Here is a link to a previous discussion on 'best green when ripe' with several varieties listed.

There are other discussions about them too like the one linked below that the search pulls up.

Aunt Ruby's German Green is my personal favorite but I have only grown a few of the green-when-ripe varieties.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Favorite green-when-ripe tomato

I already listed my faves in the link that Dave gave above. I just wanted to comment that since different diseases can be found in different parts of the country that I think it would be impossible, at least for me, to suggest which ones might be tolerant, resistant doesn't exist, to specific diseases.

So I'll turn it around and ask which specific diseases are you concerned about and they'd be divided into primarily foliage diseases and then systemic soilborne ones.

Carolyn

"So I'll turn it around and ask which specific diseases are you concerned about and they'd be divided into primarily foliage diseases and then systemic soilborne ones.

Carolyn"

I believe it was verticillium wilt that became established in our garden soil some 30-35 years ago, and which resulted in us not being able to grow the old Rutgers as our main cropper/canner.

And thanks for that link Dave.

Note there are two links in the post above.

V. Wilt, IF that is what it is, is going to attack ANY tomato variety. Even the VFN tagged resistant varieties usually only gain you a short delay in symptoms - a couple of weeks if lucky.

It would be more productive IMO to expend your efforts toward confirming the actual problem and working to eliminate/reduce it.

Dave

"It would be more productive IMO to expend your efforts toward confirming the actual problem and working to eliminate/reduce it."

It was confirmed, whatever it was (I don't remember), by the county extension agent; also, it's no longer an issue, we no longer garden there.

And, we solved the problem by switching spots for the tomato patch and also the variety for our canner, which was probably Heinz 1350 (but not certain).

All I'm asking, since Jan 2011, the date of the last post on the 'Best' thread, what the favorites now?

so far I have enjoyed aunt ruby's german green, harvard square, cherokee green, aunt rubys german cherry, green sausage, spears TN green, lime green salad, green zebra, big zebra, green stuffer, and many more. They are all good to me!

This past year, I grew Emerald Giant and Kelly Green which are both from the Cross Hemisphere Dwarf Project. These two are hands down the best GWR's I have tasted. I've grown most of the ones listed in the previous posts, but these two are winners, far and away.

Ted

I used to have an aversion to the green when ripe varieties for the same reason I don't drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day -- the color green doesn't "compute" with the taste that follows so my brain screwed up the flavors. I have since come to my senses, so to speak, and really like at least one GWR variety -- Tasty Evergreen AKA Evergreen from Heritage Farm/seedsavers.org. It has great flavor and nice thick gel.

"I used to have an aversion to the green when ripe varieties for the same reason I don't drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day -- the color green doesn't "compute" with the taste that follows so my brain screwed up the flavors."

Someone else has expressed that problem with GWR tomatoes. My only experience with that is eating the green shoulders on a Cherokee Purple which I consider to taste like the rest of the fruit.

Which brings up the question (maybe a dumb one); does a Cherokee Green taste the same as a Cherokee Purple?

"I have since come to my senses, so to speak, and really like at least one GWR variety -- Tasty Evergreen AKA Evergreen from Heritage Farm/seedsavers.org. It has great flavor and nice thick gel."

I've read some good reviews on this tomato, I might just give it a try for 2013.

Is it tricky to decide when Evergreen is ripe?

Captain Lucky

Captain Lucky. Malachite Box is very good too.

Grubb's Mystery Green is excellent.

Green Zebra

Green Giant - arguably the best combination of production and flavor in a good slicing tomato.

Aunt Ruby's German Green - I love the light sweet flavor but it is usually more disease prone in my garden.

Cherokee Green - A good tomato with a slight tang in the flavor. Disease tolerance is decent.

Green Zebra - Grow this one just for the chance to see what you think. The flavor is very tart, but if you happen to like the taste of raw lemon, you will probably love green zebra.

DarJones

fusion power-"Cherokee Green - A good tomato with a slight tang in the flavor. Disease tolerance is decent."

Dumb question, does a Cherokee Green taste the same as a Cherokee Purple?

To answer the question about the taste of Cherokee Green, I would say that the two varieties (Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Green)have their own distinct flavors. Cherokee Green is somewhat sweet and a bit citrusy. Cherokee Purple has that full-bodied old fashioned flavor that reminds me of Brandywine and Ponderosa.

So, my answer is "NO". They do not taste the same, but are distinctly different and individually very good.

To tell when Green-When-Ripe tomatoes are ready to eat, you must watch them somewhat closely. I look for a slight bit of color change in areas away from the stem. Some GWR's will take on some amber color while others simply have the deep green color lighten up a bit.

Here's a picture showing some ripened Cherokee Greens.

"....the two varieties (Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Green)have their own distinct flavors."

Thank you Ted.

The picture makes my mouth water. I guess I've no sort of subconscious aversion to GWRs then, right?!

"Emerald Giant and Kelly Green which are both from the Cross Hemisphere Dwarf Project"

Did you work on the project?

DarJones: "Green Zebra - Grow this one just for the chance to see what you think. The flavor is very tart, but if you happen to like the taste of raw lemon, you will probably love green zebra."

Heheh, it's an odd thing with this tomato, from what I've read on this forum it seems folks either love it or they hate it!

I don't like the taste of Green Zeebra, along with many other folks but many in CA and elsewhere love it.

What I do like is another green when ripe variety called Green Zebra Cherry, I like it a lot, and no, there's no known association with Green Zebra.

Fruits were found in a small box of mixed cherries by Manfred Hahm in Germany, his seed site is linked to at Reinhard Kraft's superb site and Reinhard and he are good friends. They were able to trace it back to the Netherlands but that was it.

It was named Green Zebra Cherry b'c the coloration on the exterior is the same as GZ, but there for many of us the comparison stops since for many of us GZC has great taste.

My seeds for it were from Reinhard in Germany and I've been listing it in the SSE Yearbooks for several years as well as offering seeds in my annual seed offer elsewhere, as well as sending it for trial to the several seed sites where I know the owners well, have done so for many years, and trust what they offer.

I've linked to Tania's page for it below, and if you scroll down to see seed sources you'll see lots of them and I was the seed source to most of them.

Try it, I think many of you will love it, as most do. Not tart at all, has that spicy somewhat sweet taste that most find with most green when ripe varieties.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Zebra Cherry

sidhartha0209 - yes, I've worked on the project for a few seasons now. I am fascinated by the diversity, fruit size, and superb taste being achieved in these 3' to 4' tall tomato plants. They also come in all colors, including bi-colors. Many of the crosses have produced fruit that are "sugary sweet".

Regarding Green Zebra - I grew it this year for the first time and found it to be a really good tomato. I also gave away several plants and have had the same comments from my neighbors who grew it. In some ways, the taste is similar to Ponderosa Red and African Queen. Fully ripe, it has that wonderful complex mixture of a bit of tanginess and a full beefsteak type satisfaction. It really looks good in a salad, adding lots of "eye appeal".

Anyhow, I was hesitant at first with GWR's because I was like most people who knew that tomatoes could only be Red or Yellow. But, I am a completely changed person now. If it's a tomato, then I have to try it.

Ted

Green Giant, by far the best IMHO
Cherokee Green excellent
Green Zebra good tart taste to me but not universally loved

I love green tomatoes. I've not met one I did not like yet.
I can not comment on disease since all I get is fungal diseases.
Cherokee Green tastes great. I think better than Cherokee Purple. They make a lot of tomatoes at the same time, and do not have very long shelf life.
Malachite Box is the sweetest GWR I've had. So to me the flavor profile is different than others. It is very productive.
Aunt Ruby's has a fantastic flavor. It is not overly productive though.
Humph is my personal favorite. Very tasty and productive.
Garden Lime tastes great. But I do not not know about the plants as the tomato I tried was grown by someone else.
Moldovan Green has a wonderful flavor. It was not overly productive for me, but it had a bad growing spot, and since I've only grown it one time. I can't save for sure that is the norm.
Grub's Mystery Green is an other excellent tasting variety.
Captain Lucky does taste wonderful. It was late for me as I suspected it would be being Lucky Cross is a parent. It was not overly productive for me. Again I'll hold complete judgement since I've only grown it once.
Lime Green Salad is a nice small green on small plant so good for containers.
Remy

Wow, you all have blown my mind, I had no idee there were so many different varieties of GWRs out there! Thanks for sharing your experience and opinions. I'm learning!