BIG BEEF HYPE...

[Lee]

Originally Posted by TomatoDon

The production I've had in this one patch in the back yard exceeded all expectations. And yes, my production does sound high, but we've counted and counted, and always write it down. I think we picked 227 Wednesday. That's a third of the 600 plus right there. I hope to harvest 750 before the season's over. Even better, I haven't sprayed them for anything all season. Nothing. And all plants took off and thrived.

Don, Could you post a photo of your setup in this patch? I'd love to see what you've done to get such great production.
I'm usually pretty happy to get 15~20 12-16oz tomatoes off a Big Beef plant per season. Picking over 35/plant in one day is amazing!

Lee

Which Goliath is being referenced? Totally Tomatoes has 7 verieties of Goliath tomatoes listed! -Original, Early, Bush,Old Fashioned, Italian, Sunny, and Prime Beef. I would like to try one and see if it lives up to the hype.

[DavidP]

There always has to be one I guess but this year my two big beef plants are really the only ones that seemed to have succumbed to some sort of disease and now are pretty much yellow and dried up, in a row of otherwise healthy plants of other varieties. Those two are right next to a red brandywine tomato that shows no sign of any disease nor do the other 20 odd varieties in the garden.

In past years I've grown it without too much problem but for some reason this year no luck.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by DavidP

There always has to be one I guess but this year my two big beef plants are really the only ones that seemed to have succumbed to some sort of disease and now are pretty much yellow and dried up, in a row of otherwise healthy plants of other varieties. Those two are right next to a red brandywine tomato that shows no sign of any disease nor do the other 20 odd varieties in the garden.

In past years I've grown it without too much problem but for some reason this year no luck.

You are not the only one. Mine haven't died but they are not performing to the hype. Not even close. I have several other cultivars doing far better.

[TomatoDon]

I think the Goliath craze in my area got started with the Amish, which have a community about 50 miles. They make good money raising and selling seedlings and also tomatoes. They love Goliath. I first heard about it from some of the backyard tomato barons, then learned that practically all of the people in my area that grow for market have Goliath.

[TomatoDon]

Hi Lee, I wish I had taken some pictures when it was peaking in foliage and large tomatoes in July. I'll see if I can get a picture for you. I have some growing supplies stacked a few feet away in front so I need to clean it up a bit. The tomatoes you will see now are getting smaller, but there are a of them.

In the meantime, here's I did. I got tired of not being able to reach the low tomatoes easily, so I took some of the beds apart and used the lumber to raise the height on the other beds. I used 2 x 12 treated lumber, and have them stacked on top of each other, making it about 22 inches tall. I may have used 2 x 10, I'll have to check. But anyway, these beds are twice the normal height I use and filled with really good organic material. I have those 3" watering pipes stuck in at the base of each plant and that's the best way I know to water them.

I've never seen a bed produce like this one has this summer, and I'm not really sure why it is so much better than the ones at the farm. The bed in town may not get as much hot sun in the afternoon. It gets a little shade as the afternoon sun sinks. The ones at the farm get pretty much full sun all day.

[PHONETOOL]

Here is a picture I took today 8-23-2013 of my Big Beef tomato sprouts

I couldn't wait to get them in the ground so here's a picture. I thought I only put 3 seeds per container as you can see looks like there's 100% germination I probably dropped a couple extra seeds.

A little young to go in the ground but we'll see


-

[Cole_Robbie]

As I said before, Big Beef is the one variety I picked out this year for my mom's garden and had her plant mostly just that variety. Now it's late summer, and she is so sick of tomatoes! She keeps canning them and giving away more to friends and family.

My family all like the flavor, too. I grew a dozen or so red varieties in my high tunnel this past spring; Big Beef produced and tasted better than any other variety.

[JRinPA]

Originally Posted by TomatoDon

I've never seen a bed produce like this one has this summer, and I'm not really sure why it is so much better than the ones at the farm. The bed in town may not get as much hot sun in the afternoon. It gets a little shade as the afternoon sun sinks. The ones at the farm get pretty much full sun all day.

So Don did you just cage it and let it grow or ??? Have you pruned a certain way, fertilized, watered a special way?

I know your growing season is much longer than mine but that is some amazing production!

[Claudia]

We grew just one Big Beef plant this year and it won on taste for us hands down. I will be planting mostly Big Beef next year!

[Ed of Somis]

Wow! I had no idea when I started this thread that it would explode like this. Needless to say...I will be planting a Big Beef next year! I realize that not everyone can be happy and have great results, but it sure seems people really like this one.

[JRinPA]

It is the best tasting of our regular tomatoes - Big Beef, Supersteak, Better Boy, Early Girl - though they are all good enough. Our Early Girls are producing huge numbers, Supersteak by far the least. Definitly planting Big Beef next year...may exclude Better Boy and almost certainly excluding Supersteak.

We tried a few farmers market heirloom brandywines that compared poorly against our Big Beef.

[b54red]

As a proponent of Big Beef as an insurance tomato or a good sauce tomato I have followed this thread for a while and have to say I think it is the most reliable year after year in my area of the disease resistant hybrids that have decent flavor. I have had Big Beef do poorly at times and I have had many varieties out perform it at times; but I am talking over the long haul. There are certainly others that will outproduce it because of higher disease tolerance and those that taste better but have very little disease tolerance. It falls in that happy medium of having enough disease tolerance to usually succeed and yet not so much that the taste has been bred out of it.

I have grown most of the other hybrid tomatoes that are mentioned and some have done okay but none has consistently performed as well as Big Beef. The closest to matching it in production in my garden was Celebrity. Bella Rosa is the only fairly disease tolerant of the hybrids that tastes just as good and sometimes better. Goliath is very similar to Big Beef but like Bella Rosa its resistance to fusarium is not as good, at least in my garden, even though they are all supposed to have the same level of tolerance.

I find a lot of heirlooms much better tasting than Big Beef and some hybrids like Brandy Boy that are much better to me. For just a good fairly reliable indeterminate tomato that is good to eat and easy to grow I haven't found one that is better than Big Beef and I have tried a lot of them. It isn't even close to being my favorite tomato despite my high praise. If I could only grow one tomato and couldn't do any grafting I would have to grow Big Beef if I wanted to be sure of having some tomatoes to eat that I consider edible.

Bill

[bigpinks]

Maybe depends on the who or where. Neighbor tailgates Goliath. He has a loamy spot and a sandy spot but my 40x40 side yard next to his is clay. BB out produces Goliath in my heavy wet soil. I cull and allow only three to a cluster and get a bigger tomato also. Havent really compared the taste. I actuall prefer the larger pink and yellow/red biggies. I love Cherokee Purple but they dont grow at all in my spot.

[JRinPA]

That's a long term bump. But a fun one. I remember exactly how the main garden was in 2013, and Supersteak, despite having the best spot WAS a dog! That is the reason I remember it. Well...7 years later, and growing it all those seasons, I say Big Beef does live to up to the hype. A reliable and prolific red hybrid that can be used for any tomato purpose, with good taste. I have grown it every year since.