I was not able to get tomato seeds started this spring but have access to many varieties of tomato plants at a local nursery. Some of these I’ve grown before including black krim, mortgage lifter, Mr. stripey, beef master…
Looking for recommendations on any other standout varieties on this list that I may not be familiar with. I’m mainly interested in fresh eating sandwich-style slicers. Not interested in canning, paste, or cherry style tomatoes.
Anthing standout on the following list I should take a look at?
AMISH PASTE (HEIRLOOM)
ANNA RUSSIAN
AUNT RUBY’S GERMAN (GREEN)
BASKET BOY (RED STRIPE)
BASKET BOY (YELLOW)
BEEFMASTER VFN
BEEFSTEAK (HEIRLOOM)
BETTER BOY
BETTER BUSH
BIG BEEF HYBRID
BIG BOY
BIGGER GIRL
BLACK CHERRY (HEIRLOOM)
BLACK KRIM
BRANDYWINE (ROSEY-PINK)
BRANDYWINE (YELLOW)
BROWN BERRY (CHERRY)
BULL’S HEART
BURPEE LONG-KEEPER
CARBON
CAROLINA GOLD
CELEBRITY VFNT
CHAMPION II
CHEFS CHOICE ORANGE
CHEROKEE PURPLE
DEFIANT PHR
DELICIOUS
EARLY DOLL
EARLY GIRL
F’ 4TH JULY
FIRST LADY II
GERMAN JOHNSON (PINK POTATO LEAF)
GERMAN PINK
GIANT BELGIUM
GIANT RED PEAR ABRUZZESE
GLADIATOR
GOLDEN BOY
GOLDEN JUBILEE
GOLIATH (BUSH)
GOLIATH (HYBRID)
GREAT WHITE (ALL WHITE BEEFSTAKE)
GREEN ZEBRA
HEALTH KICK
HILLBILLY
HUSKY RED
JET STAR
JETTSETTER
JULIET (GRAPE-LIKE)
KELLOGG’S BEEFSTEAK (ORGANIC)
LEMON BOY
MARGLOBE VF
MORTGAGE LIFTER
MOUNTAIN FRESH PLUS
MR. STRIPEY
OXHEART, GIANT
PARKS WHOPPER
PATIO
PINEAPPLE (RED & YELLOW)
PINK GIRL
PONDEROSA (PINK)
PRUDENS PURPLE (HEIRLOOM)
RED ROBIN
ROMA
RUTGERS VF
SAN MARZANO
SAUSAGE
SCARLET RED
SUNGOLD
SUNSUGAR
SUPER FANTASTIC
SUPER SWEET 100
SUPERSAUCE
SUPERSONIC
SUPERSTEAK
SWEET CHELSEA
SWEETIE SEEDLESS (SWEET SEEDLESS)
TAMI-G (GRAPE AKA AGRISET)
TOMATILLA (TOMA VERDE)
ULTRA SWEET VFT
WATERMELON BEEFSTEAK
WHITE WONDER
WV63
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I have an extremely limited amount of experience, but Cherokee Purple and Pink Brandywine did well for me last year. PB might have been my favorite for taste. I’m expanding greatly this year to trial more based on suggestions from @Fusion_power and others.
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I found “Aunt Ruby’s German Green” to be fairly disease resistant and productive last season (I think it was last season—it was sometime, anyway). Enjoyable eating, too.
“Cherokee Purple” and “Carbon” have been the best-performing dark tomatoes for me in 6b Kentucky. I believe “Carbon” has had a slight edge in terms of productivity. Eastern European blacks have not done well here.
I don’t know if it’s the same as your “Pineapple,” but I grew a bicolor beefsteak called “Hawaiian Pineapple” for several years: good productivity and excellent sweet flavor.
Have not grown “White Wonder” but grew one very like it, “White Beauty” (aka “Snowball”), several times. It’s an old preserves tomato, but nice for fresh eating, surprisingly flavorful; low-acid, as you can imagine. Also productive.
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If you want to try a no frills, reliable, productive and great tasting tomato I would try Big Beef.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/tomatoes/beefsteak-tomatoes/big-beef-f1-tomato-seed-2063.html
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Here in TN… Big Beef is a real winner… so productive of big beefy great tasting tomatoes.
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Amish Paste has been our go to for years. No other non-hybrid variety is able to beat it in terms of early production for us. Makes a big difference when disease and pest pressures inevitably strike later in the season.
Big Beef is definitely the choice if you like good regular red tomatoes.
For canning, Rutgers or Marglobe.
But, some folks are going to love other things.
Early girl is good to try for an early harvest.
Celebrity is a good taster.
I like Black Krim, but it’s hard to get good production.
etc.
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@speedster1
Do you want taste or production? As an example Roma are great for spaghetti sauce and produce very heavy but tasteless more or less. Early girl is good for production great for Salads! Lemon boy is a favorite yellow for salads. Sometimes reds are just to acidic and I need a break. Rutgers is a favorite I like the flavor. I don’t like Cherokee purple they taste good but production is to low. Sungold is a great yellow cherry tomato. Super sweet 100 is a good cherry. Patio is just what it says a very heavy producer on small well behaved plants perfect for patio pots. Jet star is an old favorite medium. Celebrity do fine as well as a medium salad tomato. Black Krim is tasty as a black tomato with ok production. These are the beefy hamburger tomatoes and BLT makers
BEEFMASTER VFN
BEEFSTEAK (HEIRLOOM)
BETTER BOY
BETTER BUSH
BIG BEEF HYBRID
BIG BOY
I’ve grown 80% or more of what’s on your list! It’s a good list whoever grew those knew tomatoes!
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I like Amish paste too for a smaller tomato… great taste… but here in my garden they are a little less disease resistent than big beef.
Might do better if you single or double stem them instead of cage with full foliage.
For a cherry tomato… sun gold is sure hard to beat.
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Has anyone heard of mortgage lifter tomato.
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Yes… I tried ML back in the 90s…
Good tomato… but not as good as brandywine which I grew a lot of back then.
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I only have room for 6 plants this year. And the selection there was incredible so I winged it and picked up
German Johnson
Red & Yellow Rainbow
Aunt Ruby’s German Green
Ponderosa Pink
Hillbilly
Black Krim
I’m not overly worried about the best production. I just want something that tastes good, can be used on sandwiches, and is different than my usual. We will see how these do.
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@poncirusguy
Yes it literally paid off the mortgage it’s pretty good. There are many better for disease resistance and production now. Here is a great story to go with it
"Mortgage Lifter Tomato Care – Growing Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes Tomatoes By: Laura Miller Image by Deb Nystrom If you’re looking for a flavorful, large, main-season tomato, growing Mortgage Lifter may be the answer. This heirloom tomato variety produces 2 ½ pound (1 kg.) fruit up until frost and includes a delicious story to share with fellow gardeners. What are Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes? Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are an open pollinated variety which produces a pinkish red, beefsteak-shaped fruit. These meaty tomatoes have few seeds and mature in approximately 80 to 85 days. Mortgage Lifter tomato plants grow 7 to 9 foot (2-3 m.) vines and are indeterminate, meaning they set fruit continuously throughout the growing season. Butterfly Garden Course 0 seconds of 30 seconds This variety was developed in the 1930’s by a radiator mechanic working from his home-based repair shop in Logan, West Virginia. Like many depression era home owners, M.C. Byles (aka Radiator Charlie) was concerned about paying off his home loan. Mr. Byles developed his renowned tomato by crossbreeding four large-fruited varieties of tomatoes: German Johnson, Beefsteak, an Italian variety, and an English variety. Mr. Byles planted the latter three varieties in a circle around the German Johnson, which he hand-pollinated using a baby’s ear syringe. From the resulting tomatoes, he saved the seeds and for the next six years he continued the painstaking process of cross pollinating the best seedlings. In the 1940’s, Radiator Charlie sold his Mortgage Lifter tomato plants for $1 each. The variety gained in popularity and gardeners came from as far away as 200 miles to buy his seedlings. Charlie was able to pay off his $6,000 home loan in six years, hence the name Mortgage Lifter. How to Grow Mortgage Lifter Tomato Mortgage Lifter tomato care is similar to other types of vine tomatoes. For shorter growing seasons, it’s best to start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last average frost date. Seedlings can be transplanted into prepared garden soil once the danger of frost has passed. Choose a sunny location that receives eight hours of direct sunlight per day. Space Mortgage Lifter tomato plants 30 to 48 inches (77-122 cm.) apart in rows. Place rows every 3 to 4 feet (around 1 meter) to allow plenty of room for growth. When growing Mortgage Lifter, stakes or cages can be used to support the long vines. This will encourage the plant to produce larger fruit and make harvesting tomatoes easier. Mulching will help retain soil moisture and reduce competition from weeds. Mortgage Lifter tomato plants require 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm.) of rain per week. Water when weekly rainfall is not sufficient. For the richest flavor, pick tomatoes when they are fully ripe. Although growing Mortgage Lifter tomatoes may not pay off your home loan like they did for Mr. Byles, they are a delightful addition to the home garden.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Mortgage Lifter Tomato Care – Growing Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes What Are Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes: How To Grow Mortgage Lifter Tomato Plants
"
@speedster1
Those are good choices for flavor. You have a wide group in different taste with those! All taste good but the green ones are hard for me to pick. It’s weird I know they are ripe and yet my brain tricks me into leaving them! The ones I actually pick before some lucky animal does are delicious. The “Red & Yellow Rainbow” on your list I have not grown and know nothing about I’m looking forward to photos of these. Black tomatoes don’t do great here as I mentioned but I very much enjoy the flavor.
