Are those totals for one plant each or for multiple plants?

The totals are for single plants, unless noted. I used the average per plant for Ramapo, Sophies Choice and Campbells.

Barkeater, this is a very comprehensive and helpful effort. Thank you.

Can you give us some idea how you would rate a few of the BIG production WINNERS in terms of the appearance of fruit?

Steve

IÂm asking mostly about cracking and blemishes.

S

digit, the most blemished fruit were those that seemed most susceptible to heat-related problems, such as yellow shoulders with deep cores. Those were Anna Russian, Kosovo, Gregori Altai, and to a lesser extent, Sophies Choice.

Of the heaviest producers, what was supposed to be Kelloggs Breakfast was kind of deformed. Bucks County, Big Zac, and Yellow Brandywine were beautiful and almost blemish-free.

Polish, head and shoulders above everything else for yield, was good tasting but probably not a good market tomato. It was a bit lumpy with ridges like an acorn squash somewhat, but very solid and made a thick sauce. I figure growing 2 of them next year would equal 5-6 paste tomatoes!

If I was growing to sell, Buck's County, Big Zac, Yellow Brandywine, Ramapo, and Earl of Edgecombe would be the best high-yielders for customers in terms of taste, appearance and firmness. However, all are pretty late to ripen for me.

Barkeater, I appreciate your detailed report on your 2006 tomato yields.

I planted Black Krim, Pruden's Purple, Brandywine & Cherokee Purple. The Black Krim (tasted like water) & Cherokee Purple (a little bit better tasting) had the heaviest yields. The Brandywine & Pruden's Purple (2 really delicious ones) had much lower yields, and most of those tomatoes had horrible BER. Too much rain - even with raised beds. Bummer summer.

Did you have yours in a greenhouse? I'm open to suggestions!

Barkeater, thanks for posting that list.

I'm curious about the big difference between the regular-leaf and the potato-leaf pink brandywines. Quite a difference! Do you think that was random luck or does RL Brandywine typically outproduce the PL one?

Any other differences (quality, taste, appearance) between the PL and RL versions?

Hey Barkeater,
I am, like, so totally jealous. But then, I just got into heirlooms this fall.
Aren't you going to tell us about your methods? Otherwise, your list is just bragging. (LOL) Not that you don't have a right to brag about production like that.
How did you prepare the beds? Soil amendments? What did you fertilize with and how often during the season? What about insects? Do you grow organically or use chemical sprays? You mention picking as late as October. Is that unusually late for your zone or is it typical?
John

Thanks, barkeater. As a newbie, I find the information on yield to be quite interesting and valuable.

Your data also begins to answer my curiosity regarding traded seeds. Having never traded seeds, I have been wondering how often one might receive seeds 'not as advertised'. Apparently this IS a bit of a problem.

I personally am not overly concerned about growing a
mystery plant, especially if it has good tomatoes.
But I am a definitely concerned about passing along wrong seed.

Any tips as to accurate seed trading?

Thanks,
Gary

vtguitargirl, no greenhouse, but if we had had a normal mid September frost, yields would have been lower on the top 12 yielders in the list, and a couple others.

doof, Brandywine Sudduth was supposed to be potato leaf, but must have been crossed since it was regular leafed. However, the fruit did appear very similar in appearance to Brandywine. We had a very hot spell in July that aborted many blossoms on the PL, but not the RL, which explains the yield difference.

john, I add composted horse manure, lime, and some wood ashes before turning over the soil each spring. Then I form 2 foot wide raised beds with a hoe. Then I sprinkle 5-10-10 fertilizer on the row, rake it flat on top, and cover with 3' wide black landscape cloth. No other fertilizer is added during the season. Plants are spaced 2'-3' apart in rows 5' apart, and caged. Daconil or Mancozeb is religiously applied on a schedule to suppress fungal diseases, and a couple applications of bt are made per season to prevent fruitworms. That's about it. 3 years straight I've been able to harvest into mid October due to the warm fall's we've had.

Unless bagging blossoms Gary, I'd say there is about a 10-20% chance of crossed seed, based on my limited 3 year experiences.

Hi barkeater,

This year I'm going to try a few tomato varieties at the top of your list plus Pruden's Purple (delicious but BER!)which I tried last year.

Of your varieties, which tasted best (I realize this is very subjective) & had they least problems with BER?

guitargirl, none of my in-ground tomatoes had any BER. Only ones in pots that dried out when I was on vacation the 1st week of July had it.

My best tasting, not in any order have been:

Brandywine
Black Cherry
Cherokee Purple
Moskvich
Big Zac
Ramapo
Momotaro
New Big Dwarf
Bloody Butcher
Aunt Gerties Gold
Campbells 1327

Hi Everyone,
This is great information to have. Thank you. I'm looking for more Variety Yield Trials that may go into more detail such as percent solids, quantity and weight of fruit by size Small/med/large/culls. Emphasis on Calif but any study is useful.
If anyone is interested, I want to do some tomato trials focusing on heirloom paste tomatoes cross referenced by color and taste; probably 5 or 10 cultivars in red, orange, green, pink, purple, yellow, black(mahogany) and white/cream.
I have over 100 different cultivars of paste tomato seeds that I would share with you, if you could grow some out.
I planning a study on 4 acres near Lodi Ca 2007 this spring/summer.
If anyone is interested in helping, drop me an e mail or call and I'll fill you in on the details.
I started experimenting with soil blockers last year and plan to use that seed starting system.

Thanks,
Steve
Steve McGowan, heirloomketchup@aol.com
415-595-5932cell
34 Laverne Ave, Mill Valley, CA

thanks for the heads up on the Polish tomato. I enjoy making salsa and bigger paste tomatoes are such a bonus. Beats spending all your time blanching and peeling all those golf-ball sized paste tomatoes. I have found the similar perk in making apple pie with really large apples. Peel 4, and you're done. Just so happens I still have some polish paste seeds left in a film container. Think I will stick them in some starter mix after all.

Hello Barkeater,

I am thinking about your top three varieties Polish, Buck's County & Big Zac. Is the Polish Tomato "Polish Linguisa" ?? Just wondering 'cuz I haven't seen a "Polish" variety without the "Linguisa".

I see Burpee's carries Buck's County but I haven't found Big Zac anywhere. Have you had any luck locating Big Zac seeds?

Fran

Totally Tomatoes has an exclusive on Big Zac.

Polish is the full name, its not Linguisa, and not a paste tomato. Many heirloom seed companies carry it. Here is what Tomato Growers Supply says:

"Large, brick-red fruit grows to 1 lb. and more and has exquisite flavor. Vigorous plants set fruit well even in cool weather. Heirloom variety from Poland. Indeterminate. 85 days"

barkeater,

How did you restrain them... stakes, cages, no-restraints or a mixture of the three ? Really for the big yields, I suspect mostly caging.

Reg

Yes, they were all caged, on raised beds covered with black landscape cloth. Virtually no rot that way.

the most blemished fruit were those that seemed most susceptible to heat-related problems, such as ... Kosovo...

I never have such problems with Kosovo and it gets much hotter and more frequently here than VT.

Cores/white tissue can vary even amongst a cluster and though while certainly having genetic tendencies are also experienced more frequently when adequete K is not available during high temps.

The day they were planted it was 92 degrees, 93 the next day. This far north the sun is MUCH more intense in June/July, especially at higher elevations, than most areas south of the 45th parallel. Add in the lack of humidity, where the water vapor also serves to diffuse the suns rays, and some young plants seem to get irreversably sunscalded.

I doubt any studies have been done specific to this situation, but it appears that intense heat/lighyt even before fruit set, can permanently damage a plant. I can only surmise it has something to do with damage to the growing point, just as happens with frost damage.

Since I plant everything in a 24 hour period, I can only suppose certain varieties are more susceptible, as Kosovo, Anna Russian, and Gregori Altai were last year, and a couple others like Prudens Purple and Early Cascade in previous years.

Its not really white cores. Sublethal sunscald causes yellow dry streaks that extend beyond the shoulders. At a more insidious level, I can't think of the technical terms, but the "shell" of the tomato between the skin and the gel, where there is like a vascular system, can be white with no flavor too, although it is perfectly red on the outside.

If the other plants right alongside in the row with the afflicted variety have no such disorder, than the affected plant does not come back the next year.

bucks county is a wonderful tomato regarding both taste and yield..isn't it a hybrid, not a heirloom?

If i was a commercial tomato farmer, i think i would grow bucks county and celebrity..

r.

Bucks County is supposed to be derived from Red Brandywine, a heirloom. I grew them side by side last year and BC was more vigorous and much more productive with similar good flavor. It is late for me, not bearing heavy until September, like Ramapo.

Barkeater

How do you think Jet Star would fit into the mix?

I am surprised you have Supersonic but not Jet Star. Is there a reason for this?

In most cases did you grow just one of each. Or did you grow several of the same and measure the yield on only one.

By the way this is the best report I have ever read.

thanks

Korey