recommendations for sweet-tart tomatoey varieties?

[b54red]

Originally Posted by venturabananas

I do have one a raised bed and have grown bland tomatoes in it. The roots get through the potting soil in the raised bed and down into the heavy clay underneath it. I'm not sure how to keep that from happening. Maybe I need to get the watering just right.

I doubt the roots getting down into the clay would be the cause of bland tomatoes. Using a good heavy layer of mulch and watering when needed will keep most tomato roots from going too deep.

I have also noticed that regular feeding with TTF has given me more, larger and tastier fruit as long as rainfall isn’t continuously too heavy.

Bill

[venturabananas]

Thanks for the input, Bill. Maybe I just need to dial in the watering. I'm sure in initial years I watered too much, and maybe too little in later years. Then I had an infestation of root-knot nematode and let the raised bed go fallow for a couple of years, planted a bunch of marigolds, added lots of organics, so maybe it's ready to go again. The RKN seem to be gone.


I have some TFF, so I'll work that into my fertilizing plan.

[Scooty]

Originally Posted by venturabananas

Thanks for the input, Bill. Maybe I just need to dial in the watering. I'm sure in initial years I watered too much, and maybe too little in later years. Then I had an infestation of root-knot nematode and let the raised bed go fallow for a couple of years, planted a bunch of marigolds, added lots of organics, so maybe it's ready to go again. The RKN seem to be gone.


I have some TFF, so I'll work that into my fertilizing plan.

I have heavy clay in some spots, good rootstocks usually address that issue. The only problem I've had with bland taste was heavy rainfall.

Originally Posted by venturabananas

1. I've tended to use Spike as the standard for the ideal sweet and tart tomato. But I'm not looking for tomatoes that match that one. It is just an example of the sweet-tart balance I'm looking for. Rebel Yell, Indian Stripe, and Brandywine Sudduth are other examples of tomatoes I really love. And there are many more.

2. Perhaps "overwhelming" was the wrong word. "Unbalanced" or "one dimensional" might be better. Some tomatoes I've grown don't have much tartness to balance the sweetness. They aren't bad, they just aren't my favorites. For me, Sophie's Choice was sweet and one-dimensional. Druzba was, too. Just as examples, and maybe dependent on growing conditions.

If that's the case, I think the try/recommended list is a lot longer. All of these are different degrees of sweet, not necessarily tart, but all are definitely NOT one dimensional.

All are quite complex in some form - Summer Sunrise, Sweet Scarlet, Wild Fred, mr. Snow, Sweet Sue, Polish Ellis, AGP, AGG, SNFLA, Prue, Atomic Grape, Dana's Dusky Rose, Vorlon, Black Krim, Carbon Copy.

[venturabananas]

Thanks for those suggestions, Scooty. I've tried a few of them (Wild Fred, Prue, and Black Krim) and they were all really nice tomatoes. I'll have to try some of the others.

[ddsack]

Have your tried Azoychka for a flavorful, but very strong acid tomato? TGS describes it as "rich, but pleasantly sweet". But I have never considered them at all sweet, just strong acid lemon tones. Bonus is that they are fairly early.

[venturabananas]

I do like Azoychka and have grown it at least a few times. The earliness is a plus. The flavor is nice but I wouldn't describe it as rich. It is a very nice, enjoyable tomato, but isn't "top tier" in flavor for me.

I'm looking for varieties that just really make you say "Wow, that is an exceptional tomato. I want more!"

[Tormato]

Stump of the World.

[venturabananas]

I'll have to give Stump of the World another try. I grew it 6 years ago in my raised bed, where it was probably watered too much, and my summary notes on it that year were "very good, not too sweet, not much acidity, not assertive enough to blow you away".

[gdaddybill]

Bellini Hyb is cocktail size, tasty and a it's produced on a productive/compact plant.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by venturabananas

I'll have to give Stump of the World another try. I grew it 6 years ago in my raised bed, where it was probably watered too much, and my summary notes on it that year were "very good, not too sweet, not much acidity, not assertive enough to blow you away".

It blew away everything in my garden last year.

[ilex]

Sweet and tart ... Casas Altas comes to mind. Impressive yellow Spanish beefsteak. Many +10 brix on these.

[Scooty]

Originally Posted by ilex

Sweet and tart ... Casas Altas comes to mind. Impressive yellow Spanish beefsteak. Many +10 brix on these.

Pictures?

Quick search and all I found was a reference to traditional eastern spain tomatoes.

Amarillo (1) Description: Large sized flattened and ribbed yellow tomatoes with a high locule number (more than 20). These tomatoes are typical of inland areas.Populations: CDP01733* (Casas Altas, VC) (1.1), CDP06618 (Casas Altas, VC) (1.2).

Not sure if this is the same one. The only Amarillo I know of is an F1 yellow/orange cherry.

[ilex]

Originally Posted by Scooty

Pictures?

Quick search and all I found was a reference to traditional eastern spain tomatoes.

Amarillo (1) Description: Large sized flattened and ribbed yellow tomatoes with a high locule number (more than 20). These tomatoes are typical of inland areas.Populations: CDP01733* (Casas Altas, VC) (1.1), CDP06618 (Casas Altas, VC) (1.2).

Not sure if this is the same one. The only Amarillo I know of is an F1 yellow/orange cherry.

Probably the same. Casas Altas is a very small village.

I don't like how they group varieties under one, based on one single gene or trait. "De colgar', 'rosa' and 'valenciano' are generic names that group many varieties.

[Tormato]

venturabananas,


One thing I just remembered, and it could be 1 in 100+ gardeners are aware of, is that when you dig the soil, the last dig of the shovel will compact the soil and may contribute to poor drainage. I've learned, after the hole is dug, to scrape the bottom with a garden rake.



When I first heard of this, I had to do an experiment. 4 holes in a row, 1st and 3rd plain holes, 2nd and 4th scraped with a rake, each getting 2 gallons of water. Sure enough, the 2nd and 4th drained quickly. The 1st and 3rd took so much longer, I didn't come back to see when they were completely drained.



I don't know if this would work with your heavy clay soil.