Gulf Coast region

brengolio · June 3, 2012

What heirlooms are/is your best producing/tasting tomatoes in our high
heat and humidity conditions?

For me it's Spudakee (great taste and production).......... it's the only heirloom I am growing this year but it's really doing good...... last year I grew Brandywine (great taste with very few tomatoes) with little success.

livinonfaith · June 4, 2012

It may not be as bad as your particular area, but North Carolina is a pretty high heat, high humidity area, too.

I've always heard Cherokee Purple is a good one. And for me last year, Amish Paste was relatively happy.

luke · June 4, 2012

Going on last year's experience alone, which was a tough growing season. Paul Robeson actually produced for me in those bad conditions.

This year, Church and Aussie are doing well, Magnum is a beautiful plant with no tomatoes (yet), Mexico and Omar's Lebanese are both putting on fruit.

Brown and Black Boar is fruiting, but Berkely Tie Dye has no tomatoes (Edit: checked the plants last night and BTD does have tomatoes).

My garden soil is a work in progress, and I have less sun each year due to trees. I think that some of the issues I am having is a result of not enough sun.

panhandler · June 4, 2012

So far...
Earliest and heaviest production from Sungold and Hege German Pink.
Golden Cherokee, Cherokee Green, Little Lucky, Green Zebra, and Stump of the World are loaded with ripening/close to ripening fruits.

All planted out around the ides of March.

Easter weekend plantouts in a patch of Brandywine Sudduth, Orange Minsk, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Paul Robeson, Cherokee Purple not quite as productive, but Brandywine Sudduth's fruits are much better than last year at this time. Should of got them in the ground a few weeks earlier, but got too busy at work.

I am about five hundred yards from the Gulf of Mexico. It's been a harsh but otherwise bountiful season for me so far. I lost thirty-odd pounds of fruits to southern armyworms and blossom end rot. The BER is just a given, but the armyworms were the most awful tomato problem I've ever confronted. Masssive leaf removal, Bt, and spinosad remedied the problem. I would say that at least half of my 250 or so plants were covered with those things.
We need some rain and it doesn't look like there will be any in the next few days either.

Organically-grown heirlooms are a trial to grow where I'm growing for a multitude of reasons, but I like the challenge. Never be dissuaded by naysayers (lesser gardeners and ag extension agents) from growing heirlooms here. I think any variety is do-able if you practice sound growing technique in combination with good timing, and a little help from Mother Nature.

b54red · June 4, 2012

Most of the dark tomatoes do really well here and seem to set fruit better in the heat than many of the pinks and reds. My most productive are, Indian Stripe, Spudakee, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Big Cheef, Dana's Dusky Rose, and JD's Special C Tex.

Among the pinks I like Terhune, Brandywine Sudduth, Hege German Pink, and especially Stump of the World.

Of the reds the most productive are Neves Azorean Red, Lumpy Red, Frank's Large Red, Druzba, Old Virginia, Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red, and a volunteer red that has done really good for a couple of years.

The only gold or yellow that is consistent for me is Dr. Wyches Yellow; but once in a while KBX will really produce well.

I have only found one GRW that I seem to be able to count on and that is Grub's Mystery Green and it is hit and miss. It seems that the GRWs are very susceptible to fusarium wilt.

The hearts that have done the best in production are Kosovo, Oleyar's German, Linnie's Oxheart, Wes, Gildo Pietroboni, Hungarian Heart and Fish Lake Oxheart. My favorite is Donskoi but it is hit and miss also.

Keger · June 4, 2012

We're pretty similar in climate I think. Cherokee Purple has been what I call ok. 70% or so have been usable. Brandywine not good at all, lost a few plants earlier in the spring. Black Cherry has been great. For later producing plants I am trying Arkansas Traveler, Creole, and Atkinson which are supposed to do well as it heats up.

b54red · June 4, 2012

Keger, you really should try some like Spudakee, Indian Stripe, Cherokee Purple and Dana's Dusky Rose for planting this time of the year. If you can get them through the first couple of weeks in the heat then they will set and produce during the hottest weather. Of course you have to keep the whiteflies, spider mites and diseases under control and that can be hard to do in mid and late summer down here. The black tomatoes not only set better than most others in this heat but they taste much better in the very hot weather. If you have no objection to hybrids then I highly recommend Big Beef for planting in the summer heat. It will give you tomatoes in conditions that most others can't tolerate and they are good tasting also. I always try to set out some Big Beefs as insurance to make sure I get some tomatoes in the late summer and fall.

mysidx · June 4, 2012

I'll add Azoychka for yellow, it has been very productive along with Rosalies Early Orange. J.D. Special has been most productive out of the blacks and Brandywine Cowlick, Earls Faux have done well for pinks. Indian Stipe did well for me last year.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Rockporter · June 4, 2012

I grew some Homestead determinates last year and they did pretty good until the really high heat hit us in the later part of the summer, but the taste wasn't really that good. I thought it was better than store bought but it just seemed a bit watery to me.

Oh Yeah, I wanted to note that Homestead is not an heirloom tomato, it was grown out to be grown in a hot and humid climate like Florida where it was hybridized.

coastal bend · June 4, 2012

The Cherokee purple I grew this year has a great taste but since the heat has turned up they would not ripen on the vine. I have been pulling them when they show blush. The only problem is that I eat them before they are full ripe and they taste tart. The one I ate tonight I let ripen a longer time. It tasted great. so I need to be a little more patient. I will have them next year but will try some different type heirlooms next year.

mysidx · June 4, 2012

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=17946

Here is a thread I started when I asked the same question last spring. You might find some useful info.

luke · June 5, 2012

Big Beef is one that seems to keep popping up in several of the threads that I've been involved in. I pulled a couple of plants tonight that had some wilt, and will try to locate some Big Beef to replace them with.

And Stump of the World and Neves Azorean Red keep jumping into these threads as well. I'll probably cull some of my seeds and try those next year.

brengolio · June 5, 2012

mysidx......... I went back and read your thread you started last year........ did you do the heavy soaking every 3 or 4 days? B54red mentioned it you in your thread last year...... just curious if you did it and the results

mysidx · June 5, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by brengolio

mysidx......... I went back and read your thread you started last year........ did you do the heavy soaking every 3 or 4 days? B54red mentioned it you in your thread last year...... just curious if you did it and the results

No I haven't, I may try it once we get in to July and August. My plants have already stopped setting fruit for the most part, so I hope we can get a few evening showers to cool things down a bit.We are in the middle nineties now, I don't look forward to late July/August heat with 100% humidity. I just came in from the garden and my clothes are drenched....

b54red · June 14, 2012

I have been getting some decent fruit set from some of my newer plants that have made it through the fusarium wilt and bacterial wilt gauntlet despite the oppressive humidity. Now if I can just keep some of them alive for another month or so I'll have some mid summer tomatoes. I have very small seedlings just potted up in the greenhouse for set out in July and August for my fall tomatoes and even started more seed yesterday. I like to have some replacements ready especially for the seedlings set out in the heat of mid and late summer. The latest I have ever set out a tomato plant that actually made ripe fruit before freezing was September 10th.

Tomatoes were later than usual this year in starting to ripen compared to last year. I guess it was all the cool nights we had. The quickest to ripen this year was again Fish Lake Oxheart which had its' first ripe fruit in 56 days. I am going to try setting some of them out very late and see if they can do anything in the fall this year.

I have not gotten a single one of those huge two lb tomatoes this year even though my average size is a bit larger this year than last. It is probably because all of the varieties that produce those monsters have been hit by fusarium this year and that will really reduce the size of the few fruit I get off those sick plants before they die.

This has been a terrible year for fusarium wilt; but I expected that after the unusually warm winter. The spider mites showed up much earlier than last year but so far have been controllable. This is the worst year for worms that I have seen in a long time; but so far not a single hornworm. Gray Mold has been pretty bad this year but not as bad as last year and other foliage diseases have been moderate so far. The number of times I have had to apply my bleach solution to stop Gray Mold has probably kept the other diseases in check. I have only had three plants get TSWV which is the least it has bothered me in years.

June 3, 2012	#1
brengolio Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: prairieville la Posts: 132	Gulf Coast region What heirlooms are/is your best producing/tasting tomatoes in our high heat and humidity conditions? For me it's Spudakee (great taste and production).......... it's the only heirloom I am growing this year but it's really doing good...... last year I grew Brandywine (great taste with very few tomatoes) with little success. Last edited by brengolio; June 4, 2012 at 09:25 AM.

June 4, 2012	#3
luke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 177	Going on last year's experience alone, which was a tough growing season. Paul Robeson actually produced for me in those bad conditions. This year, Church and Aussie are doing well, Magnum is a beautiful plant with no tomatoes (yet), Mexico and Omar's Lebanese are both putting on fruit. Brown and Black Boar is fruiting, but Berkely Tie Dye has no tomatoes (Edit: checked the plants last night and BTD does have tomatoes). My garden soil is a work in progress, and I have less sun each year due to trees. I think that some of the issues I am having is a result of not enough sun. Last edited by luke; June 4, 2012 at 12:07 PM.

June 4, 2012	#8
mysidx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Baton Rouge,Louisiana Zone 8b Posts: 340	I'll add Azoychka for yellow, it has been very productive along with Rosalies Early Orange. J.D. Special has been most productive out of the blacks and Brandywine Cowlick, Earls Faux have done well for pinks. Indian Stipe did well for me last year. Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk __________________ Rob

June 4, 2012	#9
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	I grew some Homestead determinates last year and they did pretty good until the really high heat hit us in the later part of the summer, but the taste wasn't really that good. I thought it was better than store bought but it just seemed a bit watery to me. Oh Yeah, I wanted to note that Homestead is not an heirloom tomato, it was grown out to be grown in a hot and humid climate like Florida where it was hybridized. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ Last edited by Rockporter; June 4, 2012 at 10:07 PM.

June 4, 2012	#11
mysidx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Baton Rouge,Louisiana Zone 8b Posts: 340	http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=17946 Here is a thread I started when I asked the same question last spring. You might find some useful info. __________________ Rob

June 4, 2012	#2
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	It may not be as bad as your particular area, but North Carolina is a pretty high heat, high humidity area, too. I've always heard Cherokee Purple is a good one. And for me last year, Amish Paste was relatively happy.

June 4, 2012	#4
panhandler Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Northwest Florida Posts: 49	So far... Earliest and heaviest production from Sungold and Hege German Pink. Golden Cherokee, Cherokee Green, Little Lucky, Green Zebra, and Stump of the World are loaded with ripening/close to ripening fruits. All planted out around the ides of March. Easter weekend plantouts in a patch of Brandywine Sudduth, Orange Minsk, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Paul Robeson, Cherokee Purple not quite as productive, but Brandywine Sudduth's fruits are much better than last year at this time. Should of got them in the ground a few weeks earlier, but got too busy at work. I am about five hundred yards from the Gulf of Mexico. It's been a harsh but otherwise bountiful season for me so far. I lost thirty-odd pounds of fruits to southern armyworms and blossom end rot. The BER is just a given, but the armyworms were the most awful tomato problem I've ever confronted. Masssive leaf removal, Bt, and spinosad remedied the problem. I would say that at least half of my 250 or so plants were covered with those things. We need some rain and it doesn't look like there will be any in the next few days either. Organically-grown heirlooms are a trial to grow where I'm growing for a multitude of reasons, but I like the challenge. Never be dissuaded by naysayers (lesser gardeners and ag extension agents) from growing heirlooms here. I think any variety is do-able if you practice sound growing technique in combination with good timing, and a little help from Mother Nature.

June 4, 2012	#5
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Most of the dark tomatoes do really well here and seem to set fruit better in the heat than many of the pinks and reds. My most productive are, Indian Stripe, Spudakee, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Big Cheef, Dana's Dusky Rose, and JD's Special C Tex. Among the pinks I like Terhune, Brandywine Sudduth, Hege German Pink, and especially Stump of the World. Of the reds the most productive are Neves Azorean Red, Lumpy Red, Frank's Large Red, Druzba, Old Virginia, Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red, and a volunteer red that has done really good for a couple of years. The only gold or yellow that is consistent for me is Dr. Wyches Yellow; but once in a while KBX will really produce well. I have only found one GRW that I seem to be able to count on and that is Grub's Mystery Green and it is hit and miss. It seems that the GRWs are very susceptible to fusarium wilt. The hearts that have done the best in production are Kosovo, Oleyar's German, Linnie's Oxheart, Wes, Gildo Pietroboni, Hungarian Heart and Fish Lake Oxheart. My favorite is Donskoi but it is hit and miss also.

June 4, 2012	#6
Keger Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Richmond, TX Posts: 327	We're pretty similar in climate I think. Cherokee Purple has been what I call ok. 70% or so have been usable. Brandywine not good at all, lost a few plants earlier in the spring. Black Cherry has been great. For later producing plants I am trying Arkansas Traveler, Creole, and Atkinson which are supposed to do well as it heats up.

June 4, 2012	#10
coastal bend Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: south texas Posts: 114	The Cherokee purple I grew this year has a great taste but since the heat has turned up they would not ripen on the vine. I have been pulling them when they show blush. The only problem is that I eat them before they are full ripe and they taste tart. The one I ate tonight I let ripen a longer time. It tasted great. so I need to be a little more patient. I will have them next year but will try some different type heirlooms next year.

June 5, 2012	#12
luke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 177	Big Beef is one that seems to keep popping up in several of the threads that I've been involved in. I pulled a couple of plants tonight that had some wilt, and will try to locate some Big Beef to replace them with. And Stump of the World and Neves Azorean Red keep jumping into these threads as well. I'll probably cull some of my seeds and try those next year.

June 14, 2012	#15
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have been getting some decent fruit set from some of my newer plants that have made it through the fusarium wilt and bacterial wilt gauntlet despite the oppressive humidity. Now if I can just keep some of them alive for another month or so I'll have some mid summer tomatoes. I have very small seedlings just potted up in the greenhouse for set out in July and August for my fall tomatoes and even started more seed yesterday. I like to have some replacements ready especially for the seedlings set out in the heat of mid and late summer. The latest I have ever set out a tomato plant that actually made ripe fruit before freezing was September 10th. Tomatoes were later than usual this year in starting to ripen compared to last year. I guess it was all the cool nights we had. The quickest to ripen this year was again Fish Lake Oxheart which had its' first ripe fruit in 56 days. I am going to try setting some of them out very late and see if they can do anything in the fall this year. I have not gotten a single one of those huge two lb tomatoes this year even though my average size is a bit larger this year than last. It is probably because all of the varieties that produce those monsters have been hit by fusarium this year and that will really reduce the size of the few fruit I get off those sick plants before they die. This has been a terrible year for fusarium wilt; but I expected that after the unusually warm winter. The spider mites showed up much earlier than last year but so far have been controllable. This is the worst year for worms that I have seen in a long time; but so far not a single hornworm. Gray Mold has been pretty bad this year but not as bad as last year and other foliage diseases have been moderate so far. The number of times I have had to apply my bleach solution to stop Gray Mold has probably kept the other diseases in check. I have only had three plants get TSWV which is the least it has bothered me in years.