Maters in the ground!

[KLorentz]

Well I have a few in the garden now. Will have to put up with hybrids for now . Was advised I can start seeds in June by a local that does garden tilling .So I am not gonna be without my heirlooms . Will post my grow list soon.


Kevin

[Farmette]

Kevin: looking forward to hearing about your new garden. What hybrids do you think will do well by you?

[KLorentz]

Well the top hybrids for me are better boy, big boy and celebrity.I use to grow these before I switched to all heirlooms. They do have good production and the taste is not bad.

Kevin

[Farmette]

Its been a few years since I grew those. I grow almost all heirlooms, but germinate seeds for our church/community garden and most of those are heirlooms but a few are Champion II and Big Beef. Last year was the first year I tried those and they were quite productive and every one was perfectly shaped. I'll continue to grow them, but have to say I prefer the imperfect look of the heirlooms with the perfect taste. Glad to see you back,
Chris

[KLorentz]

There heirlooms with that perfect shape. Thessaloniki comes to mind . Introduced in the 50's by Gliclkler Seedsman . In my opinion it beats celebrity for taste and equals it in production .Al-Kuffa is another perfect looking heirloom and a dwarf.

Kevin

[Farmette]

Yes, I agree with you about some heirlooms with perfect shape and the Thessaloniki I've grown are like that. Goose Creek too for me. And yes, they do taste a lot better.

[Cole_Robbie]

I'm growing Thessaloniki for the first time this summer and am happy to hear that about the shape. Maybe it will make a decent farmer's market tomato.

[b54red]

Lumpy Red is another one with perfect shape. Where the name comes from I don't know. I've never had a lumpy one yet. They are all beautifully shaped beefsteaks that so far have never split and other than the occasional larger than normal one they are very uniform in size.

[KLorentz]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I'm growing Thessaloniki for the first time this summer and am happy to hear that about the shape. Maybe it will make a decent farmer's market tomato.

They should do fine in a farmers market . Found another Greek tomato called Athens I want to try and see if it is another good one .

Kevin

[Douglas14]

Kevin,
Good luck with your tomatoes. Is this your first garden in Texas? If I recall correctly, didn't you used to live in Michigan? That would be quite a climate change I would think.

[KLorentz]

Yes it is and yes I did. I am use to a more dry arid climate being a California native.A little hotter here but I will adjust .

[mikej]

I will have to try Thessaloniki. Seems like every where I look lately people are talking about it. I am fairly new to gardening and new to the heirloom tomato. I have only tried Brandywine and they were delicious, but were far from being perfect shaped. My wife could not get passed the look of them, but my neighbors loved them. I have some Cherokee Purple setting fruit now and some Better Boys and Tasti-Lees that could turn any day now.

[KLorentz]

Yes this can be true of Brandywine . But I have had some nice ones too. Check out everyone's grow list. you can get a good idea of what else to try .. Also look at some good seed sites like Glickler Seedsman for more great maters.