Best medium sized red tomato - Page 2

b54red · March 10, 2011

Druzba has terrific flavor; but as for production Big Beef is hard to beat. Grow a couple every year for insurance and the taste is very good for a hybrid. It is nice to have a little certainty in tomato growing.

shlacm · March 10, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

Druzba has terrific flavor; but as for production Big Beef is hard to beat. Grow a couple every year for insurance and the taste is very good for a hybrid. It is nice to have a little certainty in tomato growing.

URGH!!! I am getting SO TIRED of hearing everyone sing the praises of Big Beef!!! Why didn't you send me any of those when you were enabling me a month or so ago!?!??!!

Yeah, yeah... just giving you a hard time!

I guess I need to place an order at the Sample Seed shop!!!

That'll be... hmmmm... my THIRD, lol!

Full Moon · March 10, 2011

Quote:

I guess I need to place an order

I can spare a few Big Beef seeds ..... for let's say .....maybe ..... a few Hoy!

Seriously, send me your adress I'll put some in the mail.

OneoftheEarls · March 10, 2011

Hoy o manana?

tam91 · March 10, 2011

Interestingly, Big Beef is the one I'm having trouble germinating - 19 other varieties have germinated great, only 1 of 6 Big Beef has come up - the others were all up on the 6th.

But I have heard it is a good one. Last year, I tried one, it got waterlogged and I thought it was dead. Threw it on the burn pile, 6" rootball dangling in midair. Nearly a month later - it was flowering. Tough thing.

beefyboy · March 10, 2011

I just sent a big beef back to home depot for yellowing out on me. They never grow very well here for me. I can name 10 heirlooms that will outproduce big beef by a mile. Earls Faux was my biggest yielder this year and still have a few left to eat after 6 months of being in my earthbox! second was Kosovo

beefyboy · March 10, 2011

sorry! got off the med size tom. thread!

**nctomatoman** · March 10, 2011

Actually, people (who are not familiar with heirlooms) can be quite picky about the difference between pink and red tomatoes. But in my experience, there is great variability with people's perception of the differences - it sticks out like a sore thumb for me, but there are many, many color categorization errors in red vs pink.

Many of my tomato seedling customers (less as the years go on and people become more familiar with the vast choices available) want a RED tomato. And do NOT want a pink tomato.

kath · March 10, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Actually, people (who are not familiar with heirlooms) can be quite picky about the difference between pink and red tomatoes. But in my experience, there is great variability with people's perception of the differences - it sticks out like a sore thumb for me, but there are many, many color categorization errors in red vs pink.

Many of my tomato seedling customers (less as the years go on and people become more familiar with the vast choices available) want a RED tomato. And do NOT want a pink tomato.

Do you think it's because the pink tomatoes look something like a not fully ripe and therefore a not-so-good tasting red? Or are they just sure that they know what they like? Just wondering if they ever voice their reasons for only wanting red ones.

matilda'skid · March 10, 2011

My friend who brings me manure and is welcome to any tomato I have, always picked out the Celebritys. I don't grow them any more because they have skin like plastic. Maybe I should go back to them because of d%#@ stink bugs. When you slice a pink tomato it is just as red inside, but you are correct people pick them for the looks.

tam91 · March 10, 2011

Perhaps the pinks (from the outside) remind them of those pale supermarket tomatoes, instead of the juicy bright red they associate with a garden fresh one.

**nctomatoman** · March 10, 2011

I think it is reflective of how the public at large is pretty conservative/traditional with what they eat - peppers are green, tomatoes are red, etc. There are regional variations - even back in history, catalogs would state that particular pink (which were at the time called purple) tomatoes were particularly popular in different geographic regions. People are very funny about food - colors, textures, etc - and they like what they know, and they know what they like!

I think the fairly recent availability of a wide variety of colors, sizes and shapes of many veggies and fruits is slowly changing this...but it takes time!

If you are in North Carolina, you call your big, flat, ugly pink tomatoes "German Johnson" - no matter what variety they really are - because that's what many locals here know and look for. Same with Silver Queen corn when we lived in eastern PA - I doubt much of the white corn being sold as so was really Silver Queen...but it is all marketing, after all!

(why else would Bud Light be the country's number one selling beer....all about the marketing!)

Fusion_power · March 10, 2011

I am one of those people whose color perception says a red tomato has bright reddish orange tones. A pink tomato is just pink. But then there are tomatoes with the high crimson gene and clear skin. These appear almost cherry red to me.

My customers are usually interested in growing something other than red. If I get them started with a really good flavored tomato, the next year, they anxiously request diverse colors to try. There is something to be said for trying to make that first experience a really good one.

As for good flavored red tomatoes, Lyuda's Mom's Red Ukraine is hard to beat for a determinate while Lynnwood is a topnotch indeterminate. I will also agree re Druzba and Nepal for good flavor.

DarJones

fortyonenorth · March 10, 2011

I have Zhong Shu No. 6 on my list for this year. Anyone have experience with it? It's supposed to be an excellent mid-sized red, but I don't see it mentioned very often.

travis · March 10, 2011

You guys sure have listed a lot of not red, not medium size, not anything like the two he said are ones his dad likes

How about Red Brandywine, Druzba, and Jetsetter? If your dad likes Early Girl and Sioux, he'll like those three. Another easy to grow, medium, red tomato is Jasenicki Jabucar (aka Yasenichki Yabuchar), a great Serbian tomato, easy to grow, produces lots of perfect tomatoes tomato.

March 10, 2011	#23
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Actually, people (who are not familiar with heirlooms) can be quite picky about the difference between pink and red tomatoes. But in my experience, there is great variability with people's perception of the differences - it sticks out like a sore thumb for me, but there are many, many color categorization errors in red vs pink. Many of my tomato seedling customers (less as the years go on and people become more familiar with the vast choices available) want a RED tomato. And do NOT want a pink tomato. __________________ Craig

March 10, 2011	#27
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I think it is reflective of how the public at large is pretty conservative/traditional with what they eat - peppers are green, tomatoes are red, etc. There are regional variations - even back in history, catalogs would state that particular pink (which were at the time called purple) tomatoes were particularly popular in different geographic regions. People are very funny about food - colors, textures, etc - and they like what they know, and they know what they like! I think the fairly recent availability of a wide variety of colors, sizes and shapes of many veggies and fruits is slowly changing this...but it takes time! If you are in North Carolina, you call your big, flat, ugly pink tomatoes "German Johnson" - no matter what variety they really are - because that's what many locals here know and look for. Same with Silver Queen corn when we lived in eastern PA - I doubt much of the white corn being sold as so was really Silver Queen...but it is all marketing, after all! (why else would Bud Light be the country's number one selling beer....all about the marketing!) __________________ Craig

March 10, 2011	#16
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Druzba has terrific flavor; but as for production Big Beef is hard to beat. Grow a couple every year for insurance and the taste is very good for a hybrid. It is nice to have a little certainty in tomato growing.

March 10, 2011	#19
OneoftheEarls Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Up North Posts: 660	Hoy o manana?

March 10, 2011	#20
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Interestingly, Big Beef is the one I'm having trouble germinating - 19 other varieties have germinated great, only 1 of 6 Big Beef has come up - the others were all up on the 6th. But I have heard it is a good one. Last year, I tried one, it got waterlogged and I thought it was dead. Threw it on the burn pile, 6" rootball dangling in midair. Nearly a month later - it was flowering. Tough thing.

March 10, 2011	#21
beefyboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pt. Charlotte fl Posts: 330	I just sent a big beef back to home depot for yellowing out on me. They never grow very well here for me. I can name 10 heirlooms that will outproduce big beef by a mile. Earls Faux was my biggest yielder this year and still have a few left to eat after 6 months of being in my earthbox! second was Kosovo

March 10, 2011	#25
matilda'skid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 309	My friend who brings me manure and is welcome to any tomato I have, always picked out the Celebritys. I don't grow them any more because they have skin like plastic. Maybe I should go back to them because of d%#@ stink bugs. When you slice a pink tomato it is just as red inside, but you are correct people pick them for the looks.

March 10, 2011	#28
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	I am one of those people whose color perception says a red tomato has bright reddish orange tones. A pink tomato is just pink. But then there are tomatoes with the high crimson gene and clear skin. These appear almost cherry red to me. My customers are usually interested in growing something other than red. If I get them started with a really good flavored tomato, the next year, they anxiously request diverse colors to try. There is something to be said for trying to make that first experience a really good one. As for good flavored red tomatoes, Lyuda's Mom's Red Ukraine is hard to beat for a determinate while Lynnwood is a topnotch indeterminate. I will also agree re Druzba and Nepal for good flavor. DarJones

March 10, 2011	#29
fortyonenorth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 1,150	I have Zhong Shu No. 6 on my list for this year. Anyone have experience with it? It's supposed to be an excellent mid-sized red, but I don't see it mentioned very often.

March 10, 2011	#30
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	You guys sure have listed a lot of not red, not medium size, not anything like the two he said are ones his dad likes How about Red Brandywine, Druzba, and Jetsetter? If your dad likes Early Girl and Sioux, he'll like those three. Another easy to grow, medium, red tomato is Jasenicki Jabucar (aka Yasenichki Yabuchar), a great Serbian tomato, easy to grow, produces lots of perfect tomatoes tomato.