Old Time Tomatoes

TomatoDon · July 10, 2013

It's been discussed here before but I wanted to bring it up again.

We often here people say they want a tomato that tastes like the ones they ate back in the day....the 1950's, 60's, 70's. I asked some older local tomato growers and they mentioned Marion and Rutgers.

Outside of the OP growers, I'm curious how many people here remember the variety your parents and grandparents grew back then that give you so many happy and tasteful tomato memories form childhood.

As I understand it, there weren't nearly as many varieties readily available. I don't remember anyone in my area mentioning growing from seed. Obviously there were seedlings available, so I'm curious to know what the most common varieties were.

TD

habitat_gardener · July 10, 2013

Not sure I have anything constructive to say, but here goes.

I grew up in the Garden State, New Jersey, and all I remember about tomatoes is that they were round and red, and we got them from farm stands in the summer. I don't have any specific memories of the taste, one way or another. I ate lots of fruits and vegetables growing up (and eat even more now).

Sometimes we had a backyard garden, but I don't recall picking any tomatoes there.

Now I grow as wide a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes as I can.

riceke · July 10, 2013

As far back as the 50's I used to help my Dad in his garden and can remember the seedling varieties that always were at the local grocer or market. (Back then there was no big box stores only a couple nurseries and local markets) The varieties we planted were Homestead, Marglobe and Rutgers amd always seemed to have tomatoes left over in the fall. This was in SW PA.

WVTomatoMan · July 10, 2013

When I was a kid my grandfather grew Beefsteak (aka Red Ponderosa, Crimson Cushion) .

If you want to "go in the way back machine" then it's varieties that my buddy Spud mentioned his father growing when he was a kid. BTW, Spud is 88 years old and up until last year he put out a garden. Anyhow, Spud's father grew Stone, Globe, Bonny Best and Break O'Day. I think there are more, but I can't remember them just now. I plan to video record and interview Spud and that is one of the the questions I want to ask.

Randy

camochef · July 10, 2013

I'm another that grew up in New Jersey and the tomato I remember growing the most of was simply called Jersey beefsteaks. My dad used to save his own seeds and we would grow rows of the large oblate tomatoes, most going from over a lb to a good 2 and a half lbs each. Some even larger.
They were more acidic tasting than many of today's varieties and I recall getting tiny little sores in my mouth from eating so many. Have had those that say they were from the Jersey soil not the tomatoes directly.
Over time, those gigantic beauties have disappeared. I've tried all the different "Beefsteak" named tomatoes available today...none of them compare to those of my younger years. My dad got his first ones from his older sister who lived across town and had much larger gardens than we did. I have no idea where she obtained her seeds.
When I got a little older, I recall driving around with my friends and stopping at the local farm stands in Little Ferry and Moonachie and buying bushel baskets full of Jersey Beefsteak tomatoes for $3.00 or less, if we knew the girl selling them.
I just bought 3 tomatoes the other day at a local farm stand, (mine aren't ripe yet), and it was $18.05. The week before they were $16. 95 for three of them. They were nice large tomatoes and just as tasty as most of my homegrown heirlooms but I can't help but think of those $3.00/bushel large beefsteak tomatoes from my youth, every time I pay $3.99/lb for locally grown tomatoes.
Over the years, I've grown thousands of varieties of heirloom tomatoes and a fair number of hybrids in search of the best tasting tomatoes. Now, in the Autumn of my years, the numbers have dwindled to about 20 of my favorites over the past 50 or more years of growing tomatoes. I doubt if any of them have that sharp acidic bite that I remember, but they are thin skinned, with little core and great tomato tastes. If only they get ripe soon.
Enjoy!
Camo

KathyDC · July 10, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by camochef

They were nice large tomatoes and just as tasty as most of my homegrown heirlooms but I can't help but think of those $3.00/bushel large beefsteak tomatoes from my youth, every time I pay $3.99/lb for locally grown tomatoes.

Camo, a little off-topic but my mom always talks about how expensive blackberries are now and how elated my great grandparents, who were blackberry farmers, would have been to get the prices they fetch now. Of course they were farming from about 1900 - 1940, so the prices were way different.

Kathy

camochef · July 10, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by KathyDC

Camo, a little off-topic but my mom always talks about how expensive blackberries are now and how elated my great grandparents, who were blackberry farmers, would have been to get the prices they fetch now. Of course they were farming from about 1900 - 1940, so the prices were way different.

Kathy

Kathy,
Doesn't matter if it's tomatoes or blackberries or something else entirely. To go from $3.00 or less for over 50lbs of tomatoes in the late 60's to $3.99/lb here in today's world, simply shows the devaluation of the dollar. It would make a bushel of tomatoes cost over $200.00 today.
At that time we were paying 19-21 cents/gallon for gas...what is it today? Where will we be in the next ten years? What will be able to afford to eat? Why can't we find those tasty Jersey beefsteaks anymore?

Camo

lycomania · July 11, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by camochef

Kathy,
Doesn't matter if it's tomatoes or blackberries or something else entirely. To go from $3.00 or less for over 50lbs of tomatoes in the late 60's to $3.99/lb here in today's world, simply shows the devaluation of the dollar. It would make a bushel of tomatoes cost over $200.00 today.
At that time we were paying 19-21 cents/gallon for gas...what is it today? Where will we be in the next ten years? What will be able to afford to eat? Why can't we find those tasty Jersey beefsteaks anymore?

Camo

I hear that! The largest driver of inflation is wages. Pretty much everybody on the planet wants to earn more. So the driver of prices is all of us wanting to earn more, or pay less for other people's labor. I don't think you or I can change that, but we can certainly think about it.

We can ask ourselves if we are willing to produce over 50 pounds of heirloom tomatoes for less than $3.00. I can tell you right now that I'm not. Are you? If so, please let me be your first customer.

ScottinAtlanta · July 10, 2013

My 92 year old grandmother wants only Better Boy. I grow several just for her - that is the taste she remembers, apparently from the 1950s. She did like the taste of Homestead last week, though.

Trivia point: Champion home gardener Charles H. Wilber grew Better Boys to win the 1987 Guinness Book of World Records for the largest amount of tomatoes per plant – 342 pounds of fruit from just one Better Boy plant!

ScottinAtlanta · July 10, 2013

Repeated.

MikeInCypress · July 10, 2013

I also grew up in SW PA near Pittsburgh. My parents grew Crimson Cushion and Big Boy in the early-mid '50's. Later they did Better Boy and a lot of people grew Ramapo. I remember the Crimson Cushion as they were irregular in shape and had big cores but they tasted pretty darn good.

MikeInCypress

riceke · July 10, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeInCypress

I also grew up in SW PA near Pittsburgh. My parents grew Crimson Cushion and Big Boy in the early-mid '50's. Later they did Better Boy and a lot of people grew Ramapo. I remember the Crimson Cushion as they were irregular in shape and had big cores but they tasted pretty darn good.

MikeInCypress

Hey Mike, everytime someone says they are from near Pittsburgh it usually is some small town that they think know one knows about except from those of us who were from "near Pittsburgh".

MikeInCypress · July 10, 2013

Ken, I am from New Kensington. Left there in 1968. Don't miss the slush all winter.

MikeInCypress

riceke · July 10, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeInCypress

Ken, I am from New Kensington. Left there in 1968. Don't miss the slush all winter.

MikeInCypress

Mike...from Masontown, but left there in early 80's to New Caney, Tx and then ended up here in 1990.

TomatoDon · July 10, 2013

Riceke mentioned Marglobe and that is the other one that the older tomato growers in my area mentioned that I couldn't remember.

I didn't realize that Better Boy went back that far. I thought it came along after the 1960s. I know it was the favorite here for years. People still plant a lot of Better Boys and Big Boys, but now the favorites seem to be Big Beef and Goliath.

July 10, 2013	#1
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,523	Old Time Tomatoes It's been discussed here before but I wanted to bring it up again. We often here people say they want a tomato that tastes like the ones they ate back in the day....the 1950's, 60's, 70's. I asked some older local tomato growers and they mentioned Marion and Rutgers. Outside of the OP growers, I'm curious how many people here remember the variety your parents and grandparents grew back then that give you so many happy and tasteful tomato memories form childhood. As I understand it, there weren't nearly as many varieties readily available. I don't remember anyone in my area mentioning growing from seed. Obviously there were seedlings available, so I'm curious to know what the most common varieties were. TD __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

July 10, 2013	#3
riceke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Snellville, GA Posts: 346	As far back as the 50's I used to help my Dad in his garden and can remember the seedling varieties that always were at the local grocer or market. (Back then there was no big box stores only a couple nurseries and local markets) The varieties we planted were Homestead, Marglobe and Rutgers amd always seemed to have tomatoes left over in the fall. This was in SW PA. __________________ *Ken*

July 10, 2013	#11
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	I also grew up in SW PA near Pittsburgh. My parents grew Crimson Cushion and Big Boy in the early-mid '50's. Later they did Better Boy and a lot of people grew Ramapo. I remember the Crimson Cushion as they were irregular in shape and had big cores but they tasted pretty darn good. MikeInCypress __________________ "Growing older, not up"

July 10, 2013	#13
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	Ken, I am from New Kensington. Left there in 1968. Don't miss the slush all winter. MikeInCypress __________________ "Growing older, not up"

July 10, 2013	#15
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,523	Riceke mentioned Marglobe and that is the other one that the older tomato growers in my area mentioned that I couldn't remember. I didn't realize that Better Boy went back that far. I thought it came along after the 1960s. I know it was the favorite here for years. People still plant a lot of Better Boys and Big Boys, but now the favorites seem to be Big Beef and Goliath. __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

July 10, 2013	#2
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Not sure I have anything constructive to say, but here goes. I grew up in the Garden State, New Jersey, and all I remember about tomatoes is that they were round and red, and we got them from farm stands in the summer. I don't have any specific memories of the taste, one way or another. I ate lots of fruits and vegetables growing up (and eat even more now). Sometimes we had a backyard garden, but I don't recall picking any tomatoes there. Now I grow as wide a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes as I can.

July 10, 2013	#4
WVTomatoMan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West Virginia - Zone 6 Posts: 594	When I was a kid my grandfather grew Beefsteak (aka Red Ponderosa, Crimson Cushion) . If you want to "go in the way back machine" then it's varieties that my buddy Spud mentioned his father growing when he was a kid. BTW, Spud is 88 years old and up until last year he put out a garden. Anyhow, Spud's father grew Stone, Globe, Bonny Best and Break O'Day. I think there are more, but I can't remember them just now. I plan to video record and interview Spud and that is one of the the questions I want to ask. Randy

July 10, 2013	#5
camochef Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Posts: 707	I'm another that grew up in New Jersey and the tomato I remember growing the most of was simply called Jersey beefsteaks. My dad used to save his own seeds and we would grow rows of the large oblate tomatoes, most going from over a lb to a good 2 and a half lbs each. Some even larger. They were more acidic tasting than many of today's varieties and I recall getting tiny little sores in my mouth from eating so many. Have had those that say they were from the Jersey soil not the tomatoes directly. Over time, those gigantic beauties have disappeared. I've tried all the different "Beefsteak" named tomatoes available today...none of them compare to those of my younger years. My dad got his first ones from his older sister who lived across town and had much larger gardens than we did. I have no idea where she obtained her seeds. When I got a little older, I recall driving around with my friends and stopping at the local farm stands in Little Ferry and Moonachie and buying bushel baskets full of Jersey Beefsteak tomatoes for $3.00 or less, if we knew the girl selling them. I just bought 3 tomatoes the other day at a local farm stand, (mine aren't ripe yet), and it was $18.05. The week before they were $16. 95 for three of them. They were nice large tomatoes and just as tasty as most of my homegrown heirlooms but I can't help but think of those $3.00/bushel large beefsteak tomatoes from my youth, every time I pay $3.99/lb for locally grown tomatoes. Over the years, I've grown thousands of varieties of heirloom tomatoes and a fair number of hybrids in search of the best tasting tomatoes. Now, in the Autumn of my years, the numbers have dwindled to about 20 of my favorites over the past 50 or more years of growing tomatoes. I doubt if any of them have that sharp acidic bite that I remember, but they are thin skinned, with little core and great tomato tastes. If only they get ripe soon. Enjoy! Camo

July 10, 2013	#9
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	My 92 year old grandmother wants only Better Boy. I grow several just for her - that is the taste she remembers, apparently from the 1950s. She did like the taste of Homestead last week, though. Trivia point: Champion home gardener Charles H. Wilber grew Better Boys to win the 1987 Guinness Book of World Records for the largest amount of tomatoes per plant – 342 pounds of fruit from just one Better Boy plant!