Maters grown to sell

[Amigatec]

What would be a good selection of mators to grew just for selling?

[Barbee]

I'd say those that are more well known or have a catchy name. Well known ones in my area are Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, any of the Brandywines, Mortgage Lifter, etc. People seem to want the blacks, so anything with black in the name sells good.
Box Car Willie was a big hit here at my house this year. Everyone knew who box car willie was and wanted it because of the name. So with that in mind, you might look at Dolly Parton, Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red, etc. I have tasted Dolly Parton and it was not the best tomato I've ever eaten, but it sure was a beautiful tomato. Have never eaten Rowdy Red. Box Car Willie is a great tomato, IMO.
I picked up a yellow red butt at the CHOPTAG swap. Everyone that visits the tomato patch is interested in trying that one this year. Catchy name

[feldon30]

Hybrids:

• Jet Star -- reliable reddish orange round tomato with above average flavor; widely available seeds and plants

Cherries:

• Sun Gold -- super-productive, super-early orangish-yellow cherry
• Black Cherry -- mid-to-late season fantastic semi-productive purple cherry
• Sweet Quartz -- my favorite pink cherry tomato variety by far, and very productive
• Purple Haze -- about twice the size of most cherries, extremely sweet; Black Cherry is one of its parents

Heirlooms, etc.:

• Cherokee Purple -- fantastic medium to large purple beefsteak; this variety is why I grow tomatoes
• Gregori's Altai -- medium to large pink beefsteak of Russian origin. Never had less than 25 fruit per plant
• Black and Brown Boar -- small to medium dark with green striping, attractive, sweet, and holds up well in cool weather
• Sarnowski Polish Plum -- super-productive elongated plum/paste shape

Favorites (which may not be productive enough to justify for market)

• Earl's Faux -- my favorite medium pink beefsteak, incredibly sweet, juicy, zippy, meaty. Not sure how well it would produce for you, I get ~10 per plant.

I believe that all tomatoes can produce SOMETHING in almost any climate. But for market, you have a fine line to walk between "favorite" tomatoes that you love the taste of, and those that will be productive enough to sell at market.


Also, you have to consider if your customers will appreciate the difference in a 3 star tomato compared to a 5 star tomato. A lot of folks are satisfied with almost any homegrown tomato. I'm not one of those.

[Wi-sunflower]

It will depend a whole lot on what kind of competition you have in your area too.

At my markets if you grow just a regular red tomato (don't care what the name is) it had better be PERFECT if you want to sell it by the pound. If it has ANY imperfections at all, you will have to sell it by bulk in a 5-10 lb basket.

BUT if you have some of the colorful heirloom varieties that you can put a NAME on, people will be willing to accept some cracking or other stuff that makes them less than perfect. Especially if you are able to brag about the flavor. If you can give taste samples that's even better.

People are also willing to accept more defects when the weather has been difficult and they know that having ANY tomatoes at all is a miracle.

Something else I've seen in my markets is the fact that you usually don't sell much in bulk for canning till after the kids go back to school. So having a LOT of tomatoes early isn't usually a good thing.

These are just some thing I've seen and it may be different in other areas.

Carol