Which 2 varieties should I drop from my list?

[Alfisol]

Looking for help narrowing down my potential grow list ( to 5) please.

Currently I'm considering the following for my central IL garden in 2023:
Brandywine Sudduth
Stump Of The World
Aunt Ginny's purple
Prudens Purple
Bear Creek
Pink Berkley Tie Dye
Cherokee Purple Heart

Which 2 should I eliminate?

Thanks!

[PaulF]

In my opinion Brandywine and Stump are very much alike and Aunt Ginny and Prudens the same so one of each could go. But then, the Pink Berk has never been a stand-out in my garden so if you are in love with one of the first four, drop the Pink.

A better solution is to find space for all of the excellent choices.

[Fusion_power]

Whatever you do, keep Bear Creek!

[Yak54]

Originally Posted by PaulF

In my opinion Brandywine and Stump are very much alike and Aunt Ginny and Prudens the same so one of each could go. But then, the Pink Berk has never been a stand-out in my garden so if you are in love with one of the first four, drop the Pink.

A better solution is to find space for all of the excellent choices.

Paul has given a common sense solution for you. Take his suggestion is what I would tell you.

Dan

[Alfisol]

Thanks everyone! I think Im going to go with BWS, PP, CPH, BC, and.... maybe PBTD. Wish I had more room but with 5 total I can space them 45 inches apart. Unless there is a compelling reason to plant closer I'm limited to 5.

[biscuitridge]

I plant mine 24" apart, but they are double leader clipped to twine.

[Yak54]

Originally Posted by Alfisol

Thanks everyone! I think Im going to go with BWS, PP, CPH, BC, and.... maybe PBTD. Wish I had more room but with 5 total I can space them 45 inches apart. Unless there is a compelling reason to plant closer I'm limited to 5.

Good idea on plant spacing. I plant mine 48" apart. It helps with disease control issues.

Dan

[PaulF]

The more room between the better since those varieties need room to breathe...I go about 48" apart with a 24" cage as support and it still gets crowded sometimes. The first photo is some of those same varieties first planted at 48" and the second what happens later in the year.

[Alfisol]

Nice pictures Paul!!! How much space between rows do you alow?

I do plant my all purpose slicers closer (3 feet) and have planted 18" to 24" in the past but I don't have time to prune much so I've decided I'm better off with more space.

[WoodSprite]

Hi. I don't read or post here much but I'll share what I'd do.

I have a different take on this than PaulF. Most years I like to compare varieties that are somewhat similar and pick my favorites. (Next year will be "black" tomatoes for me.) Then every few years I grow just those favorites from the last few years which will give me different types/categories for that year. Then go back to comparing similar varieties again.

Given the choices you are considering, I'd leave out Brandywine Sudduth and Stump Of The World and grow all of the purple-ish tomatoes to compare them. Then next year I'd grow the two I didn't this year along with other similar large pink-fruited varieties and compare them. This won't give you variety in a given year but it will allow to to do direct comparisons of similar varieties.

Ask yourself if you prefer to compare similar varieties to discover your favorites or if you prefer more variety in a given year. Then go with that.

[Tormato]

Aunt Ginny's Purple is my all-time favorite tomato, out of about 2,000 trialed. Stump Of The World is my second favorite, Brandywine Sudduth is my third favorite, and Prudens Purple makes my top 10.

Brandywine Sudduth only tastes great, for me, about every 5th year. In that 5th year, it is similar in taste to SOTW, just stronger. In the other 4 years, it ranges from a bit weaker than SOTW, to being bland. SOTW is very consistent in flavor, except with very heavy rains (like with most tomatoes). Both tomatoes have "balanced" flavor.

Aunt Ginny's and Prudens do not taste the same, in my garden, although they are both very sweet.

Pink Berkeley Tie Dye is my favorite striped tomato for flavor, but is not up there with the best of the pinks.

I cannot comment on Bear Creek nor Cherokee Purple Heart, as I've not tried them. I do find most dark tomatoes, from my garden, hideous.

You have to decide if you want a wide, or more narrow, range of flavors in your selections.

[PaulF]

The old, now passed on, queen of tomatoes was right again.
We can all grow the same varieties and get very different results. Whether it be personal taste or where we grow tomatoes, individual takes on what works best for every garden and its caretaker differs for where and who we are.

For me, blacks and hearts are my favorite narrow band of varieties and that is what will be featured in my 2023 garden. 2024 may just see a wide range of flavors, sizes, colors and shapes depending on what strikes my fancy. Like Tormato, there are hideous varieties that will never be grown here again. But then you have to grow them in order to find out both the ones you love and the ones you hate.

Old age is coming at a bad time...so many tomatoes grown (500?) and so many yet to try (10,000?). Another reason to work with young gardeners. My count began at age 50. Wasted were the 30 years before that with those danged round, red, boys, girls, betters and bests of the grocery store varieties in the narrow ranges of flavors, sizes, shapes and colors.

Sermon over.

[Fusion_power]

PaulF, If you haven't grown Lynnwood, put it on the list for sooner, not later.

[VirginiaClay]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

PaulF, If you haven't grown Lynnwood, put it on the list for sooner, not later.

I'm not PaulF, but I hope you don't mind the question....Do you mean this tomato as described at Sandhill Preservation, or a different one?

Lynwood. Mid-season, Indeterminate, Regular Leaf, round 2 inch bright red fruits, huge yields that produce until killing frost. Old-time variety from Virginia, named after the almost abandoned town of Lynwood on the Shenandoah River.

What do you like about it? As a Virginian, I'm always curious about Virginia varieties.

[Alfisol]

I grew SOTW (for the first time last year) and it was my best tasting ( for me) and consistently excellent. SOTW did stop producing after contracting what I believe to have been early blight. My wife's favorite was BWS. Surprisingly BWS tied with Marglobe for my 2nd favorite taste wise. I realize how subjective and variable tomato flavor can be but I do appreciate everyone's thoughts! A couple years ago I grew a variety that Sandhill calls 'Indian' and it produced the single best flavored tomato for the year but just that one tomato the ones before and after were fine but nothing special...