Prue Zone 8/9b So. Cal.

[Diriel]

Hello, This year I tried my hand at Prue and Zores Big Red. I have 2 border collie's, and after my 3 replant I finally gave up this year. For next year I have completely fenced off my garden area and even buried the fencing staked about a foot. I have been thinking about what it is I want from a home grown tomato. 1) Great Flavor! It would be nice if it had a nice Acid up flavor profile. But most important is robust flavor that survives and adds to cooking. 2) Salsa !! I probably should have made Salsa 1, 2, and 3 to be honest. 3) I would like to also dry some tomatoes. 4) Salads, and sandwiches. My wife makes a nice Pasta Salad some times and I can not help but think a really Good Tomato would add in nicely. And of course garden salads, which I really enjoy as "snacks" when im not eating corn chips and salsa. 5) Perhaps a bit of sauce / Ketchup, this would be lower in priority and volume, but still something I would like to do. Would Prue mostly fit the bill for these desires? I figure it this way, I keep buying Roma's from Alberstons and they are pretty tasteless. ANY Home grown tomato should be better than no taste! I realize taste is very subjective, I have a fairly broad "like" range. My neighbor grew some beefsteak's of some kind (he does not remember) For me they taste a bit sweet, but the most important thing is ....They Have Flavor! I really want a somewhat complex but bold flavor profile! I keep reading that amongst others Prue might fit that bill. Prue also seems to be an oxheart type and perhaps that would make it more of what I call a General Purpose, for me, tomato. Any advice here would be great. Also, Raised bed, container, or Ground? My soil is somewhat clay, so I will likely need to do some amending for best results. Thank you! Gary Sheppard

[meadowyck]

Hello Gary, sorry can't help you out but just wanted to welcome you to T'ville.

Im in Zone 9b and starting my seeds in a few days (after family returns to the north). I can't wait to try all the many wonderful heirloom varieties that I've gotten.

[Diriel]

I decided my space is at a premium...so 1 variety of Tomato - Prue, 1 Melon - Collective Farm, 1 Pepper - Rooster Spur, and I am going to try very hard to grow some Strawberries for my wife Just do not have enough space to plant bunches of varieties really...

The above is my pre-plan ... subject to change depending on advice and such. I will say though, the rooster spur peppers are nice.

[carolyn137]

Gary, too many questions at one time , but I'd like to comment about Prue, which I love.

First, it is not an heart variety. The fruits are of variable shape, always have been and always will be. it's not a apste variety, far from it.

I love the taste and I do call it unique and there are few varieties I can ID just by the aroma and Prue is one of them.

Finally, it's a family heirloom of Tom Galucci, who posts here quite a bit, thank heavens.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Prue

I'm the Carolyn Male referred to in the link and SSE listed it as well as sending it to several owners of seed sites where I know the owners well, and also offered it in a seed offer here quite a few years ago.

You can see from the link above, if you scroll down, that there are quite a few commercial sources.

Summary? I do not consider Prue to be a paste tomato, never have b'c it's far to wonderfully juicy, and nor does Tom himself who has pretty strong feelings about that,, but there are plenty of threads here about paste/sauce tomatoes if you do a search. I think you'll find that many folks have switched from using paste varieties for sauce to using the best tasting varieties they have b'c lots of paste tomatoes just don't have the greatest of tastes. Yes, there are some exceptions IMO

As for varieties for eating that have a complex taste, I'll try to remember to come back and list a few. But again, taste is both personal and perceptual and there are lots of variables that go into the taste of a variety in any one season so I always suggest that the only way for someone to know if they like a variety is to grow it.

Finally, a very warm welcome to Tville.

[Diriel]

Thanks Carolyn!

I am all about taste. By no means am I stuck on a paste type tomato. I am just trying hard to learn. I very much agree about selecting for taste first!

I bought from Glecklers and the seedsavers exchange last year and service and seeds worked out nice. I see Glecklers is listed as supplying Prue, so will likely go with them. I also like that they have a nice aroma.

I really want to stack the odds in my favor this upcoming year for a good harvest of nice tomato's.

[ginger2778]

Hi Gary and welcome.
I will give you my take on the container vs raised bed vs ground question.
I personally have never grown in raised beds, always took the easier way out and just grew in the ground. Our soil is rich here in the west part of South Florida, due to being built over what used to be everglades, so I didn't even amend the soil. I had very good results, but had problems with nematodes, abundant here, and cutworms when the seedlings were newly transplanted, which will break your heart!
Last year I tried earthboxes and also some in the ground, and I gotta tell you the earthboxes tomatoes ATE THE GROUND TOMATOES LUNCH!!!!
They all grew to more than double the size and I got 40 to 50 lbs. of tomatoes from each earthbox. It's a type of self watering container that has all the fertilizer you need for the whole season already in it. It has no soil born bug problems and its tough plastic that's above ground so your dogs can't mess with it, and its got a plastic cover to keep out the baddies and keep the moisture in. You can grow 2 tomato plants in one box.
Self watering systems are the way to go from now on for me.
If you go to the Growing in Containers forum on the home page, you can see threads on how to build your own, and trellising methods, because your tomatoes will be HUGE!
-Marsha

[tjg911]

hi gary,

prue is a good all round tomato. it is perfect for fresh eating, people that can say it is a good canner. like carolyn, said prue is more juicy than paste tomatoes but i have made sauce from any any all in my garden you just need to cook out the liquid.

prue can be variable in yields, some years low but this year my 1 plant has double normal amount of fruits! prue does have a unique flavor, a bit sweet but not strongly acidic. everyone's taste is different as their weather and soil chemistry so you'll only know if you grow it. imo prue is the best tasting tomato very very closely followed by wes, a heart that is sweet, tho they taste different.

i grew sarnowski's polish plum last year and it had pretty good flavor as a fresh eating tomato and is a paste.

tom

[Diriel]

Thanks for the replies and information. I will check out the self watering section that seems like a nice solution. It gets pretty hot here some times. My soil here is clay / alk. so the container might be nice as a way to avoid having to massively amend. I do have a roto-tiller so if i go the ground route I can do the amending.

Gary

[Sun City Linda]

I am in similar SoCal climate and I grow in Earthboxes. Infact, right now you can purchase one on OZBO for about 32 bucks and they have flat rate shipping of, I think $4.50. Great price for what you get.