Mark's choices for markets

[AKmark]

Cole I wrote down Bradley, will give it a try.
Indian Stripe was much like Cherokee Purple, the dark tomatoes only sell decent.
I will take a look at Beauty King, thanks for the suggestions.
I just harvested a Magnum, it has a massive yield, and the fruit looks great, pretty good taste too. If Mountain Fresh was indeterminate it would be great, super good taste, big yield, perfect tomatoes. I have a problem with disease on determinates in my greenhouses, so it has to go, and I am not so happy about that.

[PureHarvest]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.
My buddy/broker said that I can mix various colors in one box. The more variety the better, but no specific color is required as long as there is a mix.
So, really, I can narrow down the list to most productive and if that means IS or CP gets knocked off, no big deal.
The buyer wants large and X-large fruit, graded separately in boxes. That would be the USDA definition of those sizes, which are probably different than what we would consider large and X-large in our minds.
Here is a good link on sizes/grading (Mark, what is the diameter of the Mat-Su?)
http://www.ipt.us.com/produce-inspec...omatoes-sizing

[Ricky Shaw]

Mat-Su Express has such eye-appeal, it seems a natural for market growers.

[PureHarvest]

I'm wondering about it being too small to be a "Large" tomato.

Originally Posted by AKmark

Delicious and Chapman for large red beefsteaks, people gobble them up, Our own creation called Mat-Su Express is a favorite for medium size red beefsteaks. …

I definitely think Chapman looks, tastes and feels like a very marketable tomato (as long as customers like the large size). I grew it this year and it was awesome. They're beautiful tomatoes. One of my favorites, this year, for both looks and taste.

A few others I think might be good to investigate, if you haven't already, are these:
* Thessaloniki (nice, firm, round, decently large, red, productive, very-round, easy-to-find-and-pick, fruits with consistent fruit size and shape)
* Creole (fruit quality is very similar to Thessaloniki, but it was earlier for me; not sure on productivity, since it got smothered)

Anyway, out of the 100 or so varieties I grew this year those were the two (in addition to Chapman) that stuck out to me a lot as having great qualities for market.

I also think Matina is a great one, although the fruits can be a little on the soft side (so, that's the only reason I don't include it with the others)—the earliest fruits weren't soft at all, though (but they didn't have as much taste as the softer, larger fruits that came later; although the tomatoes did change after the initial first ones, they stayed pretty consistent after that). People do like it a lot, and notwithstanding the softness, it might keep just fine (as in, about average or so); so, it might be okay there. Anyway, it's very productive, early, and tangy. It's not large (maybe about the size of Early Girl F1, if not a little bigger). A lot of people who visited seemed drawn to Matina for some reason (more than my other tomatoes), and more people favored it most than any other variety they tried.

I'm not sure how any of these do in a greenhouse.

I would personally love to see a cross between Thessaloniki and Matina. Chapman, Creole, Cuostralee and George Detsikas Italian Red might be good ones to cross with Matina, too.

Because some sources that sell Thessaloniki seem to have different sizes, I'll note that this is where I got mine. They were maybe softball sized for me, and later than the stated DTM. I got Creole and Matina there, too.

[AKmark]

Shule interesting you mentioned Matina. I have grown it for several years and we made some great crosses with it too. M X YBW, M X Delicious, M x Chapman, M X BW Sudduth's.
I will try Thessalonki, have not tried that one.

Originally Posted by AKmark

Shule interesting you mentioned Matina. I have grown it for several years and we made some great crosses with it too. M X YBW, M X Delicious, M x Chapman, M X BW Sudduth's.
I will try Thessalonki, have not tried that one.

Awesome!

Are they available, yet, by chance? Matina x Chapman and Matina x YBW are of particular interest to me (although the others sound pretty cool, too).

[zipcode]

Matina has a nice smaller size and round and deep red. It's probably popular with older people who can't eat a huge tomato at once. Wasn't very productive for me though, definitely doesn't respond well to one stem pruning.
I always thought that Neves Azorean Red should have big market appeal with huge no catface fruits, very red and sort of shiny. I wasn't quite convinced with the taste.
I think I need to try Chapman, I still haven't found a big red that I really like, Druzba is the only one that comes close but is a rather poor producer.

[AKmark]

Here is a pic of Matina and Bloody Butcher, our go to plants for crosses. Our goal is a larger tomato than these, that is as early, and has a strong tomato taste.
Shule, I will send some out when they are mostly stabilized. The F1's showed promise.

[jmsieglaff]

Mark,

Always love your threads! The pictures and setup are breathtaking and making me want to do what you do!

Any chance you'll be making the F6 mini red beefsteaks available? If you say the taste is exceptional, you've got my attention!

[AKmark]

Send me your address, I have a few left to spare. Yes, most plants are producing very good tasting tomatoes, and they are much earlier than many really good tasting tomatoes. Some people are sending me some very good reports. They average 6-12 oz or so, I got a little variation in the F5, and of course only selected seed from the earliest best tasting plants for F6 seed.
Just send me a few seeds back from your favorite, for F7's. I do think these should work good in your area.

Shule I will send you some at the end of this coming season, I will have the Chapman cross at F4. I can send some Mat-Su Express though.
Mark

Thank you very much for your offer.

That sounds great about the Chapman cross.

Cole_Robbie already gave me some Mat-Su Express—otherwise I would love some.

[Kunfayakun]

Mark,
Have you or anybody tried the beefsteak variety called "Foronti"? I've read many good reviews about the excellent performance of this variety, specially under GH conditions. I'm starting a hydroponic farm for commercial purposes and i'm inclined towards this variety.

[AKmark]

I have not tried it, but did notice it is supposed to have some resistance to powdery mildew. I would have to taste it before I based my market crops on it.

[Kunfayakun]

Alright, that's a good point. So what's your Goto beefsteak variety which is good in taste and excellent in yield? There are so many varieties that my head starts spinning. Can't decide what to select. I was more inclined towards Foronti bcz of its excellent yield, but i really don't know about its taste.