Big Beef F1

[Fusion_power]

Almost all of the plants in the market are F1. There is very little chance that anyone is selling the OP version though in some areas of CA you might find plants. Commercial plants at the box stores will all be Big Beef F1.

I've grown and sold Big Beef F1 plants since 2004 with excellent success. It was rated the most productive variety in a university trail of several hundred varieties at Starkville MS in 2004. When I started selling plants locally, there was so much demand that sales of Bonnie plants at the co-op dipped. Within 2 years, Bonnie was growing and selling Big Beef plants.

Keith M. crossed Eva Purple Ball X Big Beef for me in either 2006 or 2007. I grew out the plants and selected a stable OP pink tomato very similar to Eva Purple Ball but with better disease tolerance and lower tendency to fall free from the stem when ripe. It is commonly available if you do a search. I am re-growing the original F1 this year in hopes of finding a red when ripe line that is as good as the pink.

Randy Gardner used BBXEPB in a cross with one of his disease tolerant lines in 2009. The resulting plants set a record in my garden by producing over 80 pounds per plant with no more care than other varieties growing right beside them.

[Greatgardens]

I see you are in CT and you have made a good choice. If you have Bonnie Plants in your area at Lowes, Walmart, etc., check out their plants. B.B. from Bonnie definitely will be F1. Well grown, it will give impressive yields and very flavorful toms. They are not cheap, but if you are only going to have a few plants, it is a good alternative.

https://bonnieplants.com/product-cat...bles/tomatoes/

FWIW, other desirable substitutes (in this order and IMO):

Better Boy
Goliath
Bonnie Original Tomato
Parks Whopper Improved

-GG

[JohnJones]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

Almost all of the plants in the market are F1. There is very little chance that anyone is selling the OP version though in some areas of CA you might find plants. Commercial plants at the box stores will all be Big Beef F1.

I've grown and sold Big Beef F1 plants since 2004 with excellent success. It was rated the most productive variety in a university trail of several hundred varieties at Starkville MS in 2004. When I started selling plants locally, there was so much demand that sales of Bonnie plants at the co-op dipped. Within 2 years, Bonnie was growing and selling Big Beef plants.

Keith M. crossed Eva Purple Ball X Big Beef for me in either 2006 or 2007. I grew out the plants and selected a stable OP pink tomato very similar to Eva Purple Ball but with better disease tolerance and lower tendency to fall free from the stem when ripe. It is commonly available if you do a search. I am re-growing the original F1 this year in hopes of finding a red when ripe line that is as good as the pink.

Randy Gardner used BBXEPB in a cross with one of his disease tolerant lines in 2009. The resulting plants set a record in my garden by producing over 80 pounds per plant with no more care than other varieties growing right beside them.

I grew two Big Beef's last year on Fusion's recommendation and I now see no point in ever growing Better Boy or Big Boy again except possibly for nostalgia. It checks all the boxes they check and so many more.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

...

Keith M. crossed Eva Purple Ball X Big Beef for me in either 2006 or 2007. I grew out the plants and selected a stable OP pink tomato very similar to Eva Purple Ball but with better disease tolerance and lower tendency to fall free from the stem when ripe. It is commonly available if you do a search. I am re-growing the original F1 this year in hopes of finding a red when ripe line that is as good as the pink.

Randy Gardner used BBXEPB in a cross with one of his disease tolerant lines in 2009. The resulting plants set a record in my garden by producing over 80 pounds per plant with no more care than other varieties growing right beside them.

I grew 2 BB plants in the fall and have 4 going now; I will NEVER go without planting some hybrids, especially in the fall when the white flies are out in full force.

I'm interested in these crosses for the fall planting season.

Are they for sale anywhere?

[Fred Hempel]

Barb,

Do you get Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl transmitted by white flies, and are you saying that Big Beef is resistant?

Big Beef is TMV resistant, but if you see TYLCV resistance that would be very interesting!

[Fusion_power]

Big Beef has zero resistance to TYLC. It is not hit as hard by white flies as other varieties.

Tycoon has TYLC tolerance. I have a few plants growing this season to make crosses.

[MikeInCypress]

Bonnie Plants are F1 Big Beef.

MikeInCypress

[SueCT]

Thank you, everyone. I was able to get seeds from Burpee with the free shipping and am starting some. If anything goes wrong with the seeds I will feel comfortable picking up a plant locally that it will be what I am looking for.

[nhardy]

Can I ask if the cross from Big Beef and Eva Purple Ball has a name. I would be interested in trying this one or the one breed for hardiness. Point me to the seed supplier.

[whistech]

Originally Posted by nhardy

Can I ask if the cross from Big Beef and Eva Purple Ball has a name. I would be interested in trying this one or the one breed for hardiness. Point me to the seed supplier.

I would like to know also. Can anyone tell me if Randy Gardener is sell his seeds of the Big Beef X Eva Purple Ball tomato?

[Ricky Shaw]

Many people are saying they went with a overseas outfit and something got lost in the translation, now they've got a marketing problem on their hands.

[Gardeneer]

I am still comparing Big Beef, Better Boy and Big Boy, side by side. Big boy has bigger tomatoes that I like. Better boy has apple shape smaller fruits. Big Beef has round smooth fruits.

[My Foot Smells]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I am still comparing Big Beef, Better Boy and Big Boy, side by side. Big boy has bigger tomatoes that I like. Better boy has apple shape smaller fruits. Big Beef has round smooth fruits.

If you like bigger, than brandy boy is your huckleberry of the group = no comparison, imo.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by My Foot Smells

If you like bigger, than brandy boy is your huckleberry of the group = no comparison, imo.

Thanks,
I grew BrBy last year I liked the fruit shape , size and taste. But it was not as productive. I will grow it in 2017.

[nhardy]

Gardener, I have had fun back-reading your post on the BBs. I was leaning to buying 2 of Big Beef next year. But I want a tom sized 5-7 oz. The reviews on Eva's Purple Ball have me looking at it too.

Has anyone get seeds from wintersown.org before? In one of my searches after posting yesterday I found this website with the no name variety list by the cross names. I saw Fusion Power's website for plants too. I'm still hoping for seeds.

I found website with BB x EPB crossed against P20. It was fun to see P20 cross and the color. But I'm not looking to get the extreme purple, blue or black colors. I just wanted to try the BB x EPB from seed.