I thought you said quick & nasty. Well perfection is in the eyes of the beholder, I guess --LOL-- etc.

We were in the drought area. Cherokee Purple was the first to ripen in our area the first part of August. We had a late frost in the spring. Everything seemed to take it's time ripening this year. No problem with blossom end rot. I used a new patch of ground I had prepared in the fall.

We had good luck with Amana Orange again this year. Burpee orange, and a huge pole tomato was so-so to why bother. We got a good crop off of our Caspian Pink. Everything is still ripening, hopefully this rain we are having will help some.

Doug

Stupice -- smaller tomatoes but prolific and crack resistant
Amish paste -- this is my all around favorite tomato.

They rest of mine are cracking horribly and rotting on the vine. I hate it when you reach into the vines to discover that the back side of that nice looking tomato is a slimy stinky mess.

Maria

Absolutely Brandywine. These and Cherokee Purple were the first to ripen here.. over three mos ago.. but I started with plants in four inch pots. The first ones I started got frozen in the late spring frost. The Brandywine were and still are the best of all.. the leaves are wider than any other tomato I know. The plants are very tall, about six foot.. I plant them all in tall baskets made of concrete reinforcement wire about five feet high and three feet in diameter. They fill them nicely.. the wire has large square mesh that is easy to reach into to pick the tomatoes. I used lots of alfalfa hay as mulch this year and had the best crop ever.. About planting from seed, it really helps to plant indoors in a very sunny windowsill in April to get a good start with these plants. Lots of light and warmth to get a good plant going in its own pot. I just have seven plants this year and they are producing lots of great tomatoes. Next year I hope to put in around a dozen or more so I can give more away. Also.. if you can find the seeds for Early Giant, it it a good big early tomato. But if you don't want to mess with planting seeds, buy the plants in late May and plant them outside, tend them well and you'll have tomatoes by Mid August.

I thought maybe I was the only one in that delima. Lucky I had put in a couple Celebrity plants that have been producing. Last night I had my first Wapsipinicon Peach and it was wonderful. I have some Tomsel white and Purple Calabash that are just about ready. I have some huge Brandywine and Amana Orange that I can't wait to try. And I am heading on vacation for a week... Oh well they should all be ripe when I get back.