Best Paste Tomato

[Karma]

Hi everyone,

I have grown lots of different varieties of tomatoes but not paste. My friends husband is a big tomato grower too and he always grows San Marzano so his wife can make sauce and soup. Well she brought some over and it was so delicious. Much better than mine made with non paste tomatoes. Next season I will definitely grow a few pastes. What are your favorite?

Hope everyone is having a good season!!

Karma

[clkeiper]

san marzanon is my largest planting, largest fruit and does well and this year I grew "giant garden paste". someone who got some said they were the best flavored of the pastes she got from me this year.

[Kpr121]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

san marzanon is my largest planting, largest fruit and does well and this year I grew "giant garden paste". someone who got some said they were the best flavored of the pastes she got from me this year.

I did giant garden paste this year too, and it is definitely a great taster and has been outproducing all other varieties i am growing weight wise. 5 of my 6 largest tomatoes have been from that plant, including the largest at 26 oz. I will definitely be growing this one again.

[Merediana]

I have the same problem, while most people here seem to not like paste tomatoes and use whatever they grow for tomato sauce - for me it's just not the same. I'm want the old fashioned tomato sauce taste from homegrown tomatoes... So I'll try some paste tomatoes next year. This year I had Auria, but the plant didn't do well at all, so not sure if I'll get some tomatoes to try, let alone a batch of tomato sauce.

[KarenO]

Typically I am an Open pollinated tomato fan but you might be better off with a disease resistant hybrid Roma. Fresh flavour is not the goal for a cooking tomato and your production will likely be better than most OP pastes.
Perhaps try some of each.
KarenO

[NewWestGardener]

You are absolutely right Karen!
I've tried about a dozen varieties in the small farm I'm volunteering. The best performers are: Roma VF ( thanks for the large pack of seeds Gary sent me in the mega trade), and Marianna F1 and Granadero F1, in a low maintenance, low water environment.
Determinant varieties are a big positive. Earliness, productivity and disease resistance are all important. If we don't get late blight, we still get molds/mildew.
The Romas are just loaded with fruit, little BER or scabs, after a few pickings, there are still tons of green fruit we probable won't be able to harvest. No staking, they just flop onto the landscape fabric.
I thought Roma VF is open-polenated, I'll save seeds anyway for next year.

Originally Posted by KarenO

Typically I am an Open pollinated tomato fan but you might be better off with a disease resistant hybrid Roma. Fresh flavour is not the goal for a cooking tomato and your production will likely be better than most OP pastes.
Perhaps try some of each.
KarenO

[pmcgrady]

Olpalka has been good this year, not much BER and the tomatoes were huge. Flavor is good cooked.

[MarlynnMarcks]

Opalka vs Amish Paste which does better in the heat?

[gssgarden]

Shannon's is my fav.

Greg

[zipcode]

Originally Posted by MarlynnMarcks

Opalka vs Amish Paste which does better in the heat?

Oddly enough none is probably what can be considered a paste. Amish paste is a classic heart, and Opalka kinda also. It doesn't have the shape of a heart but the smooth texture and other qualities are more heart related than paste.
Typical pastes are San Marzano, Romas, Costolutos, De barao, and a whole bunch of commercial 'Roma type' and 'San Marzano type'. Much drier when crushed, and more or less mealy.

[Compuaide]

The Redorta is larger than the typical San Marzano. When I was processing them this week, the puree had the consistency of ketchup. Hardly enough liquid to let it run from the processing chute.

I also had no BER on any of these plants. The Super Italian Paste was similar size and consistency but no where near the same production. These paste tomatoes earned a spot in my garden again next year and I'll probably only grow these and the Goldman's Italian-American.

I haven't done it yet but I bet these Redortas will make a wonderful roasted/dried tomato too.

Ralph

[clkeiper]

I have grown Amish paste and found it to NOT be much of a paste. Very juicy when I grew it twice.

[KarenO]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

I have grown Amish paste and found it to NOT be much of a paste. Very juicy when I grew it twice.

agree. Amish paste is a heart not a paste imo.
KarenO

[MuddyToes]

I've grown Roma, San Marzano, Heidi, Bernardini, Deep Space 9, and Amish Paste. So far, San Marzano is my favorite Paste for flavor and production. I agree with others here that Amish Paste is a heart, juicy and delicious fresh, but not the best for making sauce.

Next year, I have plans to try Opalka and Costoluto Genovese.

[MadScientist]

I am growing San Marzano and Martino's Roma side by side this year, and MR is far outproducing SM--would recommend giving MR a try if you're looking for determinate roma types.

As for indeterminate, growing Opalka and Jersey Devil--both are doing great, but Jersey devil is getting a lot of BER, so I'll likely pass on that in the future, and stick with Opalka.

Aaron