No question Taste is subjective,
My circle of Tasters confirm this. LOL

I enjoy reading about losers more than winners.
I would like to see more people give;
1 Location in the world they grow
2 Ground or Container grown
3 Favorite Tom to offset the worst.

( some need to update their info to area they live)

By reading what a persons favs are I can better judge if I have the same taste.

A BetterBoy is a BetterBoy and across the country it has
been grown, so location does not make it a Brandywine.
Now weather will affect health, productivity, fuit size,
some degree flavor.

So I look at who posts and take into account where they are
and how it was grown, most important; what they think is a winner.

ARGG was a waste for me. Plant was healthy, made a lot of fruit, but I would prefer. Lemonboy or Betterboy. LOL

Hi All,

Let us do a statistical analysis for Rating Tomatoes for:
(Rating from 1 to 10) for below:
Flavor by Men (sweet to sour)
Flavor by Women (sweet to sour)
Appearance by men (normal to unusual)
Appearance by women (normal to unusual)
Production (weight per plant)
Any other variable we can choose to represent an acceptable variety versus a spitter (example, an overall Rating).

The more people suppling the ratings the better our sample population will be able to represent the tomatoe growing and I can give it to containerted to add to his 400 + varieties list.

Well, just a thought. Aloha

Grampa's Minnesota is a vile little thing. I'm actually thinking about yanking it. Without improvement Health Kick isn't far behind.

Shouldn't judge a new variety from the first of the season but Carbon didn't do much for me, grown right next to a Cherokee Purple that we all liked very much.

Missouri Pink Love Apple is very tasty, very juicy but quite a few seeds in the one we've enjoyed so far.

I *love* Green Zebra, but its cousin Red Zebra is a spitter for me. Sour and bitter. Too bad, because it's gorgeous. I don't even want to bring them to the office to give away for fear of getting a bad rep.

The cherry Christmas Grapes was also a spitter. No other varieties were spitters, although there are a few I wouldn't grow again.

Standouts for flavor have been Stupice, Beefsteak, Kellogg's Breakfast, and Sungold, just off the top of my head. Mortgage Lifter was one of the best I ever tasted, but it did so poorly in my yard that I don't grow it anymore.

It's so interesting to read people's preferences. As folks have said, one person's spitter is another's dream date. On the other hand, certain varieties do keep cropping up in the spitter lists. I don't think I'll ever bother with Juliet!

It would be helpful to know where the seed came from which sucked and what zone you live in or area of the country. Gardening/Farming faces many ups and downs from each year yet I've found that seed source is an important factor to consider where or not I dump a tomato or try a different seed source. Just indicate if it came from a friend who bought it at Tomatos.com or if they traded for it. Some trades will have crosses with another tomato and effect the flavor,plant size and fruit. I appreciate everyone's input so far on what was disappointing and what was good. I'm making my choices for 2009 now reviewing my notes on changes to be made in using more compost, Mycorrhiza Fungi to assist in the root system development, experimenting with raised square foot beds, and additional soil enhancements to the VA red clay, i.e. sand, manure.ect.

My "SUCKIEST" is "Heart Of Compassion"...lousy fruit setting, taste was just blah and they took forever to ripen. I plant about 150 tomato plants a year and believe me when I tell you it sucks, IT REALLY SUCKS! I gave these a shot two different years (I am nothing if not fair...) I planted them in a different section and guess what??? THEY STILL SUCKED! My hubby grows the "non-sundrying" tomatoes, and he says "Hez Hou" sucks (frankly, I never heard of it.)
He said there were only a few on each bush and that they tended to get knocked off the vine very easily.

Here in the Gettysburg, Pa. area, I found Green Zebra, Juliet, Stupice, Black from Tula and Japanese Black Trifele to be spitters. The latter were way too sweet, the former tastless.
This years favorites were Cherokee Purple, Sandul Moldavan, "Cowlicks" Brandywine, Olena Ukrainian, Amazon Chocolate, Black Brandywine, Kelloggs Breakfast, Opalka and Sungolds, to name a few of the hundreds that I grew.
I did learn that the amount of water makes a difference. Kellogg's Breakfast did much better without as much water this year, than it did last year when watered regularly. This also applies to Mr Stripey (the beefsteak, not the small one).
Last year, the Brandywines, Caspian Pinks and Cherokee Purples topped the list of great tasters. Spitters were Tomandy, Better boy, Big Rainbow and Mr Stripey.

I can't speak for taste, since all I got from the plant was one tiny, grape-sized tomato. Not enough to cook down into sauce so I'll just toss it in with the Romas or Black Plums. But I was thoroughly underwhelmed with Opalka. It gave me the one tiny tomato, then wilted, turned yellow, then brown. It's in exile away from the other tomato plants now, since I'm afraid what it might have might be catching.

But I'll give it another try next year, in a different pot, in different conditions. It might have just been bad conditions for it this year.

This year in North Eastern Alabama my "Big White Pink Stripe" plants were really mild and bland. That in addition to being the first to succumb to disease, blossom drop, and the only plant to have blossom end rot. Won't grow again.

Lilacs of May,
Sorry to hear of your disfavor with Opalka. I grew it for the first time this year and it was fantastic. Large plump long tomatoes that actually looked like nice red peppers. The produced a great amount and they tasted great! Not just for sauce, but for snacking on as you work about the garden. Not juicy like most tomatoes, but a nice rich flavor that pleases the tastebuds. Also the only paste-type or Roma type tomato that had no "BER" for me, which seems to plague my San Marzanos and Roma types.
Hope you have better luck with it in the future, as I found it to be a "keeper" in my gardens. Happy Gardening!
Camo

Of the 19 types I planted this year, the worst have been a tomato called Dutchman and Purple Russian. The Dutchman are massive plants with hardly any toms, the PRs have little taste and look strange.
Favorite taste are the German Johnsons and Cherokee purples, with the Carbons not far behind.

For me there have been only three that really sucked out of the 90 or so varieties I've grown. They were Florida Pink, Floramerica, and Azoychka.

Kelloggs Breakfast..incredibly bland.. beautiful, large, yellow tomato but tasteless.

I'm glad someone else mentioned Kellog's Breakfast. They grew huge tomatoes, which were not beautiful in my case. They were cat faced and then split as they ripened. Those that did ripen without spitting were bland and mushy.

I also don't understand what all the hype is about Sungolds. They weren't bad, but I wouldn't say they're spectacular either. I'd rather grow and prefer the taste of the cheap seeds "Large Red Cherry."

mscratch and booberry,
I grew Kellogg's breakfast in '07, after hearing how fantastic it was. The very first one was great, but they got bland and mushy after that as I watered them just like everything else in the gardens.
This year I tried them again, (just 2-3 plants), and withheld water until they really looked like they would die without it. Only watered them about once/week and not for a long time either.
They turned out fantastic, rich tasting with an almost creamy texture. Much more superior than any other orange/yellow tomato I grew, and more scruptious than a lot of the pinks/ reds/ blacks/ and purples.
You might try them again, and withold the water from them! Happy Gardening!
Camo

to follow up on somthing Carolyn said up above about trying a "sucky" variety a second year.
I have had Varities of Heirlooms that I loved one year that really did not make the grade the following year.
I have also had some that I hated the first year BUT tried again and they were the best thing sinced sliced bread the second year.....
That is why I grow about 12 differnt Varieties of Heirlooms every year. I never know which one or two will be the best thing I have ever eaten.... & never to be repeated.....

I have a lot of gripes against Kellogg's Breakfast, but taste and texture are not one of them. I totally disagree that Kellogg's Breakfast is bland and mushy. I just got my first ripe one for this year, and it was the best tasting tomato I've eaten in this year, and it wasn't mushy at all. If you want mushy, I recommend Jaune Flamme.

My opinion is not totally subjective. I tested the brix of this tomato, and it was 7 1/2 which is pretty darn good.

Now my gripes against this plant is that it has never been productive for me (this will likely be my only Kellogg's Breakfast this year,) and that it usually develops some sort of leathery patch on the bottom (no it isn't blossom-end rot because is always only skin deep [thankfully,] it's like a callus on your tomato.)

My Dad just followed up about the Cherokee PUrple I gave him, which I was convinced would be the greatest thing ever. Well it was watery and thin skinned and rotted the instant it was ripe if you didnt pick it. VERY LAME. I will try i again however, because Someone likes it for SOME reason. Hopefully I'll find out.

The trick with some of the blacks (black krim and cherokee purple) is that you pick them when they still have a little green on the shoulders, because once fully ripe, they don't keep very well..eat em quick.

Didn't care for
Box car Willie------bland
Caspian Pink--------descent flavor, but not productive
Park's Whopper------Anything but a whopper
Aunt Ruby's German Green------one plant and 4 fruit, descent taste, but not productive enough for me.
Amish Paste-------Suffered severely from BER..both plants in 2 different gardens, while all other varieties flourished.

Could be my growing conditions or geological area, but those are not going to have any space in my garden..

What a great forum this is! This basically touches on a point that Carolyn brought up, but for what it's worth...
A few years ago I was visiting friends in Modena who had a most wonderful garden. Among their tomatoes was Custoluto Genovese, which they included in one of the many beautiful meals I enjoyed at their home. After fussing and raving over this tomato (they made fun of me) they gave me the rest of the original seed packet. I tried them out the following spring, planting four of them. Rocks! They were thick skinned wrinkly rocks. I later learned from a neighboor that he had equally poor results a few years prior to my having tried it. So, I've come to the conclusion that soil, climate, and water all have a hand in the end result. I believe some tomatoes simply grow better here (Athens, GA) than others.

karen_florida didn't like the Heatwave Hybrid. I grew them last year in Mel's Mix and they had a wonderful taste. Plus the plants really produced for a very long time -- even through our July and August months of almost 100 degrees and 100% humidity. The other varieties I planted just burned up or wouldn't set fruit.

I really think alot of the "taste" of tomatoes comes from the makeup of your soil... just my opinion. So what tastes good in one area might not in another.

I love this thread because so many people are agreeing on the varieties that they do not like. I'll make sure to stratch some of these off my "to try" list :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Judy's Square Foot Garden

Park's Whopper sucks really bad. Yuck. I felt like i had be swindled on that one. Supermarket tomatoes have more taste.

It seems everyone here judges tomato quality when eaten fresh. Isn't the purpose of such diverse varieties to meet differing needs? For example... There are varieties of tomato grown at H.J. Heinz's experimental farm that are probably not so good eaten fresh, but they make great Ketchup.

Also, if you were in zones 1 or 2 for example, you'd probably come to appreciate the very early varieties, because early tomatoes, even if they are bland, tough or too acid, taste better than NO tomatoes.

Hot house tomatoes... Ugh.

(Just offering an alternate view.)

I read this thread after my trip to the local garden centre. I did buy sub arctic plenty, mainly to get something that would ripen before first frost. Also, I bought Purple Prince for a later season 60-70 days variety. The next time someone does this thread it would help if they rated the different categories. I'm guessing main crop provides a better tasting tomato than early.

Oh no

You all keep degrading the purple russian.

Shoot!

I just planted some Black Russian - same thing?

I also planted the green zebra stripe

Oh well!

Maybe they are good for cooking?

I am coming in late on this thread....some I grew last year that I won't grow again -

White Wonder - Sweet, but no real tomato flavor, too mild.
Hank - Very acidic, which wasn't too bad, but sometimes had a bitter edge and WAY too many seeds. No wonder it was a freebie.

I also grew Great White but both plants I grew put out completely different fruit - I suspect an accidental cross - one threw light yellow cherries and the other threw mealy red plums.

Ciao all-

Varieties I really haven't cared for:

Yellow Pear has to be the blandest tomato ever
Livingston's Gold Ball is a close second
Plum Lemon is hollow and really only good for stuffing
Stupice
Silvery Fir Tree
Sophie's Choice
Poll Robson Angolan I grew thinking it was Paul Robeson, but was mushy, bland, and devoid of any redeeming qualities

On the other end of the spectrum, some of my favourites listed as spitters by some of you:

Green Zebra
Black From Tula
Opalka - my all-time favourite tomato of all
Purple Russian

In defense of Mr. Stripey the saladette red/gold striped one, I found it does very well in a salad with a robust vinaigrette. I used it in Panzanella with good results.

What fun to read this thread. I have a bedding plant and perennial business and sell 30 varieties of tomatoes - and I try to grow them myself as well. Darn it - I can't remember if it was the sugary (expensive seeds) or Sweet Baby Girl that had dreadful chewy skin that you really couldn't swallow. I won't be offering either this year. I did offer Dr. Carolyn (Amanda's waving if you're around) and one that knocked my socks off was sunsugar gold. Sungold is VERY popular around here and I have many repeat customers.

It rained and then rained some more last summer, so very few of the tomatoes had a chance to perform well.

This is one of the greatest threads ever! I've not been on here in awhile and I've moved to a new town so I get to start a whole new mater patch. Can't wait!
I must jump on the "Mr. Stripey Haters" bandwagon. That is by far the WORST tomato ever! My mother and I both grew it and it was sour, tough skinned and had the largest core of any tomato I've ever grown. Yellow Pear is bland-Mom loves it. Stupice also sucks. Ceylon was all skin and seeds, no tomato inside. With the exception of Mr. Stripey, I usually give it a couple of tries before I put in the the "suck" catagory. Stripey was just HORRID!

Palmandan,
It was probably sugary that was so bad. For me it was the only tomato plant in the garden that no one would eat the tomatoes from. It was bland, tasteless and extremely prolific. I'm sure I'll be pulling out a lot of volunteers from it this year since it put out so many tomatoes and no one wanted to pick any. Why is it that the most prolific tomato plants put out the worst tomatoes?

Sugary seems not to have lived up to the hype. Haven't tried it.

But Small Fry - the AAS winner, determinate, disease-resistant cherry - was worse than grocery store tomatoes. Made a bunch of "blah" seedlings the next year, too. Had to be careful not to put the tomatoes in a bowl with other varieties.

is there two versions of Mr Stripey?
Last year i bought some plants from different locations. One truned out to be the "Tigerella" (sp) version and the other was like a beefsteak. I preferred the beefsteak to tigerella.

I will be growing 32 plants this year..... 5 of them will be Green Zebras.... Love this tomato! A bit different, slightly tart, looks great when mixed with other colors.

Sugary has been a favorite grape of my friends and family. I start tomatoes for several friends and they always ask for Sugary. Most say the tomatoes never make it to the house because they eat them right off the vine. I have a few tomato plants in 2 containers on the driveway (besides a bunch in the ground) and Sugary was one of them. I thought it wasn't producing but my family said they plucked them every time they walked by and ate a few.
I can't say any type I've grown was repulsive. The blandest that come to mind for me are Early Girl and Copia but they were still as good or better than store bought!

I really liked Mr. Stripey (the big one) when i grew it a couple of years ago. Was excellent sliced on bruschetta with prosciutto and havarti. I didn't water enough, maybe, but I suspect that that helped the stripeys as much as it hurt the others.

There seems to be considerable confusion about what tomato actually is the 'Mr. Stripey' variety. If you look in the Tomato Growers Supply (TGS) catalog, what they list as 'Mr. Stripey' is the small fruited tomato originally known as 'Tigerella'. I think the tomato that people like and associate with the name 'Mr. Stripey' is the large fasciated, ponderosa type that has yellow flesh with red streaks. In TGS, several varieties of this type are listed: 'Hilbilly', 'Georgia Streak', 'Old German', 'Big Rainbow'. and 'Pineapple'. There are other names for this type of tomato also such as 'German Stripe'. If the large fruited yellow/red streaked tomatoes sold as 'Mr. Stripey' and some of the other names listed in TGS are not good flavored with a very desirable melting texture, there sure are a lot of consumers that are badly fooled. These tomatoes are in great demand for home garden and at local stands and farmers markets in some areas of the U.S.

As far as tomatoes that suck, I think the original name for 'Stupice' was probably 'Stupid', and the people that grew it did not did not want to be identified with that name so they changed it.

I just bought German Head, Bloody Butcher, Brown Berry, Giant Valentine, Kellog's Breakfast, Tigerella and Ukranian Pear....never had them before.

Are they any good?

Florida Petite was Florida pathetic for me. Grew it indoors over last fall because I thought it would be manageable under my fluorescents in my perennial herb bed in the kitchen. Blech... We wound up using them to throw at the squirrels that were scaring off the songbirds at our feeders. Out of the ones that I have grown in the garden that were spit out da mouth nasty, Mano takes the cake. They were so hard that it was like biting into a plum-even though they were bright red. I even brought some in and sat them on the counter for a few MONTHS to try to soften them up. No dice Chivo... Might make good paperweights. Giraffe was another that just did not impress me. Sure it has a long shelf life, but what's the point in that if it tastes like the supermarket cardbord ones anyway? As far as bigger ones go, Big Zac is a big flop for me. Not only is it not that big, it has all of the flavor of pond water, and scars up like a boxer with cauliflower ear. Give me a Strawberry Margarita anyday over the whole lot! Ahhhh fresh sliced with a dash of salt, or a fresh picked basil leaf or two? Don't worry kids... It's coming! Happy gardening 2009-B-ri

Hey Tomato People:

I posted part of this on another line earlier. But since I see this is a much more active ...and funny conversation, am re-posting it here. Hope nobody minds.

I really agree that generally speaking, lab developed tomatoes seem to scrape the bottom of the spit-tune. The worst are the yellow pears. For about the last four years, I have been searching for a good one. They are so wonderful to look at...and really make a beautiful salsa. But so far I have not found one I could taste. I am smitten by the old strains. Although not all Heirlooms hit the mark, very few of the new breeds come close to those wonderful flavors we all remember from childhood.

The first and most wonderful Heirloom Tomato we ever grew was called "Giant Belgium". I bought the plants in 1994 at the Farmers Market in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We also planted our first Paul Robeson and Brandywines that year.

We were planting a new garden for my Mother, in the spot where my Gramdpa had planted his kitchen garden since 1934. But nothing had been planted there since at least 1970. When we turned it over, the soil was incredibly rich smelling, full of huge night crawlers and black as pitch.

And...what grew from those plants was nothing short of magic. The fruit was high in an unusual kind of round tasting acid flavor... not sharp but soft and at he same time sweet, juicy and very fragrant. They were the most wonderful old-fashioned tasting tomatoes we have ever grown...and they were huge. Many over three pounds.

But after that first year, we never could find those plants...or seeds again. Lucily, I am in the habbit of saving seed...and I did save about 15 from the original tomatoes that we got that year. For a few years after, we got fruit from them...but as time passed they weakened and then the seed just stopped producing. I have no idea why. But this has happened to me before, from saved seed. Since then, we combed magazines and markets everywhere and have never been able to find Giant Belgiums.

Has anyone ever heard of them, or do you know where I can get them?

Thanks a lot Tomato People

NannieB

PS: Hmmm...strange. Just checked on the seed list here...and found Giant Belgium for sale by Burpy...Burpie...sp...not sure). I guess I stopped looking for them quite some time ago. Anyway, the tomato is described there, as "non-acid". Hmmm. It is also described as being "large and succulant", but other than that, the description does not sound at all like what we had. Burpy is not known for their Heirlooms...are they?

Comments...thoughts anyone?

Thanks

You may find Giant Belgium on the exchange forum.
Link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant and seed exchange

Tomatoes are like the economy, some years good, some bad. Tomatoes that suck or spitters, just the ones that are rotten. Sort of like politicians. Some have good work ethics and produce others don't. I love them all on good years.

purplemonster said "I just bought German Head, Bloody Butcher, Brown Berry, Giant Valentine, Kellog's Breakfast, Tigerella and Ukranian Pear....never had them before."

Are they any good?

Bloody Butcher - pretty good, at least early
Brown Berry - one of the most productive, BLAH tasting varieties I have ever grown
Giant Valentine - ???
Kellog's Breakfast - good
Tigerella - ???
Ukranian Pear - ???
JMO,
Tom

Not to make this an ad or anything, but I received my shipment from Tomato Growers Supply recently and couldn't figure out where the packet of Giant Belgium came from as this was one I didn't order...well this is their "free" pack if you order more than a certain amount this year....a new one for me

German Head and Brown Berry have been two of the most delcious tomatoes I've grown.

Note for Nannieb. Your description is typical of a disease problem in your soil or a seed borne disease. Open pollinated tomatoes produce consistently from seed year after year. If yours quit producing, there was a reason and it was not likely because the seed were at fault, it was more likely the gardeners problem. Tomatoes should be rotated to fresh soil each year if possible to reduce problems and seed should be properly handled to reduce the possibility they carry disease.

The phrase 'seed ran out' is often used to describe a problem caused by severe inbreeding depression. This is applicable to Corn which is an outbreeder but it is NOT applicable to tomatoes which are natural inbreeders.

The fastest way to mess up a natural outbreeder is to grow a small population and save seed at each generation. In about 3 years, inbreeding depression will be significant and within 7 years, it can be so serious that survival of the variety is no longer possible. This is why growers of open pollinated lines of natural outbreeders (like corn) make a point to always grow a minimum number of plants. For corn, about 200 plants will work for long term survival. Even then, it is helpful if you can exchange stock with other growers of the same variety to maintain diversity.

Again to emphasize, tomatoes do not normally 'run out'.

To contribute to this thread, I agree re Stupice which to me is very productive but utterly bland. There are other varieties that I consider too sweet or have an off flavored whang and without balance. Druzba is an excellent tomato but it is NOT sweet most of the time. It has a wonderful flavor to me and others who like an intense tomato flavor, but it is not at all appreciated by folks who want a sweet tomato.

DarJones

Yellow Pear has to be my worst. I also didn't like Sweetie Cherry Tomato. Green Zebra is my favourite!

Love reading all the postings
I usually do my research here before I try new Tom varities .. The one that has sucked for us [so far] has to be I think it was White Cherry [it was a yellowy white cherry] really really sickly sweet . we did;nt like it too much but when I asked one my youngest daughters friends to try it .. she threw up on our porch ..
that sold us on not growing that one again ..
Thanks also for the unput about Yellow Pear . I am growing this one this year for Hubby as he said it was 'cute' ..
won't say anything and see how HE likes it ..
Our fave here is SunGold ..and the cherrys .. [usually Green Grape ..Black Cherry .. SunGold ... Tommy Toes .. ]
Good summer you all !!

Bradley-no flavor whatsoever! (to me) When we moved to TN, everyone said it was the best tomato. There's even one farmer at the downtown farmer's market that only grows Bradleys....and they sell! No accounting for taste! :-) I tried them for two years, thinking the first year could have been weather conditions (drought) Second year they were just as bland as the first.

Would like to defend Yellow Pear. Grown 3 years running now. First two years were knock-your-socks-off good. Extremely flavorful. My most popular tomato that year for myself, friends, and family.

Last year - not so good. It was truly bland as others say.

However, Carelyn's right. Each year is different. Since this little mega-producer was so good the first couple years, I'm going to try again.

Wow, was it ever good!

Also, it makes a killer tomato, ginger, jam!!! No need to chop or peel. Just through in the pot whole. Now, that's easy homemade fabulous jam.

Erin

Here's my first nomination for tomatoes that suck from my 2009 garden: Super Sioux, which I can describe as flavorless with a tiny dash of tart. Will use the rest of the fruit not yet ripened for fried green tomatoes. Big disappointment for me, because they're allegedly quite heat tolerant. I know flavor can vary from year to year and place to place, but if you'd take a gassed supermarket tomato over something you've grown, that's a pretty strong statement of "bad."