Hybrid vs Heirloom my experience

b54red · July 30, 2010

Don you are fortunate to have had such good luck with Brandywines. I've made some Brandy Boys in the past and this year one Cowlicks has produced really well for me. I have tried them off and on for over 30 years because of the great things I heard about them but they rarely do anything but grow and die without fruit. I have found some large pinks that are equal to Brandywines like Limbaugh's Legacy, Stump of the World and Marianna's Peace and they are a little easier for me to grow.
Big Beef on the other hand has been the one true constant producer for me for years. It has surpassed all previous hybrids in both taste and disease tolerance. I found a new one this year called Jetsetter. It's a good tasting tomato and the one plant in my garden produced 61 tomatoes.
I'm debating trying Goliath but don't know if it will give me anything I'm not already getting from Big Beef and Jetsetter.
The most enjoyable thing about planting 78 different varieties this year was comparing the plants and the taste of all those different types of tomatoes. I'm finding that I am slowly but surely dropping some of my old hybrids that I grew for years because of the poor taste, mealy texture, or just plain rock hardness that some of them have and replacing them with much better tasting heirlooms. I don't see Big Beef ever being dropped from my planting list nor will Sungold or Brandy Boy.

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July 30, 2010	#17
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Don you are fortunate to have had such good luck with Brandywines. I've made some Brandy Boys in the past and this year one Cowlicks has produced really well for me. I have tried them off and on for over 30 years because of the great things I heard about them but they rarely do anything but grow and die without fruit. I have found some large pinks that are equal to Brandywines like Limbaugh's Legacy, Stump of the World and Marianna's Peace and they are a little easier for me to grow. Big Beef on the other hand has been the one true constant producer for me for years. It has surpassed all previous hybrids in both taste and disease tolerance. I found a new one this year called Jetsetter. It's a good tasting tomato and the one plant in my garden produced 61 tomatoes. I'm debating trying Goliath but don't know if it will give me anything I'm not already getting from Big Beef and Jetsetter. The most enjoyable thing about planting 78 different varieties this year was comparing the plants and the taste of all those different types of tomatoes. I'm finding that I am slowly but surely dropping some of my old hybrids that I grew for years because of the poor taste, mealy texture, or just plain rock hardness that some of them have and replacing them with much better tasting heirlooms. I don't see Big Beef ever being dropped from my planting list nor will Sungold or Brandy Boy.