@Fusion_power or other growers: I have one spot left for a tomato: any of these stand out above the others for bold taste: JD’s Special C-Tex, Druzba, Boxcar Willie, Oaxacan Jewel?
Already planted Kelloggs Breakfast, Crnkovic Yugoslavian (your tip), Neves Azorean Red, Akers W. Va (your tip I believe) and Stump of the World (grew last year too per Scott’s tip).
Drop Oaxacan. Any of the first three are good.
Fusion-Any idea for a source for Montesino plants or seeds? Seeds were all sold out when I tried to find them earlier this year. This one has been my favorite for years and I’m so sad I haven’t been able to find them.
This year we’re trying out:
Esterina, Pink Boar, Ruby Crush, Sungold, Golden Spark, Momotaro (SO yummy), Atomic Fusion, Atomic Grape, Blue Boar Berries, Cosmic Eclipse, Hillbilly, Principe Borghese, Marriage Marzinera, Supernova, Buffalo Sun, Tastylee, Pineapple, Pomodor Squito
Also just for fun here’s comparison photos of what we grew a few years ago:
So how long is it from flower to ripe fruit for a very large beefsteak type tomato?
I have some seeds of a super big strain of tomatoes and I want to grow a tomato for the county fair in mid August. I’ll pinch off all blooms before the right time, then pick one, hopefully a megabloom flower, around the right time. But what is that? About 50 days? Less or more? I’ll admit I’ve never really paid attention before how long it takes.
Thanks for any sight for the proper timing for “the big one”.
The high prices are a result of companies like Bonnie Plants that have relatively high labor expenses driving costs up. They can’t make money unless they charge $3 or $4 per plant.
If you want a breakdown on actual cost to produce a seedling, here it is.
Plastic tray with cells (48 cells per tray) cost is roughly $2
Promix seed starting mix to fill the tray is roughly $1
Hybrid seed to plant in the tray will run roughly $3
Labor to handle the tray, mix, and seed is about $3
Total of $9 tied up in a tray of 48 seedlings which works out to a cost per seedling of about 19 cents.
Now factor in the overhead of having managers, running greenhouses, trucks with drivers to distribute the plants, and the inevitable cost of unsold plants. When you add this to the cost per plant of 19 cents, you begin to see why a large plant producing operation sells tomato and pepper plants so dearly.
I do understand that they can justify the price I owned a small horticulture business and it was easier for me to sell at the farmer’s market with lower prices, my overhead was not as high. I am finding that they no longer cater to those who have large gardens with younger plants in 6 packs, the focus is on one plant priced high which for them includes more dirt, larger pots, more of their time etc.
Does anyone know what would cause a tomatoes bloom to abort like this? Never seen them just kinda crumple up like this before.
Appears to be failure of the flowers to pollinate. There can be several reasons such as high temperatures, lack of pollinating insects, no wind, etc.
That looks like multiflora which has a few other problems that can cause flowers to dry up.
Are those weeds that they are growing in?
A pineapple guava that froze back this year. Tomato is a Roma volunteer, 6’ tall with the support of old bush.
Steve, which tomatoes did you end up putting in this year?
I tried Boxcar Willie, Stump of the World and a few others that were ‘first timers’ for me, last year.
This year . . . . I went back to my old standard - Better Boy.
Have not been disappointed.
I don’t ‘put up’ tomatoes, though . . . and we just eat them as they come off the vine in salads and stir fries. And I give a lot of them to garden-challenged friends !
I have 2 Supersonics and 1 Big Beef, which I am trying for the first time. Both have nice tomatoes on them - but again . . . I think Better Boy has a ‘better’ taste - to me.
@PomGranny I tried Better Boy two years ago and it was a dud here. No tomatoes yet this year, waiting on Boxcar Willy, Kelloggs Breakfast, Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, Neves Azorean Red, Akers West Virginia and Druzba. A couple of those are favorites of Craig Lehoullier and Carolyn Mayle, two tomato book authors. Hotter than hades here now so they probably stopped setting.
Hi Pim, I’m growing Legends, Rutgers, Red Brandywine, Mortgage Lifters, Paul Robeson, Black Sea Man, and Neves Azorean Red. Just ate a nice ripe Legend. The largest is a Neves so far. Anticipation is running high.
Rutgers was a great tomato for us . . . when we lived in Louisville. It won’t grow here. Maybe I should try it again. Next year. 
Does the current Rutgers taste like the old one I remember from the 50’s? I read it has been altered and the original may not even exist now, unless a family has saved seed for a couple generations.
Ham, although I was eating Jersey tomatoes in the 50’s, I don’t recall. These are from an older heirloom seed. There is an heirloom Rutgers Select which is indeterminate and I’ll try it next year and compare. Also, a Rutgers Improved is available from Reimers that is a newer version.
This is a wonderful thread!
Do you have any recommendations for hot and humid climates? I am looking for taste! Slicers and cherry tomatoes! I live in Panama, Central America.
The original Rutgers tomato was an indeterminate. Almost all of the Rutgers available today is compact indeterminate, in other words, most of the Rutgers seed available today is not the same as the original. If you dig around, you can still find the indeterminate variety. A similar issue has cropped up with Mountain Pride, a 30ish year old release from Randy Gardner. Seed available today do not produce the fruit size and shape of the original.
I happen to like a balanced flavor tomato. The original Rutgers flavor was very robust and intense with relatively low sugar. It is not balanced therefore is not really one of my favorites. However, it is very hard to beat Rutgers for canning.
Ramapo is from the same breeding lines that Rutgers was developed from but with some added disease tolerance.
Most of the varieties of tomatoes I grow are not adapted to conditions in Panama. However, you might give Tropic and Creole a trial for slicers and Lorelei for a red cherry.
Just a short question about slicing tomatoes. Is there a proper or preferred way when using slices for a BLT or sandwhich? I always place the tomato on its side and slice off a thin slice from the bottom then continue across to the stem part. Others set the tomato on its bottom and slice across from one side to the other. Any thoughts?
