What are the best varieties for market?

[organic_john]

I live in the Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia. Next spring I'm starting a new (small) business, growing field tomatoes for restaurants and farmer's markets.

I'm looking for hardy varieties that produce a lot of great-tasting fruit. If they look pretty, that's a bonus. I prefer slicers--cherry toms are too much labor to harvest (my business is a one-man show). All colors are welcome.

I asked an organic tomato grower who lives two hours away what she raises, and she said:

Hybrid:
Big Beef
Jetsetter
Celebrity

Heirloom:
Cherokee Purple
Green Zebra
Mortgage Lifter

An ag professor in Pennsylvania told me this hybrid produces like crazy, tastes great, packs fine in a 25-pound box, and has the "fluted" appearance that farmer's market customers seem to like:

Brandy Boy (Burpee)

Someone on Gardenweb once told me about a great market heirloom, but it seems these seeds are no longer around?

Dona (from France)

If you were me, what would you plant?

[Worth1]

Hard round red ones, no joke with many people where I live that is the only tomato they will buy the heirlooms and such taste funny and look funny.

Worth

[Tania]

Burgess Mammoth Wonder, Bonny Best, and Mashenka are very good reds suitable for market. All of them had very good taste in my garden in PNW.

If you are interested in small saladette varieties that taste great, I'd recommend some Russian ones - i.e., Titan, Belye Nochi, ...

I also think that Marianna's Peace and Sandul Moldovan would be great also.

Tania

[Tania]

I would not recommend Celebrity for taste.

If you are growing for market, you will want to pay attention to the days to maturity for the varieties you choose. I would definitely grow something like "Early Wonder" which is a semi determinate and supposedly produces abundantly. The fruit are globe shaped, red, weighing under one pound. With the early tomatoes, you can capture the early season shoppers who are hungry for any tomato not purchased in a grocery store. It also is reported to have an acceptable taste.

Ted

[Lee]

For your reliable red round tomato, go with the Big Beef. Everyone else does the Better's, Celebs, Boy, Mountain tomatoes which are poor to decent in taste.
Big Beef beats them all in taste and has better disease tolerance to boot!

For the heirlooms, I'd try a Carbon over Cherokee Purple. It's nearly as good
flavor wise, but I think you'll get a larger supply of marketable fruit from Carbon.

Aker's West Virgina is another really good red heirloom that might grow well in your location.

For a yellow I'd go with Yellow Brandywine, and KBX might be your best bet for an Orange.

For the green when ripe, Green Zebra is the popular choice, but I'd lean more towards Lime Green Salad (more marketable) or Green Giant (better tasting).

Stump of the World is a really excellent pink, but you'll have to get other's opinions on how much marketable fruit you'll get.

Good luck!

Lee

[TZ-OH6]

I always thought Nyagous would be good for market. It was blemish free for me, highly productive and about the size of grocery store on the vine cluster tomatoes. Good size for salad wedges. It has the earthy "black" flavor but is not as flavorful as black krim, carbon etc.

[rnewste]

John,

I agree with Lee that Big Beef is a variety that you can't go wrong with. Extremely productive and disease tolerant. As you are new to the Forum, you may want to do a search on "Wild Boar Farms" as they have excellent varieties that would add a bit of color to your Market activities:



Plant a small amount of these initially to see how they sell in your area. I'll bet you could get a Dollar a pound more for these than the standard red varieties - - and I am sure a display of them would draw more customers into your Stand.

Raybo

[organic_john]

Thanks all! I didn't know Big Beef tasted that good.

Tania: I figured Celebrity was not tasty, esp compared to others. Thanks, you confirmed my suspicions.

Ted: I'll look out for "Early Wonder." I may also try a small high tunnel to get things going early in the season.

Lee: Those sound great. I'll def do the Carbon. Also the Yellow Brandywine and KBX. I'm curious, why is Lime Green Salad more marketable than GZ?

TZ: I never heard of Nyagous, thanks. It kind of sounds like a dentist's anaesthetic. Who comes up with these names? lol

Raybo: I agree, I'll be cautious. Thanks for the Wild Boar Farms tip.

I'm glad I found this forum! Maybe I can pay the help back some day.

John

I've never grown the big beef tomato, but I intend to. I understand both a Big Beef F1 and Big Beef stabilized are available. I plan to grow the F1 variety because it retains all the desirable qualities which may have been diluted in the stabilized variety. Is my belief accurate?

Ted

[Tormato]

Heirloom - Eva Purple Ball
Hybrid - Supersonic

[rnewste]

Ted,

While some other varieties may have better taste, Big Beef is a real Trooper in terms of disease tolerance and productivity. Here is my Big Beef in July:



Here is the same Big Beef photographed on September 17:



And a month later, I am looking out my window today, and it is still producing on October 19 - long after all of my other varieties!

Raybo

[Lee]

Originally Posted by organic_john

Lee: Those sound great. I'll def do the Carbon. Also the Yellow Brandywine and KBX. I'm curious, why is Lime Green Salad more marketable than GZ?

Sorry John, I should have been more clear.

For the green when ripe, I'd go with either Lime Green Salad or Green Giant.
Of these two, Green Giant is better tasting, and Lime Green Salad would be
more marketable.

I didn't mean to compare them to Green Zebra.

LGS is more marketable than Green Giant because it makes more regular sized (3~5oz) fruits of consistent size (little bigger than golf ball), that are firmer (and
thus hold up better to taking to market.)

Lee

[organic_john]

No problem Lee, thanks!

[carolyn137]

JOhn, I'm not going to make any specific variety suggestions right now in this thread. I'm posting b'c I think it's an excellent idea to approach the restaurants where you hope to sell to and ask THEM what they want b'c it's quite different selling at a Farm Market as opposed to chefs. At least that was my experience and I know the experience of others.

Take with you some seed catalogs with pictures, discuss the uses the restaurants are going to need them for and together make some choices.

It doesn't have to be specific varieties, per se. Most of them want cherry tomatoes for salads and garnish, and I know I could list some good ones. And most of them don't want to pay the price for heirloom varieties that are paste varieties used primarily for sauces, but there are some exceptions depending on the kind of restaurant.

So if they want large slicers for a platter, ask what colors and then folks here can give you some more ideas. I like some of the suggestions already made.

And restaurants aren't that enthusiastic about hybrids either if they maintain an organic/heirloom viewpoint.

As for the Farmers markets I think it all depends what the local folks in the area are looking for as to hybrids or OP's or both. Some want them for fresh eating, some want them for canning and so there's a wide spread there in choices to be made.

And some want only round reds and others are more adventurous.

Actually I suggest that those who get into the restaurant/farmer's market area grow varieties a year before they even delve into selling so they not only have the experience of knowing how varieties do in their areas but also have fruits to take to the chefs for a look see.

And I assume you do know that there's a Forum here at Tville jsut forMarket Gardeners. if not, it's there.