack easily.

We love the yellow pear tomato for it's sweet flavourful fruit. They rarely make it home as we eat most of them in the garden. One thing I have noticed about yellow pears - the fertilizer type makes a HUGE difference in the flavour of the fruit. My mom uses miracle grow and her yellow pear tomatoes are sweet with very little tomato taste. We garden organically and our plants have a very rich taste.

I really enjoyed this tomato. Grew over six ft. tall with prolific production. Tomato flavor was great in the strain I planted. It appears there are several strains of the yellow pear variety- perhaps this is where the differences in taste are coming in, some strains may be more bland than others. I got my plant from Bonnie plant farm- not sure which strain they are selling.

I have lived in San Diego for just over a year now and would like to start to garden here. Growing these yellow pears for the first time and I'm a beginner gardener. I have six plants against the side of my 6 foot tall wooden fence.

I must re-assess this heirloom more favorably.

I have grown several Yellow Pears including Beam’s Yellow Pear, and found that Victory Seed’s cultivar “Documented as a pre-1800 variety” - to be superior to others according to my growing conditions and taste preferences. It is slightly rounder and larger than Beam’s.

Putting to rest the claim, that Yellow Pear is for “non-gardeners” –

Of the 50-plus different heirloom tomatoes currently growing in my garden, Principe Borghese, a determinate Italian heirloom, and Yellow Pear are neck-in-neck this season for first ripe tomato. Both are Victory Seed.

The positive side of Yellow Pear’s subtle flavor is that it does not compete with sublime salad dressings, nor does it shout for attention in understated fare. Yellow Pear looks fabulous in summer soups such as yellow gazpacho, as well as in salads when placed next to a chiffonade of purple cabbage, or nasturtiums, or Zephirine Drouhin petals.

Yellow Pear performs for us 10 months of the year. We love its availability in January. To ramp up their flavor, they can be split, placed on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, dusted with fresh ground peppers, sea salt, and left to bake at 150 degrees for several hours. This condenses their essence resulting is a burst of flavor that finds many new uses.

It is obvious to me that Daisyavenue and T Plant know what a tomatoe is supposd to taste like. I agree with both of them in their dislike of this tomatoe. So bland and watery and it will not be grown here again just to many other good choices to make.

I really enjoy these tomatoes. Mine were grown from seed and were specifically called "Beam's Yellow Pear" from Seed Savers. The flavour is fabulous and sweet but with a good kick. They are best when really ripe on the vine - when a bit green, they're not as good. They are definitely prolific here in Iowa and produce fruit all season long.

I have grown this plant on and off (as per availability) for more than 35 years. I noticed that the people who do not like it are in zone 10, and most likely in sandy soil. I have done well and especially well with it when I have amended my clay soil with lots of poulty manure. The flavor of my tomatoes is terriffic but I do get some blossom end rot.
This was my favorite tomato to eat when I was a kid. Its flavor is mild but sweet and I think it is a great way to get kids who are otherwise picky eaters to enjoy tomatoes.
My only problem with this prolific bearer is they tend to split after a rain.

Add me to the LOVE list for this little tomato.

Plants are better off caged rather than staked, as they are indeterminate & easily reach 6' or better in height. I grow mine in 5' to 5-1/2' welded wire cages, & even though they spill over the top a bit, that size cage seems to work fine.

Small (as in cherry-size) pear-shaped golden fruit is produced abundantly until cut down by hard frost, & I find the plants highly resistant to the viruses that can plague tomatoes towards the end of the season.

Yes, the fruit is very mild in taste, but for someone like myself who adores cooking & has done some catering, these cute little tomatoes make fabulous garnishes, make a nice contrast with red cherry tomatoes in salads, & make a lovely hors d'oeuvres when - along with regular red cherries - they're sliced in half & topped with a piping of creamy herbed cheese.

This variety - & I definitely AM a long-time hard-core gardener, thank you - will always have a place among the many heirloom tomato varieties I grow in my garden.

The taste leaves a lot to be desired. Fruit is beautiful and very abundant but I would classify this shrub and that is what it looks like, to be more of an ornamental than an edible. No comparison to our cherry or grape tomatoes. The saving grace to this tomato is its color and shape.

I remember my great-grandmother growing yellow pear tomatoes in Ballinger, Texas. I can still see her using her apron like a basket when she picked them. They are beautiful in a salad mixed with some red tomatoes!

Great tomato, favorite for my kids and also one of the choice ingredients for my green chile salsa!

Little did I realize that when I wrote a rave review of these as "great little tomatoes for salads and salsa", that it was the abundance of yellow pears that I was writing about and not the actual quality. They are great to add to a salad for color if you add real tomatoes with actual flavor. They are great show plants that appeal to non-gardeners sensibilities. And I am not being harsh. These are not going into our garden again.

LOVE it! This is one I eat fresh, usually while right there working in the garden. Beautiful fruit, gorgeous color.

This tomato has been bearing delicious fruit from May to August and is still going here in Arizona.

I love this little tomato! The vines are beautiful when trained on a trellis or over a fence. The fruits have a delicate sweet taste.

I use them primarily for summer tarts and salads. But they also can beautifully (if you have the patience to do so). They also make a wonderful sweet pie filling, and can be processed and used like apricots.

Love it or hate it, this is the same tomato your grandpa use to grow. It is very meaty and very prolific.