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okiedawn1

2015 Tomato Grow List

Seed-starting time is approaching, so here's my grow list for this year.

An asterisk denotes varieties that are new to me this year. Otherwise, all the others are tried and true varieties that have produced well here in past years.

The Seven Dwarfs (in containers):

Chocolate Lightning Dwarf*
Dwarf Purple Heart*
Dwarf Wild Fred*
Rosella Purple Dwarf
Sarandipity Dwarf*
Summertime Green Dwarf*
Tasmanian Chocolate Dwarf

Everything Else:

Abraham Lincoln
Amy's Apricot
Anna Banana Russian *
Azoychka
Black Cherry
Black Prince
Brandywine, Red
Brandywine, Sudduth's
Champion 2
Gary 'O Sena
German Johnson
Granny Cantrell's
Gulf State Market
Homestead
Ildi
Indian Stripe
Jaune Flammee
JD's Special C-Tex
Joe's Giant Work Release *
Joe's Pink Oxheart *
Kanner Hoell*
Marglobe
Marion
Mexico Midget
Mortgage Lifter
Mule Team
Nepal
Orange Minsk
Polish
Pruden's Purple
Rutgers
Soldacki
Stump of the World
SunGold
Super Sioux
Yellow Oxheart*

OK, y'all. I've shown you my list. Now show me yours.

Dawn

This post was edited by okiedawn on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 21:54

Comments (101)

  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ok Gary, twist my arm, I might could put some, IDK on the roof? I have made my orders, and now I am freaking out about where I will put things.

    I got a freebee pack of Sub-artic Plenty. Something tells me it won't like OK climate. Maybe in the fall, in the green house. Any body ever tried to grow those cool climate tomatoes in winter? I would think day length would be a problem.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Amy, Only 6? I want to add more varieties every day but so far I have behaved myself.

    Growing tomatoes in containers requires a lot of monitoring of moisture levels and fertility levels to get good performance, and some years, it is really hard to avoid BER when the weather is extra hot and extra dry. I used to grow tons of tomatoes in containers but have cut back, finding the smaller containers took up so much more time to maintain that they became burdensome. Now, I only grow tomatoes in the really large molasses cattle food tubs that Fred gave me a few years back. They are roughly the same size as whiskey half-barrels, and even at that size, require that I pay a lot closer attention to their fertility levels and moisture levels than I do with plants grown in the ground. The huge advantage of containers, though, is that I can move them into more shade in wickedly hot summers.

    You can make container tomato plants fairly self-sufficient with a drip irrigation system set up on a timer. I'm a lot happier not having to drag around a water hose from container to container.

    Gary, Now there you go being an enabler!

    Mad, Nice list! Got any idea what your mystery tomato from the heirloom seed blend might be?

    Dawn

  • madabttomatoes
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dawn- the seeds in the heirloom mix are Aunt Ruby's German Green, Dixie Golden Giant, Blac from Tula, Brandywine Red, Big rainbow, and Cherokee Purple. I usually start abt 4 seeds or so but it's fun wondering what they will grow up to be.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like all the ones in that mix, so the odds are you won't be disappointed because they're all good ones.

  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    I have been researching tomato varieties for a facebook group, and in reviewing Dawn's list I find many of the highly rated varieties. Ha, go figure, LOL. I may come back and ask you about some in the near future.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ask away. I've spent decades searching for varieties that perform well here in our soils and our climate and our growing conditions, and one thing I have learned is that a lot of the varieties that are highly-rated in other parts of the US just do not care for our weather. If a variety doesn't grow and produce well for me, no matter how highly rated it is elsewhere, I generally drop it. (My beloved Brandywine is an exception because it is worth taking the risk since it does occasionally do well here when all the stars align just so.)

    One problem with highly-rated varieties is that flavor, which is one of the most important things, is subjective because every individual's taste buds perceive flavor differently. So, even after you find the varieties that tolerate our soils and weather, you still have to experiment to see which ones your own taste buds prefer. There have been times I have tasted some highly-flavored varieties and wondered where the flavor is, cause my taste buds can't find it. For most people though, once you know what sort of flavor you like (tart, old-fashioned, zingy? or mild and sweet?), it is easy to find other varieties that fit the same sort of flavor profile.

    Many hybrids are highly rated for disease tolerance and productivity, but I find a lot of those are too firm with tough skin (bred more for shipping than for eating) and only average flavor. I grew a variety once that was new to me. It was called Super Boy. I put six of those plants in the ground. Every single plant produced hundreds of tomatoes non-stop. The plants had more fruit than foliage (and there was plenty of foliage.) Unfortunately, they had about the same flavor and texture of grocery store tomatoes, and we had many other varieties in the garden that year with superb flavor and texture. After tasting a couple of Super Boy tomatoes, we gave away all of them. Every single one. We gave away Wal-Mart bags full of them for weeks on end. People who got them were perfectly happy to have them, but I wouldn't have eaten one of those for any reason because we had so many better ones available to eat. So, one person's highly-rated tomato may be a dud for someone else. However, those universally highly-rated usually are rated high for a reason.

  • Macmex
    9 years ago

    Well, I am the one who grudgingly tries new varieties, not because I don't like to try them, but because I am attached to my old friends and struggle to maintain my seed supply. I will be growing:
    Baker Family Heirloom (My wife wants MORE of these.)

    Sioux

    Heidi

    Black Cherry

    Carbon Copy (Have never before grown this one.)

    Tuxhorn's Yellow and Red

    I may plant Pride of Moldova (a yellow) which Sandhill Preservation sent me as a gift. I am also contemplating Little Bells, by Double Helix Seeds. I just don't want to do a $15 minimum order to get that one variety. We'll see, a friend and I might go in on an order together.

    I may also squeeze in some Sunray VF. That's the only tomato one of my daughters will eat raw. It's good gold tomato with long keeping qualities. I need to renew my seed.

    I started a flat of Barberman sweet potatoes, the first week of February. Here it is on the 12th and I could already pull slips! So Dawn's earlier comments about waiting are accurate. I started Barberman because I only had some very slender roots and was afraid they might dry up before I planted them.


    George

    Tahlequah, OK




  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    I do't want to say anything that would be insulting to a very well known tomato person, who posts on many forums, but when I find one she likes, I am impressed. I will be going along, reading reviews, people are raving and she's like "meh". Of course, having tried thousands, maybe you get like that. Then, too, I think weather and soil and disease and pest stress effect taste, too, so I try to take reviews with a grain of salt. Of course I adore Cherokee Purple, and the one Pineapple I tried did not impress me.


    George, there were a couple of things I considered for Double Helix, so if you just need a little to meet the minimum, let me know. BTW, my purple ula appears to have rotted. :(

  • Macmex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    About flavor: it is highly subjective. I remember many trusted friends giving high rating to black plum. I grew and tested it in NJ and OK and found it, literally, to be a "spitter" for me. I can't stand it fresh. It's fine for cooking. But I DON'T LIKE IT! Others don't have that perception at all!

    Still, I believe most people would agree that any tomato which tastes like Rutgers is a GOOD one.

    Ami, I can help you with the Ula. I have a number of good roots. If you come to a GCSS meeting, then, I can give you a root. Otherwise, it might be easier to mail you some slips when it's time. My roots have help up extremely well. I suspect your root was exposed to cool or cold temps. That is kryptonite to to that variety.

    Here's the link to the Double Helix thread where I invited participation in an order. Anyone here could jump in as well.

    Geoge

    going in on an order/ Double Helix Seeds

  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    George, the root lived behind the TV during Christmas, I think it may have gotten too hot. I started trying to sprout it because it looked like it was shriveling. Maybe the TV "irradiated" it, LOL. My daughter wanted to know why I had a turd behind the TV. I am one of those out of sight, out of mind people. I was afraid if I put it in another room I would forget to start it. I planned on doing an order from Duck Creek for sweets. I will let you know about the ula, though.


    And thanks!

  • chickencoupe
    9 years ago

    I promised myself: No more seed purchases or swaps. That post made it very hard. I looked through the entire Double Helix Seeds site and found what I wanted before I remembered my promise to myself. HA!


  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    ROFL, Bon, I looked earlier. I had more than enough to make the minimum, but I thought I would wait till next year. But I will do a couple if it means the group can do it. I keep thinking I won't need to BUY seeds. I will save my own. But there are so many things I want to try. And I haven't even gotten into corn or grain or...if I was rich, I would hire young men to do all the heavy work and try it ALL. (Of course I would have room for it all, too.)

  • chickencoupe
    9 years ago

    We think alike. If I only had a few more backs!!


  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    Dawn, would you tell me about Soldaki, Marglobe and Amy's Apricot (I think I should be growing that just for the name/.) I know Marglobe is a parent of Rutgers, you grow them both?

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Soldacki produces fruit that is large, pink and with a shape that is more oblate than globe-shaped. The flavor is superb---a nice balance blend of tanginess and sweetness. In the early years here, it did not set fruit especially well, but we kept having really hot, dry winters and springs that warmed up fast, and that messed with the fruit set. It has done better for me in more recent years when the weather has stayed a bit cooler later in the year. I don't grow it as often as I should, mostly because I have so many other big pinks I like. I am growing a lot of big pinks this year.

    Marglobe was a very early red hybrid. I believe it was a cross of Marvel and Globe. The fruit are smallish (maybe maxing out around 6-7 oz.) but have the classic balanced flavor of the red commercial tomato varieties. It tends to produce over a very long period of time here as the onset of extreme heat doesn't shut it down as early as some of the varieties that produce larger fruit. I grow it about every second or third year. It was used as a parent of many of the later hybrids because it has so many good qualities.

    Amy's Apricot is an apricot-colored, bite-sized tomato that has the ability to give SunGold/SunSugar some competition for best cherry tomato (at least as far as I am concerned). It only has been available commercially in this decade and I've only grown it once or twice before but really liked it.

    Regarding George's comments on Rutgers.....it is the classic red tomato that folks remember from their grandparents' garden or from the local farmer's markets of their youth. The flavor is outstanding and it works equally well for canning or for fresh eating. You cannot go wrong with Rutgers. I think of it as the classic Jersey tomato, from back in the day when Jersey tomatoes were prized for their superb flavor. I grow Rutgers more for canning and Marglobe more for fresh eating but, to be honest, one of the main reasons I grow them is to give them to friends of ours who prefer red tomatoes to those of other colors. Next to the Super Boy tomato plants I mentioned other, probably nothing produces more heavily for me that Rutgers. Keeping them picked in a good year just wears me out. If I had to grow only one variety I'd likely make it Rutgers, but only because my favorite blacks, pinks and purples don't produce, for the most part, as heavily or over as long of a period, as Rutgers.

    Marglobe was a parent of many of the older red commercial varieties and I don't consider any of its "children" to be similar enough to it that I wouldn't grow them in the same year. I like a lot of the older red commercial varieties a lot more than the newer ones. The newer ones seem to mostly have been bred for every possible quality except great flavor, which is why you don't see a lot of the more recent red hybrids on my list. I understand the need for improved disease tolerance and for tomatoes that tolerate being shipped long distances, but those aren't the types I want to grow....and I don't have to grow those since I'm not a commercial grower. The red tomatoes that make it onto my grow list mostly are the ones that taste like the ones that my dad grew in the 1960s and 1970s. There's room in anyone's garden for both Marglobe and Rutgers

  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    Thank you. Soldacki and Marglobe are on our seed bank list. Amy's Apricot definately goes on my wish list. I plan to grow Rutgers this year. DH is from NJ, thought he would enjoy them. His mother didn't think anything compared to Jersey tomatoes. I'm hoping these are what he's looking for.

  • Macmex
    9 years ago

    When I was growing up in NJ, my friend and mentor, Mr. Clarence D. Mauser, put out a couple hundred tomato plants every year. He planted Rutgers, Marglobe and Roma. Apart from a sense of adventure and keeping up with some of my other heirloom "friends," I would be hard pressed to argue with his practice, even today. Rutgers and Marglobe are not only great for processing, they are delicious fresh. Roma, well I don['t like them fresh. But they produce a huge bulk of durable fruit which are great for canning. I choose Baker Family Heirloom over Rutgers because I get more production for the space, since it grows higher, vertically. But they are tied for flavor. I enjoy Prudence Purple, Tuxhorn's Yellow & Red, Guker's Special and other color tomatoes. But my wife and I both agree, that the "meter has pegged at the top," for us, with these old fashioned reds. There is "different and good," but there isn't better. I had another taste of Cherokee Purple, last summer. I'd still take the old fashioned red. Plus, these reds are heavy producers.


    George


  • chickencoupe
    9 years ago

    So, um, just exactly how tall do BF Heirloom get?


  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Amy, I sowed several seeds of Amy's Apricot and probably will put only 1 or 2 plants in the ground. If we have a Spring Fling this year, and I believe it is likely that we will, I can bring you one of the Amy's Apricot plants to the Fling.

    George, It is interesting how well Mr. Mauser's choices have stood the test of time. I'm not crazy about Roma or Roma II either, but always have thought Viva Italia was pretty good for a paste type that can be eaten fresh.

    Amy, It is likely that the Jersey tomato that people remember was many different varieties, but I think George and I both are correct in believing Marglobe and Rutgers would please just about anyone looking for that old-fashioned Jersey tomato flavor. Rutgers has been "improved" over the years, so I always am careful to look for seed from the original strain, not the improved one. I grew Ramapo and Moreton for several years and both of them absolutely have that flavor too. In fact, NJAES went to a lot of effort and brought them back into cultivation because people were looking for that Jersey tomato flavor. I'll link the NJAES Jersey tomato page. Before they brought Ramapo back, Dr. Carolyn Male had kept it in circulation with a dehybridized version.

    Other tomatoes that I think have that wonderful old-fashioned tomato flavor are the very old Livingston varieties like Magnus and Paragon. You can find them at Victory Seeds. For about a decade I grew them every year, but haven't grown them as much in recent years because I prefer pinks, purples and blacks. I kinda miss them and just talking about them makes me think I ought to plant some of them for fall 2015 or, if we are enduring unspeakable summer drought, then for Spring 2016.

    The problem with flavor is that it is highly subjective since it varies so much depending on a person's taste buds. You can have six people sitting around a table taste-testing 20 varieties of tomatoes and it is likely none of them will agree about the flavor of any of the varieties. So, you can look all day long at lists of people's favorites but since your taste buds will perceive flavor in a way that is unique to you and you alone, those lists are not necessarily as helpful as one would wish. What I watch for is varieties that regularly pop up on lots of people's fave lists, figuring those might be worth a try. Also, tomato flavor can vary a lot even within the same variety and can vary with soil type and growing conditions.

    Here's the link to the info about the project that has brought back some old Jersey tomato varieties. On the seed order form accessible via the link, there's even some Jersey tomato t-shirts. Might make a nice gift for a mother-in-law.......

    Rediscovering the Jersey Tomatoes

  • Macmex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Baker Family Heirloom will reach 10' in one of our growing seasons. It does't stop until frost kills it. It is not only a long vine, it is also a bushy vine. I use 5' cages made of concrete reinforcing wire and anchored with a T post each or two wooded stakes. The plants grow up, over and down to the ground by frost. But they bear well until frost too. They do seem a little later to start. I don't trust DTM. But I'd say BFH is a later variety. BFH must have a good strong support for good results. Without a support most of the fruit will be lost.

    Rutgers is indeterminate. But I doubt it goes past 6'. Still, it bears over a long period of time. Marglobe, as I recall, is a strong determinate. It reaches a little over 4' tall and can be pretty busy. It can produce a very good size crop.

    One additional comment on taste. My wife is absolutely sold on black cherry. She'd be very disappointed if I didn't grow it.

    George

    Baker Family Heirloom

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Okay, that link didn't work. Editing it to fix it didn't work. So, let me try one more time. If the link doesn't work this time, you can find the info I'm trying to link by Googling NJAES Rediscovering the Jersey Tomatoes.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ditto on Black Cherry. Both it and SunGold are must-grows every year, no matter what.

  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    I fell in love with Black Cherry, too.

    My mother-in-law passed several years ago. Her theory was it was Jersey dirt that made the tomatoes taste so good.


    Would love to do a spring fling Dawn, hope that can happen. I want to try George's Baker Family Heirloom, but it sounds like I wouldn't have room for it this year. So many tomatoes, so little time.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, I'm sorry she's not still around, Amy, to see the resurgence of the Jersey tomatoes. She might be right about the soil. Friends of mine who garden in sandy soil (more like sugar sand than sandy loam) near me feel like my tomatoes have better flavor than theirs and we're all guessing it likely is my clay soil plus all the organic matter added to it for years and years. While my soil might drain too slowly, theirs drains far too quickly, and I think that may be part of the problem because it may interfere in nutrient uptake if rain washes the nutrients away from the root zone of their plants. By our 5th spring here, one of them told me "I've grown tomatoes here all my life and I've never had tomato plants like yours". I think he likely is right in believing the difference is the soil, but I also have long believed that food grown organically tastes better too.

    I've been in touch with P-Mac and she and I are hoping to make a Spring Fling happen. if she'll host it, I'll help her in every way I can, and I might have a surprise or two up my sleeve for attendees. It is such an awesome thing that she and her DH are willing to let us come to their place every year. I adore them both and appreciate so much the hospitality they extend to us every spring. They are perfectly situated in the center of the state, and the Spring Fling is like a Forum Family Reunion. It also is like Christmas.

  • luvncannin
    9 years ago

    Tell her I will do whatever I can too. I enjoyed last year so much.
    I hope I am not too late starting my tomatoes tomorrow. Too much life happens the last two weeks.

    kim

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Kim, Next time I speak with her, I'll let her know.

    Sounds like life has been hectic. Hope everything and everybody is alright.

    Tomatoes started now would be fine. Tomatoes started at the beginning of March will be fine. All you need are plants that are 5-6 weeks old at your transplanting time. I think the cold is gonna keep coming back in March, so I'm not in a big hurry with anything. I know you're a little outside OK, but you're close enough that your planting dates are pretty close to ours. The OSU-recommending transplanting dates for tomatoes are April 10-30. I like to transplant in March when I can, but that is heavily dependent on soil temps, air temps and the weather trends.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    True confession time. I added a handful more tomato varieties today when I started a few more seeds. It was NOT my fault. The devil made me do it. My seed flat had an empty row and I kept thinking that I should sow seeds to fill that row.

    So, here's the varieties I added:

    Kim's Civil War Oxheart

    Red Rose

    German Red Strawberry

    Lillian's Yellow Heirloom

    Dester

    Gold Medal



  • chickencoupe
    9 years ago

    Never too many.


  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    Dester is another on my list for next year.

  • luvncannin
    9 years ago

    What !!! an empty seed tray row, who ever heard of such a thing. We cant have that. Well I have a confession I am adding a few varieties too. Which is kinda silly to most people since I cant eat them. But I like growing them and giving them away after I harden them off. Especially the less popular varieties. I am going to get mine done today. First I am going to make the tags since I double planted my one flat.

    Thanks Dawn we are well. I have been sick and littleman has been here so my energy is low. It is going to be a beautiful day so it will go fast outside.

    Kim

  • Macmex
    9 years ago

    Much of NJ has soil that leaves ours in "the dust." I remember when I was pastoring in my home church, back in 2004. Rocky Mastro, my friend, had passed away, and his widow, Marge, asked me to plant some Tomato Rocky on the church grounds, as a memorial to him. I went around the side of the building and found a secluded spot. When I turned the sod in this spot, which had been FILL dirt supplied for free by IBM, I was amazed. That soil was dark, rich and soft! I, on the other hand, was living 30 miles South, in the pine barrens. My soil was like the sugar sand Dawn mentioned.

    Much of NJ has wonderful soil. Plus, they have a much more moderate climate than ours. Some summers it is rare that temps go over 95. Temperatures on a day often stay within about 15 F variation. Drought is rare. I remember working hay in 1986. It was difficult to cut and dry hay because it rarely went 3 days without rain. I believe that is a major part of NJ tomato fame. But also, NJ was at the epicenter of origin for those famous varieties, and a rich environment for road side vegetable stands.

    George


  • AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
    9 years ago

    I didn't get the seeds for the Amana Orange, so instead of being sad I thought, Cool, I have room for another tomato...

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Rod, Probably not. lol lol lol.

    The hardest part for me is just to weed down the list to whatever form it takes by the time I post it. I always have to cut a couple of dozen varieties that I feel are must-grows, and then I have to fight the urge to add them back to the list. You might notice, I came back and added a few.

    Do any of us need all those tomatoes? Well, no, we don't need 40 or 80 different kinds, but we want them. Do folks who have big wine cellars stock only one vintage of wine or 10 or 20? No, no, no. They fill their cellars with amazing wines of many vintages. Well, for me, tomato is my wine and I want to have a wide variety of vintages available, each with its own special flavor. I truly am addicted to tomatoes and I do my best to spread the addiction here on this forum.

    Amy, We think exactly alike.

    This is going to be a fun day. After I get off this computer, I'm going to drag out all the potting supplies and start potting up my little baby tomato plants from their starter flat (where I sow all the seeds of each individual variety in one cell per variety) to their individual little pots. I do pot up two plants per pot so that if one dies, then I don't have an empty little pot sitting there in one of the rows. Right now the tomato flat takes up one-third of one shelf on the light shelf. After I pot up all of them, they'll fill 2 or 3 shelves.

    Once the tomatoes are potted up, I reuse the starter flats to start more seeds of other veggies or of herbs or flowers in the never-ending cycle. By the time those seedlings need to be potted up, the tomato plants will have moved out to the greenhouse to grow on in increasingly warmer (I hope) conditions.

    The week I pot up tomatoes is a dangerous week. As I pot up and label each variety, my mind inevitably wanders and thinks about all the varieties I'm not growing this year, which sometimes causes me to lose all semblance of control and self-restraint, with the inevitable result being that I start more tomato varieties. I'm going to fight that hard this year, as I am planting flowers and herbs in one raised bed where I usually grow about 26-30 tomato plants, making it imperative that I really and truly don't start any more tomato seeds because I won't have a place for more plants. Well, unless I were to do something crazy and break up more ground, move the fence and expand the garden---which currently is not a part of my garden plans.

  • gardenrod
    9 years ago

    omg- I must remember your techniques from the past, because I'm doing almost the same thing with my seeds, seedlings, etc. I am doing things a little later this year - thinking the harsh winter may carryover into the Spring planting period.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I am kind of feeling the same way about spring. If you watch the national weather pattern, one cold front after another just keeps sweeping across the country and it has been going on for weeks and weeks and weeks. Sometimes those fronts come down south far enough to wallop OK pretty hard and other times they don't, but I want to see that pattern back off a little before I get in much of a hurry to plant much of anything outdoors. Yesterday, the mulch on top of my raised beds was frozen together. I didn't bother sticking a trowel in the soil to see if it was the same. I think the heavy frost we had yesterday just permeated the mulch and held it together sort of like mortar...filling in the empty spaces between the fine-grained compost-type mulch and freezing it into big flat layers. I could break them off in pieces the size of concrete stepping stones. I wasn't a particularly happy camper.

    We have had some of the winter-blooming wildflowers bloom in the yard and in the pastures, but not nearly as many as usual, so that seems to me to be sign as well. If I had to guesstimate, I'd say the early bloomers are only at about 10% of what I'd see in a warmer winter when I could plant early. That's a significant difference. I really do try to ignore lists of planting dates and such and just go with my intuition, which I jokingly refer to as the voices in my head. Well, the voices in my head keep telling me to slow down, wait, take it easy and not get in too big of a hurry, so I'm trying to do that. I feel like we're in for a colder than average March when we, as gardeners, would prefer a warmer than average March. We don't get what we want. We get whatever we get.


  • chickencoupe
    9 years ago

    "I hope my memory gets better. I feel like I ask the same questions over and over and have to reread the same info over and over."~ Kim

    Kim, I giggled at that comment as I re-read this post for, like, the third time. lol Heck, it has my list which I forget. ha!

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Y'all are funny.

    I have about given up hope my memory will get better. As I age, I just want to find a way to slow down the rate at which it is getting worse. I rarely forget a tomato variety though. See there, my brain knows what is too important to forget.


  • luvncannin
    8 years ago

    Lists and put them in several places and in computer and phone Lol.

    That's true Dawn we never forget the really important stuff

  • cat22woman
    8 years ago

    Hello all!

    My list this year is:

    • Steakhouse
    • Brandy Boy
    • SuperSauce
    • Sun Gold
    • Sunchocola
    • Black Pearl
    • Honey Delight
    • Jersey Boy

    Plus the dozen or so varieties I always end up with after going to Tomato Man's Daughter to "just look". :)

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    "Just looking" can get a person in a lot of trouble. If I lived in that part of the state, I'd be going to TMD too and would be bringing home more tomato plants to cram into the garden somehow, somewhere. Be sure you come back and tell us which ones you buy at TMD.

  • docjoc
    8 years ago

    Ladies you boggle my mind. You describe tomatoes like you describe a new born baby. To me as a man a baby is a baby. There are only two kinds. What I want to know is a very short list of the best Oklahoma City varieties especially of the cherry types. These seem to stand the hot Oklahoma summers best and keep producing into the late fall. Please help this amateur.

  • chickencoupe
    8 years ago

    I keep my babies in the store room under warmth and light. (Because of the quakes) when the door opens it is very noisy craack. When I go to tend to them I open the door and yell very loudly, My babies!!! Give my family the giggles.

    I don't know about the best varieties. I'll let someone else answer that part.


  • luvncannin
    8 years ago

    Bon I too refer to my plants as babies, it started with littleman. He loves to handle the plants and he understands" gentle its a baby". now that he quit eating them all he runs around in the morning helping me turn on the lights and telling babies to wake up. Then immediately grabs the sprayer telling us how tirsty they are.

    docjoc the best list to choose from in my opinion is Dawns the first post. She raises more tomatoes than anyone I ever heard of and gives you her honest opinion. If its on her list its worth trying.

    kim

  • chickencoupe
    8 years ago

    While giggling over kim's little man, I remember there are existing forums that Okiedawn started that might be a helpful read, docjoc:

    Note; It's far easier to search via google for keywords and oklahoma gardenweb. Keyword for this was "best tomato varieties for oklahoma gardenweb", just an example.

    The forum discussion on tomato varieties is here. I included the search results. There are lots!


    bon


  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Docjoc, Pretty much any bite-sized tomato you choose will grow well here. I don't think I've ever had any tomato plant that produces bite-sized tomatoes not perform well. So, really, it just comes down to taste. Most bite-sized tomatoes are commonly referred to as cherry tomatoes, but there's also grape tomatoes (size and shape of a grape) and currant tomatoes (smaller than cherry or grape types, and normally round in shape).

    For the typical red cherry tomato, you can't go wrong with Sweet 100, Sweet Million, Large Cherry, or any other red one you see.

    For a red cherry tomato that tastes not as sweet as the ones listed above and has a flavor that is more like the flavor of a beefsteak tomato, Riesentraube is outstanding. It is a heirloom and not always easy to find, but I think I've seen it in stores some years.

    For a red grape tomato, there is a variety called Red Grape or sometimes sold simply as "Grape". Other red grape types include Juliet (an AAS winner in 1999) and Jolly (an AAS winner in 2001).

    For a pink grape tomato, there's Rosalita, which has superb flavor.

    For a yellow grape tomato, there's Cuban Yellow Grape.

    There are several yellow cherry tomatoes, and my favorite is Galina's. There's also Snow White and Super Snow White, both of which are more of a pale ivory than a true yellow.

    For an orange cherry tomato, the standard is SunGold or its improved version with less cracking, which is SunSugar.

    For a black cherry tomato, you cannot go wrong with Black Cherry, which isn't black at all--it is sort of a deep red-maroon.

    For a plant that would stay more compact, you cannot go wrong with Cherry Falls or Sweet Baby Girl.

    There's thousands of tomato varieties available, so I encourage you to try different ones each year until you find the ones you love.

    Finally, although it is slightly larger than a typical cherry, for a tomato plant that can tolerate the worst summer heat and can handle quite a lot of drought and never stop producing, there's Porter. Sometimes you see it listed as Porter Cherry, Porter Dark Cherry, Porter's Pride or Porter Improved. It produces pinkish tomatoes that are just a bit larger than a standard cherry or grape tomato and are sort of egg-shaped, about 1.5" long and weight 2 or 3 oz. It was developed and sold by the now defunct Gene Porter & Son Seed Company based in Stephenville, TX, so was bred for pretty much exactly the same climate that we have here.

  • scottcalv
    8 years ago

    I do not plant a ton of tomatoes. Usually about a dozen at a time or so. I am a pepper lover. But the 2 varieties that always go in my garden for the red slicer/salsa category are...
    Early Girl and Jet Star. The early girls start early and produce all summer even in the heat. The Jet Stars produce big round pretty and tasty tomatoes reliably in our summer.

    And of course Sweet 100s.

    For the yellow category I am starting to like Dad's Sunset, but it is not a heavy producer.

    Then there is Black Krim and Cherokee Purple and Black Cherry and.....where do I stop?!

    This year though I am setting out just a few transplants and later in the spring going to plant seed for a fresh round of tomatoes in the fall. Even the the Jet Star looks ragged and produces smaller toms in the fall. I have reconfigured my garden beds and have managed to make room for TWO MORE beds in the same place w/out crowding the walkways. Yay!


  • docjoc
    8 years ago

    Ladies thank you so much for your expert advice !

  • ttsully66
    8 years ago

    Brandywine Sudduth, Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, and Arkansas Traveller.


  • Shelley Smith
    8 years ago

    I can't figure out how to edit my posts on this new forum lol! But I 'just looked' at the tomato seedlings TLC has, and they were so much bigger than my seedlings and I thought how nice it would be to have tomatoes in the salad by the end of May when I have company visiting... so I succumbed to temptation and bought an Early Girl (which I have never tried before) and a Sun Sugar. I love Sun Gold except for the notorious cracking problem, so wanted to see if I like Sun Sugar as well - it apparently doesn't have the cracking problem? Both should be starting to produce by the end of May since I planted them last weekend.

    Now, after reading posts here with my morning coffee, I really want to try Texas Wild Cherry/Matt's Wild Cherry/Mexico Midget, which I understand are the same variety or very similar. I am very impressed that they are drought tolerant and keep producing in the heat, and I love the small bite sized tomatoes. Has anyone here seen any of these at local nurseries in the OKC area? If not, I'll put it on my Must Try list for next year...