Good tomato Review by Tomatolady
Overall Rating
Even in adverse weather this tomato yielded a sizable crop of large tasty tomatoes. Our area suffered some late blight, but this one was resistant t it..
(Posted on 2/1/10)
strong genetics Review by illinois special
Overall Rating
last year blight wiped out my entire collection of 60 tomato plants all but one, an illini star. that plant got to be over 10 feet in length and was 6 ft in the air. so on march first i planted 4 illini in a raised bed and cover them with plastic, 2 they were frost killed. 2 regenerated, and are still producing. by may 15 i have 50 green tomatos on 2 plants.
(Posted on 7/26/10)
Very easy tomato to grow! Review by Unknown
Overall Rating
I was sent this seed when the one that I ordered was not in. I was very surprised and happy with these beautiful tomatoes all summer!! I through the seeds in the garden not expecting to get any tomatoes at all (I'm in Zone 6) and ended up canning, drying, preserving soups and sauces, and then when it froze outside I had tons of green ones to use, and made a green salsa everyone raved about! The plants produced so much I was giving them away too! The fruits do not have any wrinkles on them, and were very resistant to bugs and disease..
(Posted on 5/14/10)
Oh Man Review by Beerman
Overall Rating
If you like February-store-bought flavor, with little to no disease resistance, this one is for you. One of the worst tasting fruits I have ever grown.
(Posted on 7/27/11)
seed saving Review by tipsy the gypsy
Overall Rating
I have been saving seed from this tomato for three years now. I aquired my original seed stock here.Old school red tomato taste, good yield, disease and pest resistance. i recomend this to any seed saver or plant breeder. thanks.
(Posted on 8/3/11)
Just won't germinate Review by Rod
Overall Rating
I started 16 different varieties of tomatoes 2 weeks ago and everything except Illini Star germinated beautifully. I used 2 seed trays and planted about 10-12 seeds of each variety. All the others germinated in the first 4-7 days. Only 2 of the Illini's germinated in that time period and nothing since. As a 'backup' after about 7 days, I started another 6 Illini in dixie cups. That was 5 days ago and no hint of any sprouts. As a 'backup to my backup,' 4 days ago, I started another dozen seeds between damp paper towels in a small plastic deli container. I just peeked inside and only 1 looks like it's germinating. I don't know if this is just a characteristic of this one variety or if I got a bad seed packet. The other 15 plants are thriving in the seed tray and already have their first true leaves while the Illini Star area of the seed tree is mainly dirt, aside from the two runts that have sprouted. Even my bell pepper plants, which usually take a week longer than tomatoes to germinate have sprouted, yet still nothing in the Illiini Star arena. Unless these turn out to be real later bloomers, I think I'll look for something other than Illini Star next year..
(Posted on 3/3/12)
Follow-up to my previous review Review by Rod
Overall Rating
Well, I guess patience is a virtue. About 10 days after coaxing my Illini Stars to germinate in dixie cups and in-between damp paper towels in a plastic container, I ended up with about 12 small sprouts. A few weeks later, I transplanted them into 7 oz. plastic cups and voila!...they've really taken off. A week after transplanting, some are now 6-7" tall and look like they'll be hardy little plants. Can't wait to plant them. If the weather warms up enough, I plan to harden them in about 2-1/2 weeks and plant around mid-April. Yes, these Illini Stars were stubborn little guys to get started, but 4-5 weeks later, they're doing just fine. The moral of the story: Don't give up too soon!.
(Posted on 3/26/12)
