Hybrid tomatoes

Gardenboy · April 7, 2024

I'm looking for good tasting red,black or pink hybrid tomatoes. Is there any variety worth growing?

VirginiaClay · April 7, 2024

Black: Cherokee Carbon. Healthy plants, excellent production, beautiful and delicious tomatoes.

Reds: We still grow Better Boy and Park's Whopper every year and Big Boy most years; I'm also a big fan of Supersonic. Big Beef seems to be the most popular now but hasn't done well for us in three attempts; will try one more time. Bodacious was pretty good but maybe less disease-tolerant and heat tolerant. I've given up on Moreton and Super Fantastic due to disease. Maybe Beefmaster or Jet Star? Lots of new-ish determinate reds seem to be popular now, but I don't have experience with those. The only determinate red slicer I've tried is Mountain Merit, which was pretty good.

Pink: Maybe Momotaro? I've only grown it once -- liked the tomatoes but production and disease resistance were poor. I'll try it again some time because conditions weren't great that year. I grew Brandy Boy last year -- plant was huge and production was amazing, but I didn't love the flavor of the tomatoes, and there was a fair amount of cat-facing. Steak Sandwich tasted good but the tomatoes were smallish after the first few, and tolerance to disease and heat wasn't great. I have seeds for Think Pink but haven't tried it yet.

Have you tried the Chef's Choice series?

agee12 · April 7, 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardenboy

I haven't tried the Chef Choice varieties yet. Are they worth growing?

Most of the varieties are AAS winners. The seeds are sold by multiple vendors but here are the description from the Totally Tomatoes website.

https://www.totallytomato.com/category/154

zeuspaul · April 7, 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by VirginiaClay

Reds: We still grow Better Boy and Park's Whopper every year and Big Boy most years; I'm also a big fan of Supersonic. Big Beef seems to be the most popular now but hasn't done well for us in three attempts; will try one more time.

I have had a similar experience with Better Boy and Big Beef. Better Boy is on my must grow list and I'm giving Big Beef another try due to all of the positive reviews.

Gardenboy · April 7, 2024

I haven't tried the Chef Choice varieties yet. Are they worth growing?

JRinPA · April 7, 2024

I haven't grown hybrid slicers since...going on 10 years I guess. I don't really consider Big Beef a slicer. All purpose, I think of it as.

Supersteak was a pretty good slicer for size and taste, for two tomatoes! That was a purchased plant. Nothing else got big. I let it sprawl on a trellis but only had morning sun. My aunt loved it, and grew the seed out and thought it was great for 3 generations. She didn't understand F1-->mystery F2, F3 F4 etc. After a while she said it didn't do as well anymore, or she didn't like it, or something. More than anything I think she needs new soil in her raised bed and the cages sprayed with bleach.

Supersteak was basically shaped like a big brandywine, red though I think. Big beefs stay much more rounded for me, unless they get a perfect finish. I think 2020 or so I had a whole of big beef that were perfect and 17 and 18 oz each, without being watery.

I have considered getting a pack of supersteak and trying them again one year.

A big pink that came out a few ago that people like was called Mountain Rouge F1, I believe. They were a buck a seed at that time.

habitat_gardener · April 8, 2024

I’ve grown Purple Boy F1 for 3 years and really like it. It’s not as good as a big juicy OP such as Polaris (but nothing is as good as Polaris!), but it produces a lot. Also nematode-resistant.

Benevento F1 is striped on the outside and raspberry red inside. It’s a wonderful sandwich tomato. I’ve grown it for several years; the first time was from seeds Fred Hempel was giving away when he first released it, and now we grow it for the annual master gardener seedling sale every year.

Chocolate Sprinkles F1 is a delicious dark striped cherry tomato, if you’re looking for cherries. I grew it last year and will be putting in two more plants this year.

These 3 are not just good hybrids; they are at the top of my list of favorite tomatoes.

Honorable mention
Momotaro F1 and Brandy Boy F1 are good-tasting pinks that I grew once or twice and might grow again, but they are not grow-every-year tomatoes like the ones above.

Gardenboy · April 8, 2024

Thanks for your feedback. Will try to find some Polaris tomato seeds
I've been growing heirloom indet. Tomatoes for 50 years. This FL season has been the hardest. Mosaic virus took over half my plants. Wanted to try hybrids for next growing season. I grow in 20 gallon containers. Will try Cherokee Carbon next season also. Carbon was one of my favorites along with Caspian Pink.

PNW_D · April 8, 2024

Medusa is a fairly new F1 introduction ....... cross between Damsel Hybrid and Cherokee Purple ..... haven't grown it personally, but looks interesting

VirginiaClay · April 8, 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardenboy

Thanks for your feedback. Will try to find some Polaris tomato seeds
I've been growing heirloom indet. Tomatoes for 50 years. This FL season has been the hardest. Mosaic virus took over half my plants. Wanted to try hybrids for next growing season. I grow in 20 gallon containers. Will try Cherokee Carbon next season also. Carbon was one of my favorites along with Caspian Pink.

If mosaic virus is typically a problem for you, it would be good to look for hybrids that have that resistance. A hybrid without that resistance won't necessarily help you compared to heirlooms. Cornell is a good resource for specific resistance information:
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/p...ato-varieties/

Note that there are two main mosaic viruses of tomatoes (tobacco and tomato); varieties may have resistance to either one or both or neither. Some of the better-known hybrids with resistance to at least one of the mosaics:
BHN-589
Big Beef
Bigdena
Bolseno
Bush Early Girl II
Caiman
Celebrity
Chef's Choice (not all of them)
Cobra
Early Girl
Estiva
Goliath
Heatmaster
Jetsetter
Momotaro
Mountain Gem
Whopper
Polbig
Primo Red
Red Deuce
RuBee Dawn
Think Pink
Tough Boy

PaulF · April 8, 2024

I tried a hybrid a few years back...I'll stick with real tomatoes.

Yak54 · April 9, 2024

The best tasting hybrid I've grown is Momotaro

Gardeneer · April 26, 2024

I second BIG BEEF. My favorite red. I am also growing Better Boy

April 7, 2024	#1
Gardenboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 783	Hybrid tomatoes I'm looking for good tasting red,black or pink hybrid tomatoes. Is there any variety worth growing?

April 8, 2024	#7
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	I’ve grown Purple Boy F1 for 3 years and really like it. It’s not as good as a big juicy OP such as Polaris (but nothing is as good as Polaris!), but it produces a lot. Also nematode-resistant. Benevento F1 is striped on the outside and raspberry red inside. It’s a wonderful sandwich tomato. I’ve grown it for several years; the first time was from seeds Fred Hempel was giving away when he first released it, and now we grow it for the annual master gardener seedling sale every year. Chocolate Sprinkles F1 is a delicious dark striped cherry tomato, if you’re looking for cherries. I grew it last year and will be putting in two more plants this year. These 3 are not just good hybrids; they are at the top of my list of favorite tomatoes. Honorable mention Momotaro F1 and Brandy Boy F1 are good-tasting pinks that I grew once or twice and might grow again, but they are not grow-every-year tomatoes like the ones above. Last edited by habitat_gardener; April 8, 2024 at 12:59 AM.

April 8, 2024	#9
PNW_D Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: West Coast, Canada Posts: 961	Medusa is a fairly new F1 introduction ....... cross between Damsel Hybrid and Cherokee Purple ..... haven't grown it personally, but looks interesting __________________ D.

April 8, 2024	#11
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,294	I tried a hybrid a few years back...I'll stick with real tomatoes. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

April 9, 2024	#12
Yak54 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Madison, OH, zone 6 Posts: 470	The best tasting hybrid I've grown is Momotaro __________________ Dan

April 7, 2024	#2
VirginiaClay Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 139	Black: Cherokee Carbon. Healthy plants, excellent production, beautiful and delicious tomatoes. Reds: We still grow Better Boy and Park's Whopper every year and Big Boy most years; I'm also a big fan of Supersonic. Big Beef seems to be the most popular now but hasn't done well for us in three attempts; will try one more time. Bodacious was pretty good but maybe less disease-tolerant and heat tolerant. I've given up on Moreton and Super Fantastic due to disease. Maybe Beefmaster or Jet Star? Lots of new-ish determinate reds seem to be popular now, but I don't have experience with those. The only determinate red slicer I've tried is Mountain Merit, which was pretty good. Pink: Maybe Momotaro? I've only grown it once -- liked the tomatoes but production and disease resistance were poor. I'll try it again some time because conditions weren't great that year. I grew Brandy Boy last year -- plant was huge and production was amazing, but I didn't love the flavor of the tomatoes, and there was a fair amount of cat-facing. Steak Sandwich tasted good but the tomatoes were smallish after the first few, and tolerance to disease and heat wasn't great. I have seeds for Think Pink but haven't tried it yet. Have you tried the Chef's Choice series?

April 7, 2024	#6
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 972	I haven't grown hybrid slicers since...going on 10 years I guess. I don't really consider Big Beef a slicer. All purpose, I think of it as. Supersteak was a pretty good slicer for size and taste, for two tomatoes! That was a purchased plant. Nothing else got big. I let it sprawl on a trellis but only had morning sun. My aunt loved it, and grew the seed out and thought it was great for 3 generations. She didn't understand F1-->mystery F2, F3 F4 etc. After a while she said it didn't do as well anymore, or she didn't like it, or something. More than anything I think she needs new soil in her raised bed and the cages sprayed with bleach. Supersteak was basically shaped like a big brandywine, red though I think. Big beefs stay much more rounded for me, unless they get a perfect finish. I think 2020 or so I had a whole of big beef that were perfect and 17 and 18 oz each, without being watery. I have considered getting a pack of supersteak and trying them again one year. A big pink that came out a few ago that people like was called Mountain Rouge F1, I believe. They were a buck a seed at that time.

April 26, 2024	#13
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,916	I second BIG BEEF. My favorite red. I am also growing Better Boy __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !