My Tomato Leader So far

[GoDawgs]

Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest said of tactics, "He who gets there the firstest with the mostest wins". So I have a winner in the Firstest And Mostest Tomato Competition among my tomatoes. The prize (so far) goes to Rio Grande which has set 17, the most tomatoes on one plant so far. A close second is Early Girl. Now if I can just get them to all ripen without incident.....!!!

[kilroyscarnival]

As Chef Emeril said, "Bam!" Those look great - healthy plants, and close-set fruit. I looked up the variety and saw on one site it was listed as "Mid." Sounds early to me!

[Goodloe]

Great looking maters there, Ms. Dawg! So Rio Grande is a Roma/paste type? Is it OP or hybrid? I'm growing a similar variety this year called Roman Warrior (hybrid). I haven't got any ripe ones yet, but if the taste matches its productivity, I'll grow it for years to come!! It is also purported to have "3 types of nematode resistance"...
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[garden patch]

That’s one productive tomato plant!!! One of my dads favourite varieties!!! Great work!!!!

[GoDawgs]

Thanks, folks! My notes on Rio Grande, gathered from the TomatoFest site but condensed, say:

Red 4" plum, OP, determinate, mid season, reg leaf
Very good for canning; grows well hot or cool weather
Origin Italy, U. California
In small clusters. On a "best paste" list. One grower says "better than Roma".
Resistant to Verticilluim., fusarium, spotted wilt

Last year was my first year growing it in the search for a good past tomato and it did so well it's in this year's lineup.

Goodloe, your Roman Warrior has as many tomatoes! I think Rio Grande might be a bit more compact. Let's compare after all is said and done.

Kilroy, I agree about the earliness. It was one of the earliest last year too.

[Goodloe]

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

Thanks, folks! My notes on Rio Grande, gathered from the TomatoFest site but condensed, say:

Red 4" plum, OP, determinate, mid season, reg leaf
Very good for canning; grows well hot or cool weather
Origin Italy, U. California
In small clusters. On a "best paste" list. One grower says "better than Roma".
Resistant to Verticilluim., fusarium, spotted wilt

Last year was my first year growing it in the search for a good past tomato and it did so well it's in this year's lineup.

Goodloe, your Roman Warrior has as many tomatoes! I think Rio Grande might be a bit more compact. Let's compare after all is said and done.

Kilroy, I agree about the earliness. It was one of the earliest last year too.

I don't think I stated that there are 3 plants on that cage....

[Father'sDaughter]

Rio Grande, Heidi, and San Marzano Nano are all compact, open pollinated, what I consider semi-determinate pastes that typically produce a ton of tomatoes for their small size. Heidi and Rio Grande are very dense and meaty and will give your fruit strainer a work out. San Marzano Nano produces smaller versions of a typical San Marzano type and are ideal for drying given that they start off dry with little to no seeds/gel.

I've grown all three in five gallon grow bags or buckets in the past and they could easily produce 100+ tomatoes each.

[Vespertino]

What's the flavor like for those Rio-grandes? Are they similar to san marzano?

[Father'sDaughter]

From what I recall, very mild/bland until you cooked them. They were very dense and almost "fibrousy" though not as dense as Heidi. San Marzanos, to me, are pretty much flavorless raw, but cooked or dried they are amazing.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Bloody Butcher was first for me, as usual. Great tomato.