I need 100# of juicy firm/hard tomatoes a week this summer

My local Mexican Cantina has asked me to grow tomatoes for them this coming summer. I already grow bell and jalapeno peppers for them and am ok with that. I need some suggestions for a disease resistant hybrid with fruit in the 6-8 oz. range. The catalogs are full of them but hearing your experiences are better than any catalog. Thanks, Chikn

Many professional growers are on Tomatoville, that for sure would be the place to ask, if not a member you should join.
http://www.tomatoville.com/index.php
I don’t really grow hybrids. Brandyboy is mentioned a lot, and I have heard Early Girl mentioned on the radio. Not sure of the size? Although many who have supplied restaurants are members of tomatoville.

Celebrity has good flavor, productive with uniform fruit size.
Mountain Fresh from NC State is a popular hybrid at the local farmer’s market.

I just have a little garden, but Early Girl does very well for me in PA.

Chikn, where are you located? Jetstar and Early Girl have been productive for me. I also grow a couple yellow varieties last summer. They did well but lacked taste.

Goliath has always been a winner for me (Zone 9A, So. Cal.), not sure if it would be the same elsewhere. Produces heavy crops of medium - large/firm/juicy fruit that is delicious!

Also have never had any issues with disease but then again it could be my weather :).

Central Ia. Early girl has been good for me too. [quote=“Drew51, post:2, topic:3356”]
Many professional growers are on Tomatoville,
[/quote]Just joined Thanks! I guess if I sell I’m ‘professional’. That has a lot of implications I’m not sure I can handle.

[quote=“blueberrythrill, post:3, topic:3356”]
Celebrity has good flavor, productive with uniform fruit size.
[/quote]Another good suggestion that I’ve shied away from for no good reason.[quote=“puggylover75, post:6, topic:3356”]
Goliath has always been a winner for me
[/quote]Just saw that for the 1st time this year, ordered it:grinning:

Sometimes they take a long time to approve. The owner isn’t always around or busy etc, be patient.

Check out this operation!
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=18309&highlight=showing

They won’t let me yet, I will though.

Well it took a month for them to get around to letting me in. Hopefully it won’t be that long for you.

So, how did Goliath work out for you, what are your thoughts on it? Was it Goliath original? I am considering giving it a try this year.
Has anyone here tried the Goliath Early variety?

Goliath cracked badly. Scratch that one. I now look for a tomato that doesn’t crack and is firm enough to be mechanically processed into pico. I have two which work for that, I use a Burpee tomato called Big Mama, my people love it. I pick it at breaker and it stays hard for a week-10 days. Big and tasty, a roma type. Another pico type, ‘Its a Keeper’- Seeds n Such. Baseball hard, baseball flavor, tennis ball size. Perfect for pico, runs through the equipment w/o turning to mush even when red ripe and stays nice for 2-3 days after processing, No flavor!! For a salad/slicer I use Big Beef, again picked at breaker and it stays very firm w/o cracks for 7-10 days. Very good flavor.
Everything else I’ve trialed for me has been poor to awful. I keep trying though.
Remember, I grow for restaurant requirements which are different than home use.

3 Likes