Have you checked out the Tomato Forum? I don't know how many of those folks are from SC, but they may come up with some good ideas.
PB

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Forum

Hi:
There are various websites and specialty tomato catalogs that will say things like "tollerates humidity" and "crack resistant". These are keys to choosing a great tomato for the south.
I would check out the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and also Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for some suggestions.

GGG

I live a little further south. Every year I plant 4 or 5 regulars and experiment with a few others.

The ones that consistently do well in my garden include:
Viva Italia (plum)
Sun Gold (cherry)
Sweet Tangerine (Burpee's)

For years Big Beef was a reliable producer, but that hasn't been the case in recent years.

I get so-so production from Cherokee Purple & Aker's West Virginia, but they'll be in the garden again this year.

Last year I tried Brandy Boy (Burpees) and have added it to the list this year.

New varieties I'm trying this year:
Mortgage Lifter
Costoluto Genovese
Tiffany
Tangerine
La Roma II (plum)

Harper

I have tried heirloom varieties and others like Rutgers and Celebrity but Better Boy is my favorite. I also grow a plant or two of the small salad tomatoes like Sweet 100. I NEVER grow Patio tomatoes even though they have the best looking foliage.

My vote for the tastiest Roma-type paste tomato is Principe Borghese. It dries on the vine for "sun-dried" tomatoes (or in the dehydrator), makes thick salsa and paste, and is great just sliced. I even convinced my DH that it was better than Roma. It produced the longest in the hottest months over the other paste-type tomatoes. It has to live in a cage because it is so prolific it will split the vines from the weight of the clumps of fruit.

For slicing fresh for B-L-T's the two that were most prolific last year in our hot humid summer were Brandy, Heatwave, and Big Rainbow. I think the best flavored is Coustralee but it lags later in the season. Rutger's is the one my DH uses exclusively for canned sauce, V-8-type juice, and whole.

If you plant one of each of a dozen different kinds of tomatoes, you'll have something good to eat all summer and lots of flavor varieties. I like yellow cherry-type tomatoes to munch on while I'm gardening so I went with Sun Gold and Yellow Pear - this year I'm going to grow Ildi too, for Tomato Preserves (Jam) on a recommendation from a southern gardener who grows thousands of heirloom tomatoes. Do check out the Tomato forum - and don't forget the exchanges. There are lots of us who like to trade tomato seeds for other stuff so you won't have to buy a dozen seed packages to get just one plant of each.

Why, oh why, are we talking about tomatoes in February??? My mouth is watering and it will be months before I get to chomp on any!!!!

Nancy the nancedar

We moved to Manning, SC in September, from NW CT. We're used to single digit temps and snow still on the ground at this time of year, so I'm just LOVING it here! But I've gotten a little ahead of myself: I bought several tomato plants (nothing special, they just looked very nice and healthy at WalMart) and now that I'm looking for some specifics on growing them in SC, I'm seeing that a lot of people grow them in containers because they have so many problems putting them in the ground. Can anyone give me a cram course in tomato growing in zone 8? We live in a 13 year old house on the golf course, don't think anyone has ever amended the soil since the house was built. We're removing some very old boring plantings to replace them with some better stuff, and the soil is a mix of sand and clay and not a worm in sight (but plenty in my compost bin). Any help will be appreciated!!

You may want to review information from South Carolina Agricultural Extension Department. The link below is for some information provided through Clemson University which is part of the extension department service. Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Basics for South Carolina

The best thing I've found for tomatoes is the self-watering planters sold by Gardener's Supply. Last summer was very dry and the temps stayed in the 90's for weeks on end. The two plants in these containers out-produced the eight I planted out by two to one.

when is the best time to start a fall garden in sw louisiana?