2019 tomato list

[thejenx]

I love tomatoes, but 30 varieties takes a lot of time. I'm moving in April and the new place needs renovating, so less time for gardening. I save my own seeds so we can trade when I have more time. Now it's getting hectic, were getting the keys in 2 weeks!

 

[Michigan_Nick]

I love tomatoes, but 30 varieties takes a lot of time. I'm moving in April and the new place needs renovating, so less time for gardening. I save my own seeds so we can trade when I have more time. Now it's getting hectic, were getting the keys in 2 weeks!

That's very exciting (not the less gardening part though )! I wish you the best of luck on the move. I'll be moving here soon also so I understand where you're coming from. My seedling will be started in my new "home" and continued container gardening for me for the upcoming season.

 

[Zeedman]

Nicoviotis Orange (mid-sized orange "beefsteak" slicer)
Black Pepper (large, elongated "black" paste *)
Gogosha (large pink slicer, potato-leaf)
Czechoslovakian (large red plum-type paste)
Elfin (OP red grape)
San Marzano Redorta (large, elongated red paste)
Gilbert Italian Plum (very large red paste)

Possibly a couple others, if I can find space elsewhere (friends or family):
Cherry Roma (red cherry)
Snickers ("black" sauce/paste *)
Quebec 1121 (early red paste)

* The "black" tomatoes really ripen on the shelf to somewhere between brick red & chocolate brown. Both are Russian heirlooms. Snickers is a little too juicy for paste, but dissolves quickly into a rich sauce when cooked. One of the most prolific tomatoes I've grown... and what you would expect an heirloom to look like.

Elfin is DW's favorite snacking tomato, and the only tomato I grow every year. More compact plants than most cherry types, and really loaded... I think the plants use hundreds of green tomatoes in lieu of foliage. Tiny seeds, and very meaty - they don't explode when you bite them.

I'm trying to grow fewer varieties than the 12-13 tomatoes I've usually grown, to give them greater separation & concentrate on keeping them pure. There will be more plants of each paste type to make up for that. A couple promiscuous varieties (such as Federle) consistently showed too much crossing, and had to be dropped. I restored one crossed variety (Roughwood Golden Plum) because sources were few; but it took several years, and I don't have time or space to make a habit of doing that.

 

[seedcorn]

Looking for suggestions for an indeterminate, red, tomato that has less juice and more meat. Suggestions?

 

[Zeedman]

Looking for suggestions for an indeterminate, red, tomato that has less juice and more meat. Suggestions?

Maybe time to start a 2020 tomato thread?

It depends upon the intended use. I could recommend several paste types; others could chime in with slicers. I grow a lot of firm, low-seed tomatoes for canned salsa, need meaty tomatoes which are easy to seed & don't break down under heat for that. These are my best recommendations:
Cipolla's Pride
Czechoslovakian
(both large, firm, 7-9 ounce plum types)
Sunray Farm Paste (slightly smaller plum type, 5-6 ounces)
Japanese (several cultivars by that name, this is the elongated accession from SSE, 5-8 ounces)
San Marzano Redorta (elongated, avg. 7 ounces)

I hope to grow two of those which were mentioned in my previous post above, but which died awaiting transplant in last year's record rainfall. Provided I'm not quarantined at home during planting time. The last few years, it just seems to be one thing after another keeping me from planting my rural garden.

 

[MinnesotaGardening]

Hey Collector,

This is my second year of gardening and made the rookie mistake of not keeping track of really much of anything last year. I know I had 2 or 3 types of cherry tomatoes and one large, beefsteak type. Here's what tomatoes I'll be trialing this year:

-Fourth of July Hybrid
-Tasty Treat
-Cherokee Purple
-Land Race Currant
-Tiny Tim
-Tigerella
-Japanese Black Trifle
-Tommy Toe
-Black Cherry Russian

Any thoughts, tips or experience with any of these?

Looks like a good variety! Tigerella and Japanese Black Trifele are pretty opposite in taste. Tigerella is on the tart end, and black trifele seemed to be lacking tartness to me. But last summer when I grew it was so wet that the flavor could have been diluted. It would be interesting to see if you get similar results.
Is black cherry russian the same as black cherry? And is black cherry really different than chocolate cherry? I've seen people say so. I love chocolate cherry toms.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all have our own favorites and different tastes. To me practically all the black or purple tomatoes I've tried have been delicious. The Japanese Black Trifele were not tart for me but had a deep rich flavor, Growing season and your soils can affect flavor but you probably got the pretty close to the right flavor. My problem with them is that they were never that productive for me. Maybe they need a cooler climate or something.

The only tomato I can think of that I did not like was yellow pear. Just too bland. But a friend really liked them so I usually had a plant in the garden for him.

 

[catjac1975]

Looks like a good variety! Tigerella and Japanese Black Trifele are pretty opposite in taste. Tigerella is on the tart end, and black trifele seemed to be lacking tartness to me. But last summer when I grew it was so wet that the flavor could have been diluted. It would be interesting to see if you get similar results.
Is black cherry russian the same as black cherry? And is black cherry really different than chocolate cherry? I've seen people say so. I love chocolate cherry toms.

The best cherry I have grown is Sunpeach. Growing for years.

 

[seedcorn]

Maybe we need to divide this up into types? Best cherry, best slicer, most meaty, best paste, etc.....

Notice very few talk of the oxheart varieties, why?

 

[Zeedman]

Notice very few talk of the oxheart varieties, why?

Good tomatoes too; large, easy to remove seeds, and most have good flavor. I generally grow one oxheart variety each year. Hungarian Heart is one of the most productive tomatoes I've grown, and many swear by it. I can substitute oxhearts for paste tomatoes when making canned salsa, the prep goes quickly due to their large size (most are 8 oz. or more) and the results flavorwise are very good... but they are a little juicier than the paste types, @seedcorn , so probably not what you are looking for. When using oxhearts for canned salsa, I ladle off the excess juice until I get the consistency I want.

But for the most part, I prefer to use oxhearts fresh, especially chopped for tacos or salads. Their mild, sweet flavor is well suited to fresh use. They make a great sauce too, but it takes awhile to cook down.