Let's see your top 20 for taste

tomatoguy · February 15, 2009

As I am starting to finalize this year's list, I try to keep my mind open to suggestions coming from the group here. You folks have made some really good suggestions in the past. The only real busts for me have been Stupice and Cherokee Purple. So, once again, forget about production, earliness, etc. Let's see what you prefer for taste alone. Here is my list. Those with an asterisk indicate varieties I have grown due to their popularity among Tomatovillians. It would be splitting hairs to try to rank exactly according to best taste so these are in no particular order.

As usual all standard disclaimers apply. Your list may vary from mine for several reasons. I prefer a fullbodied, tangy, large tomato for the most part. My climate is hot and humid with a relatively long growing season. I am located at the southern tip of Zone 6B at about 620 feet amsl.

1. Earl's Faux*
2. Brandywine Sudduth's
3. Ed's Millenium*
4. Mortgage Lifter
5. Berkeley Tie-Dye*
6. Tennessee Heirloom
7. Mong
8. Delicious
9. Cuostralee*
10. Big Red
11. Early Large Red
12. Gregori's Altai*
13. Clear Pink Early
14. Stump of the World*
15. Black Krim
16. Golden Queen USDA Strain
17. Golden Monarch*
18. Anahu
19. Belgian Farmers Beefsteak
20. New Big Dwarf*

mater

rnewste · February 15, 2009

Tomatoguy,

With the caveat that: "If you ask 2 Lawyers, you'll get 3 opinions", my Top 10 (personal) taste preferences are:

1. Goose Creek
2. Earl's Faux
3. Ed's Millennium
4. Purple Haze
5. Indian Stripe
6. Cuostralee
7. Brandywine x N.A.R.
8. J.D. Special C-Tex
9. Paul Robeson
10. Momotaro

Note: I will be growing KBX, Black Krim, Marianna's Peace, Hege German, Prue, Gregori Alti, and a few others for the first time this season, so my "Top 10" list will likely change at the end of the year.

Ray

stormymater · February 15, 2009

Realizing fully that we all have different tastes & that the environment as well as strain affect the taste of a particular variety in a given summer - I still love to hear the fav/not so much lists with whys & what fors!
I'm anticipating droughty here this summer as it seems another La Nina is coming on. Would that we'd have less humidity to go with drought! Ha! So I always look for a poster's zone & weather conditions when reading the taste info.

Ruth_10 · February 15, 2009

Mater, if you haven't tried it, try Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink. I grew Berkeley Tie-Dye and Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink next to each other last year and liked the Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink a lot better than BTD.

Here are some that are repeats in my garden. The first group of seven form a core group that I grow every year. The next set of 12 are ones that I've grown before. Some of them were new to me in 2008 and will likely get bumped up into the "grow every year" category.

Earl's Faux
Brandywine Sudduth
Prue
Black Cherry
Arkansas Traveler
Sungold
Marianna's Peace

County Agent
Grub's Mystery Green
JD's Special C-Tex
KBX
Lime Green Salad
New Big Dwarf
Picardy
Sioux
Van Wert Ohio
Beauty King
Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink
Stump of the World
Toedebusch Pink

There are another 20 or so that will be new to me this year. I was going to cut back. HaHaHa.

**tomatoaddict** · February 16, 2009

Here's my tomato all-stars. They come back every year.

1. Goose Creek
2. Green Giant
3. Black Cherry
4. Carbon
5. KBX
6. Champagne Cherry
7. Fritz Ackermann RL

amideutch · February 16, 2009

Alright, lets see what I can come up with.

1. KBX
2. Isis Brandy
3. Oleyar's Germam
4. Brannar (Brandywine x NAR PL Red)
5. Tom's Yellow Wonder
6. Ludmilla's Red Plum
7. Big Chief (Brandywine Sudduth Cross)
8. Magyar Piroska
9, New Big Dwarf
10. Spudakee Purple (Cherokee Purple PL)
11. Serenity
12. Marianna's Peace
13. JD's Special C-Tex
14. Kellog's West Virginia
15. Indian Stripe x Sungold
16. Mazarini
17. Neves Azorean Red
18. Scabitha
19. German Head
20. Rhoades Heirloom

And I still have 500+ to try yet! Ami

tomatoguy · February 16, 2009

JD's Special C-Tex seems to be coming up a lot here. Would someone care to describe this variety, especially the taste? Also, is it commercially available?

mater

stormymater · February 16, 2009

Ami - I have wanted to try Isis Brandy for several years but could not locate seed. It warms my matery heart to know it is being grown. If it made your Tops list it must be as tasty as I had heard!

duajones · February 16, 2009

JD's Special C-Tex is a purple/black variety, RL and dtm is 69-80 days. I would call it similiar in taste to Cherokee Purple. I have heard that plants are sometimes available at some of the better nurseries in South Texas but I dont think seeds are commercially available at this time

**carolyn137** · February 16, 2009

Seeds for JD's Special C-Tex should be listed at Sandhill on the web as an addition, but not in the catalog.

I didn't check to confirm, but I'm pretty sure I remembered correctly.

Barbee · February 16, 2009

I love the taste of JD's. To my taste buds, it's like a Black Krim, with more WOW. Very intense, and the aftertaste is just WoW.
How's that for a description

My list of Wot's (What a tomato)
1. JD's Special C Tex
2. Black Krim
3. Marianna's Peace
4. Earl's Faux
5. KBX

Polar_Lace · February 16, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomatoguy

JD's Special C-Tex seems to be coming up a lot here. Would someone care to describe this variety, especially the taste? Also, is it commercially available?

mater

For info look here: JD's Special C-Tex

~* Robin

creister · February 16, 2009

Carolyn is correct, it is offered at Sandhill, I just checked. Listed as PL, but is RL.

gssgarden · February 16, 2009

1 - Shannon's
2 - Cherokee Purple
3 - Anna Russian
4 - Kellogg's Breakfast - Only got a couple of KBX last year. It may replace KB this year.
5 - Neves Azorian Red
6 - Marrianna's Peace
7 - Stump of the World

I don't see that changing any time soon. Maybe add one or two this year but those are my favs.

Greg

**Dukerdawg** · February 16, 2009

It's funny, I don't think I got any JD's at all, although I had it in a grow-bag and maybe didn't give it enough attention. And another surprise on the list of several folks is Goose Creek. I thought it was just a novelty along with the likes of "Stick", but I guess I am wrong. I only had one experience with it and it was a plant from Laurel that was sickly and never recovered to grow from a pathetic stick-like sickly plant...I guess I said sickly twice (now maybe 3 times!). I may want to re-discover JD's Special C-tex and ..maybe..maybe Goose Creek! ...but not this year...too much already on my plate.

Duane

February 15, 2009	#1
tomatoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rockvale, TN Zone 7A Posts: 526	Let's see your top 20 for taste As I am starting to finalize this year's list, I try to keep my mind open to suggestions coming from the group here. You folks have made some really good suggestions in the past. The only real busts for me have been Stupice and Cherokee Purple. So, once again, forget about production, earliness, etc. Let's see what you prefer for taste alone. Here is my list. Those with an asterisk indicate varieties I have grown due to their popularity among Tomatovillians. It would be splitting hairs to try to rank exactly according to best taste so these are in no particular order. As usual all standard disclaimers apply. Your list may vary from mine for several reasons. I prefer a fullbodied, tangy, large tomato for the most part. My climate is hot and humid with a relatively long growing season. I am located at the southern tip of Zone 6B at about 620 feet amsl. 1. Earl's Faux* 2. Brandywine Sudduth's 3. Ed's Millenium* 4. Mortgage Lifter 5. Berkeley Tie-Dye* 6. Tennessee Heirloom 7. Mong 8. Delicious 9. Cuostralee* 10. Big Red 11. Early Large Red 12. Gregori's Altai* 13. Clear Pink Early 14. Stump of the World* 15. Black Krim 16. Golden Queen USDA Strain 17. Golden Monarch* 18. Anahu 19. Belgian Farmers Beefsteak 20. New Big Dwarf* mater

February 15, 2009	#4
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	Mater, if you haven't tried it, try Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink. I grew Berkeley Tie-Dye and Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink next to each other last year and liked the Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink a lot better than BTD. Here are some that are repeats in my garden. The first group of seven form a core group that I grow every year. The next set of 12 are ones that I've grown before. Some of them were new to me in 2008 and will likely get bumped up into the "grow every year" category. Earl's Faux Brandywine Sudduth Prue Black Cherry Arkansas Traveler Sungold Marianna's Peace County Agent Grub's Mystery Green JD's Special C-Tex KBX Lime Green Salad New Big Dwarf Picardy Sioux Van Wert Ohio Beauty King Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink Stump of the World Toedebusch Pink There are another 20 or so that will be new to me this year. I was going to cut back. HaHaHa. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

February 16, 2009	#5
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Here's my tomato all-stars. They come back every year. 1. Goose Creek 2. Green Giant 3. Black Cherry 4. Carbon 5. KBX 6. Champagne Cherry 7. Fritz Ackermann RL __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

February 16, 2009	#6
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	Alright, lets see what I can come up with. 1. KBX 2. Isis Brandy 3. Oleyar's Germam 4. Brannar (Brandywine x NAR PL Red) 5. Tom's Yellow Wonder 6. Ludmilla's Red Plum 7. Big Chief (Brandywine Sudduth Cross) 8. Magyar Piroska 9, New Big Dwarf 10. Spudakee Purple (Cherokee Purple PL) 11. Serenity 12. Marianna's Peace 13. JD's Special C-Tex 14. Kellog's West Virginia 15. Indian Stripe x Sungold 16. Mazarini 17. Neves Azorean Red 18. Scabitha 19. German Head 20. Rhoades Heirloom And I still have 500+ to try yet! Ami __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!' Last edited by amideutch; February 17, 2009 at 03:39 PM.

February 16, 2009	#10
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Seeds for JD's Special C-Tex should be listed at Sandhill on the web as an addition, but not in the catalog. I didn't check to confirm, but I'm pretty sure I remembered correctly. __________________ Carolyn

February 15, 2009	#2
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	Tomatoguy, With the caveat that: "If you ask 2 Lawyers, you'll get 3 opinions", my Top 10 (personal) taste preferences are: 1. Goose Creek 2. Earl's Faux 3. Ed's Millennium 4. Purple Haze 5. Indian Stripe 6. Cuostralee 7. Brandywine x N.A.R. 8. J.D. Special C-Tex 9. Paul Robeson 10. Momotaro Note: I will be growing KBX, Black Krim, Marianna's Peace, Hege German, Prue, Gregori Alti, and a few others for the first time this season, so my "Top 10" list will likely change at the end of the year. Ray

February 15, 2009	#3
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	Realizing fully that we all have different tastes & that the environment as well as strain affect the taste of a particular variety in a given summer - I still love to hear the fav/not so much lists with whys & what fors! I'm anticipating droughty here this summer as it seems another La Nina is coming on. Would that we'd have less humidity to go with drought! Ha! So I always look for a poster's zone & weather conditions when reading the taste info.

February 16, 2009	#9
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	JD's Special C-Tex is a purple/black variety, RL and dtm is 69-80 days. I would call it similiar in taste to Cherokee Purple. I have heard that plants are sometimes available at some of the better nurseries in South Texas but I dont think seeds are commercially available at this time

February 16, 2009	#11
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	I love the taste of JD's. To my taste buds, it's like a Black Krim, with more WOW. Very intense, and the aftertaste is just WoW. How's that for a description My list of Wot's (What a tomato) 1. JD's Special C Tex 2. Black Krim 3. Marianna's Peace 4. Earl's Faux 5. KBX __________________ *Barbee*

February 16, 2009	#13
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	Carolyn is correct, it is offered at Sandhill, I just checked. Listed as PL, but is RL.

February 16, 2009	#14
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	1 - Shannon's 2 - Cherokee Purple 3 - Anna Russian 4 - Kellogg's Breakfast - Only got a couple of KBX last year. It may replace KB this year. 5 - Neves Azorian Red 6 - Marrianna's Peace 7 - Stump of the World I don't see that changing any time soon. Maybe add one or two this year but those are my favs. Greg

February 16, 2009	#15
Dukerdawg Growing for Market Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westland, Michigan Posts: 861	It's funny, I don't think I got any JD's at all, although I had it in a grow-bag and maybe didn't give it enough attention. And another surprise on the list of several folks is Goose Creek. I thought it was just a novelty along with the likes of "Stick", but I guess I am wrong. I only had one experience with it and it was a plant from Laurel that was sickly and never recovered to grow from a pathetic stick-like sickly plant...I guess I said sickly twice (now maybe 3 times!). I may want to re-discover JD's Special C-tex and ..maybe..maybe Goose Creek! ...but not this year...too much already on my plate. Duane __________________ May I aspire to live my life so that I may be the man my dog thinks I am.