What's Your Number One Favorite Tomato

[FarmerShawn]

For small cherries on rampant plants, the red Matt's Wild Cherry has big-tomato flavor, while the Russian Mini Yellow is super sweet. Rancho Solito is my favorite red cherry, unless it rains, when it cracks terribly. Tami G is my favorite grape. KBX is the best orange. Wes is the best red heart. Druzba is a reliable, tasty red ball. And Girl Girl's Weird Thing is a gorgeous, and delicious, tomato. For sauce, I love Orange Banana. Is that enough?


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[b54red]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Girl Girl's Weird Thing is my idea of a truly perfect tomato. So stunningly beautiful, a 9.8/10 for taste, crazy good production, and was the last plant still standing in my garden last season. BTW- nothing ever gets rated a perfect 10 by me for taste.

Never heard of it. Tell me more about it please.

Bill

[Gerardo]

Crnkovic Yugoslavian, Cowlick's BW, Terhune (both the standard PL and the RL "Terhune Competition" thanks AkMark!!!), Chapman, and Daniels were the stars of 2016.

Stay tuned, there's a few left to be evaluated Thanksgiving time.

PS Zamorano deserves honorable mention too.

[Worth1]

I dont have one except the one in my plate or hand.
The best way I can describe my feelings is from two things.

A bird in the hand beats two in the bush.
The other is that tale of the dog that saw his reflection in the water.
He opened his mouth to get the bigger bone from the other dog to only lose his bone.
Worth

I know you just asked for one, but I figured this might give you a better idea what I mean. (I think Matina is probably my favorite, so far.)

Favorites for taste (in order of preference): Early Girl F1, Green Giant, McGee, Medovaya Kaplya, Ron's Carbon Copy, Pink Stuffer, Pruden's Purple, Matina, Ovita, Paul Robeson, Chocolate Pear, Persimmon (some fruits on Jackie and Gardener's Delight definitely compete for the top few, but only some fruits were like that; one Cherokee Green Pear tomato with BER did, too)

Favorites for productivity (in order of preference): Yellow Pear, Red Pear, Matina, Roma, Thessaloniki, Early Girl F1, Pink Cheeks, Cuostralee

Favorites for earliness (no order of preference): Early Girl F1, Husky Cherry Red F1, Chocolate Pear, Matina, Mountain Princess, Galapagos Island, Jackie

Favorites for early flowers: Chocolate Pear, Sutton's Best of All

Favorite larger tomatoes for earliness: Creole, Aussie, Pruden's Purple

Favorites for ripening speed after fruit set (in no order): Pink Cheeks, Galapagos Island, Matina, Early Girl F1, Husky Cherry Red F1, Chocolate Pear, and others

Favorite for fastest plant growth: Amana Orange (the plant went from small to huge very fast)

Favorites for fast fruit growth after fruit set: Celebrity F1

Favorites for largest size: Cuostralee, Chapman, George Detsikas Italian Red

Favorites for firmness, ease of handling, and fruit manageability: Thessaloniki, Creole, Yellow Trifele, Market Wonder

Favorites for firm texture that contributes to taste appeal: Thessaloniki, Creole, Big Sungold Select

Favorites for soft texture that contributes to taste appeal: Matina (earlier fruits were firm), Ron's Carbon Copy

Favorites for sweetness (in order of preference): Ron's Carbon Copy, Medovaya Kaplya, Monroe, Jackie, Gardener's Delight, Malinovoe Chudo, Cherokee Green Pear

Favorites for acidity (in order of preference): Early Girl F1, McGee, Missouri Pink Love Apple

Favorites for tanginess: Matina, Persimmon

Favorites because they felt extra nutritious (in order of preference): Early Girl F1, Pruden's Purple, McGee, Jackie, Chocolate Pear

Favorites for producing all season: Matina, Early Girl F1, Husky Cherry Red F1, Roma, Galapagos Island, Black Plum, Yellow Pear, Red Pear, Thessaoniki, Jackie

Favorites for heat tolerance in dry conditions (I would add more to the list, but I watered a lot this year): Early Girl F1, Galapagos Island, Black Plum, Roma, Lemon Boy F1, Husky Cherry Red F1, Yellow Pear, Red Pear

Favorites that seem like they would taste great on a tuna sandwich: Chapman, Pink Cheeks

Favorites for manageability of the plant: Payette, Roma, Husky Cherry Red F1, Galapagos Island, Maglia Rosa, Early Girl F1, Golden King of Siberia, Celebrity F1

Favorite taste when refrigerated: Valencia

Favorite taste on a hamburger: Pruden's Purple

Favorite taste when cooked (in order of preference), of those I tried without other varieties mixed in: Peaceful Valley's Beefsteak (including on pizza), Cuostralee

Most attractive foliage color: Medovaya Kaplya

Favorite for raw juice: Green Giant

Favorite for shock value (due to appearance and/or taste): Tlacalula Ribbed (Zapotec looks the same), Green Giant, Girl Girl's Weird Thing, Pink Berkeley Tie Die, Purple Bumble Bee, Ron's Carbon Copy, Ovita, Medovaya Kaplya, Big Sungold Select, Chapman, George Detsikas Italian Red, Cuostralee, Early Girl F1 (the taste was pretty shocking in our yard in 2014; I hope that continues if I grow it more), Golden King of Siberia, Pomodoro San Marzano, Ovita

Favorite mealy tomato (it still tastes good when mealy): Yellow Trifele, Missouri Pink Love Apple

Favorites for fruit visibility on the vine: Golden King of Siberia, Galapagos Island, Thessaloniki

Favorites that others liked a lot (in no particular order): Matina (this one had the most comments in 2016), Ovita, Husky Cherry Red F1, Thessaloniki, Green Giant (this had the most comments in 2015), Medovaya Kaplya, Big Sungold Select, Early Girl F1

Favorite leaf smell: Caro Rich, Tangerine, Monroe

Favorites for fruit appearance: Golden King of Siberia, Chapman, Girl Girl's Weird Thing, George Detsikas Italian Red, Big Sungold Select, Maglia Rosa (when not over-ripe), Yellow Trifele, Yellow Pear, Green Pear, Ron's Carbon Copy

Favorites for fruity taste: Jackie (late in the season), Glacier (really the smell more than the taste), Cherokee Green Pear (especially on fruit with BER)

Favorites for production despite being smothered or more crowded: Girl Girl's Weird Thing, Cherokee Green Pear, Green Pear, Big Sungold select, Malinovoe Chudo, Yellow Ruffled, Yellow Trifele, Black Giant, Mexican Yellow, Seek No Further Love Apple, Burgundy Traveler, Giant Belgium, Zapotec Pink Pleated, Thessaloniki, Sweet Ozark Orange, Valencia, Sutton's Best of All, Celebrity F1

Favorites on problematic ground: Maglia Rosa, Galapagos Island, Monroe, Market Wonder

Favorites for vining all over and producing tomatoes in various locations: Sweet Orange Cherry, Yellow Riesentraube, Yellow Ruffled, Green Pear, Cherokee Green Pear, Cuostralee

Favorite for escaping the tomato jungle and producing fruit outside it (far from where it was planted, growing through the thickest smothering/smothered tomato territorty): Purple Bumble Bee

Favorite for fruiting indoors: Galpagos Island

Favorite for branching often and early: Galapagos Island

Favorites for thick leaf cover: Amana Orange, Matina, Legend and probably lots of others

It should be noted that not all tomatoes people call Roma seem to be the same. Mine came as a plant from The Home Depot (bonnieplants.com tags), and were pointed. The uncaged plants seemed to be trying to stay within a 1.5 to 2 foot square area, per plant; each plant naturally grew on top of itself (this was very interesting tomato behavior that I hadn't seen before 2014), but they produced a lot.

It should also be noted that I didn't get fruit on Caro Rich and Tangerine (it was probably something in the soil), so they may or may not have been favorites in more categories had they been planted in other locations. Pink Berkeley Tie Dye and Amana Orange are still ripening they're first fruits (yes, we've had some frosts, but they survived, somehow)

Aussie, Creole, Legend and others probably would have made it to more categories if they hadn't been smothered after producing their first fruits. I haven't tasted Legend, yet, to my knowledge, but it did have fruit early on.

It should be noted that I had more tomatoes for some categories, but they were either F2+ hybrids, unknown varieties, or accidental crosses.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by b54red

Never heard of it. Tell me more about it please.

Bill

Its a green golden and red striped beefsteak, purple fleshed, really strong and robust healthy vine, gets to about 6' in my garden, RL, very productive, gorgeous, absolutely delicious. Bill, pm me if you would like some seeds to try her.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Crnkovic Yugoslavian, Cowlick's BW, Terhune (both the standard PL and the RL "Terhune Competition" thanks AkMark!!!), Chapman, and Daniels were the stars of 2016.

Stay tuned, there's a few left to be evaluated Thanksgiving time.

PS Zamorano deserves honorable mention too.

I haven't gotten a fruit yet, but I am loving Zamorano's crazy strong healthy growth pattern so far. It's got first blossoms forming, can't wait! Thank you for the seeds, Gerardo.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by seaeagle

In a difficult season for growing tomatoes like this one, Eva Purple Ball is the favorite.

http://www.southernexposure.com/eva-...-g-p-1107.html

78 days. (Indeterminate) [Late 1800s heirloom from the Black Forest region of Germany from Joe Bratka’s grandfather. Seed courtesy of Carolyn Male and Craig LeHoullier. Introduced 1994 by SESE.] Outstanding performer in hot, humid areas. Excellent resistance to diseases, including some resistance to late blight. One of the most blemish-free tomatoes we have grown, with a soft tender texture. Smooth, round, attractive pink-purple fruits weigh 5-7 oz. Fruits are easy to harvest, some dropping from the vine at peak ripeness, and easy to peel. A wonderful all-purpose tomato with excellent flavor.

In a good year for growing tomatoes like last year, Cherokee Purple is the favorite.

http://www.southernexposure.com/cher...6-g-p-669.html

85 days. (Indeterminate) [Pre-1890 TN heirloom, reportedly of Cherokee Indian origin. Introduced 1993 by SESE. Seed courtesy Craig LeHoullier.] Large, smooth fruits (10-12 oz) with slightly ridged shoulders. Ripens to a unique dark, dusky pink/purple. Sometimes called a black tomato, the color carries through to the flesh, especially at the stem end. Good resistance to Septoria leaf spot. A shorter indeterminate, plants average 5 ft. tall. ‘Cherokee Purple’ has spread widely since its introduction, with variations developing over time, but our strain is still the original, shorter shape

About Eva Purple Ball.

Craig L had nothing to do with Eva.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Eva_Purple_Ball

I got it from Joe Bratka, and convinced him to join SSE and paid his membership,which he did for just one year,not just his style, so it was Joe and myself who first SSE listed Eva Purple Ball before Jeff McCormackever did at SESE, and probably we both sent it to Jeff,that could be true..

Switching topics,I'm with Bill in that my best varieties change almost every year, and that b/c I get sent new varieties from all over the place each year for my seed offer. All to say there will NEVER be the perfect variety, IMO, after growing now over 4k plus varieties myself,and now my seed producers do that for me from the seeds that I source from everywhere, especially Europe for this past summer growouts since there LOTS of varieties that most folks know nothing about.

And the real plus for me has been making many wonderful friends in countries such as Denmark, Belgium,France, Spain, Germany, Poland,Romania, Slovenia,Italy, The Czech Republic, Greece and several more.Learning about their faves,their cultures,their fave foods,how they celebrate holidays,etc.

I stopped several years ago stating which ones I like the best,but always ask the person what they are looking for,which colors,shapes,tastes,early,mid or late season,indet,det., leaf form, etc. That makes it easier for those answering to make some informed selections.

Always new one,yes.

Carolyn

[HappyGardener23]

Historically, I am a big fan of Pineapple for size, beauty, texture, and flavor.

This year the favorites in my garden all-around for productivity, beauty, and taste were Girl Girl's Weird Thing, Blue Sky and Shirley S.

Blue Sky was my most productive, but it didn't have ruffled shoulders as described on Tatiana's site and I couldn't find much about it elsewhere.

Of the three Shirley S. was my absolute favorite. It was always the first I would grab for a sandwich or Caprese salad when I wanted the tomato flavor and texture to shine in a dish.

[Waiting]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Its a green golden and red striped beefsteak, purple fleshed, really strong and robust healthy vine, gets to about 6' in my garden, RL, very productive, gorgeous, absolutely delicious. Bill, pm me if you would like some seeds to try her.

Not attempting to horn in on your offer to Bill. Where does one buy seeds? I don't find any online sources.

gary

[oakley]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Girl Girl's Weird Thing is my idea of a truly perfect tomato. So stunningly beautiful, a 9.8/10 for taste, crazy good production, and was the last plant still standing in my garden last season. BTW- nothing ever gets rated a perfect 10 by me for taste.

I do think we have some just standout tomatoes that do well in so varied climates.
Like SunGold. And so many mentioned above are just not good for me having grown them 3-5 years hoping for maybe a better year...

I have been growing 50+ varieties every year...and just can't help myself to start seedlings when i have the packet in hand. Every season we discuss at home to slow down varieties and just stick with the tried-and-true dozen goodies.

We plan to GirlGirl at least a dozen plants 2017 season to satisfy that beauty need. That leaves lots of room for other trials for a varied plate.

[JosephineRose]

Shule1, re Thessaloniki: where did you get your seeds? Did your plants produce large or small fruit?

I got seeds from Sustainable Seed Co. three years ago and was bitterly disappointed. The plant produced small saladette sized fruit with thick skins and a mealy texture.

http://sustainableseedco.com/heirloo...ato-seeds.html

Baker Creek lists it as a medium sized tomato.

http://www.rareseeds.com/thessaloniki-tomato/

Last year a local nursery, Annie's was offering Thessaloniki plants for sale that appeared to be an entirely different plant, with photographs of huge palm-sized slicers.

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=2056

I'm tempted to buy their plants this year, but fear they may be misidentified. Which is the right Thessaloniki? Annie's sure sounds tempting!

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Waiting

Not attempting to horn in on your offer to Bill. Where does one buy seeds? I don't find any online sources.

gary

Well if you can hold on until January, and if it performs as well as usual, I will have a seed offer as I do every January, and it will be there.
Or just put a request in the wanted forum. Or join the MMMM. I think Muddy Bucket Farms Seed might have them, not sure.
Yes, Ted is selling them.http://heritageseedmarket.com/index....y-bucket-farm/

Originally Posted by JosephineRose

Shule1, re Thessaloniki: where did you get your seeds? Did your plants produce large or small fruit?

I got seeds from Sustainable Seed Co. three years ago and was bitterly disappointed. The plant produced small saladette sized fruit with thick skins and a mealy texture.

http://sustainableseedco.com/heirloo...ato-seeds.html

Baker Creek lists it as a medium sized tomato.

http://www.rareseeds.com/thessaloniki-tomato/

Last year a local nursery, Annie's was offering Thessaloniki plants for sale that appeared to be an entirely different plant, with photographs of huge palm-sized slicers.

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=2056

I'm tempted to buy their plants this year, but fear they may be misidentified. Which is the right Thessaloniki? Annie's sure sounds tempting!

That's good to know that there are different sorts of it floating around. I wonder which one is official. Time to look it up on Tatiana's to see what she has to say. EDIT: It looks like she grew the Baker Creek version (not to say it is or is not the official sort).

Mine were quite large (probably between eight to eighteen ounces each, but most were somewhere in the middle of that). I got mine from here. Somewhat bigger than baseball size is about right, I guess, on average. Mine were later than advertised (maybe near the end of the midseason before I got any fruit), but most things were later than advertised in the garden, this year (with the exception of a few tomatoes, including a few that were earlier than advertised). My Thessaloniki fruits were all round (not at all beefsteak shaped). I'm not sure that my fruits had a shelf life any longer than average for a tomato that doesn't split or such (but the fruits do give the impression of being able to keep well by the look and feel of them). The skin did not seem overly thick to me (perhaps about normal), but I wasn't paying attention to how thick the skin was. Thessaloniki didn't have any mealy tomato for me (but many large tomato varieties did), this year.

The Thessaloniki fruits seemed pretty much the same as the Creole fruits, interestingly (size, shape, texture), which I got from the same place. Creole was significantly earlier for me, though (but I'm not sure of its productivity, yet, due to TBR growing over it). Creole was heat-tolerant.

[Milos]

Gardener's Delight did best for me.