For those that have read this thread, you know that I don’t like eating fresh tomatoes, but I love growing them, and giving them to friends and family.
I started my seeds almost two weeks ago, and have nearly 100% germination. The varieties I’m growing this year:
Amazon Chocolate*
Chinese Velvet*
Royal Hillbilly*
Earl’s Faux
Arbuznyi
Aussie
Box Car Willie
Eckert Polish
Fantome Du Laos (white)
Hillbilly
Marge’s Polish Pride
Just curious as to what’s on everyone else’s tomato growing list for this year. Also, if folks what to do a seed trade later, I’d be interested.
No, I haven’t grown that one previously. I meant to indicate in my original post that those with a * next to the name are varieties that I’ve grown before. I’ve grown many other types in the past, but mainly wanted to focus on new varieties this year. The seed cost was low, so no real monetary loss if they turn out to be a dud. Of course, location and conditions will be a huge factor on how tomatoes turn out.
Lemon Boy isn’t quite a beefsteak type – more a general slicer – but I’ve grown it several different years under high disease pressure in Va zone 6b and it is a great producer despite disease. Yellow Brandywine I’ve only grown once and I don’t remember my impressions of it except that it produced very little. Might have a better more tomato-y flavor than Lemon Boy though.
It isn’t quite yellow, though it does get almost there when fully ripe, but Cherokee Green was pretty good for me last year. We had a pretty bad year for all tomatoes and even some that I know taste awesome didn’t, this time, but Cherokee Green still had a good taste, so I would think in a good year/better spot it would be really good.
Orange Kentucky Beefsteak is actually yellow, and very tasty, tart and slightly sweet, plus they can get big, easily over one pound. We’ve tried maybe 40 varieties for three growing seasons, and this one will always be in our garden. Plant can get YUGE, so give it plenty of room. I space all my tomatoes at 4ft, and this one fills that space.
I second yellow Brandywine, very good flavor, but a shy bearer. Huge beautiful plant with potato leaves, but stingy producer.
Dr Wyche Yellow produced well for us last year, but flavor was a bit off, but a lot of our maters lacked in flavor last year. More on me and the humid rainy summer than the fruit, probably.
This is my tentative list though I might have to cut a few due to space constraints.
The stars are new varieties to me, others are repeats.
SunSugar (cherry)*
Speckled Roman (paste)*
Ted’s Pink Currant (from Victory Seeds)
Jasper (cherry but tasted like a grape tomato to me)
Pink Brandywine
Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Green
Waspicon Peach (really a nice unusual salad/small slicing tomato)
Indigo Rose
Sugar Drop (cherry)*
Blue Ambrosia (cherry)*
Painted Pink (cherry)*
Esmeralda Golosina *
(The above 4 are from http://www.jandlgardens.com/ )
I’ve got a lot of cherries in there this year because my kids love to eat them. Plus I figure I can always freeze them, and puree into soup or sauce if I want, without having to core or peel like I would with a bigger tomato.
Our preliminary list, as it changes often. I’ll start with definites, and could be’s
Fer sure:
Chocolate Cherry
Orange Kentucky Beefsteak
Jaunne Flamme
Watermelon Beefsteak
Siberian Pink Honey
Gordost Sibiri
Yellow Pear
Paul Robeson
Russian Queen
Striped Roman
Abe Lincoln
Indian Stripe and Girl Girl’s Weird Thing (thanks @Drew51!)
Maybe:
Cream Sausage
Amur Tiger
Mr Bruno
Dr Wyche Yellow
Red Calabash
Mischka
Not again:
San Marzano (disease magnet, may be because it’s more of a bushy plant-poor air circulation)
Black Krim (most purple’s don’t do well here)
Mortgage Lifter
Pink Brandywine (not good flavored at all last year, might have picked too early)
Cherokee Purple (see BK)
German Johnson
I’ll admit that I’m still a tomato newbie, so other folks may have much better results than me with some of my stinkers. But I’m working on it.
Yeah all gardening is local, I found that starting some late sometimes saved me. They avoid the temperature roller coaster of spring, Which can weaken a plant. I have avoided a few early diseases too. It was done for other reasons, I had a little room, or I broke a big branch off (often they root easily).
I also discovered that for some strange reason? When I grow tomatoes with my blackberries, they tend not to catch fungal leaf problems, strange. I have a huge bare spot in the middle of my blackberry patch and have stuck in the ground broken branches, and they grew! Not much air circulation either, yet no problems. Now, a Prime Ark Freedom put in last year is there, and some figs too, left completely unprotected. If they lived?? No doubt they will die to the ground, but the roots may have survived? So that spot is gone now.
If damping off disease doesn’t mess up my plan, I’ll grow the following:
Cherokee Purple
Morasky Div
Ferris Wheel
Copper River
Roselle Purple
Black Krim
Gary O’sena
Sungold
Grubs Mystery Green
Mazarini
Anna Russian
Orange Minsk or KBX.
I like KBX better because it’s juicier but if you like firm meaty tomato, then Orange Minsk will be a good choice.
I grew KBX this last year. It was a good plant. Produces well too. I have Orange Minsk, yet to grow it out. I have grown Amana Orange, and I myself liked it slightly better. All very close, and it was different years.
I’m not that found of yellows, so not a good person to ask. I prefer the purples.