Would you recommend...??

huntsman · August 21, 2009

...the following forum favourites to a total novice in Zone 9?

(I gleaned them from about four 'Favourites' lists on this forum )

Aunt Ginny's Purple
Earl's Faux
JD's Special C Tex
Black Krim
Brandywine (Sudduth's)
Anna Russian
Aunt Gertie's Gold
Black Cherry
Black From Tula PL
Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Green
KBX
Marianna's Peace
Paul Robeson
Stump of the World
Green Giant
Eva Purple Ball

Thanks for your input!

daninpd · August 21, 2009

I haven't grown AGP, Stump or GG but the rest get a full endorsement from me. Aunt Gertie's Gold was a low producer for me, but was the best tomato I have ever eaten. I haven't found anything to beat Cherokee Green for a combination of production and taste.

oc tony · August 21, 2009

I don't know how your weather is in SA, but most zone 9 gardeners here grow two crops a spring and a summer planted fall crop. Your list is very heavy on beefsteaks that take 80 or more days to mature and yield from 0 to 20 kgs. depending on how early the heat hits and how high it gets and how long the heat wave lasts. A two to three week heat wave can be devastating. As a general rule I'd be looking real hard at tomatoes with not much more than 70 days to maturity for around 25 percent or more of the planting. If you check out the Texas and Florida growers comments on this forum it may correlate with what you may be facing there in SA.

TZ-OH6 · August 21, 2009

Is your zone 9 blazing hot, or are you on a cool water coast or high altitude with milder temps?

SLO_Gardener · August 22, 2009

Of those listed I've grown:

Black Krim: Has always done well for me. Prolific, tasty, and easy to grow.
Black Cherry: Growing for first time this year. Very sweet and tasty but not very high yeilding.
JD's Special C-Tex: Growing for first time this year and love it!!! Nice sweet, smokey black flavor and productive.
Anna Russian: I know a lot of people really like this one, but it didn't do much for me. Very bland tasting.
Cherokee Green: Growing for the first time this year and I really like it. It is a very pretty color and has a nice sweet and tangy flavor.
Marianna's Peace: This one has done well for me and has an excellent flavor.

huntsman · August 22, 2009

Thanks for the replies thus far, folk ~

I'm at 1 mile asl, with hot days and a long summer. (My season starts now) Rainfall is fairly regular during Spring and Summer, and winters are cool with a frost but no snow. The area is not at all humid, even after rains.

I have taken this list purely from comments on the forum, and have not yet even seen pics of them, so I had no idea they leaned in one direction, oc tony - perhaps you can suggest a few of the 70 day-ers?

Also, I don't understand why the 70 day would be a better bet than an 80? Is it a case of the sooner you can harvest the better?

Thanks!

dice · August 22, 2009

Quote:

Also, I don't understand why the 70 day would be a better bet than an 80? Is it a case of the sooner you can harvest the better?

For Zone 9 here, it often gets too hot to set fruit before late
ripening, large fruited varieties have set many fruit. Having
some "early" and "mid-season" (rather than "late") varieties
insures having a nice harvest even if the summer temperature
gets over the top before the late ones have set more than
a couple of fruit.

For a lot of people, Black Krim is actually "early mid-season"
(65-70 days), so that one should be considered not as late
as many of those other legendary big beefsteaks.

Some good 65-75 day cultivars (in good weather):
Azoychka
Spudakee
Cherokee Purple (some years, when it gets off to a good start)
Gary'O Sena (that is really how it is spelled)
Moskvich
Break O' Day
Danko
Siletz
Redskin
Clear Pink Early
Campbell 1327
Campbell 146
Rutgers
Early Rouge
Costoluto Genovese

Edit:
I would make it a point to always have a couple of
Earl's Faux plants for the flavor, regardless of other
considerations.

huntsman · August 22, 2009

Thank you, dice.

Do most toms simply keep producing until the end of the season, or do they do their 'thing' once and then get composted in?

Are the 60, 70 and 80 day plants all planted at the same time, and thus mature at different times?

Is 70 days the time from germination to harvest?

I appreciate the patience as I really have no idea ...

I guess what I am after is a variety of bigger, tastier toms. Once that is covered, I would like to try some yellow, striped and green ones, etc, but that's secondary. I certainly want to avoid perfectly round, red, tasteless toms, but then I figure that's the reason we joined the forum in the first place - to offer an alternative to the store bought , tasteless variety.

I'd be growing to eat off the plant, make sandwiches, and perhaps sauces for pasta.

thanks again!

KKinAL · August 22, 2009

I would definitely grow Earl's Faux -- it is really delicious, big, & good production. Another that is large size & great flavor & texture is German Queen. Aunt Ginny's Purple & Black Krim are really good too, off your list. The only trouble with BK is it has rained here a good bit & they get mushy on the vine really easily. I also pick varieties for sandwich making (& some sauce)-- these are all GREAT sandwiches!

**carolyn137** · August 22, 2009

I've grown all on your list except for the JD's and the PL Black From Tula.

Since I think it's very difficult for most of us to know exactly your growing conditions , despite your helpful comments, if it were me I'd go with the list you have and see how they do under your conditions and your soil and your way of growing tomatoes and you weather.

And then maybe report back to folks here as the plants develop and indicate how they're doing and when blossoms arrive, especially, to comment on how fruit set is going in terms of the local temps.

There's always many years in the future for you to refine which varieties you grow, but there has to be a starting place as I see it and since you spent time developing the list you have, I'd go with it for this first year.

dice · August 22, 2009

Days to maturity is never exact, just an estimate. Categories
like "early, early mid-season, mid-season, mid-late, and late"
are closer to reality, where the whole sequence can be shifted
earlier or later by spring weather.

You can often see those differences in the height of the first
cluster to set off the ground, where you have plants of different
maturities growing side-by-side with comparable support for
the plants. Early varieties will set low, mid-season a little
higher off the ground, and late varieties higher yet,
corresponding to how big the plant was when the first flower
cluster set fruit.

There are other factors, too. I have a couple of F2 Brandyboys
(seeds saved from an F1 hybrid that is late ripening). They set
first fruit about the same time as the mid-season cultivars that
I have growing this year, one a little earlier than the other.
While the mid-season plants have been ripening fruit for a
couple of weeks, none of the Brandyboy F2 fruits have blushed
yet. There seems to be more than just temperature sensitivity
involved there, because the weather has been plenty warm
enough.

While Break O' Day, Moskvich, Campbell 1327 and 146,
Rutgers, and Early Rouge all produce round red fruits like you
might see at a grocery store, they are *not* tasteless, more
like an enhanced traditional red tomato flavor (Early Rouge
is a little sweeter and milder than those others).

huntsman · August 23, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by dice

While Break O' Day, Moskvich, Campbell 1327 and 146,
Rutgers, and Early Rouge all produce round red fruits like you
might see at a grocery store, they are *not* tasteless, more
like an enhanced traditional red tomato flavor (Early Rouge
is a little sweeter and milder than those others).

Like store boughts used to be, I guess...

BTW, is there a resource where I can see pics and get more info on specific toms?

@ Carolyn - thank you for the insight. I think I can accommodate 20 plants, so will need to trim the list a little anyway...darn these smaller gardens!

@ KK - we have sharp, heavy thunderstorms / showers, not ongoing rain, so perhaps that will be a benefit..?

Sherry_AK · August 23, 2009

Many descriptions and photos are available here:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page

MikeInCypress · August 23, 2009

The limiting factor is temp at night. If your midsummer night time temp is much higher than 23 C your polination will cease in most instances.

MikeInCypress

huntsman · August 24, 2009

Yeah, that certainly seems to be the tomato 'bible', Sherry - thank you!

A lot of the varieties that I looked up don't have accompanying pics on that site...perhaps they are too obscure??

Now that is interesting, Mike! Thanks for the info. I wouldn't be at all surprised if our temps were higher in mid-summer.

August 21, 2009	#1
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Would you recommend...?? ...the following forum favourites to a total novice in Zone 9? (I gleaned them from about four 'Favourites' lists on this forum ) Aunt Ginny's Purple Earl's Faux JD's Special C Tex Black Krim Brandywine (Sudduth's) Anna Russian Aunt Gertie's Gold Black Cherry Black From Tula PL Cherokee Purple Cherokee Green KBX Marianna's Peace Paul Robeson Stump of the World Green Giant Eva Purple Ball Thanks for your input!

August 22, 2009	#10
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I've grown all on your list except for the JD's and the PL Black From Tula. Since I think it's very difficult for most of us to know exactly your growing conditions , despite your helpful comments, if it were me I'd go with the list you have and see how they do under your conditions and your soil and your way of growing tomatoes and you weather. And then maybe report back to folks here as the plants develop and indicate how they're doing and when blossoms arrive, especially, to comment on how fruit set is going in terms of the local temps. There's always many years in the future for you to refine which varieties you grow, but there has to be a starting place as I see it and since you spent time developing the list you have, I'd go with it for this first year. __________________ Carolyn

August 22, 2009	#11
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Days to maturity is never exact, just an estimate. Categories like "early, early mid-season, mid-season, mid-late, and late" are closer to reality, where the whole sequence can be shifted earlier or later by spring weather. You can often see those differences in the height of the first cluster to set off the ground, where you have plants of different maturities growing side-by-side with comparable support for the plants. Early varieties will set low, mid-season a little higher off the ground, and late varieties higher yet, corresponding to how big the plant was when the first flower cluster set fruit. There are other factors, too. I have a couple of F2 Brandyboys (seeds saved from an F1 hybrid that is late ripening). They set first fruit about the same time as the mid-season cultivars that I have growing this year, one a little earlier than the other. While the mid-season plants have been ripening fruit for a couple of weeks, none of the Brandyboy F2 fruits have blushed yet. There seems to be more than just temperature sensitivity involved there, because the weather has been plenty warm enough. While Break O' Day, Moskvich, Campbell 1327 and 146, Rutgers, and Early Rouge all produce round red fruits like you might see at a grocery store, they are not tasteless, more like an enhanced traditional red tomato flavor (Early Rouge is a little sweeter and milder than those others). __________________ -- alias

August 23, 2009	#14
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	The limiting factor is temp at night. If your midsummer night time temp is much higher than 23 C your polination will cease in most instances. MikeInCypress __________________ "Growing older, not up"

August 21, 2009	#2
daninpd Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Prunedale, CA Posts: 134	I haven't grown AGP, Stump or GG but the rest get a full endorsement from me. Aunt Gertie's Gold was a low producer for me, but was the best tomato I have ever eaten. I haven't found anything to beat Cherokee Green for a combination of production and taste.

August 21, 2009	#3
oc tony Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: oc ca. Posts: 173	I don't know how your weather is in SA, but most zone 9 gardeners here grow two crops a spring and a summer planted fall crop. Your list is very heavy on beefsteaks that take 80 or more days to mature and yield from 0 to 20 kgs. depending on how early the heat hits and how high it gets and how long the heat wave lasts. A two to three week heat wave can be devastating. As a general rule I'd be looking real hard at tomatoes with not much more than 70 days to maturity for around 25 percent or more of the planting. If you check out the Texas and Florida growers comments on this forum it may correlate with what you may be facing there in SA.

August 21, 2009	#4
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 848	Is your zone 9 blazing hot, or are you on a cool water coast or high altitude with milder temps?

August 22, 2009	#5
SLO_Gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 22	Of those listed I've grown: Black Krim: Has always done well for me. Prolific, tasty, and easy to grow. Black Cherry: Growing for first time this year. Very sweet and tasty but not very high yeilding. JD's Special C-Tex: Growing for first time this year and love it!!! Nice sweet, smokey black flavor and productive. Anna Russian: I know a lot of people really like this one, but it didn't do much for me. Very bland tasting. Cherokee Green: Growing for the first time this year and I really like it. It is a very pretty color and has a nice sweet and tangy flavor. Marianna's Peace: This one has done well for me and has an excellent flavor.

August 22, 2009	#8
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Thank you, dice. Do most toms simply keep producing until the end of the season, or do they do their 'thing' once and then get composted in? Are the 60, 70 and 80 day plants all planted at the same time, and thus mature at different times? Is 70 days the time from germination to harvest? I appreciate the patience as I really have no idea ... I guess what I am after is a variety of bigger, tastier toms. Once that is covered, I would like to try some yellow, striped and green ones, etc, but that's secondary. I certainly want to avoid perfectly round, red, tasteless toms, but then I figure that's the reason we joined the forum in the first place - to offer an alternative to the store bought , tasteless variety. I'd be growing to eat off the plant, make sandwiches, and perhaps sauces for pasta. thanks again!

August 22, 2009	#9
KKinAL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: McCalla, Alabama Posts: 60	I would definitely grow Earl's Faux -- it is really delicious, big, & good production. Another that is large size & great flavor & texture is German Queen. Aunt Ginny's Purple & Black Krim are really good too, off your list. The only trouble with BK is it has rained here a good bit & they get mushy on the vine really easily. I also pick varieties for sandwich making (& some sauce)-- these are all GREAT sandwiches!

August 23, 2009	#13
Sherry_AK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Alaska Zone 3/4 Posts: 1,857	Many descriptions and photos are available here: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page

August 24, 2009	#15
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Yeah, that certainly seems to be the tomato 'bible', Sherry - thank you! A lot of the varieties that I looked up don't have accompanying pics on that site...perhaps they are too obscure?? Now that is interesting, Mike! Thanks for the info. I wouldn't be at all surprised if our temps were higher in mid-summer.