# reviews on tomatoes



## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

Every year I try a few new tomatoes varieties
What is your choice and why ?

Thanks for the replies
Bob


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## casusbelli (Jan 6, 2009)

Hey, Bob, I was wanting to start a thread on this very topic. In fact, pros and cons of any heirloom varieties we try, in our own humble opinions, and maybe it could become a sticky thread here in gardening. This way everyone wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel. I've been trying 6 to 8 heirlooms out, and am definitely finding favorites, ok-ums, and "never again" ones. 
I'll reply again tomorrow with MY list...


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Better Boy this year and last. Used to be Early Girl for years, then started having blosom end rot problems, no problem with Better Boy. Sweetie wants smaller, needs low acid tomatoes. Always plant 1 Sweet 100, large, sweet cherry type tomato, love them warm, washed right from the warm afternoon sun....James


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

Black Krim -- Incredible taste, good production, nice hardiness. 

Riesentraube -- Stout, bushy plants, excellent production, wonderful taste.


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## MountainCat (Aug 15, 2011)

olivehill said:


> Black Krim -- Incredible taste, good production, nice hardiness.


I have some of those seeds to try. I think I'll plant those next year, if they taste that good. 

This year I did Amish Paste and Silvery Fir. The Amish Paste are good; slight cracking on mine, but I've been bad about regular watering this year. Grew nice and tall and have withstood the heat and massive rain well in a container. Fairly good production.

The Silvery Fir are little dwarf plants. I like them as an odd or decorative thing, but not so much for production. The little round tomatoes are about 3" in size. Beautiful plants. Haven't gotten to taste them yet because they've just started ripening. I'll update in the next day or so when I can pick one.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

If we are just talking about new ones this year, a number of winners again. For a big solid sauce/salad, Rio Grande fit that bill. For overall non-stop medium canner/juicer, it would be Skorospelka. For canning whole or crushed, Buckbee's New 50 Day handles has been loaded for several weeks. Brimmer possibly the best large canner. And for highest production for a paste, it's Banana Legs despite being yellow.

Martin


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## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

For this year: best taste goes to Aunt Ruby--huge plants, 7 ft. tall with real big thick branches, made great big green tomatoes; best paste was Granda Mary's Paste--which made the best sauce ever; best producer for all around canning & eating goes to Creole--big, tall plants loaded with big red tomatorie tasting beauties; favorite cherry goes to Gold Nugget--real small, yellow & great taste.


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## Use Less (Nov 8, 2007)

I seem to like most of the dark tomato varieties. Cherokee purple, black krim, black plum (for thick, flavorful sauce that freezes well). New this year "beauty" and "black". My stand-bys are brandywine, juliet, celebrity. Trying Moreton, black zebra & mountain spring. Did not care a bit for Kellogg's orange breakfast- bland & mushy  . Couldn't fgure when one of those heirlook ripe but green tomatoes was ready to pick  Sue


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## checkitnice (Aug 10, 2010)

Olivehill - my Riesentraube are taller than me! This variety is definitely a keeper.

I also planted Marmande and Red Zebra. The Marmande didn't make it, and the Red Zebra are good, though prone to blossom end rot.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

This year's new to me varieties were Super Sioux, Mule Team, OSU Blue and Meme Beauce.

The *SS* and *Mule Team* are fine, but nothing extraordinary about them.

The *Meme Beauce* didn't do much and the texture is ..mealy, I guess you could call it, with air pockets inside. I won't do it again.

The *OSU Blue *were for fun and the taste is great, but they were not heavy producers. (weren't blue either, but I didn't really care) I won't do them again either.

And for the 3rd year I have planted *Green Zebra *and they just fail to thrive. It is weird.. they don't really grow at all and then just die before blooming or anything else. No amount of care, water, compost or anything else helps them.
I will try another green variety next year.

And I got an heirloom variety from a friend and it did ok. It makes medium yellow tomates, but it is a cool, creamy yellow and not an orange-y yellow. They did fine as well, but not great producers.

I did *Black Cherry* as well, but man!! what a vine. It just grows and grows and grows..
Tastes fine and make great sauce.

The ones that I keep every year are *Amana Orange*(flawless every year), *Paquebot Roma*(the PEFECT Roma, heavy producer, bug and disease free, never cracks), and a family variety of *Cherokee Black* (I like the dark tomatoes The mellow sweetness is sublime).

I cannot wait for next year to roll around so I can plant tomatoes again. I love growing tomatoes. Love, love, love, love, love them.


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## casusbelli (Jan 6, 2009)

I'll weigh in:

*Cherokee purple* - pros: taste. cons: mine behaved almost like a determinate; all at once, then petered out. I thought it a very poor 'keeper', too.
*Pink ponderosa* - pros: good producer. cons: somewhat watery, lots of seed too, transverse splits, not a good keeper at all.
*Mortgage lifter* - p: good producer, large fruits, long season c: trans splits. 
*Boxcar willie* - P: good producer, decent keeper. c: seedy. 
*Costolucio* - p: very good tasting Italian red. c: finicky re: soils. medium producer. not large fruits. 
*Omar's Lebanese* - p: can't think of any. c: worst heirloom I've ever grown. poor production, finicky, disease/insect prone, mishapen fruits, worthless...
*Momataro* - Japanese pink/red. p: great taste. c: very poor keeper, rots on vine even. finicky. 
*Golden Jubilee* - an old Burpee non-hybrid orange. p: beautiful large globular fruits, perfect for slicing. IMO, best tomato for a BLT. acidic and delicious. decent production. c: needs lots of fertilizer. 
*Opalka* - a red Polish paste. Too good to restrict to just paste use. p: wonderful taste. Of course, few seeds/juice, mostly meat. Good bearer and long season. Not finicky. c: not many. some vertical splitting on shoulders. (fruit without splits are decent keepers.) Seem to be the favorites of stink bugs as well  

Still looking for the perfect tomato. Opalka comes close...
Maybe some of your leads will help!


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## imthedude (Jun 7, 2011)

i'll add my $0.02, although i don't have nearly as many varieties as most of you.

brandywine is my standby. they are heavy with fruit this year and are maturing nicely. been getting ripe ones from them for a few weeks now. almost every one that i pick has bad cracks at the top, even though i've adjusted my watering to try to fix this. this is my only complaint about them. otherwise, they have great taste, fabulous texture, and not a lot of juice/seeds.

early girl - have been a big hit this year with a LOT of medium sized tomatoes. flavor is not quite as good as the brandywines but still is good. have been somewhat slow to ripen, even though they're supposed to be "early." 

siberia - disappointed in this variety, although to be fair they did get some hail damage in early june. they set a lot of fruit but didn't really want to ripen all that well. i think the hail set them back enough that they were just getting going good when it started to get hot here. now they're mostly all dead, even with regular water, etc. probably won't plant them again.

edit: can we please make this a "sticky" at the top of the forum, as i'm sure most of us will be looking for this thread come late winter/spring when we begin to start seeds.


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

casusbelli said:


> *Opalka* - a red Polish paste. Too good to restrict to just paste use. p: wonderful taste. Of course, few seeds/juice, mostly meat. Good bearer and long season. Not finicky. c: not many. some vertical splitting on shoulders. (fruit without splits are decent keepers.) Seem to be the favorites of stink bugs as well
> 
> Still looking for the perfect tomato. Opalka comes close...
> Maybe some of your leads will help!


Awesome! I've been trying to find some feedback on Opalka. Another variety I am looking for responses on is the Andes.


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## VT Chicklit (Mar 22, 2009)

The Goldmans American were my favorite this year. Their sweet flavor and not too juicy texture made them a big part of my tomato sauce. I loved their large, unusual shaped fruits and have saved seeds for next year. I also planted Cows Tit (good producer for sauce), San Marsano (another sauce/paste tomato), Basket Vee (medium size for salads and sandwiches), and Meme Beuce (not productive). My plants are still producing and I hope the will until the end of September. Thanks to Paquebot for the seeds that started most of these varieties.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Interesting that MÃ©mÃ© Beauce got 2 bad reports. As with a lot of big ones like that, shelf life is short. I generally use that type just for juice or sauce mixes since they don't make good slicers. 

No surprise that Goldman's Italian American was well-liked. I'm growing another like that this year, Pomodoro di Albenga. Perhaps slightly smaller fruit but otherwise the same. Only growing them side-by-side will prove if they are different or not. 

If one had a choice between Cow's Tit and Andes, I'd take Cow's Tit. I am growing both this year. So far, Cow's Tit is winning for size with Andes Horn winning for production. However, Andes has green shoulders. Also may be known as Andes Horn or Cornue des Andes. 

Martin


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

I grew Amazon Chocolates for the first time this year and they ended up being my most prolific producer! Very pleased with them. Good flavor, too. I'd guess there is some Brandywine in the woodpile. There is a lot of variation in size/shape of the fruits. This is a variety that would benefit from staking as they are sensitive to sunscald. (I let mine sprawl as they were the last variety I planted and I'd run out of stakes!) The vines ran 4-6 feet on the ground.


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## vicki in NW OH (May 10, 2002)

I always grow Sungold (cherry), Rose de Berne, mainly because they are so good. The flavor this year is intense. If you like sweet tomatoes, these are it. Orange bananas are my favorite for drying, although it is very prone to blossom end rot. I like Amish Paste for sauce and usually mix in some Rose de Berne. My Opalka plants got smooshed by flying lawn furniture in a storm so don't have those this year. They are VERY good, though, and thicken up sauce nicely. This is another tomato that is sweet.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

I grew an Italian variety from Seed Savers Exchange this year. Many of them got really big, like softball size. They get a little mushy on the vine when they're still slightly orange tinged. I have been picking and letting them finish ripening inside. Okay flavor, not the best for eating because of the mushy texture, but nice cooked into a sauce.


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

My standbys are: wisconsin 55, amish paste, oregon spring, brandywine. We always grow many other varieties but those are the backbone. I am tempted to replace the amish paste with opalka, the opalkas are that good, but right now just make sure to plant both.

My dh would kill me if I did not plant several cherry tomatoes! I tried the riesentraube for 2 years but got beautiful plants with very 'so what' flavor.


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## Melodee (Aug 3, 2011)

rags57078 said:


> Every year I try a few new tomatoes varieties
> What is your choice and why ?
> 
> Thanks for the replies
> Bob


Hi Bob, I started all of my seeds. I grew 10 cherry tomatoes and 1 large and 1 tiny tomato. As of 9/23/2011 

Aunt Ruby's German Green	Harvested 17	
Black Cherry Harvested 29
Black Zebra Harvested 53
Chang Li Harvested 39
Dr. Carolyn Pink Harvested 44
Isis Candy Harvested 65
Mini Gold Harvested 94
Oranje van Goeijenbier	Harvested 168	
OSU Blue Harvested 36
Snow White Harvested 71
Lithuanian Pink Harvested 10 full size
Gartenperle Harvested 27 tiny plant
Total 653 to date...
I saved seeds from my 4 favorites, in order-*Oranje van Goeijenbier *(first to produce, wonderful taste), *Isis Candy *(sweet and delicious), *Lithuanian Pink *(I've died and gone to heaven taste, hardly any seeds, but a really ugly scar ridden tomato) and *Gartenperle *(nice neat small plant with tasty red fruit). 

I also liked the taste and the look of *OSU Blue*, All of mine were dark purple on the plant and would ripen to red and purple. *Snow White *was like eating grapes, a burst of juice and flavor. 

*ALL OF THE PLANTS ARE STILL LOADED WITH HUNDREDS OF GREEN TOMATOES...* just hope the weather holds out till they can all ripen. I've made friends with all my neighbors with the colorful bags of tomatoes I've been passing out to everyone!

I'll never bother growing Black Cherry (tasteless) or Black Zebra (tough skin) again. All the rest were just ok tomatoes.

I used my *magic formula for growing stupendous tomatoes*.
Start by getting a vigorous seedling to set out. 
Dig a hole 2 feet deep and 2 feet across. 
Toss aside all the subsoil, then fill the hole back in with topsoil, 
5 gallons of high quality compost, 
1 cup of 13-13-13 fertilizer, 
Â½ cup of cane sugar, 
Â¼ cup of table salt, and 
1 level shovelful of hardwood wood ashes. 
Put 3 inches of plain topsoil on top and set a seedling into the plain soil so that its roots can grow into the amended soil beneath. 
He uses 1 level teaspoon of miracle grow to a gallon of water and puts 1 cup of the liquid into the hole with the plant. 
The plant should be firmed up in the soil and left alone for 2 weeks except for watering when needed. 
Make a cage of concrete reinforcing wire that is 30 inches in diameter. 
This requires a piece of wire 8 feet long. 
Put the cage up over the plant and stake it down securely. 
Securely in this case means 2 steel bars driven up to 3 feet deep into the ground and attached with wire to the cage. 
Water the plant as needed and after the first fruits are set, 
start applying 1/2 teaspoon of liquid fertilizer in a gallon of water per plant every other week. 

*I also added at least a dozen crushed eggshells for each plant and work the eggshells into the dirt in the bottom of the hole. *

It was a fun experience but next year I'll limit myself to just 2 or 3 large tomatoes and 2 or 3 cherry's. 

Melodee


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

wrong site


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2011)

Never saw this thread before, I'll get out some notes from previous years though. I want to say that the OSU blue I got from Martin were extremely prolific, and are still putting out. Also, Ace55 is a good, all purpose tomato. Although I never thought the taste was outstanding, it was acceptable. Very productive tomato. 
Cherokee purple does good around here. Low acid(sweet) taste. 
Delicious: Good serious classical tomato taste. Lot of softball sized fruit.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

I had a terrible year for tomatoes, worse even then the blight year two seasons ago, so I won't comment on productivity (so depressing, I usually do so well with tomatoes) but I must say that the black boar (seeds from Martin) are my new favorite for flavor...amazing!


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## VaFarmer (Mar 2, 2011)

Checked the packet, varity name on it but 2nd yr for Roma VF from Gurneys, good taste last on vine good, and great for sauce. Was over run with cherry tomatoes this yr, finally just thru them in blender and added them to sauce, but they are sweet and store well. Big boys did not do well again and overall just was a bad yr for the garden, 1 st time this bad in like 10 yrs maybe. What I'd like to know is what folks are doing to store home grown seeds? How long to dry, store in freezer, air tight bag, cool area? whats been working, have carried squash seeds over but dosn't seem like as healty plants the 2nd &3 rd yrs.


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## wildcat6 (Apr 5, 2011)

I received my Cherokee Purples yesterday. I have never raised them before but I have always wanted to try them. Please tell me, are they good for sauces etc..or are they more of a sandwich tomato/salad?


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## simplegirl (Feb 19, 2006)

One that we have enjoyed the last few years is a yellow variety called Pineapple. Got the seed from Baker Creek.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2011)

wildcat6 said:


> I received my Cherokee Purples yesterday. I have never raised them before but I have always wanted to try them. Please tell me, are they good for sauces etc..or are they more of a sandwich tomato/salad?


There will be as many theories about "sauce tomatoes" as there are people, but this is how I see life: I like a good eating tomato. I would not care to have a sauce made from a tomato that wasn't that good to eat. So, I use my best tomatoes for my best sauce or salsa. some tomatoes are more meaty, you wont have as much volume in juice. But, a pack of seeds is a lot of seeds. I just plant more. Best tomatoes equals best sauce. AND best tomato juice too!

Cherokee purple is right up there. I understand they the may not do as well in some zones, but right here in NC, Cherokee purple is a real winner. Sweet tomato. A much different taste than say big boy type tomatoes. If you don't like the acid bite of "regular" tomatoes and prefer a sweet tomato you'll love it. If you've never had sweet tomatoes, you'll think it's overripe at first. My son thought that they may have gone bad, sweet taste and real dark inside. More of a dusky color than the bright red he was used to. But, a day or two later and the CP was his favorite!


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## wildcat6 (Apr 5, 2011)

zong said:


> There will be as many theories about "sauce tomatoes" as there are people, but this is how I see life: I like a good eating tomato. I would not care to have a sauce made from a tomato that wasn't that good to eat. So, I use my best tomatoes for my best sauce or salsa. some tomatoes are more meaty, you wont have as much volume in juice. But, a pack of seeds is a lot of seeds. I just plant more. Best tomatoes equals best sauce. AND best tomato juice too!
> 
> Cherokee purple is right up there. I understand they the may not do as well in some zones, but right here in NC, Cherokee purple is a real winner. Sweet tomato. A much different taste than say big boy type tomatoes. If you don't like the acid bite of "regular" tomatoes and prefer a sweet tomato you'll love it. If you've never had sweet tomatoes, you'll think it's overripe at first. My son thought that they may have gone bad, sweet taste and real dark inside. More of a dusky color than the bright red he was used to. But, a day or two later and the CP was his favorite!


Good to know. I had always heard they were a good tomato. I have always wanted them due to being unique and an heirloom. Are they very disease resistant?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I agree with Zong.
I sauce all of my tomatoes that I also eat and I won't grow just for sauce and won't sauce a tomato that is not good eating.

And I also love the Cherokee Purple... a lot.
I am growing a cross-breed of it though. I got it from an older relative and who knows what it is crossed with, but I like this flavor even more. It is not quite as sweet..or something...

It grows gangbusters, produces gang busters and never gives me a minute of trouble in the garden. I also grow Black Cherry that almost never makes it into the kitchen, though cherry tomatoes makes wonderful, wonderful sauce and you don't have to cut them up first.

I think that I would love to grow and sell a myriad of tomatoes and have tomato tastings like you would for wines. 
Set up the tables by sweet, sharp, smoky, citrus etc.. with an example of each type. If you decide that you like the citrus tomato, then you can go on to sample of tomatoes that are of a citrus nature too. (I am particularily fond of citrus tomatoes. I got some this year from somewhere that were mislabeled from what I thought they were going to be. I got a small creamy whitish- yellow tomato that had a lemony flavor.. not an acid bite, but a citrus song. Yummy!)

I really love tomatoes.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

The only tomato that did anything this year were the early girls...lots until the drought hit hard....then we finally got a bit of rain and they blossomed again and I got alot of late fall ones. Had planted 10 different varieties...my usual ones gave up after 9 weeks of no rain...and they were heavily mulched. Stayed green but no output. Interested in trying the Opalka or whatever Paquebot has new to try in paste tomatoes. Get too many that crack/rot and are chicken feed.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

There will be two new determinate paste types, Rio Grande and Veepick. Both are solid varieties originally for the commercial markets. Veepick and Paquebot Roma are very similar all around in size and shape with Rio Grande being a taller plant but with shorter and wider fruit . Still hard to beat Cow's Tit for overall production, solid fruit, and few seeds. Andes/Andes Horn is similar to Cow's Tit but slightly smaller fruit. There will also be Carol Chyko's Big Paste which is big but is not a usual paste type. You'll have to remember from here as I may not specify what each variety type is. 

Martin


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## Catalpa (Dec 18, 2011)

Great thread! But now y'all have me wishing for a sun-warmed, ripe tomato for a sandwich, as I sit here with the Christmas tree glowing and snow drifting down, LOL.

09 and 10 were terrible tomato years here, the blight pretty much wiped out everyone. I had enough to can up some sauce, but not near the production I'm used to. 11 was much better; I didn't get the blight, but a cold, rainy spring delayed garden planting by about three to four weeks, so I still had hundreds of green tomatoes at the end of the season. Made lots of relishes and pickles and mincemeat so they didn't go to waste.

I get most of my seeds from Baker and have been happy with the results for the most part. I've only been seed starting for a couple of years and I'm still learning good techniques.

Sub-artic Plenty: sprouted well but then seemed sickly, none of them made it
Amish Paste: amazing production, very meaty, longer tubular shape made them perfect for slicing and putting the in the dehydrator. Also made great sauce and crushed for canning, will definitely grow again.
German Riesentraube: huge plants with hundreds of perfectly round, large cherry sized tomatoes, very mild taste. Couldn't eat them fast enough, one bush is enough.
Large Red: disappointing, low production, kind of a blah taste.
Mama Leone: slow, didn't produce until late; fruits were a strange fluted pear shape with lots of air pockets. Won't be growing again.
BreakODay: did alright, early ones were good for sandwiches but yields were not much for the space taken up by the plants

I'm in Michigan, zone 5.

Looking forward to reading more of this thread!

Cat


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## CountryCabin (Mar 8, 2007)

First off I liked to say, a big Thank you to Martin for sharing the seeds with all of us.

*Paquebot Roma* - Big healthy plants which were just loaded with perfect fruit. Not one problem with them. These are keeping good, so far in a cool room. Another repeater for next planting season. 

O*SU Blue* - Grew great. The early ones I did get where a very nice size. great tasting. These didn't seem to be able to handle the cold and I lost them even though they were covered like the rest. 
Like others said, they were not blue but a purple on green, then turn to purple and red. May grow again.

*Pink ponderosa* - Nice big tomatoes, heavy bearing plants. Great tasting as well. Found them to be good keepers so far. I still have green ones as of Dec.29. 
Will be planting these again and making a bigger bed for them. 

All my plants had to fight with Jack frost, late in the season and then again in fall with a very early frost. I ended up having to pick and bring a lot in when temps started to really drop outside. I have them stored in a cardboard box in a cooler room.

At least I can still have a toasted TLB sandwich almost any time I want, even with the snow on the ground!


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Pink Ponderosa is officially Ponderosa Pink and sometimes called Henderson's Pink. If like that one, Winsall is better. That was an improved version of Ponderosa Pink and one that I grew in 2011. One plant produced identical size fruit except that they were yellow. It's tentatively been named Winsall Gold.

Martin


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## KarmaK (Nov 27, 2011)

So interesting. While someone else wasn't happy with it, my favorite has been Kellogg's breakfast. It's a big orange slicer that is so sweet and low-acid. Delicious!! I guess I should try Pineapple again. I wasn't impressed because it seemed to lack much flavor, but looks like other people have had good luck with it. I also LOVE ivory egg! It's like eating fruit (I know, I know - tomatoes are really fruit, but you guys know what I mean! )


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

KarmaK said:


> So interesting. While someone else wasn't happy with it, my favorite has been Kellogg's breakfast. It's a big orange slicer that is so sweet and low-acid. Delicious!! I guess I should try Pineapple again. I wasn't impressed because it seemed to lack much flavor, but looks like other people have had good luck with it. I also LOVE ivory egg! It's like eating fruit (I know, I know - tomatoes are really fruit, but you guys know what I mean! )


I've grown both Kellogg's Breakfast and Pineapple and they have their good points. However, they share one thing and that is low production. KB fruit are up to 2# so one does get a decent amount of weight from a plant. KBX, potato leaf version, has been reported as better production but I've never grown it.

Martin


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## elkwc (Jun 3, 2007)

KB(Kellogg's Breakfast) has usually been an above average producer here for me. I really like it and it is a must grow every year. I've grown KBX for 3-4 years. Very poor production and more disease issues than KB. This year I will grow KB only. I know many in this area that have experienced similar results growing the 2. But in other parts of the country KBX seems to do better than KB. KB has great flavor until it turns cooler and then flavor drops off drastically. The few KBX fruit I have picked have had good flavor but no better than KBX. KB is one where excessive watering affects the flavor also. More so than some others. So in a semi arid climate with good draining sandy loam the climate in almost ideal for it. Jay


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

My husband keeps talking about the Brandywines that we grew, Suddeth's Strain, I believe it was. They were really good, but had to start picking them when they were green as they kept cracking. Flavor was amazing. They seemed more suceptable to septoria than other tomatoes that I had planted.


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## Homesteader (Jul 13, 2002)

I haven't grown them in years but will be this year - they used to be called Tom Thumb. I imagine they have a new name but they are so cute. Not one for big production, but tiny tiny little tomatoes on tiny little plants (if I recall, about 6-7 inches across). Nice in the flower gardens, they look very pretty and you get a bite too!


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## Patrick (Sep 13, 2011)

I like variegated tomatoes. The fruits are not huge, but flavorful, and of course the foliage is ornamental as well, plus they reproduce true from seed, unlike most variegated plants. I have not seen them listed as any named variety.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Patrick said:


> I like variegated tomatoes. The fruits are not huge, but flavorful, and of course the foliage is ornamental as well, plus they reproduce true from seed, unlike most variegated plants. I have not seen them listed as any named variety.


Variegated *is* the name of the variety. Several small companies carry the seed. Sand Hill is one that I know of which had it. 

Martin


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

Amish Paste are the only tomatoes I'll be growing next year. They did so well for me this year - nice dark red, good size fruit, easy to peel, low in water, make nice sauce.


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## Patrick (Sep 13, 2011)

Paquebot said:


> Variegated *is* the name of the variety. Several small companies carry the seed. Sand Hill is one that I know of which had it.
> 
> Martin


Not quite. It may be sold that way by some seed catalogs, but it's not an official named variety. The term simply describes that the color of the leaves is, well, variegated. I have seen at least two named varieties of variegated tomatoes used in research, but as far as I have been able to tell, they are unavailable in commerce.


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## CountryCabin (Mar 8, 2007)

duplicate post...due to waiting?


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## CountryCabin (Mar 8, 2007)

VARIEGATED TOMATO (Lycopersicum esculentum) is an Irish heirloom.

Thats what it is called.

hmmm whats with the wait 25 sec between post? This is my first post today.:bored:


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Patrick said:


> Not quite. It may be sold that way by some seed catalogs, but it's not an official named variety. The term simply describes that the color of the leaves is, well, variegated. I have seen at least two named varieties of variegated tomatoes used in research, but as far as I have been able to tell, they are unavailable in commerce.


I'll repeat, Variegated is a variegated variety named Variegated. It has been Variegated for a number of years. It was changed to Splash of Cream for a time in Europe before properly reverting to its original name which was Variegated. It's been available as Variegated since at least 2005 via various SSE members and there will be at least 3 members offering Variegated in the 2012 Yearbook. 

Martin


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

My favorite color is orange, so I chose orange toms to grow last year! It was the hottest,most _miserable_ Kansas summer of my life, with I think at least a month of days over 100. The Woodle Orange & Apricot Brandywine I got from Martin just couldn't be beat! Even when all my green beans, cucumbers, melons,etc. shriveled up & died, these guys kept on poppin' em out! And SO sweet & meaty, little seeds, just awesome taste, right up till the first frost. :thumb:


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I have one variety that I love, it is (so far) only locally available by the gal that accidentally bred it.  She calls it "Dang Imperfection" because the fruits are a bit ugly and tend to split. However, they grow on huge prolific indeterminate plants, were the first to set fruit in a miserable wet summer last year and the fruits are large, pinkish, very meaty (low seed) and taste wonderful. I had tons of them, made great sauce, but wonderful sliced. 

They are for sale out of Moses Lake, WA - if anyone is interested in how to get them, PM me. 

If I remember correctly, we grew Dr Wyche's Yellow on year and loved them too. I've grown Zebras and found them a bit small and ordinary, though they did well enough. I love Sweet 100's, I may have to grow them again soon, though I am trying other cherry tomatoes this year. My family likes the Yellow Pear tomatoes, they grow and produce well, but I'm ready for a change.


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## Sandi (Oct 4, 2011)

I love dr. Wyches yellow and pink lady from seed savers exchange. The yellows are big and meaty and the ladies were my longest producing and most abundant, very uniform too.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

GrannyCarol said:


> I have one variety that I love, it is (so far) only locally available by the gal that accidentally bred it.  She calls it "Dang Imperfection" because the fruits are a bit ugly and tend to split. However, they grow on huge prolific indeterminate plants, were the first to set fruit in a miserable wet summer last year and the fruits are large, pinkish, very meaty (low seed) and taste wonderful. I had tons of them, made great sauce, but wonderful sliced.
> 
> They are for sale out of Moses Lake, WA - if anyone is interested in how to get them, PM me.
> 
> If I remember correctly, we grew Dr Wyche's Yellow on year and loved them too. I've grown Zebras and found them a bit small and ordinary, though they did well enough. I love Sweet 100's, I may have to grow them again soon, though I am trying other cherry tomatoes this year. My family likes the Yellow Pear tomatoes, they grow and produce well, but I'm ready for a change.


Hey, my sister lives in Moses Lake! I'll have to tell my bil about these, as he's the gardener and she's the canner. Could you PM me the info? Thanks!


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

trying two I've never grown - Belgium Giant and Homestead. Anxious to see how they do. Always grow Chocolate Cherry.


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## diannab (May 13, 2012)

Hi,
Just found this site and love it already. We grow about 15 kinds of tomatoes every year. All sizes, shapes, colors and flavors. A favorite is Opalka and also Sun Gold, a cherry tomato. The most prolific tomato last season was Cream Sausage. One plant was enough, but first time we planted 4. Similar is Green Sausage. Great taste for a meaty tomato and very pretty. Speckled Roman, Hungarian Heart, Black Krim, Tasty Evergreen, Dr. Wyche's Yellow are a few more. I will be doing seed saving this year so I will watch for helpful hints on the best way to preserve my seeds. 
Almost all of my seeds came from Seed Savers Exchange. Maybe when people mention different seeds, you can tell where they came from. I would like to try Cow's tit, but never heard of it until this site.
Thanks for all the great reviews on tomatoes!


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

diannab said:


> I will be doing seed saving this year so I will watch for helpful hints on the best way to preserve my seeds.


Simplest to maintain reasonable purity is 15' between varieties. Otherwise do an Internet search for bagging blossoms.



> Almost all of my seeds came from Seed Savers Exchange. Maybe when people mention different seeds, you can tell where they came from. I would like to try Cow's tit, but never heard of it until this site.


Cow's Tit has been listed in the SSE Yearbook since 2007. Five members now list it. I'm not growing it this year as I hope that I have enough seeds on hand to meet the demand.

Martin


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## trbizwiz (Mar 26, 2010)

Martin, when you bag the tomatoes do you have to hand pollinate? or how do the tomatoes get polinated? I know I could look it up. But I would rather get the answer from someone who has done it. Thanks. I wont be doning minie this year, but I have seed left from this years plantings. i figure Ill use seed from my favorites adn try to save seed from that fruit next year.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

No need to hand-pollinate as tomatoes are self-pollinating. They just need a little vibration from the breeze or insects to move the pollen around inside the blossom.

Martin


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## trbizwiz (Mar 26, 2010)

Ok thanks. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

With this year's new varieties just starting to produce, finding both good ones and duds. Least impressive are those typically used for canning but often the most important for production. One such type that's all around impressive is KC135 which Campbell's developed in 1958 using Wisconsin 55. Perfect medium fruit and very prolific. That's the best canner so far and may even be an improvement over Wisconsin 55 in some ways. 

Most impressive are often big ones but many have major faults. Belize Pink Heart and Russian Bull Heart were early and big but nearly all with splits. Don't know if it's the varieties or the environment. And yet Tsar Kolokol, another pink heart, hasn't had a single blemish. 

Both of the Wisconsin 55s continue to prove that they are indeed siblings. 6 of each planted side-by-side and nearly identical in everything until ripening to a different color. Other than that, all equal in everything else. 

Finally may have a year when all of the new cherry or grape types are winners. German Lunchbox is a nice two-bite pink grape similar to Juliet but sweeter. Bing Cherry looks just like what it is named for and starts out with blue shoulders. Out Of The Blue and Dancing With Smurfs also from the same line as Bing Cherry and all 3 of them quite good.

Martin


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## a'ightthen (Mar 17, 2012)

Paquebot said:


> With this year's new varieties just starting to produce, finding both good ones and duds. Least impressive are those typically used for canning but often the most important for production. One such type that's all around impressive is KC135 which Campbell's developed in 1958 using Wisconsin 55. Perfect medium fruit and very prolific. That's the best canner so far and may even be an improvement over Wisconsin 55 in some ways.


 That's good to hear Sir ... been meaning to ask how they were making it up there .... but I seem to have a new found hobby of counting peas in a pod  Takes a lot longer picking peas now lol

I need to do another grow out of all of those from Campbell's ... there's good stuff in there.


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## danielsumner (Jul 18, 2009)

I'm not at all pleased with my "Early Girl". The "Brandwines are just starting to get ripe. I think they will be good.


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## a'ightthen (Mar 17, 2012)

danielsumner said:


> I'm not at all pleased with my "Early Girl". The "Brandwines are just starting to get ripe. I think they will be good.


 I prefer Early Goliath over Early Girl but hope that Brandywine does well for you .... just good stuff.

Some folks experience limited production from them but they have always loaded up here ..



















and are the STUFF!










And sauce made strictly from them .... sheesh!

I have maintained my seed for many years and even retain a sport that is RL instead of PL.


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## danielsumner (Jul 18, 2009)

a'ightthen said:


> I prefer Early Goliath over Early Girl but hope that Brandywine does well for you .... just good stuff.
> 
> Some folks experience limited production from them but they have always loaded up here ..
> 
> ...


 ----, I going to plant me some Early Goliath's next year. It looks like a lot of flesh and less water.


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## a'ightthen (Mar 17, 2012)

danielsumner said:


> ----, I going to plant me some Early Goliath's next year. It looks like a lot of flesh and less water.


 Sorry, those pics were of Brandywine.

Early Goliath goes more like this ...




























Sliced pic is a bit weird .... they be round but it is what I came across showing texture


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## danielsumner (Jul 18, 2009)

So this means those big old green maters on my Brandywine's are just little babies. OH, I'm so excited.


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## a'ightthen (Mar 17, 2012)

danielsumner said:


> So this means those big old green maters on my Brandywine's are just little babies. OH, I'm so excited.


Yup, you are going to enjoy them


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## casusbelli (Jan 6, 2009)

Tried Japanese Black Treifle this year - medium pear-shaped. Good flavor, but more juice and seeds than meat. Won't plant again.
Also tried Indigo Rose - small dark high anthocyanin tomato. Odd ripening, never know when it is, poor flavor - won't grow again.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Probably time to review winners for this year. Don't know how I ended up with so many paste or sauce types but I was also looking for anything which could beat Andes Horn and Cows Tit. Perhaps didn't find any in that class which beat them but Budenovka is coming close on huge vines. South American Banana is big and a well-behaved plant. San Marzano Redorte is somewhere between those two and really impressive. Middlefield Amish Paste is a production maniac but about half the size of the above. Biggest disappointment has been Opalka with so much hype and so little production. For overall weight versus plant growth, Paquebot Roma still beats them all for true paste type. 

Martin


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2013)

"Believe It Or Not", a variety that Martin sent me last year. This year has been bad here, rain every day, plants drowning, everything cracking. Anyway, this one is about average size, 19.2 ounces, but as you can see, a nice meaty tomato. Good taste, an ideal sandwich tomato.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

When I listed Believe It Or Not in the SSE Yearbook, my comment was as follows: "With a name like that, I was expecting something spectacular. But then, nothing wrong with a lot of 1# fruit." That is definitely a winner if you get a chance to grow it.

Martin


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