My little nephew Victor keeps asking when I will plant tomatoes... He got the Burpee catalogue this week and told me I to get all the tomatoes ... and to get rid of the snow please and plant the tomatoes, because my tomatoes are better than the ones Auntie Christina buys it... oh so cute... and he also told my mom that he is not going to let one friend we have to come and get his tomatoes... but Lilly can eat tomatoes with him... the kid is crazy about tomatoes...
well, which tomatoes are better? I planted
brandywine - not a lot of tomatoes... but it took forever...
grape tomatoes - I mean cherry tomatoes - they were good... tons of it!
Roma - (plum) they were ok...
so this year I am thinking 3 things:
1- tomatoes that doesn't crack
2- tomatoes that doesn't take forever to be ready
3- good production
You guys know, I don't venture on other forums... I live a sheltered life on DG... so I am not going to the veggie forum...
and I really don't understand much about tomatoes...
I can plant up to 18 plants... and I am getting my plants from Green Mountain Transplants ... this is what they have - any suggestions? Have you guys tried any of these tomatoes?? Here are the choices:
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Tomatoes, cherry size
Jolly Hybrid (72 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
New 2001 AAS Winner, An unusual shaped, large (1-1/2 oz.), pink cherry tomato with an attractive pronounced point on the blossom end. Extra sweet flavored, crack-resistant fruit are produced in clusters of a dozen on strong indeterminate plants.
Sweet Olive Hybrid (57 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
You asked for it! This is a supersweet `grape' tomato. Grape-like clusters of small, oblong, grape-size (0.3 oz.), bright red fruit of outstanding flavor. Determinate plants, but staking is beneficial for ease of harvest.
Super Sweet 100 Hybrid (62 days from transplanting)55¢ ea.
Prolific cherry tomato, with 1 in., extremely sweet, high Vitamin C fruit born on long clusters, like grapes. Unusually heavy bearing indeterminate plants must be staked.
Sun Gold (56 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
An orange colored cherry tomato with a very high sugar content (9-10 brix). Good disease and crack resistance. Firm 1 in. fruit. Indeterminate vine needs staking.
Snow White (75 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
A deliciously sweet ivory colored hybrid cherry tomato ripening to a pale yellow. Later than other cherries. Indeterminate vine.
*Sweet Baby Girl Hybrid (65 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
New, and reported to be the sweetest, best tasting cherry, based on extensive taste tests in Saticoy, CA. and numerous testimonals! Produces nearly 2 pounds of dark red, 1 in. exceptionally high quality fruit per week from shorter almost determinate, disease resistant plants.
Tomatoes, full size
Amish Paste (85 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Open-pollinated, heirloom paste-type variety from the 1800's. Outstanding sweet `real' tomato flavor. Large (to 1/2 lb.), oblong, oxheart shaped fruit . Indeterminate vines.
Big Beef Hybrid (73 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
AAS Winner. Extra large (r to 1 lb.), smooth, deep oblate/globe fruit. Vigorous, disease resistant, indeterminate. A larger version of Better Boy. Best beefsteak.
Brandywine (85 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Old Amish heirloom variety with potato-leaf foliage. Produces exceptionally flavored, distinctively spiced, pink, beefsteak sized (1 lb.) fruit with red flesh. Indeterminate.
Celebrity Hybrid (75 days from transplanting) 55 ¢ ea.
AAS Winner. Large (10 oz.), our most popular variety. Vine is vigorous and determinate, suitable for ground or cage culture. Disease resistant. Flavor is tops.
Early Girl Hybrid (59 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Old, early, `full-sized' (5 oz.), full-flavored, globe-shaped, bright red tomato. Indeterminate vines produce heavy yields of blemish-free fruit over a long production period.
Fourth of July (44 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
A new extra early Burpee variety, a full 10 days ahead of `Early Girl'. Unusually heavy clusters of 2 in.fruit. Disease resistant, extra long picking season. Indeterminate
* Green Zebra (72 days from transplanting) 55 cents ea.
Exotic green-striped gourmet salad tomato. Picked green when the green has a slight yellowish hue with contrasting dark green stripes. Indeterminate, vigorous plants produce 3-4 oz. extremely tasty fruit. Served in many fine restaurants.
Jet Star Hybrid (67 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Renowned for large crack-free, globe shaped, flavorful fruit. Low acid, needs lemon juice added for canning. Sturdy, vigorous, indeterminate. Disease resistant.
Johnny's 361 Hybrid (64 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
First in Rutgers taste tests. Slightly flattened globe, similar to Pik Red in size and appearance. Early in northeast conditions. Compact, determinate, disease resistant.
Lemon Boy Hybrid (72 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
A lemon yellow, deep oblate, 7 oz. fruit, with a delicious `red' flavor. Large, vigorous, indeterminate. Early and productive. Disease resistant. Our favorite early tomato.
Mortgage Lifter (82 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Developed by Radiator Charlie in the 1930's, named for its profitable, abundant yields of huge 1 to 2 lb., smooth, pink-skinned, slightly flattened, sweet and meaty tomatoes.
Pik Red Hybrid (75 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Renowned for its firm, smooth, solid, medium-large fruit, very meaty with thick walls, globe shape, and uniformly colored throughout. Disease resistant. Our favorite.
Purple Calabash (85 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Deep purple-burgundy, with a unique ribbed shaped, 3 in. flattened fruit. Flavor is described as distinctly winey and rich. Heavy bearer. Indeterminate vine.
Spitfire Hybrid (68 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Attractive, one of the best tasting, with a deep crimson red interior, a result of the crimson gene used in its development. Large fruit, 10 oz., very firm, crack resistant.
* Striped German (78 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
An unusually attractive bi-colored, marbled red and yellow, tasty, german heirloom tomato. Mediium-large, slightly flattened fruit with ribbed shoulders. Indeterminate vines.
* Stupice (55 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Last offered in 1998, Stupice is an extra early 3-4 oz. tomato from Czechoslovakia. It is noted for its ability to set fruit in cold weather, but what sets it apart from other 'cold weather' tomatoes is its unusually tasty, old-fashioned, large-tomato flavor. Determinate plants.
Sunchief Hybrid (65 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
New version of 'Sunrise', but larger (8-1/2 oz) early, uniform, firm, crack resistant fruit. Bright, red, very flavorful. Disease resistant, compact, determinate; better foliage cover than 'Sunrise'.
Super Sarno Hybrid (78 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
New early, highest quality, extra large Italian, 'San Marzano' paste type averaging a whopping 5 to 5-1/2 oz. Delicious with thick-walls for sauces or salads. Indeterminate vine.
Sweet Cluster Hybrid (67 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
New, producing sweet, ripe 2 r in., 4 oz. fruits which ripen in concentrated clusters of 6 to 8 fruits. Suitable for greenhouse or field production. Indeterminate vine.
Thessalonika (68 days from transplanting) 55 cents ea.
From Greece, renowned for its ability to hold baseball sized, fruits indefinitely without becoming overipe. Uniform, blemish-free, crack-free, mild-flavored. Indeterminate.
Whopper CR Improved Hybrid (67 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Improvement of OG50 Whopper earlier, and better heat performance. Indeterminate, disease resistant, with huge, crack resistant fruit of excellent quality.
White Beauty (85 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Creamy white inside and out. Extremely mild and sweet because of high sugar content. Meaty fruits average 8 oz. and have few seeds. Indeterminate vine.
*Window Box Roma (70 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
New, bred to grow in planters. Upright, strong, dwarf, branched plants with dark green rugose foliage producing very flavorful, pear-shaped brilliant red fruit. No Staking! Disease resistant.
Viva Italia Hybrid (76 days from transplanting) 55¢ ea.
Paste type with a high sugar content. Compact, egg shaped 3 r oz. very firm fruits. Higher sugar content makes it equally suitable for fresh or processing uses.
Thanks everyone!!!!
Favorite Tomatoes
Kassia, I can only comment on ones I have raised or discussed with others, so:
SunGold--My favorite cherry tomato for taste and productivity. It does tend to crack after a rainfall. A cousin-in-law who farms organically said that Sun Sugar was similar and resisted cracking.
Amish Paste--I didn't get good results from this. There is a current thread on the Tomato forum about best canning tomatoes: Opalka and Rutgers are touted among others.
Brandywine--Does taste good but low yield for me too.
Celebrity--My farmer relative in Wisconsin uses this as one of his main tomato crops. Resists cracking and is reliable, he says.
Early Girl--Some love it, some hate it. Didn't do much for me.
Mortgage Lifter--I've not tried it, but friends recommended it to me.
Stupice--A small to medium sized tomato with fairly good taste that came in early for me last year and kept producing til fall. I intend to grow it again.
Whopper--I tried this ten years ago when I first started gardening with fair results. I'm more into heirlooms now, but many people on the tomato forum swear by it. You might look at that forum. The people there are as knowledgeable and almost as friendly as the NE guys.
Hope this helps...some of your other possibilities sound interesting, but I've already gotten my seeds for this year and must exercise my will power not to buy any more...no more tomatoes...no more tomatoes...NO MORE TOMATOES! Aaaaghhhhhhh!
Thanks guys... I will certainly take that into consideration...
the worse is I didn't pull out the old tomato plants... I actually finished cleaning the garden right before it started snowing. so I left all the tomato supports and everything outside... oh well I guess spring cleaning will be bad!
well Kassia I am not much further than you... I pulled the supports and that's really it... no matter how many times I told myself I am going to cut back all my hostas because I hate that they get all mushy and nasty over the winter... uh well it never happened.... we will both be working our tails off in spring
:)
oh I am so glad I am not the only one!!!!
Well these are the tomatoes that I have planted before:
Super Sweet 100 Hybrid - plant full of clusters-kept me in tomatoes right up to frost, my newphew(3years old) would pick them for a snack.
Brandywine- I start mine from seed and they are rather large going in(I bury about half the plant) and have had good results-love this on sandwiches and eating with basil. These ripen towards the middle of August.
good luck and have fun with your garden!
Thanks! I am looking into red plastic now... let's see if that would work!
Hi Kassia,
Every year I mix up the tomatoes we plant (50) and usually have at least four different. All are started by seed. For sauces we always plant Big Mama Roma's, they are big and meaty and are even good just to eat. And last year we tried the Brandyboy Hybrid which has higher yeilds than Brandywine and where delicious. they will have a return engagement. Both are from Burpee. I tried some disease resistent plants last year as well that weren't great. When it came time to pick tomatoes to eat we always went for the roma's and Brandyboy's so right now the plan is to only have these two this year.