What kind of tomatoes will you grow this year?

[Go aeiou]

I erroneously posted in Endzone.
DW's favorite is Cherokee Purple so two plants. Mine is Brandywine pink. I usually grow Carbon.

I've read about a Black Brandywine, but I have never seen one for sale.

I grew Better Boy last year to make sure we had a long season of tomatoes, but I didn't care for it. No taste. First time ever. Mislabeled? I have probably grown either better boy or Park's Whopper 40 of the last 50 years.

I no longer start tomatoes from seed.

 

[superdave1984]

We tried better boy tomatoes last year. The taste was great, but the plants didn't produce many. Probably our soil is the culprit. I think we will plant beefsteak tomatoes this year. My neice has actually developed her own heirloom tomatoes and we may get some seeds from her.

 

[Go aeiou]

We tried better boy tomatoes last year. The taste was great, but the plants didn't produce many. Probably our soil is the culprit. I think we will plant beefsteak tomatoes this year. My neice has actually developed her own heirloom tomatoes and we may get some seeds from her.

Do you know what she crossed?

 

[Tin Man]

5 cherokee purples, 2 big beef… I cannot get the cherry and san marzano seeds to germinate. If nothing is sprouting by this weekend, I’ll decide to switch the last three or keep on keeping on.

 

[VolNExile]

- Costoluto Genovese (Italian heirloom)
- Brandywine pink (heirloom)
- Citrine (indeterminate cherry hybrid, as an alternative to SunGold, as last year’s erratic rainfall here caused a lot of SG splitting)
- Lemon Boy Plus (disease-resistant hybrid)
- Green Giant (disease-resistant heirloom)
- Mountain Merit (WNC disease-resistant hybrid)
- Black Sea Man (Russian, umm maybe Ukrainian heirloom)

(All from seed, so germination-dependent)

 

[bigorangewildcat]

Cherokee purples,Better boys,Brandy wine,Romas,Early girls,

 

[Go aeiou]

- Costoluto Genovese (Italian heirloom)
- Brandywine pink (heirloom)
- Citrine (indeterminate cherry hybrid, as an alternative to SunGold, as last year’s erratic rainfall here caused a lot of SG splitting)
- Lemon Boy Plus (disease-resistant hybrid)
- Green Giant (disease-resistant heirloom)
- Mountain Merit (WNC disease-resistant hybrid)
- Black Sea Man (Russian, umm maybe Ukrainian heirloom)

(All from seed, so germination-dependent)

Nice list. Those Italian tomatoes are so good. I'd like to have a load of soil from beneath Mt Vesuvius to grow tomatoes.

I had a terrible problem with cracking tomatoes caused by erractic rain. It's very disappointing to have a beautiful heirloom(s) and have large cracks when it rains after a dry period. If no rain I water about every 4 days using a soaker hose. I put the hose on the soil and cover with straw.

 

[Toujours Pret]

The kind that get eaten about 4 days before I plan to pick them

 

[VolNExile]

Nice list. Those Italian tomatoes are so good. I'd like to have a load of soil from beneath Mt Vesuvius to grow tomatoes.

I had a terrible problem with cracking tomatoes caused by erractic rain. It's very disappointing to have a beautiful heirloom(s) and have large cracks when it rains after a dry period. If no rain I water about every 4 days using a soaker hose. I put the hose on the soil and cover with straw.

I do mulch heavily with straw, but with these downbursts that we were having in August, I’m seriously considering getting some sort of thick plastic with slots for the stems to put over the mulch when forecasts look bad. When tomatoes are reaching full ripeness, they don’t need a surge of water to deal with. The skin can expand to accommodate any more fruit, including water.

But I will say, if you aren’t counting on getting cherry tomatoes into the kitchen for canning salsa or something, it’s hard to beat munching SunGolds straight off the vine, standing right there in the garden. Amazing flavor! Citrine is supposed to be about as good, plus crack-resistant. We’ll see!

 

[Go aeiou]

I do mulch heavily with straw, but with these downbursts that we were having in August, I’m seriously considering getting some sort of thick plastic with slots for the stems to put over the mulch when forecasts look bad. When tomatoes are reaching full ripeness, they don’t need a surge of water to deal with. The skin can expand to accommodate any more fruit, including water.

But I will say, if you aren’t counting on getting cherry tomatoes into the kitchen for canning salsa or something, it’s hard to beat munching SunGolds straight off the vine, standing right there in the garden. Amazing flavor! Citrine is supposed to be about as good, plus crack-resistant. We’ll see!

I'll look for Sungold and Citrine plants next month. I also need a good yellow tomato. Acid is starting to bother my stomach.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Y'all are making me crave some good maters

 

[joevol33]

The kind that get eaten about 4 days before I plan to pick them

Last ones I did were beautiful, and almost ready to pick. We left for vacation, came home, and there was half of one left. Deer and rabbits had their way .

 

[GVF]

I'll look for Sungold and Citrine plants next month. I also need a good yellow tomato. Acid is starting to bother my stomach.

I've had good luck with Golden Jubilee in the past. Really good flavor, low acid, and sweet. And since you are not starting seeds, should be able to find at Lowe's or Walmart. That's where I got mine.

Dad's Sunset and Kellog's Breakfast are also good one's and you might find them at a local garden center. We have a mennonite family with a garden center that puts out alot of heirloom varieties.


EDIT: There is also an orange called Peachy. Beautiful flesh color. Super sweet. Velvety skin like a peach. Grew it last year. Produced heavy for me, but the fruit was on the smaller size, and I thought it was a bigger variety. Possible I didn't get the size, but I sure got the flavor. Didn't seed it this year just to try Dad's Sunset.

 

[GVF]

Riesentraube
Hungarian Heart
Dwarf Purple Reign (Mind Blowing purple, low acid, super sweet. Only tomato the wife asked for again this year. She's not a big tomato eater)
Dad's Sunset (Orange/Yellow)
San Marzano Redorta (Larger and better version)
Dwarf Beryl Beauty (Green)
Dwarf Sweet Scarlet
Carbon (I think)
Santiago

A Grappoli D'Inverno was a superb flavored grape/cherry that put out tons of fruit. Kinda old fashioned flavor with still the right amount of sweet. I just switched to try Riesentraube, but I will grow that one again.

 

[GVF]

I erroneously posted in Endzone.
DW's favorite is Cherokee Purple so two plants. Mine is Brandywine pink. I usually grow Carbon.

I've read about a Black Brandywine, but I have never seen one for sale.

I grew Better Boy last year to make sure we had a long season of tomatoes, but I didn't care for it. No taste. First time ever. Mislabeled? I have probably grown either better boy or Park's Whopper 40 of the last 50 years.

I no longer start tomatoes from seed.

You may try here. Best place to order started plants. Guarunteed shipments. Huge selections. Super packaging. Plants will be atleast shin high in 4" cups.
www.heirloomtomatoplants.com

I see she has finally escalated her prices. Average plant used to be $5.50-$6.50. Now starting out at $7.25. Plus shipping rates have gone ballistic. Last time I ordered, the 2-3 day guarunteed rate was way more than the 6 plants I ordered.

 

[GVF]

I've also started getting into the Dwarf Varieties. Produce good amounts of full size maters, but without all the fuss of setting up posts and what not to adequately support indeterminate heirlooms. Open pollinated tomatoes and flavors in a 2-4 foot plant, and easy to use cheap tomato cages.

 

[VolNExile]

I'll look for Sungold and Citrine plants next month. I also need a good yellow tomato. Acid is starting to bother my stomach.

I don't know about plant availability because I ordered seeds, but I chose Lemon Boy Plus because of this description on Johnny's Selected Seeds:

Lemon Boy Plus (F1) Tomato Seed
Product ID:4477
New! A delicious yellow tomato.
An updated version of the classic Lemon Boy tomato with added disease resistance and sweet, tangy flavor — a marked improvement over typical yellow tomatoes. The flattened-round, 7–8 oz. beefsteak fruits are consistent in size, shape, and quality with very few blemishes. A high-yielding variety with good firmness. Comprehensive disease package offers wide adaptability and keeps the plants healthy and the fruits clean. Can be harvested bright lemon-yellow to deeper golden-yellow when fruit exhibits light checking and a subtle blush at the blossom scar. Harvest a bit underripe if you prefer a more acidic flavor profile. High resistance to Alternaria stem canker, Fusarium crown and root rot, Fusarium wilt races 1–3, gray leaf spot, tomato mosaic virus, Verticillium wilt; and intermediate resistance to nematodes and leaf mold. Indeterminate. Avg. 126,400 seeds/lb. Packet: 30 seeds.

 

[VolNExile]

- Costoluto Genovese (Italian heirloom)
- Brandywine pink (heirloom)
- Citrine (indeterminate cherry hybrid, as an alternative to SunGold, as last year’s erratic rainfall here caused a lot of SG splitting)
- Lemon Boy Plus (disease-resistant hybrid)
- Green Giant (disease-resistant heirloom)
- Mountain Merit (WNC disease-resistant hybrid)
- Black Sea Man (Russian, umm maybe Ukrainian heirloom)

(All from seed, so germination-dependent)

My problem with growing tomatoes is that I want to grow EVERYTHING. For 2 people. In 2 small beds. So to somehow trim down the list, I try a random theme. I probably should have confessed that my choices this year were based on color - I wanted to have a rainbow of tomatoes! So here's how they break out by color:

red: Costoluto Genovese (indeterminate) and Mountain Merit (determinate)
pink: Brandywine (indeterminate)
orange: Citrine (indeterminate cherry)
yellow: Lemon Boy Plus
green: Green Giant (indeterminate)
brown/black/multi/something: Black Sea Man (determinate) photos below

 

[GVF]

My problem with growing tomatoes is that I want to grow EVERYTHING. For 2 people. In 2 small beds. So to somehow trim down the list, I try a random theme. I probably should have confessed that my choices this year were based on color - I wanted to have a rainbow of tomatoes! So here's how they break out by color:

red: Costoluto Genovese (indeterminate) and Mountain Merit (determinate)
pink: Brandywine (indeterminate)
orange: Citrine (indeterminate cherry)
yellow: Lemon Boy Plus
green: Green Giant (indeterminate)
brown/black/multi/something: Black Sea Man (determinate) photos below

View attachment 541016

I also go for the color range to get the mix of heirloom flavor in things like tomato pies and tarts. I mix them canning as well. I used to do Better Boys, and Rutgers then got into the heirloom thing. My granddad used to grow Better Boys in fresh mushroom soil that would blow your taste buds. And such a deep red. I always liked them. Seen some posts above that aren't so kind. Maybe the Better Boy shifted or something. Gramps was all Better Boy and Big Boy.

 

[GVF]

- Costoluto Genovese (Italian heirloom)
- Brandywine pink (heirloom)
- Citrine (indeterminate cherry hybrid, as an alternative to SunGold, as last year’s erratic rainfall here caused a lot of SG splitting)
- Lemon Boy Plus (disease-resistant hybrid)
- Green Giant (disease-resistant heirloom)
- Mountain Merit (WNC disease-resistant hybrid)
- Black Sea Man (Russian, umm maybe Ukrainian heirloom)

(All from seed, so germination-dependent)

Any of the "Mountain" Varieties, there are several, come from my step-sons previous seed company.

Melonade, a Johnny's offering, is also his company's development.

 

[superdave1984]

Do you know what she crossed?

I do not. I will try and find out

 

[Go aeiou]

You may try here. Best place to order started plants. Guarunteed shipments. Huge selections. Super packaging. Plants will be atleast shin high in 4" cups.
www.heirloomtomatoplants.com

I see she has finally escalated her prices. Average plant used to be $5.50-$6.50. Now starting out at $7.25. Plus shipping rates have gone ballistic. Last time I ordered, the 2-3 day guarunteed rate was way more than the 6 plants I ordered.

I'm fortuanate to have excellent garden centers around me. Cooks Vegetables on Lebanon pike in Hermitage. He gets plants/vegetables from the (Mennonite or Amish?) along KY border. Needham's in Mt. Juliet. Not sure where he gets his plants, but the quality is excellent with great variety. Also Bates on the North side of Nashville. It's a 30 minute drive from home but they have excellent plants.
I'm pretty much down to tomatoes and pepers now in two approx 12x4' raised beds, although I did plant lettuce and strawberry spinach recently. Firts time for the strawberry spinach. It dates back to 1600 in Europe.

 

[Go aeiou]

I've also started getting into the Dwarf Varieties. Produce good amounts of full size maters, but without all the fuss of setting up posts and what not to adequately support indeterminate heirlooms. Open pollinated tomatoes and flavors in a 2-4 foot plant, and easy to use cheap tomato cages.

When I had a 20'x60' garden I would let tomatoes grow horizontally and sprawl on top of wheat straw. The tomatoes were kept on top of the straw(not soil) and picked when ripe. The Plants were occasionally trimed.

 

[GVF]

When I had a 20'x60' garden I would let tomatoes grow horizontally and sprawl on top of wheat straw. The tomatoes were kept on top of the straw(not soil) and picked when ripe. The Plants were occasionally trimed.

Sprawling is the natural habitat for tomatoes, but I've not ventured away from the adopted staking. Even though I do straw heavily around them to reduce disease.

How was your production using this natural method, and did you keep plants going their own direction or did you just let them go, and then work your way in for picking? I have one of those large rectangle gardens. You have to be careful not to spend more on staking than you do growing.

did you see any increase in snect attraction letting them sprawl?

 

[GVF]

I'm fortuanate to have excellent garden centers around me. Cooks Vegetables on Lebanon pike in Hermitage. He gets plants/vegetables from the (Mennonite or Amish?) along KY border. Needham's in Mt. Juliet. Not sure where he gets his plants, but the quality is excellent with great variety. Also Bates on the North side of Nashville. It's a 30 minute drive from home but they have excellent plants.
I'm pretty much down to tomatoes and pepers now in two approx 12x4' raised beds, although I did plant lettuce and strawberry spinach recently. Firts time for the strawberry spinach. It dates back to 1600 in Europe.

There is an amish community on the Border accross from Celina. You gotta take a back road up when you cross the bridge. I'm sure there are a few others. THey have a well stocked store during harvest season. Not sure is they sell seedlings.