which should i grow?

[Tom C zone 4/5]

Originally Posted by ChefJeff

need some help making up my mind. tomatoes will be grown in small new jersey garden. also looking for good/bad experiences with these varieties

Pick 1 from this group

cherokee purple

Pick 2 from this group

brandywine sudduth
stump of the world

The remaining would be my choice(s). Everything else got erased.

[TightenUp]

Originally Posted by dustdevil

I think you should try these varieties:

http://njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/JerseyTomato.html

not a bad idea! my friend up the road is growing about 20 rutgers plants. i will be trying them soon and i will plant them if i like. thanks for the idea!

[Mudman]

I like the taste of Cherokee Purple but the plant is very small and not very productive in my garden. I am growing the not Brandywine Red PL this year that I bought from a nursery thinking it was pink and it is terrible. I would sacrifice production for the taste of a BW but this is not a good red tomato. I like the pink ones myself.

[Ken4230]

Jeff.....The Rutgers will hang in there with you. You won't be disappointed. My family has grown them for 50/60 years. After all this time. they are still my favorite canning tomato.

My choice ....Cherokee Purple and Brandywine PL


I am going to try more PL plants in an attempt to shade my tomatoes better. Our sun has been brutal and is probably going to get worse.

Ken

[coloken]

Spudakee has been better for me than Cherokee purple. I tend to prefer the PL plants. Like Ken says, more shade for the plant.
Kenny

[tomakers]

Pick 1 - I've never had a lot of luck with CP and I like Paul Robeson better than BK.

Pick 2 - These are 2 of my favorites: Earl's Faux and Stump of the World.

JMO,
Tom

[mecktom]

CP and Brandywine Red

[camochef]

Originally Posted by ChefJeff

i guess i will revise my list. looks like i am going to stay away from the brandywine name for now. thanks for the info

Don't do that! Brandywines are some of the best tasting tomatoes out there. My favorites are Brandywine-Glicks, and Cowlick's Brandywine, both the original P.L. and Bama's R.L. they outperform those you've listed and taste better too.
The three darks you listed are pretty good but Cherokee Purple is not one of the best producers and taste quality varies greatly.
Black Krim is a tasty tomato with better production but has a tendency to crack 6 out of 7 years.
Paul Robeson is a dark variety that has never done well here for me in South Central Pa. either in germanation or in producing, and I've never been impressed with it's taste, compared to other darks.
My favorite darks here would be:
Dana's Dusky Rose
Bear Creek
Amazon Chocolate
Black Master
Other Pinks to consider:
Barlow Jap
Liz Birt
Dora
and what has become a new favorite of mine,
Purple Dog Creek

Liz Birt, Dora, and Bear Creek are all Brandywine / Cherokee Purple crosses from Keith Mueller and have done extremely well for me here the last three years or so. His other cross, (Gary O'Sena) didn't fair well here this year, although it has performed well in the past.

What has become my favorite red the past few years, replacing both Red Brandywine and Box-car Willie is Tarasenko6, which has produced some fantastic tasting tomatoes and many quite large.

This year, the first tomatoes to ripen were, Cowlick's Brandywine (R.L.);Barlow Jap; Amazon Chocolate; (3) Liz Birt, Mrs Benson, Black Master, Lillian Maciejewski's Poland Pink, and (2) Tarasenko6. All ripened on the same day.
2 days later I was deluged with many more Barlow Jap's, Liz Birt's, Tarasenko6's and my first P.L. Cowlick's Brandywine. Along with many others including Pink Sweet, Dana's Dusky Rose and Big Cheef.
It wasn't till a week later that I saw my first ripe Earl's Faux, and Stump of The World and others like Indian Stripe, Vorlon, and Black Brandywine.

Every year is different and what performs very well one year may not do as well the next. Yet, over time you can determine which varieties do best for you in your location. I plant the best of the best each year and try to include 7-10 new, highly recommended varieties along with them. Of all this years new to me varieties there was one stand-out...Purple Dog Creek, a large-sized pink tomato with outstanding, complex tastes that will now join the list of favorites in my gardens. It's still producing lots of large tomatoes where many others have begun to decline in production.

Whatever you decide to go with, I wish much luck! I started my tomato growing experiences in New Jersey over 50 years ago. I wish we had that rich Jersey soil here in south central Pa. I grew up in Bergen County where soil was dark, black soil and it took me years to believe that this red shale soil here would grow anything. It does with lots of help.
Enjoy!
Camo

[camochef]

I keep trying to edit Keith Partridge's name but it keeps changing it to Partridge, which I never typed in the first place????


Partridge...Partridge...Partridge!


not Partridge

The individual in question is persona non grata here, hence the word filter substitution - M.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by camochef

I keep trying to edit Keith Partridge's name but it keeps changing it to Partridge, which I never typed in the first place????


Partridge...Partridge...Partridge!


not Partridge

Camo, it's the software that's doing that and it happens to me as well and I just delete the Partidge in this instance b'c in the context of what I'm typing everyone should see the association. But most times I don't look back at what posted so don't even see if a name I posted has been altered.

It happens with several other names as well as I recall, actually those who are no longer with us at Tville for one reason or another, if you get my drift.

[Worth1]

Partridge
Partridge
Partridge

WHAT!!!!!!

Worth

[Zana]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Partridge
Partridge
Partridge

WHAT!!!!!!

Worth

Now that is funny. The email message I got had 3 in a row...not Partridge

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Zana

Now that is funny. The email message I got had 3 in a row...not Partridge

Now yours says Partridge.
Partridges
What the devil!!!!!!
Worth

[carolyn137]

Worth, Zana, did you read the post I made about 18 minutes ago about the software being programmed to alter some names?

Yes, I got the three M's, as it were from you Worth, but when it posted the software took over.

Same thing happens at GW if you try to send a PM to someone and happen to mention another message site. Rejected.

[Zana]

Ok...thanks for the explanation, Carolyn. I still think its funny. Transports me back to my teenybopper days....lol. The partridge family....sheeeeesh.

We all need a good chuckle, even if its a software glitch/override providing it.

Zana