I'm not a big tomato expert. I just like fresh tomatoes to toss in salad or use in spaghetti sauce that I know were not exposed to pesticides, etc.

That said, I'm a big fan of better boys. They produce early and abundantly, and I've had tomatoes on the vine up until the first frost (and even past if I covered them).

My big tip of the day...when you plant, throw a handful of lime in the planting hole. It will help you avoid blossom end rot. I was plagued by it the first year I planted, tried the lime thing and have not had a problem in the past three years. I swear by it.

And yeppers...way early for seedlings. But that's a big box store for you. :-)

Well, one of my three picks would be a Whopper for sure (huge, juicy sandwich type). The next would be Better Boy as they are easy, prolific and a good salad/slicer. The third would be a grape tomato as they are larger than cherries and don't fall off all over the ground as readily. Romas are determinate tomatoes (they set all at once and then croak). It is early, but I set tomatoes out when night temps are in the mid-forties as it makes stronger plants. By far, the best cages ever have been made of concrete reinforcing wire. A pain to bend, but mine are at least a dozen years old and at about 6' tall, they handle the growth 'til freeze. Hope this is not too much information?

Hmmm only 3? Well I'd have to plant Giant Belguim or Big Rainbow for a slicer, Black Krim just cuz its so good an Red Currant (very small cherry type) its puts out til frost an very tasty.

I'm with Trudyjean on the red currant tomatoes. YUM! I also like Brandywine and Green Zebra. They both produce very well for me.

GGG

Green Zebras and Brandywine are both excellent. I tried Black Cherry last year, and it was absolutely stupendous, if you like black or cherry tomatoes.

I would plant 3 Better Boys or 2 Better Boys and one salad tomato. I would also add lime and a small amount of Epsom Salts bought in the drugstore not the garden shop. Then I would water them with viagra. That way I wouldn't have to stake them.

Tomatoes are my favorite. I ditto the Black Cherry for flavor and production. I grow mostly heirloom varieties.

My favorites for flavor and production are:

cherry - Black Cherry
small - Eva's Purple Ball
paste - Opalka
Beefsteak - Goliath(hybrid) or Aunt Ginny's Purple

Brandywine has great flavor but veeery low production. I once got just 3 tomatoes. Most I've ever gotten from one plant is about 12.

Ditto Ourhappyhome on the Brandywines although I do grow them. Green Zebra is fantastic but, although better than Brandywine, not so prolific either. I would recommend yellow pear as an heirloom for production, but with a slightly lemony tang, it's probably best left for a bigger tomato patch. We'll try the red pears this summer. We have grown a wide variety of heirlooms and they generally win my vote for taste, but production is an issue. All tomatoes generally get smaller with the age of the plant. Cherries are too small and all over the ground by September/October but grapes are the same size of cherries by Fall. We tried only one grape, from Lowes, as a test in last summer's drought, and it, along with the yellow pear, produced through repeated frosts, albeit the fruit was the size of cherry toms. by season's end. Your original quest was for an indeterminate tomato that tasted like a Roma (the term is paste-type as was used by ourhappyhome). I have not grown this tomato but it sounds like it meets all your criteria as it is indeterminate and dry like a Roma. I think I'll try it too!

Well thanks to all for the replies, I think I have some good ideas now. Now all I have to do is have it warm up a little. Can't wait, I've got the itch. Oh, and Eddie, that was funny.

I, too, like Better Boys and also the grape tomatoes. They are very sweet and you just get TONS of them from one plant.

I didn't want to post here because I also just love better boys and grape tomatoes.
Incidentally, My mil grows the best tomatoes I have ever had and she heavily limes her soil each year and waters every day. She has also been growing them in the same spot for decades and she only grows better boys.

We're new to Georgia, so need some advice on best planting time for tomatoes. We're in Morgan County [mid-eastern?] and I know it will be sooner than my previous New Jersey date of May 15th. That lime trick is new to me. Great idea.