Your best variety this season? - Page 2

jtjmartin · October 19, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyjr

JTJ, Same here. Black Krim was excellent. Nice size and flavor. Black cherry coming in as well but lacking in the flavor dept. Not sure why. I will have to try Golden Jubilee next season. Thanks for the tip.

GaryJR:

You're not that far away.

My black cherry toms almost never made it out of the garden - really delicious . . . to me. Individual taste and environment must vary widely.

jtjmartin · October 19, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtjmartin

GaryJR:

You're not that far away.

My black cherry toms almost never made it out of the garden - really delicious . . . to me. Individual taste and environment must vary widely.

Oh, if you want some Golden Jubilee seeds just PM me. Glad to send some.

I'll test Golden Jubilee against Casey's Pure Yellow and maybe Brandywine Yellow in 2017.

habitat_gardener · October 19, 2016

Best tasting was Rebel Yell, though I didn't get very many. I planted everything late.

All the rest of my larger tomatoes seemed overly watery. Juicy is ok; these seemed beyond juicy. We get no summer rain, and I generally water sparingly by hand every 7-12 days.

One of Fred Hempel's (unreleased) bumble bee hybrids was outstanding -- easily the best tomato of the year! (I'm lucky enough to live in the area, and I got some extra plants.)

I also liked Iva's Red Berry, which was quite small -- between small cherry and currant size -- and took forever to pick, which is why I usually don't grow currants, or grow them only in containers where their size is restricted.

Gardeneer · October 20, 2016

My best varieties were dark ones and Black From Tula was the winner.

AKmark · October 20, 2016

Too hard for me too pick just one, so I picked two from a couple categories.

OP Red beefsteak type. Chapman beat Delicious this year. Chapman has a good shape, is meaty, and that flesh can set me on my heels sometimes, super tasty.

Hybrid red- Mountain Fresh and Garden Treasure, very good larger type roundish hybrids. MF gets an edge in taste, but they are determinate and irritating in greenhouse culture. Mine this year were 4 feet tall by about 7 feet wide. Of course I got disease in the middle of the mess.

OP Pinks beefsteak- Rebel yell great taste again, Crnkovic Yugoslavian, awesome taste, beeeeutiful fruit, they sure like lots of MgSO4 though.
Yellow orange beefsteaks Yellow BW (Platfoot) They are slow to start, but are super tolerant against nutrient deficiencies, abuse, and grow and grow, they produce beautiful good tasting fruit to the bitter end. KBX is very good too, last year for Amana Orange, it is third.

Black types-My Dad's Bear Creek is better than mine, his is very good, I am phasing out blacks, some are good, but I like others better.

Cole_Robbie · October 20, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKmark

Chapman beat Delicious this year.

I'm thinking Bradley vs Chapman will be a good garden showdown for 2017. Mat-Su Express can be the control.

RJGlew · October 20, 2016

Start S F1 from CZ. My best indeterminate.

guruofgardens · October 20, 2016

Daniel Burson and Cuostralee for earlier harvest.

Grosse Serge for later harvest. This one plant gave me close to 24 lbs. fruit.

AKmark · October 20, 2016

Cole, I grew out about 100 Mat-Su f5's at the end of the season, I got seed from 8 plants. I did get some variation in tastes, but anything selected was awesome indeed. I labeled all of them differently, my favorites were plant 11 and 13 from plant A that you have seed from. (A was a selection in the f3) Complex old fashioned tomato taste, has a real tomato zing, and they are very early too.

b54red · October 20, 2016

My first two plantings set out in early March and April produced the largest fruit and some great tasting beefsteaks. As far as flavor went I think Cowlick's Brandywine takes top honors along with being one of my top 5 producers of those two plantings. Also tops in flavor were Delicious, Limbaugh's Legacy, German Johnson, and Dester. I didn't have any varieties that weren't really good this year in my early plantings. The variety that took top honors in production was Marianna's Peace followed by Limbaugh's Legacy, German Johnson and Cowlick's. I didn't have any true monsters this year but had good sized fruit on almost all my early plantings and they maintained good size well into July when the heat really takes its toll on many of those varieties.

My later plantings from May until the last week of July have been a bit trying because we had a severe drought starting in early August and the last two months have had no rain other than a little mist the other day that barely wet the leaves. With hot weather and no rain the spider mites have been relentless keeping the plants stressed and making for some truly difficult growing conditions. Despite these setbacks a few varieties have stood out in the harsh conditions. Indian Stripe PL has pumped out tomatoes like crazy and Pruden's Purple has been a really productive tomato. The only others that have done good in this weather are Arkansas Traveler, Marianna's Peace, Neves Azorean Red, Indian Stripe, Margaret Curtain, JD's Special C Tex and Spudakee. Surprisingly Brandywine Sudduth's, Cowlick's Brandywine, and Royal Hillbilly produced some decent fruit in decent numbers. Flavor has been intense on most of the later planted varieties that have produced and ripened in the hot dry conditions but my favorite top three would be Indian Stripe PL, Spudakee, and Pruden's Purple. I don't remember the PP I had in my early planting tasting as good as the later plants but most of the fruit coming off the vines in this weather have been smaller than normal.

Indian Stripe PL has always been a good producer especially compared to others in hot weather but the last two years it has exceeded anything I thought possible. The flavor it develops in the hot dry weather is so much better than in the spring but of course with that comes slightly smaller fruit but with so little rain there has been no splitting or cracking on most of the black tomatoes this year with the exception of Margaret Curtain which seems to get radial cracks even with a light watering. I think anyone who grows in hot conditions should give ISPL a try though it doesn't perform like this every year it is far more consistent than most other varieties in drought conditions. With its heavy producing of fruit is has to be fertilized regularly and keeping spider mite damage to a minimum is necessary for good production along with keeping an eye out for gray mold which can plague most black varieties.

Bill

MrBig46 · October 20, 2016

This year, for me the tastiest Orange Russian 117 and Maya´s delight. Maya´s delight I grew for the first time, the seeds from MMMM 2015 (no other information on this variety I have not)
Vladimír

Gerardo · October 20, 2016

Daniels and Chapman, and both Terhunes, I was in flavor country.

Ricky Shaw · October 20, 2016

Chapman's taste is extraordinary, my favorite red. Bold, but not overly tart, a perfect slicer for a BLT or burger. Pretty as a picture and meaty, a nearly perfect tomato to me.

The minus, it was the slowest to take-off and last to ripen, there were a lot of small unripe toms at seasons end. We had a cold front with rain come thru the last week of August which hampered things. This season might not be totally indicative of Chapman's potential here, so I'll be trying it again next year.

PaulF · October 20, 2016

This has been an extraordinary year for production, especially late season production. It has also been outstanding in terms of flavorful tomatoes, from beginning up to now, almost the end. Twenty-five of the thirty-five varieties have been pulled and if the nice weather continues there will not be any green fruit to put in a sack for later...everything is ripening.

The favorite list could be a long one this year but the reason for being on this year's favorite is the same for ten of the thirty-five varieties: each matched their expected flavor as described by blurbs or reviews; each was solid, meaty and juicy all at the same time; none had any sort of disease at any time during the season, right up to removal; none produced a few giants and then small tomatoes...size was just above or just below or right on average for each variety. It may sound like a ho-hum year but actually it was outstanding.

So the question about favorite variety this year: you get two answers since both me and my wife will respond. Having been in it together for forty-five years and tasting "good" tomatoes for the past seventeen of those years (thanks Carolyn, Craig and Chuck Wyatt) you get both opinions.

My wife chooses Willow's Bulgarian..aka No Name Bulgarian whose seeds came from SSE's catalog several years ago and we renamed it just for ourselves after a granddaughter. Flavor rating 10/10; production: 61 fruits producing over 32 pounds. Average size including some small tomatoes at the end, and it is still going, about 9 ounces. Largest fruit was 19 ounces.

My choice was Mortgage Lifter, seeds from Gardens Alive sent to me in 2008 as a free gift I think and never grown because all the packet said was Mortgage Lifter, so the specific variety is actually unknown to me. Flavor was 10/10 of course. A single plant produced about 25 lbs for a 9.5 ounce average, the largest being 17 ounces and it still has a few ripening tomatoes.

jmsieglaff · October 20, 2016

So hard to choose, but I'll give a couple.

KBX--First time growing, absolutely delicious. Didn't give a ton of fruit on the initial ripening, but put on more and had very good production of ripe fruits in late August/September.

Big Beef F1--First time growing, very pleased with the flavor. Plant was extremely productive and healthy.

Sungold/Sunsugar--Every year.

Blush--First time growing. Really liked the flavor on this one, good production and neat looking tomato too.

October 20, 2016	#19
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	My best varieties were dark ones and Black From Tula was the winner. __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

October 20, 2016	#29
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,296	This has been an extraordinary year for production, especially late season production. It has also been outstanding in terms of flavorful tomatoes, from beginning up to now, almost the end. Twenty-five of the thirty-five varieties have been pulled and if the nice weather continues there will not be any green fruit to put in a sack for later...everything is ripening. The favorite list could be a long one this year but the reason for being on this year's favorite is the same for ten of the thirty-five varieties: each matched their expected flavor as described by blurbs or reviews; each was solid, meaty and juicy all at the same time; none had any sort of disease at any time during the season, right up to removal; none produced a few giants and then small tomatoes...size was just above or just below or right on average for each variety. It may sound like a ho-hum year but actually it was outstanding. So the question about favorite variety this year: you get two answers since both me and my wife will respond. Having been in it together for forty-five years and tasting "good" tomatoes for the past seventeen of those years (thanks Carolyn, Craig and Chuck Wyatt) you get both opinions. My wife chooses Willow's Bulgarian..aka No Name Bulgarian whose seeds came from SSE's catalog several years ago and we renamed it just for ourselves after a granddaughter. Flavor rating 10/10; production: 61 fruits producing over 32 pounds. Average size including some small tomatoes at the end, and it is still going, about 9 ounces. Largest fruit was 19 ounces. My choice was Mortgage Lifter, seeds from Gardens Alive sent to me in 2008 as a free gift I think and never grown because all the packet said was Mortgage Lifter, so the specific variety is actually unknown to me. Flavor was 10/10 of course. A single plant produced about 25 lbs for a 9.5 ounce average, the largest being 17 ounces and it still has a few ripening tomatoes. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

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October 19, 2016	#18
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Best tasting was Rebel Yell, though I didn't get very many. I planted everything late. All the rest of my larger tomatoes seemed overly watery. Juicy is ok; these seemed beyond juicy. We get no summer rain, and I generally water sparingly by hand every 7-12 days. One of Fred Hempel's (unreleased) bumble bee hybrids was outstanding -- easily the best tomato of the year! (I'm lucky enough to live in the area, and I got some extra plants.) I also liked Iva's Red Berry, which was quite small -- between small cherry and currant size -- and took forever to pick, which is why I usually don't grow currants, or grow them only in containers where their size is restricted.

October 20, 2016	#20
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	Too hard for me too pick just one, so I picked two from a couple categories. OP Red beefsteak type. Chapman beat Delicious this year. Chapman has a good shape, is meaty, and that flesh can set me on my heels sometimes, super tasty. Hybrid red- Mountain Fresh and Garden Treasure, very good larger type roundish hybrids. MF gets an edge in taste, but they are determinate and irritating in greenhouse culture. Mine this year were 4 feet tall by about 7 feet wide. Of course I got disease in the middle of the mess. OP Pinks beefsteak- Rebel yell great taste again, Crnkovic Yugoslavian, awesome taste, beeeeutiful fruit, they sure like lots of MgSO4 though. Yellow orange beefsteaks Yellow BW (Platfoot) They are slow to start, but are super tolerant against nutrient deficiencies, abuse, and grow and grow, they produce beautiful good tasting fruit to the bitter end. KBX is very good too, last year for Amana Orange, it is third. Black types-My Dad's Bear Creek is better than mine, his is very good, I am phasing out blacks, some are good, but I like others better.

October 20, 2016	#22
RJGlew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 646	Start S F1 from CZ. My best indeterminate.

October 20, 2016	#23
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	Daniel Burson and Cuostralee for earlier harvest. Grosse Serge for later harvest. This one plant gave me close to 24 lbs. fruit.

October 20, 2016	#25
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	My first two plantings set out in early March and April produced the largest fruit and some great tasting beefsteaks. As far as flavor went I think Cowlick's Brandywine takes top honors along with being one of my top 5 producers of those two plantings. Also tops in flavor were Delicious, Limbaugh's Legacy, German Johnson, and Dester. I didn't have any varieties that weren't really good this year in my early plantings. The variety that took top honors in production was Marianna's Peace followed by Limbaugh's Legacy, German Johnson and Cowlick's. I didn't have any true monsters this year but had good sized fruit on almost all my early plantings and they maintained good size well into July when the heat really takes its toll on many of those varieties. My later plantings from May until the last week of July have been a bit trying because we had a severe drought starting in early August and the last two months have had no rain other than a little mist the other day that barely wet the leaves. With hot weather and no rain the spider mites have been relentless keeping the plants stressed and making for some truly difficult growing conditions. Despite these setbacks a few varieties have stood out in the harsh conditions. Indian Stripe PL has pumped out tomatoes like crazy and Pruden's Purple has been a really productive tomato. The only others that have done good in this weather are Arkansas Traveler, Marianna's Peace, Neves Azorean Red, Indian Stripe, Margaret Curtain, JD's Special C Tex and Spudakee. Surprisingly Brandywine Sudduth's, Cowlick's Brandywine, and Royal Hillbilly produced some decent fruit in decent numbers. Flavor has been intense on most of the later planted varieties that have produced and ripened in the hot dry conditions but my favorite top three would be Indian Stripe PL, Spudakee, and Pruden's Purple. I don't remember the PP I had in my early planting tasting as good as the later plants but most of the fruit coming off the vines in this weather have been smaller than normal. Indian Stripe PL has always been a good producer especially compared to others in hot weather but the last two years it has exceeded anything I thought possible. The flavor it develops in the hot dry weather is so much better than in the spring but of course with that comes slightly smaller fruit but with so little rain there has been no splitting or cracking on most of the black tomatoes this year with the exception of Margaret Curtain which seems to get radial cracks even with a light watering. I think anyone who grows in hot conditions should give ISPL a try though it doesn't perform like this every year it is far more consistent than most other varieties in drought conditions. With its heavy producing of fruit is has to be fertilized regularly and keeping spider mite damage to a minimum is necessary for good production along with keeping an eye out for gray mold which can plague most black varieties. Bill

October 20, 2016	#27
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	Daniels and Chapman, and both Terhunes, I was in flavor country.

October 20, 2016	#28
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	Chapman's taste is extraordinary, my favorite red. Bold, but not overly tart, a perfect slicer for a BLT or burger. Pretty as a picture and meaty, a nearly perfect tomato to me. The minus, it was the slowest to take-off and last to ripen, there were a lot of small unripe toms at seasons end. We had a cold front with rain come thru the last week of August which hampered things. This season might not be totally indicative of Chapman's potential here, so I'll be trying it again next year.

October 20, 2016	#30
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	So hard to choose, but I'll give a couple. KBX--First time growing, absolutely delicious. Didn't give a ton of fruit on the initial ripening, but put on more and had very good production of ripe fruits in late August/September. Big Beef F1--First time growing, very pleased with the flavor. Plant was extremely productive and healthy. Sungold/Sunsugar--Every year. Blush--First time growing. Really liked the flavor on this one, good production and neat looking tomato too.