Least productive heirlooms

10 years ago

It's funny that on the Most Productive Heirlooms thread, several people listed Kellog's Breakfast. I came on the forum today because my Kellog's Breakfast (first year growing it, although many years with other heirlooms) has been very miserly on production, while its neighboring tomato plants have been prolific. I was expecting to see KB in a list of least productive toms.

So let's list our leaast productive varieties anyway, maybe we'll help somebody avoid a mistake in the future.

Aside from Kellog's Breakfast, my least productive variety in the past has been Manyel.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

macbettz
10 years ago
Purple Russian, Hillbilly, Green Zebra
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
10 years ago
Anything with "Brandywine" in its name.
Related Professionals
Citrus Heights Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Severn Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Clark Landscape Contractors · Cupertino Landscape Contractors · Hendersonville Landscape Contractors · Morrisville Landscape Contractors · Rockland Landscape Contractors · Pooler General Contractors · Coshocton General Contractors · ‘Ewa Beach General Contractors · Owosso General Contractors · Parkersburg General Contractors · Tuckahoe General Contractors · Palmetto Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Somerville Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures
digdirt2
10 years ago
It isn't just variety. Depends to a great deal on your location and the many variables of the growing conditions provided . Like Barry, many list Brandywine yet for others in cooler zones it is rated as very productive.

For you in your zone vs. my zone the "least productive" would be very different. Not to mention the very different growing conditions provided. And course you can never compare production from containers vs. in-ground plants.

Don't know where macbetz lives but Hillbilly is always good for me. But then so is KB. Except of course for last year's drought when nothing was great. Even Cherokee Purple was lousy production last year but I wouldn't put it on a list for least productive by any means.

I would list Anna Russian and Earl's Faux as low production for me but I still grow Earl's.

Dave
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
10 years ago
Dave makes a good point about different growing conditions. I thought I had always given every variety the "Benefit of the doubt" but every year we get a heat wave and heirloom tomato production slows. This year I've installed a shade cloth over the one greenhouse where most heirloom varieties are grown and I'll likely install one on the other larger structure.

I've never had a situation when I only picked 3 tomatoes from one plant but a person did relate that experience to me about a Hillbilly plant. I never thought much about Anna Russian but the 2 plants I have this year seem to have over 30 larger green fruits hanging on them now so I can't complain about that one. I'm still growing Earl's Faux too but when my seed stock runs out I'll not reorder, not for reasons of production but b/c it just doesn't stand out. Dave, you'll have to defend your reasons for supporting that variety.

I assumed everyone got loads of Green Zebra tomatoes. They are a bit late for such a small fruited type but almost everyone likes the yield that I talked to. As for Kelloggs Breakfast, it isn't so much a matter of the number of fruit but the overall weight of the crop. Give KBX version a try for a little better yield of that larger orange tomato.
Julie717
10 years ago
I think if there is any variety you really want to grow it's a good idea to give it 2-3 years before giving up. The first year I grew Cherokee Purple (2011) I only got a few tomatoes that the caterpillars got to before I did, but last year I got tons of tomatoes from it.