need help shortening grow list

johno · March 2, 2013

Hi all. I need help picking the ten best varieties from this list. If you see one that was really great for you (or the reverse), I'd love your input. Thanks!

Amazon Chocolate
Bear Creek
Betimes MacBeth
Big Ben/ Stump…
Black Brandywine (plum shaped)
Black Giant
Black Tom
Blackballed
Boxcar Willie
Brandy Boy F6
Cherokee Chocolate
Chocolate Cherry
Chocolate Stripes
Dagma’s Perfection
Evan’s Purple Pear
Everlasting
Fantome du Laos
Gold Medal
Honkin’ Big Black Cherry
Hughs
Indian Stripe – Burson strain
Isis Candy
Lemon Giant
Lucky Cross PL
Lucky Leprechaun
Mama Irene’s
Manyel
Milka’s Red Bulgarian
Mrs. Kennedy
Orange Strawberry
Oud Holland
Pink Berkley Tie Die
Polar Beauty
RAF tomato
Red Zebra
Santa Ana
Shadow Boxing
Southern Night
Spear’s Tennessee Green
Striped Roman
Sweet Carneros Pink
Veni Vidi Vici Cherry
Virginia Sweets
Weeping Charlie
White Oxheart
White Queen
Worley Red

neoguy · March 2, 2013

I've only grown a few of those but from my limited experience I can suggest these 2:

Spear’s Tennessee Green (highly recommended)
Virginia Sweets

BigBrownDogHouse · March 2, 2013

Virginia Sweets! Virginia Sweets! Virginia Sweets!

I grew about 75 varieties last year and it was the best tasting in the whole bunch....
Great tomato!

ginger2778 · March 2, 2013

Sweet Carneros Pink was EXTREMELY susceptible to Septoria. first one to get sick out of 54 plants.

b54red · March 2, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBrownDogHouse

Virginia Sweets! Virginia Sweets! Virginia Sweets!

I grew about 75 varieties last year and it was the best tasting in the whole bunch....
Great tomato!

I have heard how good it is and hope that one of my grafts of it works because it is very susceptible to fusarium. I planted half a dozen last year and not a single one even got to the fruit set stage before falling to fusarium. It seems a lot of the ones that are super tasty are also very lacking in resistance to fusarium. I am attempting this year to graft some of the highly recommended varieties that have never been successful for me in the past hoping a more vigorous disease resistant rootstock will help keep them alive a bit longer.

Johno, I would definitely grow the Indian Stripe, Lucky Cross, Amazon Chocolate, and Milka's Red Bulgarian.

Bill

Doug9345 · March 2, 2013

Te first thing I would do is divide them up into size and color. What you grow will strictly depend on what you like. One you get them categorized and figure out what you desire are, then you are half way to deciding which to grow.

If I was picking between Pink Berkley Tie-dyed and Sweet Carnos Pink, I'd grow SCP just because I thought it was a much more unique looking tomato.

RobinB · March 2, 2013

I loved Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, it was early and tasty from the first one to the last.
Shadow Boxing is not stable as far as I know. I bought the seed last year from Tom Wagner, and quite a few others did too. There was quite a lot of variability according to the reports here on Tomatoville. You could do a search here if you are considering that one. Personally, I got a great selection which I'm growing out again this Summer.

March 2, 2013

I think this may be the first list I've read that had no tomatoes I've grown. I did grow Indian Stripe, but not that strain. Out of curiosity, how did you compile your grow list? I'm asking because I usually select my grow list from varieties I've grown with success and comments made by other gardeners.

Ted

JLJ_ · March 3, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedln

I think this may be the first list I've read that had no tomatoes I've grown. I did grow Indian Stripe, but not that strain.

Wouldn't all genuine Indian Stripe (as opposed to apparent unlabeled crosses that aren't true to original type) be "Burson strain" , at least theoretically?

Surely even Indian Stripe PL and Indian Stripe Heart are "Bursons" with the variation indicated by their names?

habitat_gardener · March 3, 2013

Orange Strawberry was one of my top 5 the first year I grew it. It was late for me, though, and when I grew it another year (probably a cooler than usual summer) I didn't get anything.

johno · March 3, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedln

I think this may be the first list I've read that had no tomatoes I've grown. I did grow Indian Stripe, but not that strain. Out of curiosity, how did you compile your grow list? I'm asking because I usually select my grow list from varieties I've grown with success and comments made by other gardeners.

Ted

Good question, Ted. What I did first was go through my seeds and pick out any old ones that I haven't tried yet. Then I pick out a bunch of new ones I'd like to try. (I also have a list of others I know and like picked out.) A lot of the new ones came from various small seed companies.

Thanks for all the input. It is very helpful.

**carolyn137** · March 3, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedln

I think this may be the first list I've read that had no tomatoes I've grown. I did grow Indian Stripe, but not that strain. Out of curiosity, how did you compile your grow list? I'm asking because I usually select my grow list from varieties I've grown with success and comments made by other gardeners.

Ted

I don't know what the Burson strain means either. And since there's been a kind of reinvention of the wheel on the two names that Clyde BursonSr grew and Johno knows that as well since he also posts at idig, as many of us do, myself included, all I can say is that Clyde Burson Sr grew what he called either Indian Stripe OR Indian Zebra, and it was Donna Nelson, who just arrived here at TV who got the seeds from Clyde Sr, she said he used both names, I asked her which one to use, since she sent me the seeds, and i chose Indian Stripe.

And I did that since at the time there were and still are other varieties with the word Zebra as part of the name and I was trying to avoid any confusion. In addition, I first SSE listed it as Indian Stripe and offered it in many seed offers as Indian Stripe.

There are no strains of Indian Stripe, and both Indian Stripe and Indian Zebra are the same variety,

Sorry, but not much, about the above, but this whole situation with naming was fine until about twoweeks ago.

Ah well, it could be worse, I could have no dark chocolate or cashews in the house,

Carolyn

FreyaFL · March 3, 2013

Of your list, I have only experience with Striped Roman. Sad looking plant. Wispy leaves. Flops over with very little provocation, didn't grow very big, etc. That said, it produced a decent amount of beautiful striped fruit with a deep, rich, red interior, that has a great taste.

johno · March 3, 2013

Regarding the Indian Stripe naming, I'll just say I'm using the name that was on the package.

Thanks for all the advice.

**carolyn137** · March 3, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by johno

Regarding the Indian Stripe naming, I'll just say I'm using the name that was on the package.

Thanks for all the advice.

And I bet that pack of seeds wasn't from a commercial source b'c of my and the other comment made above.

Johno, I didn't do you right in terms of that list, it's a very long one to have to pick just 10 varieties, so I'm going to cut and paste it to here and make a few comments, but it's really up to you how many types and colors you want to grow.

Amazon Chocolate,not grown
Bear Creek, bred by Keith Muller, a good one
Betimes MacBeth, not known
Big Ben/ Stump…, just grow the Sudduth one of Ben Quisenberrys and if you look in the Legacy Forum here you'll see where Ben's grandson appeared and made some comments about Stump and Big Ben.

Black Brandywine (plum shaped), I only know the original BB listed by TGS which was bad, and Linda pulled it, I won't be growing the so called TRUE BB of WWW and there's also a great thread in the Legacy Forum about that one

Black Tom, don't know
Blackballed, don't know
Boxcar Willie, excellent
Brandy Boy F6, with only 10 to pick, not this one
Cherokee Chocolate, same As CP, just a yellow epidermis, not clear

Chocolate Cherry,not grown but bred by Aaron Whaley,some like others don't
Chocolate Stripes, have not grown
Dagma’s Perfection, ditto
Evan’s Purple Pear, ditto
Everlasting, ditto
Fantome du Laos, didn't pan out this last season, maybe regrow
Gold Medal, an OK gold/red bicolor
Honkin’ Big Black Cherry, don't know it
Hughs,on the bland side fo rme
Indian Stripe – Burson strain, What can I say that I haven't? Grow it as long as you know it's true Indian Stripe.
Isis Candy,not worth it, IMO,bred by Joe Bratka
Lemon Giant, don't know it
Lucky Cross PL, it is PL already, exc gold/red bicolor
Lucky Leprechaun, grewit just onece,not impressed
Mama Irene’s,don'tknow it
Manyel, pretty good, but others here are better
Milka’s Red Bulgarian, Exc large red beef
Mrs. Kennedy, don't know it
Orange Strawberry, OK,but there are other hearts I like MUCH better
Oud Holland,notgrown
Pink Berkley Tie Die,notgrown
Polar Beauty,notgrown
RAF tomato,from Spain,not worth it
Red Zebra, too tart fo rme
Santa Ana,not grown
Shadow Boxing,not known
Southern Night, one of just 3 det so called blacks, I like some indet ones better
Spear’s Tennessee Green, I'll grow almost any GWRipe, but this one is OK, but I like others better.
Striped Roman,almost the same as Casady's Folly, Ok for sauce
Sweet Carneros Pink,notgrown
Veni Vidi Vici Cherry,notknown
Virginia Sweets, exc gold/red bicolor
Weeping Charlie, don't know it
White Oxheart,noot worth it, toobland
White Queen, the best so called white that I've grown
Worley Red , not grown

Johno, I'm not you, but if it were me, not knowing what you've grown before, I think I would seperate out colors and shapes and I know I would grow some great large pink ones, same for reds, some different hearts,, some more GWRipes, not so many cherries, and cool it with the so called whites and pastels, atleast most of them.

it's terribly hard to chose just 10 varieties that I might like from that list, and have no idea what your taste preferences are, but the only way you'll know that is to put the names of ones under consideration and play darts, grow them and tastge them.

Where I said not known, just saying that I do recognize some that Tom Wagner bred and I think a few being sold elsewhere. With the TOm Wagner ones you can't jsut put out oneplant since what he's selling are unstable crosses, but he does answer questions here at TV about what to expect and select for in the Long Term Experimental Forum.

Hope that helps.

Carolyn

Amazon Chocolate
Bear Creek
Betimes MacBeth
Big Ben/ Stump…
Black Brandywine (plum shaped)
Black Giant
Black Tom
Blackballed
Boxcar Willie
Brandy Boy F6
Cherokee Chocolate
Chocolate Cherry
Chocolate Stripes
Dagma’s Perfection
Evan’s Purple Pear
Everlasting
Fantome du Laos
Gold Medal
Honkin’ Big Black Cherry
Hughs
Indian Stripe – Burson strain
Isis Candy
Lemon Giant
Lucky Cross PL
Lucky Leprechaun
Mama Irene’s
Manyel
Milka’s Red Bulgarian
Mrs. Kennedy
Orange Strawberry
Oud Holland
Pink Berkley Tie Die
Polar Beauty
RAF tomato
Red Zebra
Santa Ana
Shadow Boxing
Southern Night
Spear’s Tennessee Green
Striped Roman
Sweet Carneros Pink
Veni Vidi Vici Cherry
Virginia Sweets
Weeping Charlie
White Oxheart
White Queen
Worley Red

March 2, 2013	#1
johno Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arkansas zone 6b Posts: 441	need help shortening grow list Hi all. I need help picking the ten best varieties from this list. If you see one that was really great for you (or the reverse), I'd love your input. Thanks! Amazon Chocolate Bear Creek Betimes MacBeth Big Ben/ Stump… Black Brandywine (plum shaped) Black Giant Black Tom Blackballed Boxcar Willie Brandy Boy F6 Cherokee Chocolate Chocolate Cherry Chocolate Stripes Dagma’s Perfection Evan’s Purple Pear Everlasting Fantome du Laos Gold Medal Honkin’ Big Black Cherry Hughs Indian Stripe – Burson strain Isis Candy Lemon Giant Lucky Cross PL Lucky Leprechaun Mama Irene’s Manyel Milka’s Red Bulgarian Mrs. Kennedy Orange Strawberry Oud Holland Pink Berkley Tie Die Polar Beauty RAF tomato Red Zebra Santa Ana Shadow Boxing Southern Night Spear’s Tennessee Green Striped Roman Sweet Carneros Pink Veni Vidi Vici Cherry Virginia Sweets Weeping Charlie White Oxheart White Queen Worley Red __________________ You create your own universe as you go along. Winston Churchill

March 2, 2013	#3
BigBrownDogHouse Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern Illinois ZONE 5a...wait now 5b Posts: 906	Virginia Sweets! Virginia Sweets! Virginia Sweets! I grew about 75 varieties last year and it was the best tasting in the whole bunch.... Great tomato! __________________ Brian

March 3, 2013	#14
johno Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arkansas zone 6b Posts: 441	Regarding the Indian Stripe naming, I'll just say I'm using the name that was on the package. Thanks for all the advice. __________________ You create your own universe as you go along. Winston Churchill

March 2, 2013	#2
neoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 610	I've only grown a few of those but from my limited experience I can suggest these 2: Spear’s Tennessee Green (highly recommended) Virginia Sweets

March 2, 2013	#4
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Sweet Carneros Pink was EXTREMELY susceptible to Septoria. first one to get sick out of 54 plants.

March 2, 2013	#6
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	Te first thing I would do is divide them up into size and color. What you grow will strictly depend on what you like. One you get them categorized and figure out what you desire are, then you are half way to deciding which to grow. If I was picking between Pink Berkley Tie-dyed and Sweet Carnos Pink, I'd grow SCP just because I thought it was a much more unique looking tomato.

March 2, 2013	#7
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	I loved Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, it was early and tasty from the first one to the last. Shadow Boxing is not stable as far as I know. I bought the seed last year from Tom Wagner, and quite a few others did too. There was quite a lot of variability according to the reports here on Tomatoville. You could do a search here if you are considering that one. Personally, I got a great selection which I'm growing out again this Summer.

March 2, 2013	#8
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	I think this may be the first list I've read that had no tomatoes I've grown. I did grow Indian Stripe, but not that strain. Out of curiosity, how did you compile your grow list? I'm asking because I usually select my grow list from varieties I've grown with success and comments made by other gardeners. Ted

March 3, 2013	#10
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Orange Strawberry was one of my top 5 the first year I grew it. It was late for me, though, and when I grew it another year (probably a cooler than usual summer) I didn't get anything.

March 3, 2013	#13
FreyaFL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: SW FL Posts: 152	Of your list, I have only experience with Striped Roman. Sad looking plant. Wispy leaves. Flops over with very little provocation, didn't grow very big, etc. That said, it produced a decent amount of beautiful striped fruit with a deep, rich, red interior, that has a great taste.