Midseason, more slicing, canning, sauce, salsa my criteria.

More specific criteria would be helpful and how many plants are we talking about?

For example there is no need to grow specific varieties for canning or for sauce or for salsa. Any and all varieties will work fine for all three. So if growing 35+ plants then your selections can be unlimited. But if growing only 10 you would want some determinate types for the canning, sauce, and salsa making so that you have enough ripe at one time to be worth the time of making it.

You have a number on your list that I could easily skip growing - Glicks, Ellis, Turks, Reif, Neal, Marek, Milka, Yugoslavian, Indish, the Moldovan, etc. and only a few I would strongly recommend. But then I don't know your reasons for including them either so knowing your selection criteria - production, size, disease resistance, flavor (although a BIG variable), type (I or D) etc. would make it easier.

Lastly, will you be growing from seed or buying transplants? I assume from seed as most on your list are only available as seed and some them the seed would be difficult if not impossible to find.

Dave

I have real estate for 30 plus varieties, about 10 will go into earlies and cherries, about 5 will go into must have lates. So 15 or so midseason ones. For my personal use I attempt to spread growth in such way that I always have something going but never all at same time so no det. I had good success growing from seeds.
Thank you so much for answering! Yep, this is info I am looking for. Reasons for including- rating by Tatiana website as excellent taste, being more on large side and midseason. Production does matter. I grow large number of seedlings to be given away at yearly plant swap so I would like to offer something less common that people will find at nurseries or box stores as well as something that will encourage people to try and grow more tomatoes- my personal fight with green lawns.
Which are the ones that you would suggest?

I should have added that from this list I am looking at top 5 contenders in terms of great taste and productivity.

double post edited

This post was edited by lindalana on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 17:36

I grow large number of seedlings to be given away at yearly plant swap so I would like to offer something less common that people will find at nurseries or box stores as well as something that will encourage people to try and grow more tomatoes- my personal fight with green lawns.

Cool! :-)

My 5 from your list would be Mule Team, Boondocks, Caspian Pink, Giant Belgium, Northern Lights, and German Red strawberry for an oxheart.

Dave

@linda,

You have quite an impressive list. Good luck with it.

I want to ask you, which ones in your list have you previously grown?. Needless to say that you must have been happy with them. As you know, I am also in similar (but a smaller scale) process and am interesting knowing what you already know from your experience, other than Tatiana's reviews.

PS:
Sorry, I have never grown any of those in your list. Therefore, possibly I cannot pick anything out.

This post was edited by seysonn on Tue, Sep 3, 13 at 3:51

I know what dig is saying....but I respectfully disagree with: "there is no need to grow specific varieties for canning or for sauce or for salsa. Any and all varieties will work fine for all three". There is a reason why major growers classify tomatoes. Yes, you can definitely slice a "Roma" and put it on a BLT sandwich. A crummy sandwich it would be....same with a cherry tomato. Size, texture, core, juice, etc....all goes into making a variety "more suitable" for a certain usage.

Yes, you can definitely slice a "Roma" and put it on a BLT sandwich. A crummy sandwich it would be....same with a cherry tomato.

Agree completely. Which is why I don't grow them except for an occasional cherry variety for snacking.

But then I wasn't addressing sandwiches either. What I said was there is no need to grow specific varieties for canning or for sauce or for salsa.

IMO the best varieties for canning, sauce, and salsa are what are commonly called slicers, beefsteaks, and hearts.

Dave

Yep, found myself with this problem, too many cherries... kids out of the house, my main focus shifted to canning, sauces and salsa so slicers, beefsteaks and hearts will be mainstream for next year.
Dave, thank you much! Seysonn, I have not grown personally any of those on the list above but heave heard good things about most of them from this or another tomato forums. Problem with catalogs which is far less is with Tatiana's that no catalog wants to say " it is crappy tomato" so all tomatoes they sell are fantastic delish... and yes of course everything IS in the eye of beholder... still trying to dwindle down large list of maybes is difficult task for me.

I had good luck with Reif Red Heart but I babied it. It always looked wilted so I watered it more. That is how it was supposed to look. It was also in a good spot. This year I grew Wes and it was a great red heart tomato. It didn't have that wilted look or else I have gotten more tolerant of that look.

I like Pale Perfect Purple for a pretty pink medium sized productive tomato. Its not on your list but it is a good one.

Mule Team is a nice red tomato.

I had no luck with Gary'O but last year was horrible here. I only tried it once so I can't judge it.

Black and Brown Boar is different looking and productive although small. It looks like Pink Boar which I haven't grown. Black and Brown Boar is tasty, dark inside like a black tomato with pretty green stripes on the outside.

People do want to try new things but you want them to have success. You may have the climate for Brandywines. Little Black and Brown Boar and Pale Perfect Purple have been cranking out tomatoes all summer here. Wes has been surprisingly productive and sturdy. When we had rain in August -a miracle- all my black tomatoes split and rotted. Wes is a meaty tomato and was not bad about rotting. It would replace a paste I think.

dig...point well taken...

Thank you! Wes and Pale Perfect Purple goes under consideration, I have heard good things about them too.
My list is getting longer and real estate still the same... LOL

This was really my first year in trying different tomatoes...most were successes. Of the 16 plants I had about half were heirloom, the others hybrid, none of which I grew from seed (all were plants from various sources).

Ones that will be on my list for next year are:
Sungold (yummy and prolific - no less than 400 cherry tomatoes),
Cherokee Purple (not the most prolific, but very good tasting),
Pink Brandywine (first tomato or two was just okay tasting while ones harvested later had very good flavor.
Roma tomato produced (and is still producing) many many tomatoes... but I think i will try a different paste tomato next year.

The 2014 tomato list (to grow from seed and which most will be heirloom) is:
Sungold
Black cherry
Giant Oxheart,
1884 Purple,
Aunt Ruby's German green,
Cuostralee,
Kellogg's Breakfast,
Paul Robeson,
Mortgage Lifter,
New Big Dwarf,
Omar's Lebanese,
Cherokee Purple,
Pink Brandywine,
Opalka.

My 2014 list is based upon my experience with them (just a few), or recommendations here and tatiana's tomato site.

Happy gardening.
Tom

I grew a few different varieties this year. I grew the peach, white, red sausage, mr stripey, german johnson, chocolate cherry, pineapple, tomato tree, and the black krim. My favorite was the chocolate cherry. Very sweet cherry. I also enjoyed the peach. It's the size of a grape tomato.

Just wanted to add that after ordering seeds I was given a package of Northern Lights. Dave you mentioned you liked it? I had so so results with the yellow/gold tomatoes, my favorite being aunt gerties gold. Anna Russian is also a great tomato for everything! My favorite cherry this year was sun sugar! Sweet and never cracked. Still refining my list for next year.

I've grown 13 of them:

Black Brandywine- from Tatiana site,I wouldn't bother with it

Boondocks, I introduced it but not that good IMO

Crnkovic Yugoslavian, exc variety, I also first listed it

Dr Neal, exc one, I also first listed it

Gary'O Sena, not grown

Giant Belgium, never impressed me

Kanaus Oxheart, don't know it

Marek Pointy heart, seeds sent to both Tania and myself by Freddy from Bulgaria, nothing special IMO

Milka Red bulgarian, superb variety, also first listed it

Mule team, I prefer Box Car Willie over the mule, both 1st listed by me and bred byJoe Bratka's father along with theother ones his father bred.

Northern Lights, not grown

Provenzano, very good
Reif Big heart, exc large red heart

Sandul Moldovan, exc variety, also 1st introduced by me

Caspian Pink, nothing special

Indische Fleisch, one of the worst varieties I've ever grown

Pink Boar, not grown

Turks muts, not grown

Goldman Italian American, not grown

Glicks Pride, not grown

Polish Ellis, superb variety

Brandywine Cowlick's, not grown

I'm sticking just with your list and not suggesting alternatives that I like much better than many of the ones that you list, b'c I think it just complicates the selection process for you.

You mentioned cherry tomatoes, but there are none on your list.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

Carolyn, thank you much!!!! Yes, I would LOVE to hear varieties that you think are better alternatives! I am mostly going off the Tatiana list because I like her judgement on varieties that I grew as well and Tatiana lists many as excellent ones. I am sure it is all about trial and error and personal taste but suggestions do help.

Not sure why system double posts.
Wanted to add also that what I have been doing is growing varieties and giving them to people at plant swap as what I want to grow so often they will be trial for me as well. I think I might concentrate on growing heirlooms to give away the ones that are trusted and I know they did well for me so I can share my experience as well. And then I will trial for myself other ones that I think might be fun to grow. For example I really like Marianne peace but for 2 years in a row it was the last variety to ripen in my garden. Terrific taste but fruits ripens mid Sep. I might grow it myself and use WOW and early planting but probably not a good plant to offer to others here in my area.

This post was edited by lindalana on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 21:10