Early Det. Mkt Varieties

[barkeater]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I haven't tried Sunstart or Sunshine. I would guess that they are more firm than what I like. Other growers at my market grow commercial varieties; they are like red baseballs to me. I just don't like firm tomatoes; I'm trying to only grow what I think tastes good.

Thanks, same here. That is why I don't want to buy 500 seeds when I am trying a variety of the earliest hybrid big tomatoes and see if any can get me making money a week earlier. I'm losing my best and earliest variety, Pik Red, an old 1970's commercial Harris hybrid that was discontinued. That leaves me with the only decent tasting big early commercial variety I've found so far, Biltmore F1, and it is not as early as Pik Red.

[Cole_Robbie]

Big Beef was the most commercial I could get and still like the flavor.

My seeds are starting right now. I am looking forward to trying Mountain Princess and Ballada.

I'm also looking forward to my two orange varieties, Oranze, which is Czech, and a Chinese variety.

[bjbebs]

I agree with Bark about Biltmore. A foolproof variety that puts out a ton of fruit for 6 plus weeks. I lay down rebar cages and plant 2 per cage. They grow up and the fruit stays on top for easy pickin. It's a great sauce tomato for us home gardeners.

[barkeater]

My overriding issue is how early can I get tomatoes. In this cold mountain climate, main season outdoor tomatoes don't start ripening until Labor Day. For that I have Ramapo, which year after year is the most reliable, best tasting and productive tomato to take me through Spetember. But, I need quantities of big tomatoes ripening by the 15th-20th Aug. if I'm going to really make the sales I need. Customers and prices drop off after Labor Day, and all the farm markets and stands close for the season Columbus Day. Very short season!

[FarmerShawn]

Originally Posted by barkeater

My overriding issue is how early can I get tomatoes. In this cold mountain climate, main season outdoor tomatoes don't start ripening until Labor Day. For that I have Ramapo, which year after year is the most reliable, best tasting and productive tomato to take me through Spetember. But, I need quantities of big tomatoes ripening by the 15th-20th Aug. if I'm going to really make the sales I need. Customers and prices drop off after Labor Day, and all the farm markets and stands close for the season Columbus Day. Very short season!

I'm pretty close to you geographically. I have good luck with Stupice, for a good tasting salad tomato. My earliest slicer is a pink heart, Pink Honey. The earliest fruits approach a pound, and they keep cranking them out. My earliest cherries are a determinate, Pearly Pink Orange, which for me is a tiny plant that produces more tomatoes than leaves. All are quite tasty.

[Redbaron]

You might try Alpha Pink. I haven't grown it myself yet. But on Tanias advise I will be trying it this year. I'll grow 25 this year and if it is as good as Tania says, do more next year. Technically it is supposed to be indeterminate though quite compact and bushy.

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by barkeater

My overriding issue is how early can I get tomatoes. In this cold mountain climate, main season outdoor tomatoes don't start ripening until Labor Day. For that I have Ramapo, which year after year is the most reliable, best tasting and productive tomato to take me through Spetember. But, I need quantities of big tomatoes ripening by the 15th-20th Aug. if I'm going to really make the sales I need. Customers and prices drop off after Labor Day, and all the farm markets and stands close for the season Columbus Day. Very short season!

How many tomatoes are you growing? 10/50/200?
I would seriously be looking for a recycled or home made high tunnel or low tunnel structure to get the tomatoes in a warmer environment to get them to produce sooner. The earliest tomato you can find still needs the heat to produce some fruit. When we plant out our first rows of tomatoes it is earlier than the frost date. We use shredded paper for insulation right at the plant (they will grow right through the paper and we pick off the straggly hanger on pieces) then place spring hoops in the ground and cover the whole row with floating row cover ( the heavier the better for the cold) weighting it down, until they are touching the row cover then we uncover and put the tomato cages on the plants. We have even done this inside the high tunnels for extra protection and to push the production.

[barkeater]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

How many tomatoes are you growing? 10/50/200?
I would seriously be looking for a recycled or home made high tunnel or low tunnel structure to get the tomatoes in a warmer environment to get them to produce sooner. The earliest tomato you can find still needs the heat to produce some fruit. When we plant out our first rows of tomatoes it is earlier than the frost date. We use shredded paper for insulation right at the plant (they will grow right through the paper and we pick off the straggly hanger on pieces) then place spring hoops in the ground and cover the whole row with floating row cover ( the heavier the better for the cold) weighting it down, until they are touching the row cover then we uncover and put the tomato cages on the plants. We have even done this inside the high tunnels for extra protection and to push the production.

Hi Carolyn,

Most likely 200 - 300 this year, but maybe more. Most will be sold wholesale. Last year, I supplied one local farm stand with every tray of tomatoes I had. Between that and selling my seconds in 22# boxes for canning - very big around here - I sold 1100 pounds worth from my 66 plants.

I use a low tunnel. The tomatoes are planted through 3 foot wide black plastic mulch, with #9 gauge wire hoops inserted at five ft. intervals down the row. The hoops support both a slitted plastic row cover when for added daytime heat and reemay row covers for nighttime protection.

[barbamWY]

We sell at our Wyoming plant sale Applause, Early Wonder and Cosmonaut Volkov. They are all slicer size.
Barb

[clkeiper]

That sounds almost like us. We do black plastic mulch, too. We are zone 5 though and I don't have as short of a season as you, but I would still look into a high tunnel for at least a part of the tomatoes. We have recycled all of our structures off of craigslist. We take them down and put them back up and put on new plastic.
Do you particularly like to sell wholesale? that is where volume is the necessary evil of that type of selling. I know retail isn't for everybody, but the difference in profit is huge if you can do direct selling instead of wholesale.

Give serious consideration to the thought of how many people do you need to harvest? I grow about 200 tomatoes and I had one friend come and help me on my peak day (I also run a roadside stand) and we picked 12 bu. of nice tomatoes that day. all the "not nice enough to sell" ones she took home and canned. have a plan if you are growing a lot of tomatoes for help for a few days.

[barkeater]

Originally Posted by barbamWY

We sell at our Wyoming plant sale Applause, Early Wonder and Cosmonaut Volkov. They are all slicer size.
Barb

Hi Barb,

Applause is one of at least 4 early red determinates I am trying 15-20 plants each of. The other 3 are Bobcat plus Primo Red and Scarlet Red from Harris Seeds.

Is your Early Wonder Pink, the heirloom ?

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by barkeater

Hi Barb,

Applause is one of at least 4 early red determinates I am trying 15-20 plants each of. The other 3 are Bobcat plus Primo Red and Scarlet Red from Harris Seeds.

Is your Early Wonder Pink, the heirloom ?

I don't know if Early Wonder Pink is a heirloom, but it appears it is at least an OP (Open Pollinated).
Check it out in the links below to Tataina's most excellent database;
http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/w...b=General_Info
http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Early_Wonder

Dutch

[barkeater]

Carolyn, I can only wish for the problem of too many tomatoes to pick at one time! It never gets hot enough here for that to happen. I have to pick half ripe and bring them inside where it is warm for a few days to finish ripening. Otherwise it'd be another week before they'd be ripe if left on the plant.

[barkeater]

Dutch,

Yes, the first is the one I grow and they were very popular when I mixed some in the boxes I delivered. They are a small salad tomato about 4 ounces, a really beautiful dark pink and ripen very early, 62 days, about a week to 10 days after Bloody Butcher here.These 2 are the ONLY extra early tomatoes I've found with good flavor here.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by barkeater

Dutch,

Yes, the first is the one I grow and they were very popular when I mixed some in the boxes I delivered. They are a small salad tomato about 4 ounces, a really beautiful dark pink and ripen very early, 62 days, about a week to 10 days after Bloody Butcher here.These 2 are the ONLY extra early tomatoes I've found with good flavor here.

Thanks for the reply barkeater, Are the Early Wonders that you grow as seedy as Bloody Butcher? And thanks for the description, it was excellent!

Dutch