Early / ultra early varieties that taste great?

[JosephElliott]

Hi everyone. I am gardening in northern Canada zone 2 and need some extra early tomatoes that taste great. If any exist. I have a maximum of 85 frost free days most of which are not hot enough to keep tomatoes happy. I really love Kellogg’s breakfast, mallorcan winter, and a heirloom ox heart that I have for flavours but they are very long season and I only get a couple ripe fruit per plant per year.

I have tried a tomatoe developed by a reasonably local university and while it is fairly early at about 60 days it tastes like shoe leather lol.

There are plenty of 75 - 90 day tomatoes that are available and taste ok. Better than store bought cardboard but can’t compare with the flavour of late season indeterminates I currently grow.

Would like recommendations for an orange like Kellogg’s and a good red please.

[bower]

Hi JosephElliott, welcome to T'ville.

You're certainly not alone in the problem of short season and cool temperatures. Although you probably have a different climate altogether from ours, we do have that in common! We don't get a lot of sun either, and often windy and wet. Are you growing outdoors? We mostly grow in greenhouse here, although in a good year we can get some fruit outside, from varieties that are early.
As regards the short season, you are mostly going to do better with smaller fruit - at least they're a better bet to ripen.

I haven't grown KB or KBX (I think it is usually rated 85 days, 80 or less can be grown in my greenhouse). So I couldn't recommend a replacement with similar taste. KarenO may know one. I have only grown a few tangerine-orange beefs or hearts, and found them mostly pretty mild, although my mother really liked Samorodok last year (she got most of the fruit from it) and said it was tangy and sweet, especially late in the season. That is a tangerine heart. I got the seeds late so can't really compare dtm with other common ones I've grown, but I would say it's reasonably early, certainly earlier than KB. It won't replace your KB but at least you might get more fruit.

I don't know Mallorcan Winter either so I have no reference for the flavor you like in a red. We often grow Moravsky Div as a short season red and get good flavor - almost better flavor in a cold year IMO. It is quite tolerant of cool weather. Not a large beef, a smaller round red.
Another good one is Alaska - determinate.
For a red beef you'd probably do well with MatSu Express - bred by AKMark in Alaska. I haven't grown the final masterpiece but I grew the F1 here, it was very tasty and it pumped out fruit outdoors even after losing all its leaves. (Howling wind that year).
If you're looking for a sweeter red I would recommend Altajskij Urozajnij. I grew it outdoors one really cold year and got fewer, smaller but intensely delicious fruit from it - in the greenhouse the next year it produced a lot, larger fruit, still sweet but not so outstanding.

Best bet, you'll have to take a few years and try a few things out until you find what works.

[AlittleSalt]

Welcome to Tomatoville

A good red that is around 75 DTM is Big Beef F1

I know you didn't mention cherry tomatoes, but Sungold F1 is often the first ripe tomato in a lot of people's gardens.

[xellos99]

Gardeners Delight AKA Sugar lump.

[Nematode]

Looking for a unicorn.
Good luck.

[clspie]

Sophie's Choice. Early, determinate, orange-red. Doesn't like too much heat.

[JosephElliott]

Thanks Bower, I’m in northern Alberta so reasonably similar climates. I will try those varieties next year.

I typically try 5-6 new varieties per year so trailing new ones is no issue. I grow outside but hope to use caterpillar tunnels next year.

Lol Nematode, unicorn indeed. I don’t expect the early varieties to taste as great as the later ones but figured the people here would have the best idea for new things to try.

[SueCT]

Sophies Choice, Azoychka (a yellow), and I also like Early Girl, which is only about 52 days I think, but opinions about it are very strong on both sides, lol. I find it very good if you hold back watering as much as possible. There is a whole industry of dry farming early girl tomatoes for chefs, who love it. I have soil very heavy in organic matter and I hold back watering as much as possible, and by that I mean I only water 2-3 times per season. I am in old zone 5b, new map zone 6a, and I still appreciate an early tomato. I also find they often do better in pots since the soil in pots heats up faster than the ground, and it is easier to protect from early frosts to extend the season a l ittle in both directions. Sophies Choice and Azoychka both do well in pots. You might want to expirament with a couple of pots and see how they do for you.

[JosephElliott]

Thank you. I will try those as well.

Alittlesalt. I do grow sungold f1 and love it I also grow Sakura and it works well enough for me for cherry tomatoes.

[Moshou]

In my opinion, Stupice is the best option

[KarenO]

Hello and welcome to tomatoville.

You can check out the varieties I have been developing by looking at the KARMA threads and the TRue North tomato threads. If interested in them message me and I will see about getting you some seeds to try next year
KarenO
https://m.facebook.com/NorthernGardenerCanada/
This is my FB page, lots of photos and info about growing tomatoes in a Canadian garden

[AlittleSalt]

Just giving Karen O some respect - she's the first person I thought of being able to help you out. I agree with everything that everyone else has posted above this post. Stupice is one I thought of too, but I can't offer any more info about it than what you can read at most seed selling sites.

[PaulTandberg]

I'm in Grand Forks, ND. Early tomatoes is an ongoing quest.

I'm trying this one this year: https://all-americaselections.org/pr...ail-red-racer/

Maturity is listed 90 days from seed, 57 when transplanted.

I started a couple plant on March 16th. They are currently a smidgen over 2' and each has set fruit on two sets of trusses. The biggest fruits are about the size of a shooter marble. Time will tell, but I am hoping there will be three or four ready by the end of June with bunches of them ready by mid-July. The fruit is small, but if the reports of them being meaty and tasty prove out, I will be happy eater until the main crop kicks in.

I grew Stupice for three years. I gave up on it. The plants and the fruit just didn't measure up (or hold up). Fourth of July, similar in size and maturity, performs better for me, but I'm not real happy with it either. The taste is fine, but the fruit is too watery (not enough meat) and there are too many splits. And while it is early, as with Stupice, the early yield is light. By the time either start to really produce, I will have some early main crop coming on line and I lose interest in them.

Both Stupice and 4th of July are ok, but I'm hoping Red Racer will be earlier, more prolific, and have better quality fruit (with some substance).

[PaulTandberg]

As recommended earlier, Early Girl is always worth a try. As is a similar variety developed by Johnny's Seeds, New Girl. I've grown both. They both work. This year, I'm trying Early Choice and Early Choice Black as my earlies.

[PaulTandberg]

I wish I had started my Red Racers earlier. They aren't a large plant and were still plenty happy in their gallon pots when I planted them outside May 29th. I could have started them a week, maybe two weeks, earlier, no problem.

Same deal, even more so, with the dwarf Tasmanian Chocolates I started on March 16. I could have started those short, sturdy little guys two weeks earlier no problem. Those dwarfs are fun plants to grow. They are cool little plants, so sturdy and stout, so bushy and compact, and they have such thick dark substantial leaves. I started enough plants to give several away. So far, they are a hit!