My Winners So Far

[TomatoDon]

Most everything got in fill swing the last few weeks. I'm still iffy on NAR, Stump may be coming on OK now, the darks are producing and flavorful, but not high producers, at least for me so far. Chapman was a bust and Red Rose about the same.

The winners have been the one brave Mortgage Lifter that has produced well and some really nice fruit. Earl's came on good and the first few I had have been good. Brandywine is still the All Star patch. Really loaded up, but fruit not as large now as earlier. Better Boy, as much as y'all snicker, is very prolific and trouble free as it usually is, and can't be beat for the taste I like. Firm and meaty, and just the right tartness. Lots of fruit, but just not as large as the heirlooms I'm growing. Big Beef is also in the overall top five with some really nice fruit with a good taste.

I'll guess over 50% of my tomatoes have split from too much water I'm guessing. I'm chunking out softball size heirlooms that are split and ruined every time I visit the patch. I really have to catch them just right to get them at full maturity without cracking. I am also having trouble with something that is pecking lots of the tomatoes.

For taste, my top ones are (in no order) Cherokee Purple, Paul Robeson, Earl's, Big Beef, Better Boy, BW Sudduth, and Mortgage Lifter.

Don

[Suze]

Originally Posted by don06

I'll guess over 50% of my tomatoes have split from too much water I'm guessing. I'm chunking out softball size heirlooms that are split and ruined every time I visit the patch. I really have to catch them just right to get them at full maturity without cracking. I am also having trouble with something that is pecking lots of the tomatoes.

Hi, Don --

I rarely leave fruits on the vine until dead ripe, especially with all the rains we've getting this year. Once they start to get a good blush about halfway to two-thirds up the fruit, I pick them. Personally, I notice little/no difference in flavor. Also tends to help enormously in terms of getting so much damage from the birds.

Try it and see what you think.

ps - One of my favorites this year is Brandy Boy; tastes good even when it rains like crazy

[TomatoDon]

Thanks Suze. I have this weakness for wanting to let them stay just another few days to hit that peak ripeness, and it's hard to catch them just right when they peak out. I thought it had a lot to do with flavor, but I'll try what you say. I'm throwing away far too much split fruit. And most would have been real dandies.

Oh...and I'm still taking these heirlooms around to restaurants when I travel and having them slice them with my meal. They can't get over the size of some of these. Tonight I made a meal of two beefsteaks with cornbread and butter. Yum!

Don

[carolyn137]

Most everything got in fill swing the last few weeks. I'm still iffy on NAR, Stump may be coming on OK now, the darks are producing and flavorful, but not high producers, at least for me so far. Chapman was a bust and Red Rose about the same.


*****

Don, just curious as to why NAR was iffy, why Chapman was a bust and why Red Rose was a bust.

Problems with the plants or problems with disease or problems with low production or you didn't like the taste, or whatever.

[TomatoDon]

Hi C, glad to see ya again!

I mentioned some of this in other threads and can't remember exactly the status at that time. The NAR came on slow and somewhat sparse, fruit not great but it did have decent production. It finally did OK. I'd give it a C overall. Not bad, not great. But that's just my patch in this climate, this year.

I can't remember exactly, but I think it was the Chapman that I had three of and two died and the other was a runt. It was about the same with the Red Rose. I don't think I got a tomato off of any of those six original plants (3 of each variety). The Chapman and Red Rose experiment was practically a complete bust. I'll double check that part of the patch again though.

Marianna's Peace did come on a little with some production. And I can't find the smokey taste in the darks either, C!

Glad you're back!

Don

[carolyn137]

Glad you're back!


*****

Been back and posting since May 29th.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by don06

Thanks Suze. I have this weakness for wanting to let them stay just another few days to hit that peak ripeness, and it's hard to catch them just right when they peak out. I thought it had a lot to do with flavor, but I'll try what you say.

There are many things that rob tomatoes of flavor:
- Growing tasteless varieties
- Picking them completely green and then gassing them with ethylene
- Refrigerating them
- Shipping them thousands of miles

Picking tomatoes when they are about halfway ripe (blushed) and letting them ripen indoors does not adversely affect flavor in my experience.


The "vine ripened" tomatoes at grocery stores are like putting lipstick on a pig. It's all the other steps they did that ruined the flavor.

[barkeater]

Wish I had saved the article, but back in the 90's, in the American Vegetable Grower magazine (Ithink), there was a University study showing peak flavor was achieved by picking 3 days before red ripe.

When tomatoes become red ripe on the vine, the sugars have already begun to turn to starches, and acidity is reduced, resulting in a more bland flavor. It has something to do with the cutoff of the flow of nutrients back and forth through the stem, so the tomato will drop off.

Apparently, there is a fine line between ripeness and the rotting process - which is the actual goal of a tomato, to guarantee the germination of the next generation of seeds.