Location, Location, Location!

[barryla61]

These "Best Tomato" threads are fun to read give us ideas as to what varieties we might want to try, I'm guilty myself as I too started one of these threads.
BUT as with so many things I have to think that the key to a tomato growing & tasting good is location.
A tomato that someone grows well in California may not care for the humid summers we have here in VA and vise versa.
The type of soil that a tomato grows in has a lot to do with taste.
Morning sun vs evening sun has an effect on plants.
As a former apple grower I saw the same thing with fruit.
And as far as taste goes, it's just like beauty, it's all in the eye (or in this case the mouth) of the beholder!
Happy New Year everyone and may you all have a great tomato growing season!

[rockhound]

Agreed. Every location is likely to be different. Soil is everything. My neighbor can't understand why tilling up 3 inches of red clay and setting out box store plants and watering every evening by spraying all down with a hose doesn't give her produce like mine. A hundred years ago she would be wanting me burned as a witch, lol.

[Worth1]

That's why I rarely give advice about the best tasting or growing tomato for someone out of my area.
It just doesn't seem right.

What I have had poor luck with time after time folks up north rave about.

Old German and brandy wine are but a few.
Although they sell Brandy wine here I hate to say it, I discourage people from growing it in this part of Texas.
Many other varieties are a much better choice.

Worth

[coloken]

I agree with all of this. Here the "best" tomato is one that grows and produces fruit. Hopefully it will taste good. Cold nights and hot days at high altitude.
This all so means that it can't take too long doing it Frost to frost. The long season ones just dont make it here.. Some of the popular ones are pretty sad for me. You just have to try them under your growing conditions to find out.

PS. I have tried 5 or 6 brandy wines and while I got some fruit, they don't do much for me. I will skip them in the future.

[dustyrivergarden]

Most people are shocked to find out how much work goes into your garden. Growing your soil getting it ready for whatever your going to grow. I had a young lady all fired up wanting to grow tomatoes like I do then she found out it takes a little work and that was it. She was looking for a secret pill that makes everything grow I think. .lol

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by dustyrivergarden

Most people are shocked to find out how much work goes into your garden....

I see this at the community garden -- people are so excited to get a garden plot, but either don't realize how much work it'll be or don't make the time to come as often as needed. At one plot near mine, the previous gardener would come only May-Sept and leave everything to rot (and help pests overwinter) after that. I grow year-round, so I watched as the remaining vegetables got rodent nibbles and successive crops of weeds grew. Then this year, a new and very enthusiastic gardener got that plot in May. He came a few times in May and June and then just left all the tomatoes, peppers, squash, and beans to rot. A few days ago the garden coordinator gave away the butternut squash and reassigned the plot.

And yes, your specific garden soil makes a big difference. A few other tomato gardeners in my town were saying that this year and last year were bad tomato years in our climate. It was a cooler than usual summer, but in my garden, I got my best crops ever in the past 2 years.

[tgplp]

This is so true... a tomato that tastes well in a good climate might not even ripen here in Seattle! It's nice to hear comments about tomatoes from people who live near me, because they actually grow tomatoes in the same rainy weather as me. It's too bad weather affects tomato taste... otherwise it would be fairly easy to choose tomato varieties. I'm trying to grow some people tomato varieties that everyone seems to like, then a few random ones that supposedly taste good and grows and matures in cooler weather... that way I can decide which tomatoes grow best in Western Washington!

On to the subject of people who don't know how much work a garden is... my friend grows a garden of tomatoes and peas, but she goes to New Jersey every summer and has me water her garden for her once a week while she is gone, but she doesn't ammend the soil, weed, fertilize, or stake and expects once a week watering to support yummy tomatoes. Homegrown tomatoes taste so good because you grow them yourself.

Taryn