Gardener

I, myself, have to deal with the footage and short/cool season limitations. In other words, I do not have the luxury of trying everything I like, in terms of variety and quantity. I need to narrow down my choices to about 10 to 12 plants, at the most. And I have to focus on early and mid season varieties
Needless to say, that I want to grow for taste and for some reasonable production .

With those in mind, I am studying the possibilities. So far, I am almost decided on the followings:
STUPICE
SUNGOLD
BLACK PRINCESS,
SWEET N NEAT

considering:
Rambling Red Strip (DTM~45)
Oregon Spring (DTM ~60)
Bloody Butcher (DTM ~55)
Black Krim (DTM ~80)
Costaluto (DTM ~80)
Persimmon (DTM ~80)
Mortgage Lifter (DTM ~80)
German Johnson (DTM ~65)

OK. Lets see what your plans are.
Do you care to comment about my preliminary selections?
I would certainly appreciate them.

Thank you

**************************************************************
EDITION, REVISIONS:
In this part I will revise my previous choices:
8/30/13: : A) Add Paul Robeson, ,,, Isis Candy, Cherokee Purple,

I will be growing Stupice again and trying Bloody Butcher, Isis Candy and Momotara. I will be participating in a seed swap, so hopefully, I will get some early ones that are supposed to be good, such as Kimberley, Peace Vine, Matt's Wild Cherry and Honey Drop.

I grew Black Krim this year, but preferred the taste of Cherokee Purple which is similar. CP was early for me too, so will definitely grow it again next year.

I thought the best tasting tomato in my garden was Rose de Bern, although she suffered a lot of BER when nothing else did.

I always grow cherries as I love them in salads and for snacking. Black Cherry and Reisentraube were surprisingly tasty this year, and my OP Sweet Million was great as always, and larger than most cherries. I also plan to grow Blondkopfchen, which I recently tasted and thought it very tasty.

Linda

I understand that zone 7b Washington isn't the same as zone 7b in Arkansas but many Washington state tomato growers don't consider theirs a short/cool season, especially when compared to the limitations that exist in many other parts of the country.

Make sure you aren't imposing unnecessary limitations on yourself, especially when many of them are easily eliminated.

Dave

What do you think this "Rainbow" Triple combo:
=== Brandywine Amber
=== Green Zebra
=== Marvel Strip
I have decide to stop growing BW. I don't know if this one is much different.

Linda

That was my point - 1 month on either end can be fixed with just WOWs or clothes or a low tunnel and give you a full normal 7b season. Easy to do with only 10 or so plants.

Even here I can extend my season by 6 weeks into almost a zone 8 season with various types of season extenders. Needless to say I don't try to do it with 100 plants but a selective 10-15 plants is easy.

HIGHS REACH 86F AND BEYOND. and also our night time low temps RARELY stay higher than 64FNormal is 56F-62F

Sounds almost ideal for tomatoes in many respects.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with limiting yourself to mid-season varieties but earlies lean heavily to the bleh side in flavor.

Agree on the Green Zebra - IMO it should be allowed to die off. :) Look at Ball's Beefsteak (I), Bella Rosa (D), Eva Purple Ball (I), Jetsetter (I), Northern Lights, Tie Dye, and Old German for multi-colors (all I).

Dave

The black and green zebra tomatoes I grow more for novelty purposes than for flavour; they look great in a salad with other heirloom tomatoes.

I grew both Sungold and Sunsugar this year and I would have to give the edge to Sunsugar for flavour. My Isis Candy is producing and although it is a very nice looking cherry tomato, it isn't as sweet as I was expecting.

Brandy Boy should not be discounted just because it's a hybrid. (That is, if you're a OP purist.;-)) It holds the benefits of a hybrid (resistance/yield) and the flavor of an heirloom. (See free shipping post from Burpee this weekend if you think you're interested.)

Thanks again.

Thanks for your comments. We all do have some limitations and are faced with challenges, don't we . To me, this adds some spice to gardening. Imagine a perfect climate that you had no difficulties and everything you planted grew without any problems ! That would've been no fun. Everybody could do it.

This was my first season of gardening in PNW and learned few thing here. I used to garden in North GA (zone 8a) before, and faced the same things that you are talking about.

So far I am almost decides on my choices . Here they are:
Essentials:
-----------------------
STUPICE (Early )
SUNGOLD(y. cherry)
SWEET RED(cherry)
SWEET N NEAT (cherry, red & Gold, plant in pots)
.EARLY GIRL (Productivity, Early)
BLACK KRIM (Taste)

Supplements:
......................................
GREEN ZEBRA (Novelty)
MARVEL STRIPE(Novelty)
MORTGAGE LIFTER (Memorial)

Possibly
..................................
PERSIMMON
BLOODY BUTCHER
................................

Disclaimer: Subject to additions and deletions. Haha

I will then plant ML with added confidence.
Plus , I wiil consider adding SUNSUGAR .

I like your followings.

On the considerings: In my garden/climate, German Johnson is not earlier than Mortgage Lifter. I’ve never seen it produce at or about 65 days.

Of stated responses, I agree with fcivish, but with adding Mountain Princess and Black Prince to the considerations. I will never grow Early girl again, so I cannot recommend it.

I am anticipating an exiting 2014 season.

Happy Gardening !
.

I tasted the Persimmon tomato and it was good, not a lot of gel and seeds. The plant was very healthy but it wasn't very prolific, only produced about three tomatoes per plant but these tomatoes were a good size and in perfect condition.

I was on the fence about Isis Candy but I have since had some that were very sweet and flavourful. I would grow these again.

Here is one more suggestion - Japanese Black Trifele. I've grown these for a couple of years now, and they are prolific and taste good.

Edit to add: I grew Sweet Baby Girl cherry tomatoes and they were perfect little jewels that tasted like...blah. No flavour whatsoever...will not grow again. Sweet 100's or Sweet Millions would be my choice for red cherry toms.

So, Persimmon is scratched out and probably BLOODY BUTCHER. I want different kinds/size tomatoes.

@Macbeth,
I am planning on no more than 3 cherry types in ground.

@Linda,
I cannot grow something with a name that long LOL

For bigger cherry, I'll probably go for CHADWICK at Carolyn's recommendation.
After a lot of consideration, I have decided to grow Early Girl again. Not so much because it is early, but because it is the most productive tomato plant I have ever grown. We have been harvesting since mid July and right now it is loaded. Maybe over 50 tomatoes. Lots of them are about 8 oz, some smaller. Taste is ok.

So here is my revisin:

STUPICE
SUNGOLD
SUNSUGAR
CHADWICK ...
EARLY GIRL
BLACK KRIM
MORTGAGE LIFTER
SWEET N NEAT (IN POTs)
AUNT RUBY'S (or AUNT GERTI'S)
CHEROKEE PURPLE.

That is about my limit .
lets read your list !

ARGG was perhaps the first really large GW ripe and I met Aunt Ruby's niece when I was at SSE one year and we had a great talk, But since then many other GWRipes have come along and a couple of us had predicted that the next fad,after the so called blacks would be the GWRipes, and that certainlyhas happened.

Carolyn

And the winner is: ..Aunt Gerties Gold.
And I need a sunshine on my shoulder too. will see.

Kosovo have been my most productive tomato, mine are small, (like a roma in size), but I'll be getting at least 70-80 from the plant.

Prudens Purple have been my largest tomatoes this year, and possibly the best tasting ones - to my palette. (I havent grown Cherokee Purple)

Another favorite this year has been Belmonte, probably because they are such beautiful pear shaped tomatoes, but also, nice sized, prolific and tasty.

One of the biggest problems with the green tomatoes is that most people aren't confident in them, and they let them ripen way too much. I agree that Green Zebra, Green Grape, Evergreen, and almost all of the green tomatoes have this same problem. When they are over ripe they are absolutely and simply horrid. Unfortunately, that is how most people eat them.

Yet done properly, they are delightful. Green Grape (when it isn't too ripe) has a nice sweet-tangy flavor. Green Zebra, when it isn't too ripe, is something special. Aunt Rubys German Green is one of my top 10 favorite tomatoes. Period.

Here is the trick with Green Zebra (and Green Grape and most green tomatoes): First, get used to TOUCHING your tomatoes. Not just these, but others, so you can learn some comparison. An unripe (green) tomato, no matter WHAT its eventual color should be, will always FEEL unripe and hard. But when a tomato is significantly on the way to ripeness, it will begin to soften. THAT is when you pick and eat Green Zebra, and the others. In addition, Green Zebra and Green Grape (but not all green tomatoes), will start to blush just a bit yellow. A tint to part of the outer skin (but the flesh remains green, and most of the skin is till clearly very green). That is when you should pick them and eat them. And they should still have just a bit of firmness, LIKE YOU WOULD EXPECT WITH ALMOST ANY TOMATO. No matter the color or variety, any tomato that is too soft is almost surely over ripe, and past its flavor peak. (Paste tomatoes possibly being one exception.) Some tomatoes tolerate this softness and over-ripeness, somewhat, but green tomatoes are almost universally undesirable when they are too soft and over ripe. In addition, Green Zebra and Green Grape and some other greens will eventually start to get ORANGE tints to their skin. That is usually going too far. Just a slight hint of orange might be okay, but if there is very much orange at all in the skin, it is too ripe. Other green tomatoes don't get this orange, but they frequently get very dark green (not the medium green you would expect). Again, too ripe.

Green varieties of tomatoes are delicious. If you haven't tried them, you really should. You owe it to yourself to experience them, when ripened to the right degree. Far from just a novelty, they are very WORTHY of inclusion by any tomato connoisseur. But they are a BIT more difficult than a standard tomato, because you need to be able to judge their ripeness, without the OBVIOUS color change that comes to red tomatoes. If you learn to gauge ripeness by feel and the subtle color changes, it will also help you with orange, black and purple tomatoes, all of which are also sometimes difficult to gauge properly.

So please experiment. Try them. And pick some of them as soon as they start to show a sign of softness. What do you have to lose? Are you afraid it might be TOO GREEN? So what? Deal with it. Then give them just 3 or 4 days and try again. Once you learn it, you will be happy you did.

--- Aunt Ruby's German Green, is just like unripe green tomato. There is no visual appeal there, to me.
--- Aunt Gerty's Gold actually is not a TRUE green tomato, as the name suggests it is just an orange yellow.

--- But I like Green Zebra's green-yellow stripy color pattern, And when cut, it has a different color pattern inside.

So, back to square one: GREEN ZEBRA(lol)

Despite some unfavorable comments on Green Zebra and Bloody Butcher and my own yo yoing , finally I am decided to grow both of them. In addition, I have two more determinants:

1) SIBERIA: claimed to be " An excellent cool weather variety, that can set fruits at low night temperatures. Small to medium sized tomatoes, productive, DET., 2 to 2 1/2 feet plant , will produces RIPE fruits as early as 48 days .."

This perfectly fits the bill for what I need.

2) SILETS: Determinant: Fruit size 10 -20 oz., Early (DTM = 65), Developed by Oregon State University (about 200 miles from here). It is developed for our PNW area's cooler weather. I am betting that it will do well.

Changes:

--- Matina instead of Stupice

--- Cherokee Purple, in place of Black Krim. My BK performed poorly past season.

Time to get to preparation work. I will sow early Feb.

I grow my plants using a combination of a drop-line technique and a Florida Weave. This provides good support and circulation. I prune to only remove suckers.

I have three tomato locations:
Cherry growth (using a 8' 2x4's with netting)
Experimental patch (drop line technique using 8' 1x1 to make an A-frame scaffolding)
"Bread and Butter" patch (same as above)

I water all using drip irrigation.

Below is my 1st draft for choices this year. It's a combination of varieties I have grown in the past and done well with and "experimental" varieties that I'd like to try out.

Cherry
1. Sweet 100 (hybrid; always does great)
2. Black Cherry (OP; always does great)
3. Sun Gold (hybrid: very sweet with moderate harvest)
4. Dr. Carolyn’s (OP; stellar producer but takes a while to get going)
5. Riesentraube (OP; never tried will be my experimental variety this year)

Early Season
1. Heidi (OP; produced well for me and keep providing throughout the season; better than Kimberly)
2. Martina (OP; experimental this year)

Mid-Season
1. Gregori’s Altai (OP; huge tomatoes; very happy with the harvest I got last year)
2. Noir de Crimee (OP; good medium sized black tomato; has been one of my best blacks so far)
3. Golden Queen (OP; USDA Strain) - this succumbed to disease last year. I’m going to give it a try again b/c it is spoken of so highly

Late Season
1. Pineapple (OP; decent harvest; very tasty tomato)
2. Hugh’s (OP; great harvest; medium sized yellow/orange tomatoes)
3. Aunt Ruby’s (OP; experimental)
4. German Red Strawberry (OP; experimental)

Standard Plot (my “bread and butter” variety that I do in groups of three)
1. Black Cherokee (OP)
2. Kellogg’s Breakfast (OP; KBX strain)

Here's a list of varieties I'm interested in learning more about:

Red Cherry:
Amish Salad
Matt's Wild Cherry
Gardener's Delight
Isis Candy
Husky Red
Chadwick
Mountain Magic (HY)
Elfin
Green Cherry:
Green Zebra
Green Doctors
Green Doctors Frosted
Yellow Cherry:
Galina's

Bi-Color Cherry:
Blush
Black Cherry:
Indigo Rose
Early Season:
Pink Honey
Mid-Season:
Frembgens Rheinlands Ruhm
Eva Purple Ball
Stump of the World
Momotaro (HY)
Jet Star (HY)
Late-Season:
Gold Medal (Bi-color)
JD's Special C-Tex
Brandywine Red Landis Valley
Rose
Neves Azorean
Supersonic (HY)

smithmal

So far we have been mostly talking about our picks, Let's talk a bit about how to make it all happen, ie. SOWING and germination, and planting out.

My last frost date here is around mid April. So if the weather was warm and nice, I might even start plant out earlier and stand by to protect them.

So, lets say the earliest I can plant out is April 1st. WHEN SHOULD I START GERMINATING MY SEEDS ? I want to have real nice 8 to 10 inch seedlings. If I count back 8 weeks, then I should start roughly by early February. That is probably what I am going to do : THREE WEEKS FROM NOW.
In the mean time I'll be working on some slow growing peppers and eggplants.

Happy Gardening !
Not much time time left, folks. Before you know it Spring will arrive. I have been telling you this since last September : hahaha

- Ramapo (about 7) by Rutgers
- Moreton (1 or 2 to try) By Rutgers/Harris I think
- KC-146 (1 or 2 to try) By Rutgers
- Cherokee Purple unless their is a more prolific dark tomatoe with great taste? (1 or 2)
- 4th of July (2 to 3) By Burpee or may use last years unamed seeds that produced well.
- A Yellow tomatoe that is prolific? (I did Kellogs last summer but I think I planted them too late and had Blossom End Rot) But I think it was my mixture or container but also willing to try again.

I may also try the Rutgers from Rutgers, I think Rutgers University is selling it's seeds this year (not sure of the difference from other seed companies but they did not sell the seeds at least by my knowledge last year) But rumor has it from their site that they are on the trail to bring back the original "retro rutgers" within a few years. I can't wait

I am also open for suggestions from a Burpee variety. I am interested in Big Daddy, Brandy Boy or Super Sauce. These will be mainly for making gravy.

I admit that I don't have alot of knowledge regarding hybrid tomatoes. What is your experience with the Ramapo tomato. Looks like a black tomato, what is the taste like, size of tomato, leaf style, etc. There isn't much on it at the NJ ordering site.

For a yellow tomato, I've had good success with Hugh's. It pretty prolific, provides fruit relatively early and keeps pumping them out until frost.

smithmal

Gardener's Delight- very steady year from from year
Isis Candy- favorite forever

Green Cherry:
Green Zebra
Green Doctors
Green Doctors Frosted- better than GD but still I miss lot since I can not get when they ripe

Bi-Color Cherry:
Blush- great looking for salads
Black Cherry:- like a lot
Indigo Rose- love for many things
Early Season:
Pink Honey- low production, great taste

Stump of the World- very late for me but well worth the wait
Momotaro (HY)- great
Jet Star (HY)- forget it

I grew 5 of them last year and each one was prolific which high yields also the taste was great. I also gave Ramapo plants to about 5 other people and they said the same. I also grew 4th of July which was good also I used the Ramapo tomatoes mainly for tomato salad I was also to the point where I was giving out more tomatoes then eating.

I am 3 years into growing so no expert at all but I highly recomend it, aslo I heard great stuff about the Moreton which is similar to Jetstar I think? As for staking/caging this year I will invest in high quality cages, I staked them (not to good) and the vines shot everywhere mainly sideways (I also didnt prune) but each vine had many tomatoes. Just be cautious of how heavy they get.

For the yellow I will check out the hugh.

My preliminary list subject to change daily: :0

Green Zebra
Kellogg's Breakfast
Cherokee Purple
Pruden's Purple
Armenian
Neves Azorian Red
Italian Heirloom
Big Beef OP
Opalka
Stupice
Rutgers
Yellow Brandywine
Unknown German Red
Unknown German Pink

Welcome any comments or additions. Trying to grow about 10 new varieties each year and save seeds and regrow the favorites.

But I will also be planting 12 Big Beefs. 2 to grow as backup (because some years the heirlooms just dont produce at all), but mostly as grafting rootstock I am trying this year for half the heirlooms...

I am interested in grafting as well. Have you had experience with it in the past? What grafting technique are you using? Is there a reason you are choosing Big Beefs over Celebrity? I'm not convinced that the expensive rootstocks (Beaufort, Maxifort, etc) are any better than grafting onto a robost hybrid.

smithmal

I'm growing on a deck in Earthboxes (2 boxes, 2 plants per box) and very large ceramic pots. This is the list I've come up with so far from reading posts on here and online reviews:

BETTER BUSH VFN HYBRID (Compact indet. 68 days)
MARGHERITA VF HYBRID (Determinate. 72 days)
MOMOTARO (Indeterminate. 70 days)
NEW BIG DWARF (Determinate. 60 days)
OPALKA (Indeterminate. 75 days)
PRINCIPE BORGHESE (Determinate 80 days)
RUTGERS VFA (Determinate. 75 days.)

If anyone sees potential issues or gaps in this list, I'd be happy to know.

Deanna

I like your picks for container growing. Good number of determinants and EARLY_MID season varieties. I am also leaning on the same side. I have about 4 DETS and few EARLY to MID varietie. Most of what I am going to grow are new and experimental to me like:
MATINA, SIBERIA, BLOODY BUTCHER, SILETZ, EARLY TREAT, GREEN ZEBRA, SUNGOLD, MOTGAGE LIFTER, ..

I will wait till mid Feb. to start germinating seeds.

I am tilling up another small patch to add to my garden so I will be able to add a few more tomato plants. These are my maybe tomatoes. I can add 5 or 6 plants.

Hillbilly (regular leaf). I grew thse last year and I really enjoyed them but I want to give Pineapple a chance. I have heard they taste the same.
Big Rainbow
German Lunchbox
Mortgage Lifter
Pink Oxheart
Indigo Rose
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge
German Johnson
Black Seaman
Sugar Lump
Pink Ping Pong
Voyage
Yellow Pear
Red Pear

If anybody likes or dislikes any of the tomatoes from my second list, feel free to let me know. I have never tried any of them besides Hillbilly. I have seeds for all of them.

Linda

These I have ordered from Darrel at Selected Plants; haven't gotten a confirmation but I am hoping that I will get all of them:
Estler’s Mortgage Lifter
Big Rainbow
Big Zebra
Cherokee Purple
Orange Oxheart
German Red Strawberry

These I will start from seed:
Chocolate Cherry
SunSugar
A red beefsteak hybrid that I picked up at the after-season sale at Discount DrugMart last fall, can't remember the name
June Pink (I must remember to get these ordered ASAP!)
And I think I will add a red cherry - any recommendations?

And all of this is assuming the ground will thaw out at some point!!! BRRRR!!!!

Edie

Cherries:

Blonde Kopfchen
Brandywine Cherry
Chadwick Cherry (red)
Carbon Copy
Dr Carolyn Pink
Medovaya Kapyla
Purple Bumblebee
Sweet Linda (red)
Tommy Toe (red)

Brandywine Cowlicks
Costoluto Genovese
Eva Purple Ball
Fish Lake Oxheart
Momotaro (Hybrid)
Purple Haze
Pruden's Purple

Earlies:

Bloody Butcher
Jagodka (cherry) (container)
Kimberley
Sophie's Choice (container)

Linda

My opinion on your 2nd list:

Pineapple: the most prolific bi-color I've tried so far. Other bi-color's I've tried include Lucky Cross, Marvel Stripe and Virginia Sweets. I'm trying Hillbilly this season.
Big Rainbow - no opinion
German Lunchbox - no opinion
Mortgage Lifter - everyone speaks highly of this so you might as well try it out
Pink Oxheart - no opinion
Indigo Rose - as the other poster noted, it would seem the IR is more for show than taste. I have it on my list for this season, but am thinking of crossing it off due to it's subpar flavor
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge
German Johnson - everyone speaks highly of this so you might as well try it out
Black Seaman - no opinion
Sugar Lump - no opinion
Pink Ping Pong - I am growing this for the 1st time this season
Voyage - no opinion
Yellow Pear - this is on many people's "will never grow again" list. I have grown this and the flavor is very bland
Red Pear - no opinion

Of your list I would try Hillbilly and Pineapple (to compare), Mortgage Lifter, Pink Ping Pong and German Johnson.

smithmal

Marvel Strip is one that I would like to try...probably next year.

I grew hillbilly last year (regular leaf). The plants fruit production was a little less than mediocre (at least for me). Not good but not bad either. It was worth growing though because it is a pretty tasty tomato.

Picture is one of my Hillbilly tomatoes from last year.

I am also going to grow "LEGEND". This has bee developed by the Oregon State university. It is now an OP. What is more is that it is early (~ 67 days), DET and LB resistant.

here an internet picture.

Anna Russian
Legend
JD's Early Black
New Big Dwarf
Chico III
Juliet
Big Beef

Only 33% (1 of 3 each) from,
Rumi Banjon
Dona

And none at all from 3 each of,
Black Cherry
Bloody Butcher

Seeds for Break O' Day and Danko have yet to arrive. Will give my poor germinaters a couple of more days to make a showing before replanting.

@whosurtomato,
yeah. Tell me about it. I will start mine in about 2 - 3 weeks, like Feb 7 -15. Our temps are lingering between 30s and low 50s. This will last for months until the rain season ends.
I am just trying to restrain myself here. I have already started bunch of peppers. But then most peppers are slow growing.

I have about 12 varieties in my list. But it can go up or down.

~Viv

~Viv

I just started germinating a few varieties I got at the local nursery.

Anyone have any recommendations for Texas 8a? I also want to start saving seeds, and building a collection for exchanges.

Early season = less than 65 days from planting outdoors to harvest (i.e. DTM)
Midseason = between 65 - 80 days
Late season = more than 80 days

Syntria - can't speak to the best tomatoes for 8a, but for seed saving and exchanging you're going to want to adequately protect your flowers from cross-pollination. You'll either need to:
1. Ensure that varieties are separated 25' or more (which few people can do)
2. Bag flowers before they open with barrier (Tulle fabric, etc.). Wait until all flowers set fruit, remove the barrier and mark the flower branch somehow so you know which fruits to harvest seeds from when they mature.

smithmal

smithmal

For 8a in Texas I can unhesitatingly recommend

Jd's Early Black, For great tasting early and productive tomatoes.
Sioux, A very good red tomato that is productive and well suited to conditions here.
Juliet, My wife's favorite cherry thrives here.

Also see Texas A&M's Aggie Horticulture vegetable variety selector, for varieties specifically selected for your county. 8A in Texas covers a large and diverse area.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/veg_variety/

ABlindHog, what would be a good late tomato? I'm right on the cusp of 8A/B.

~Viv

~Viv
***********************************
Well, that is NOT what EARLY, MID, LATE season means.
It just means about STARTING time of ripe tomatoes.
An EARLY can continue fruiting till the end of season . So does MID and LATE..
However, Some DETERMINANT varieties might produce for a short time. BUT not all EARLY and MID season varieties are determinants.
Tomato is not like BEAN, for example, To produce just one flush and then expire. Most tomatoes continuously produce, given that they are taken care of properly.