Goliath variety

[TomatoDon]

Not sure if it's Bonnie's or not (I think it is), but Jet Star and Ark Travelor are at most every vendor stand I see over here. Today I saw my first Bonnies "Pink Brandywine," what a coincidence.

Am hoping to get over to Amish country this week and see their tomao operations. I hear they really have the stuff. This "colony" is less than an hour away.

I checked and looks like Washington, Tx would be nearly 500 miles for me. Long drive. If you can teleport me I'll be there! (Will look for cheap flights.)

Don

[gssgarden]

I've grown all the Goliaths and found Goliath and Early Goliath to be better to the others for years. I had alot of trouble with the other in regards to production but size and taste go to Goliath and EG. Both huge and flavorful. Someone always asks about them and I rave about them but I never take pics. This year I will.

Greg

[creister]

Don,

I haven't grown BHN 444 personally, but I know two people who have, and they both liked it. They liked the flavor and said it was extremely productive. I also remeber reading at GW, several people didn't like it. So wether OP/heirloom, or hybrid, taste is subjective and conducive to local conditions.

[TomatoDon]

Hi Morgan,

Just reading back over this thread and see that I missed some of your questions:

"I guess I am curious what your goals in in your garden. Are you intending to grow enough tomatoes to sell at the farmer's market? Are you limited on space and wanting to maximize your productivity? Have you experienced losses to TSWV or Fusarium 1, 2, or 3? Just curious..."

1. No, not intending to sell, just trying new things.
2. Not limited to space, have 26 raised beds and several acres of flat fertile land in the country at the "old home place."
3. No losses to TSWV or Fusarium last year, in fact just didn't have much trouble with plant disease last year.

For some reason several here where I live have swapped over to Goliath, so I'm just checking it out. We have an Amish community about 45 minutes away and I was over there some recently and they grow lots of tomatoes, including Goliath, and the guys here that have front yard stands grow Goliaths. I just didn't know how many strains of Goliath there are! I found one Amish family with a home made green house where they grow around 7,000 seedlings a year. They had some really nice plants for fifty and sixty cents each, so I bought some labeled Goliath Hybrid and Goliath Early. I believe she and the ones here get all their seeds from Totally Tomatoes. The Amish are great people, but wouldn't let me take any pictures. I'll see if I can get a shot of the seedlings before I plant them later today.

Hope you had a good week end in Houston with good tomato weather.

Don

[feldon30]

I was more asking about the BHN varieties. I guess I think of the BHN varieties as the solutions to a disease or climate problem. But people like them, and I don't want to judge. I have not tasted them, so maybe I should bite my tongue.

[TomatoDon]

TheBonnie people emailed me that the BHN's were resistant to everything but insects. Broad statement that a reasonable person wouldn't give or take literally, but I got his point as intended. I'm gonna try a few. I just can't seem to practice moderation when it comes to tomatoes.

Don