my intention is to grow it hydroponically...

imo. good luck on a good tasting one.

but you can get good production. good luck.

my most productive tomato ever was Pale Perfect Purple aka Purple Perfect followed by VB russia and Kosovo. As for taste the PPP was outstanding.The Kosovo and VB Russia was nice as well.

Variety won't be your issue. Your growing conditions will be. But Rutgers meets all your criteria when grown under normal conditions. Taste/flavor is the first thing to go when hydroponics is used.

Dave

Marglobe has been a very heavy producer for me.

i should mention that growing outdoors isnt an option, no part of my yard gets any amount of direct sunlight... its great to have all that shade to enjoy my backyard, i just cant grow anything there... so i dont have the option to grow a lot outdoors

also, forgot to mention i want something indeterminate... in all honesty, im used to the tomatoes i get in the grocery store so far... so.. highest yielding.. meaning most pounds of tomatoes in a given period of time is what i want first... second is flavor.. but optimal is a good balance of the two

I'm growing a mortgage lifter plant hydroponically right now and it's setting fruit really well. Each cluster has between 6 to 10 fruit, and the smallest looks to be around 10 ounces. I'm pretty impressed with it's performance as far as yield, but, I haven't gotten to taste any of them yet, as they haven't ripened.

So, there's one vote for the good old Mortgage Lifter, at least for production.

Heidi or New Zealand Pear--both bear tons of delicious tomatoes!

Carla in Sac

Animus,

I'm a huge fan of BIG BEEF. I know it's a hybrid but it has great disease resistance, sets a lot of fruit and they taste great. Check out my latest post "binster's here with PICS and take a look at this year's crop. You can also check "TIMMY1" who grows BIG BEEF commercially in his greenhouse

Just a thought,

Have you tried searching this topic in the hydroponics forums? You may find some good threads in there. If not, then maybe posting the question there would bring back some good results.

I have never grown any tomatoes hydroponically, but the most productive tasty tomato I have grown in my garden has to be Mule Team. The second would probably be Burgundy Traveler.

well i guess that gives me a lot of plants to try... hydroponics is going to be something worth learning since one way or another im going to scale this up enogh to keep me and my future family fed... though by then i hope to have a big chunk of land, and intend to build the house with a southward facing wall in an open area to build a green house onto attached to the main house with a door in the kitchen

imagine walking into what would normally be your pantry, and instead its a hydroponic green house with all the fresh fruits and veggies you could ever want?... thats my long term goal, so im doing a lot of smaller stuff for now first

I am thinking 2 thoughts.

1. Big Beef as far as your needs are concerned.

2. Hydroponics are prolific, but do they truly represent the tomato plants potential taste-wise?

This is a tough question.

Due to the water on second thought, some may say your answer is in the Earth.

I do not know your land layout.

Rosa de Berne

if seed savers haven't screwed it up is an excellent choice. It was always high yielding, rich flavored and medium sized.

I have seen ones people call that and do not appear or taste like the ones I got from Europe in the early 90's.

I'm always amazed by the folks who write "Hydroponics doesn't taste as good" but have not grown Hydroponically. Do it then tell me what you believe. I've been growing corn tomatoes and peppers for years, indoor, and am absolutely happy with the results. I'd eat my food before any outdoor garden or store bought product.

To:animus_divinus: The answer is yes and it will taste awesome. I know this post is a year old. so hopefully you've already tried... What are your results???

Rutgers and Marglobe were average tasting at best when I grew them.

Better Boy hybrid

Bingster, How you doing bud. Glad to hear your had a good crop
as ALWAYS:). Don't send him to TIMMY1, when he see's his plants loaded with fruit he will be hooked!! Ami

i vote better boy too....but other large varieties are not that far behind when everything is right....trying mountain pride this year, a 3 or 4 ft bush tomato about 10 oz size, just plant and pick, no pruning....will start at different times for continuous production...i think i have some bush champion seeds too....need large strong cage for better boy...the indian