Top 3 Tomato Producers

[riceke]

I have a limited space and want to grow as many tomatoes in a small area. In your opinion, which top three tomatoes have the highest production (number of fruit per plant, excluding cherry and plum types) in hot, humid climates? Also it doesn’t matter about flavor which is too subjective. Actually to paraphrase a famous quote: “I never ate a tomato that I didn’t like”. Cut up in a bowl with a little s&p, olive oil and lemon juice can make the worst tomato taste good in my opinion.

[mtbigfish]

Riceke
Depends on environment, where are they going to be in the ground, pots what is your growing medium etc etc - do you want heirloom or OP or hybrids - beefsteak , round, oblate , what colors??
doen't seem like you have a taste preference so does it matter if it's weet or bold or balanced old tomatoey taste a concern??

A couple that I always get a lot of fruit from that immediately come to mind is Box Car Willie and Mule Team - there are many more but you may want to see what people from your area have to say - I am in So Calif and our growing conditions are usually ideal

Dennis

[Blueaussi]

I was thinking Mule Team, too. A hybrid with a good disease resistance package for the south is Amelia, since taste isn't an issue.

[creister]

Sioux and Break O Day, also Brandywine Red have been very consistent producers here.

[cottonpicker]

Mule Team...........

LD

[Vince]

Early girl is easy to find, difficult to kill, and really pumps out the tomatoes. It will actually develop a pleasant sweet flavor if it gets enough heat and sun. I have had these set MANY fruit in 100+(dry heat temp).
That being said, I don't bother growing it anymore because there are SO many much tastier cultivars. If taste is not an issue early girl is a winner.

Big Beef Hybrid is a good choice also.

[mtbigfish]

Vince
Have you tried the Big Beef OP?
Dennis

[riceke]

Vince...haven't tried the BB Op yet but I have tried BB Hyb. I've been growing tomatoes for quite some time in Pennsylvania, Texas and Georgia and know in different environments/soils/climatic conditions varieties do differ. I have been stuck on the following varieties that have proven themselves in my present location: Big Beef Hyb, Celebrity and Juliete (although it's a cherry-plum type). I was looking for other tried and true types that could weather the hot, humid and Early Blight infested summers that usually decimate most other varieties that I have tried. In short I want to try some other varieties but not sacrifice my harvest.

Thanks again to all who replied. I tend to rely on peoples experiences more than the seed packet and catalog marketing hypes that I have read.

[kygreg]

Atkinson is a great producer and designed for hot humid wather; from Auburn University, I think.

[carolyn137]

1.Box Car Willie and Mule Team ( both red) were bred by the same person and are about the same. I like the taste of Box Car Willie better, yield is high and about the same for both..

2. Break O Day ( red), an older commercial variety

2.Druzba ( red) or Bulgarian #7 ( pink) or Red Brandywine(red), but be sure to get true RB if you opt for this one, or Eva Purple Ball ( pink) or Redfield Beauty ( pink) about the same as Eva, and Redfield is an older commercial variety.

The above are all OP and OK, I know I cheated in mentioning more than I was supposed to. For hybrids I suggest the following:

1.Jet Star F1, red, documented low acid, so acidify if canning by the open water bath method

2.Ramapo F1 ( red), or the OP Ramapo

[riceke]

Carolyn...thank you for your suggestions...from a quiet perspective I have always respected your posts and ...no points taken off for mentioning more than one variety. I have read a lot about Arkansas Traveler being highly productive. Is that your experience?....cuz I just seed a dozen of them.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by riceke

Carolyn...thank you for your suggestions...from a quiet perspective I have always respected your posts and ...no points taken off for mentioning more than one variety. I have read a lot about Arkansas Traveler being highly productive. Is that your experience?....cuz I just seed a dozen of them.

Ken, I've never grown Traveler ( aka Arkansas Traveler), so I'm sorry I can't give you any info from personal experience.

[pacmanJohn]

Fourth of July is easily the most productive tomato that I've grown (minus Juliet, romas or cherries).


http://reviews.burpee.com/1031/100119/reviews.htm

[BR]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

1.Jet Star F1, red, documented low acid, so acidify if canning by the open water bath method

Now I'm confused...
I thought you said all tomatoes were basically the same ph, thus... no appreciable difference on acidity.

Confused Puppy

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by BR

Now I'm confused...
I thought you said all tomatoes were basically the same ph, thus... no appreciable difference on acidity.

Confused Puppy

What I've said in the past is that almost all varieties tested to date have roughly the same pH.

(1.Jet Star F1, red, documented low acid, so acidify if canning by the open water bath method)

Jet Star F1 is an exception. And if you go to TGS and read the blurb about Jet Star you'll see that Linda has made the same comment.

A bit of background here. About 20 or so years ago about 20 red , round F1 varieties were introduced and the idea at the time was to introduce ones with a lower pH. FOllowing that there were many cases of botulism b'c the spores of C. botulinum are not effectively inactivated in the open boiling bath method of canning b'c they need an acid pH for that to happen.

CDC in Atlanta, GA stepped in and informed all states to notify folks that canning ANY variety by that method required acidification.

jet Star is, I think, the only one from that 20 that still remains popular and there's a good reason why, b'c it's a great variety.

There's no way that ALL varieties of tomatoes can be tested for pH b'c there's about 6-7,000 now available commercially, but of those that HAVE been tested, yes, most of them do have a very narrow range of acidicity.

I hope that helps.