Best 'early' tomato?

rwk_nova · February 11, 2010

For tomatoes considered “early” I’ve grown heirloom/heritage indeterminate types Stupice, Matina, Bloody Butcher, and determinates Siletz and Sophie’s Choice. Both Siletz and Sophie’s Choice produced near baseball sized fruit for me with Siletz being a little too tart for my palate and Sophie’s Choice tasting good to me but true to descriptions of it died as soon as it got hot in my Northern VA garden. Stupice, Matina, and Bloody Butcher were not baseball size from my garden. The first Stupice’s only tasted ok to me but improved a lot later in the season. Matina and Bloody Butcher tasted good from my garden and, IMHO, indistinguishable as to which was better taste wise. I slightly favor Matina because it has produced slightly larger fruit in my garden compared to Bloody Butcher. I got Matina, Siletz, and Stupice seeds from Tomato Growers Supply (TGS), and Bloody Butcher from Tatiana’s Tomatobase. I can’t remember if I got Sophie’s Choice from Tatiana or Sand Hill Preservation.

February 11, 2010	#31
rwk_nova Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 11	For tomatoes considered “early” I’ve grown heirloom/heritage indeterminate types Stupice, Matina, Bloody Butcher, and determinates Siletz and Sophie’s Choice. Both Siletz and Sophie’s Choice produced near baseball sized fruit for me with Siletz being a little too tart for my palate and Sophie’s Choice tasting good to me but true to descriptions of it died as soon as it got hot in my Northern VA garden. Stupice, Matina, and Bloody Butcher were not baseball size from my garden. The first Stupice’s only tasted ok to me but improved a lot later in the season. Matina and Bloody Butcher tasted good from my garden and, IMHO, indistinguishable as to which was better taste wise. I slightly favor Matina because it has produced slightly larger fruit in my garden compared to Bloody Butcher. I got Matina, Siletz, and Stupice seeds from Tomato Growers Supply (TGS), and Bloody Butcher from Tatiana’s Tomatobase. I can’t remember if I got Sophie’s Choice from Tatiana or Sand Hill Preservation.