2023 Notable Varieties

[sic transit gloria]

A bit late for a 2023 report, but I did want to give a brief list of top performers for the benefit of others.

2023 was probably the best overall year I've had since I started a garden of my own in 2001. Production was very good, and I really had more tomatoes than I could process from the 29 plants I grew. Now for the top performers, which I will list in no particular order. An * means it was the first time I've grown this variety.

*Absinthe - good production and an amazing flavor. I will continue to grow Malachite Box as my staple GWR, but Absinthe will be in my garden this year as well.

*Buckeye Yellow - Terrific production and great flavor. Tomatoes were at least 12 oz. I typically rotate yellows between some combination of Lillian's Yellow Heirloom, Azoychka, Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Tom's Yellow Wonder, but Buckeye Yellow will likely become a mainstay.

*Marlowe Charleston - Top of the list in terms of flavor last year. Production wasn't bad, either, but they were so good we wanted more. Definitely on the must grow list for next year.

Eva Purple Ball - just a fantastic tomato variety. Super productive, great flavor, and as always the most uniform variety I've grown (all of the tomatoes are the same size and are perfect).

Chapman- incredibly productive for such a large tomato. Good flavor. A lot of these went into sauce jars.

Cuostralee - Terrific flavor. I always think to myself, "why don't I grow this every year?" Maybe I will

Sokolades- Super productive and just an all around good mahogany black variety that doesn't get a lot of headlines. More people should grow this variety.

That's enough for now. I did have one disappointing variety which normally does great for me, and that was Neves Azorean Red. I did figure out why by the end of the year: it was not getting as much water as the other varieties due to how I had my sprinkler set up. So, technically not NAR's fault.

[MrsJustice]

Hello Sic Transit Gloria

I had to look up your location at https://www.plantmaps.com/interactiv...diness-map.php

I am glad you had a good year, because here in Virginia it Was Hot, Amen!!

[Lee]

Nice report! Thanks for posting.
Have you ever grown Green Giant or Spear's Tennessee Green? I wonder how they compare with Absinthe.


Glad to see you're good experience with Cuostralee as well!


Lee

[sic transit gloria]

Yes, Green Giant is very good, but the flavor isn't quite up to Absinthe. I have not grown Spears Tennessee Green.

[Tormato]

Wow. The first I've heard of Absinthe in more than a decade. Back then, it was the "tomato of the year" in popularity. It's good to see someone still growing it.

[sic transit gloria]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Wow. The first I've heard of Absinthe in more than a decade. Back then, it was the "tomato of the year" in popularity. It's good to see someone still growing it.

Yeah, we're both old timers on here. You know, we should have a thread where the old timers list out a bunch of "had to have" varieties that were highly sought after and everyone was clamoring for seed. I suppose it's all a matter of historical record on this site, but it is funny how varieties come and go. Absinthe is a fantastic tomato, though.

One that I remember being big, but I somehow never got seed, was Girl Girl's Weird Thing.

[ClarkB]

Originally Posted by sic transit gloria

Yeah, we're both old timers on here. You know, we should have a thread where the old timers list out a bunch of "had to have" varieties that were highly sought after and everyone was clamoring for seed. I suppose it's all a matter of historical record on this site, but it is funny how varieties come and go. Absinthe is a fantastic tomato, though.

One that I remember being big, but I somehow never got seed, was Girl Girl's Weird Thing.

Thanks for the report. I've tried quite a few varieties over the years, but not a single one of them is on your list.

Girl Girl's Weird Thing is one of my favorites for flavor and looks. In my experience it's best picked as soon as it shows red striping and eaten within a couple days while still feeling pretty firm. Once it feels soft it will be softer than you'd expect on the inside and past its prime for flavor. Production can be quite good in the right location - 26+ lbs. from one of my plants last year. It is a bit prone to cat facing, which might be a turn off for some, and it doesn't hold up very well to Septoria, but it's often my favorite for flavor and looks like a work of art.

[hl2601]

Great report! One question-was Marlowe Charleston late?

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by sic transit gloria

Yeah, we're both old timers on here. You know, we should have a thread where the old timers list out a bunch of "had to have" varieties that were highly sought after and everyone was clamoring for seed. I suppose it's all a matter of historical record on this site, but it is funny how varieties come and go. Absinthe is a fantastic tomato, though.

One that I remember being big, but I somehow never got seed, was Girl Girl's Weird Thing.

I liked GGWT when I grew it before (100 miles away and a milder climate), so I got seeds for the master gardener seedling sale last year. At least one person said it was in the top 3 in her garden, and we're offering it again this year!

[sic transit gloria]

Originally Posted by hl2601

Great report! One question-was Marlowe Charleston late?

No, it was probably around 80-85 days.