The "best tasting" tomato is in the taste buds of the beholder. No agreement among folks as to which is the best.

Taste what you can. Grow your favorites under good conditions, among them full day sunlight. Enjoy in the garden while juice drips down your arm.

Not satisfied? Grow another kind, etc. IE. repeat as needed 'til you find what you're looking for.

How do you describe "TastyER"? Do you like sweet, tart , juicy, meaty ? . To me, store bought s are not tasty because they lack juice and sweetness.

Purp, I'm not sure I agree with your basic premise 100%. People like and dislike different kinds of tomatoes for personal reasons, so to them, no matter how well grown a particular kind of tomato may be, they may not personally care for it.
I don't think you can guarantee great taste only by soil type and composition (although good soil is important).

Hi Purplethumb ,

If you sampled some tomatoes that you thought were really amazingly tasty, why not ask the person who shared them with you what variety they could have been. If you can get some of those varieties, that will be a good start.

Growing in good soil, amended by compost would probably help, and water as little as necessary, so as not to dilute the flavor.

Linda

A successful tomato is like a successful party. Prepare the best you can let nature take it's course. Lately my best trick is to make sure the plant is fed properly. In past years I've had a bias toward underfertilizing. Not this year. My plants are dark green with bright yellow blossoms, and they look really healthy. Also spray fungicide early rather than after it's too late.

I'm a gifter... always sharing good tom crops with friends and neighbors.
In season around NYC and NJ, the farm stand toms can be very good and abundant.

Store bought, hot house grown, picked early and green, varieties grown for transport and shelf-life, are bland and watery. Companions for iceberg and Diner salads...bottled blue cheese dressing or 'ranch'.
-the exception being the Cumato i had this past snowy January when my local market had them on sale for 4 lbs for 5$. A winter treat.

Finding what does well in your healthy soil and climate/zone, will give exceptional flavor picked just shy of ripe. Some i eat in the garden as snacking, ripe on the vine...others are counter ripened if a heavy rain is expected....
Anna Russian here may not be the same there. I grow many varieties not knowing what my season may be like. My first tray of starts is a mixed variety as is the second...the third tray is all oxhearts from TGS (tomato growers supply)...a row of each. They consistently give a good crop of meaty toms without trouble and great flavor. Sweet and tart.

A local small garden center can give great advice as to what grows best in your climate and soil as well as a neighbor or friend...
Buying a few healthy starts locally is a good beginning.

{{!gwi}}