Which tomatoes will survive here?

[enchant]

Looking forward to the 2013 season, I'm comparing tomato varieties at seed websites and I'm overwhelmed by how much is available. Very exciting, and I can't wait for next year. But I'd like to know if I should be limiting my search based on my geographic location (Boston). Do some species tend to do better in specific locations? Or, if I can grow some tomatoes here, can I grow *any* tomatoes here?

[Sun City Linda]

DTM is a better indication of what tomatoes you can and cant grow. Some folks in really short seasons dont like to grow the really late season producers which run 90-100+ days for mature fruit. I have a long growing season and I grow tomatoes from all around the world, including those that originate in cooler climates. It is my understanding that if heirlooms from certain geographic areas acclemate to that area, it has more to do with the soil than the climate.

[enchant]

Thanks! That's probably what I need to know. One more followup newbie question. When does the DTM start? Is it when I put the seeds into the potted soil? Or when they actually go into the garden?

[Sun City Linda]

DTM is from when you plant out in the garden. You will have great fun, I went from about 20 tomato seed varieties to over 200 after joining TVille! So many GREAT maters! Pay more attention to what is said here about varieties...seed companies have been know to lie LOL

[enchant]

I hear what you're saying about what the seed companies say. If I were to believe it all, every single tomato variety is perfect for me.

Thanks again for the good info!

[marc_groleau]

Might I suggest you post the same question but specify your geographic location, IE Southern New England There are a few folks here from MA, CT, and I'm from RI just 35 miles south of Boston I can tell you from experience what has been good for me.
Anything on this list has held up well to the fungal diseases and blight(s) that I have experienced since gardening in this region for many, many, well you get the idea.

Moskovich.. OP,Excellent performer holds up well to Early Blight
Mr. Hawkins.. OP, Excellent Beefsteak great taste
Big Russian Roma.. (op paste) Huge fruit, productive, meaty, great sauce
Black Cherry... (op cherry) productive, great taste,
Sweet Orange Cherry... (op cherry) medium production, very tasty, unique flavor
Cherokee Purple... (op purple beefsteak) best of the best for earliness, production, taste
Pineapple... (op yellow/red beefsteak) great production, good taste, not like CH purple but close. I have crossbred Pinapple and CH Purple and will start growing that out next year.
Old German... (op beefsteak) moderate production but awesome taste
Viva Italia... (hybrid paste) super productive, great paste tomato. My insurance paste tomato
Big Beef... (hybrid beefsteak) super productive, disease resistant, tasty for a hybrid, my insurance beefsteak

[enchant]

I didn't realize tomatoes were that location specific. Well, I'm in Marshfield, not far from the Scituate border.

I definitely could use some disease resistant tomatoes, as I lost my entire crop this year.

[marc_groleau]

I don't mean to suggest that tomatoes of various varieties would be successful only in certain locations. I meant to say that the proof is in the pudding. Gardeners close to your location all experience the same weather conditions year to year and besides weather's direct effect, it is often weather that influences disease in a particular area. So local growers have probably found some varieties that are always dependable as opposed to hit or miss. I would never limit myself to the same varieties every year with no experimentation. That would be boring.

[Solanum315]

I wouldn't limit yourself to any specific varieties in Boston. If you start seeds at the right time (not too early, not too late) and you put your plants in the ground at the right time (not too early, not too late), you could harvest any tomato that I know of. As a newbie, the mistakes I made were starting seeds too early (January one year) and putting plants in too early (April 1). One tends to think that earlier is better but both scenarios can lead to dormancy periods that can take several weeks to break out of. I find most of the early season varieties inferior in flavor but of course you get fruit earlier. I would recommend maybe 1/4 your plants be an early season variety and the rest be whatever tickles your fancy when you are looking at seed porn in December.

[enchant]

Sounds like good advice, Scott.

This past season, I think I could have planted a lot earlier than I did, as we had a fairly mild winter and a very mild spring.

I've only been tomatoing for a few years now, and I've been buying flats at the local nursery. This will be my first year buying seeds, and I'm truly looking forward to it. So many interesting species. I'm probably going to buy several and plant just a couple of each to see what I like best.

[Solanum315]

Sounds like a great plan. There really are thousands of great tomatoes and your favorite is out there waiting to be discovered and it probably isn't everyone else's favorite so I would definitely suggest planting as many varieties as you can. At my house, I usually only plant one of each so I have as much diversity as possible.

[Father'sDaughter]

I agree that our season lends itself to growing a wide variety of tomatoes. What works for me is to typically start seeds around St. Patty's Day and planted out sometime between Mother's and Memorial Day, depending on what our weather pattern is like.

What I found helps is to decide what you want to do with the tomatoes you grow and choose accordingly. I wanted to make a lot of sauce and sun dried tomatoes, so I planted mostly pastes.

For eating tomatoes I made sure I had both small and large varieties, some earlies, some midseason, and some late ones. Also think about what flavor profile you favor. I prefer stronger flavored tomatoes, so that's what I looked for when making my choices.

And, if you don't like what you grow one year, there are always plenty more to choose from for the next!

[marc_groleau]

As for time of year to start seeds and plant out, I've found that April 1 to April 7 is the right time for starting seed. It means you should only have to keep them indoors and under lights for about 3 weeks before moving them to the greenhouse. That is unless you have a sun porch or some such room.
For plant out it's the week bvefore Memorial day up to the week after.