Let's Talk About Heirloom Tomatoes

[so lucky]

Lots of good suggestions here. I had seen people talking about Gary O Sena but didn't realize till this spring that it was developed by a guy in my neck of the woods. That one ought to be appropriate for my climate, anyway! And I think West Virginia has a similar climate to mine, so I am taking @journey11's suggestions seriously.

 

[Jared77]

I've never grown Rutgers but it's on the list.

I've had Black Krim for a few years now and it's a keeper in my MI zone 5/6 veg gardens. As well as red pear. VERY rich flavor for a tiny tomato.

I've got Cherokee purple, & Mr Stripey and oxheart varieties to name a few which are new for this year. I really liked the green zebras very productive with really good flavor but DW wasn't a fan because they can be difficult to determine ripeness without palpating them. Which is fine for me but she's wants to know without checking them all the time.

Something else I openly admit is I have a list. On it are varieties of veggies I want to try. LOTS of them are tomato varieties, but there is plenty if other stuff. Each time I do a seed order or buy starts I get something off the list. This year I found Mr Stripey as starts so I figured this is the year I try them. This way I don't go completely bonkers and order everything but I can order an extra packet here and there as I find them or they become available. That's how I got my pink Berkley tie dye tomato seeds from Wild Boar farms. I have yet to start them but they have gotten rave reviews online. Same with my birdhouse gourd seeds from Baker creek. This way I don't forget a variety either that I want to try at some point.

For example I have Japanese Black Trifle, Anna Russian, and Costoluto Genovese on the list. When I place another seed order I'll add one of these to the list. Black beauty peppers were on the list and I have some this year.

I've gotten seeds from trades too that I have squirreled away just waiting for their moment in the sun.

I have a bunch if seeds I'm saving to start at some point but when seems to be the elusive answer.

But I also plan my garden allowing for so many "I want go try these" plants too. Usually it's tomatoes but I have so many sq ft dedicated to them in the plan. Each year depending on what it is I'm going to try dictates where they go but the space is there. If it's a keeper then things are adjusted, if not oh well I tried it and now I know so let's try something else next season. I've had my share of duds believe me but knowing it's just a sample it's really not that big of a deal when it doesn't pan out. But that's also because I'm not counting on them as part of my harvest. Those are all extras I plant with the assumption they will fail and I won't get anything from them just in case.

This year most of that space and then some was used up by my glass gem corn. I don't ever go hog wild with a new variety if we're talking tomatoes I usually limit it to 4 per new variety to get a good sample to form an opinion. If it's something I grow from seed early to transplant outside Ill usually start a bunch of and give away the extras to other family or friends who garden. I mean who can say no to free tomato plants?

Sorry to be so long winded just giving you some insight into what works for me.

 

[HotPepperQueen]

My favorite heirloom hands down is Old German. My favorite hybrid is Lemon Boy. These are the only two plants that produced incredible quantities with high quality in my garden last year. I put them in sugar sand soil that only had a light amount of chicken poo in it. The plants were fertilized twice with Tomato Tone through out the whole season. Our growing conditions were less than stellar last year as well. June was perfect mid 70s with light rain once a week or so then it was over 100 degrees for two weeks straight in July with no rain and high winds. These plants still happened to produce enough for me to make two batches of tomato juice with the occasional Big Beef and La Roma thrown in there. The juice turned out light orange and so tasty- I only have 4 quarts left

 

[Jared77]

I agree with Lemon boy that's a staple in my garden too for the same reasons.

 

[journey11]

@Jared77 , that cracked me up about the Green Zebras...a high maintenance tomato, lol.

I forgot about Mr. Stripeys. I've grown them over 10 years ago, but wasn't saving seed at that time. They are beautiful when sliced and are juicy and sweet.

Costoluto Genovese make the most perfect, thick, rich and sweet tomato paste. I grew them for a couple of years, but found they were very susceptible to anthracnose. My climate is very wet and humid in the summers. You have to be very on the ball with them or else they'll develop rotten spots just as they turn red, before you can get enough to can up. Have to treat with fungicide preemptively. I think the high sugar content has something to do with it. I may give them another try. They were very unique and good.

@so lucky , if you've got a little space to play around with, you could make sure to plant some that have proven to be good producers for you and add in a few new things to try. I've found that the local feed and seeds here usually have tomato plants that are known to grow well in my area, both hybrids and some heirlooms too. And usually you'll find someone selling heirloom tomato plants at the farmer's market and they may be able to give you some good recommendations. Your county ag extension can tell you what diseases are most troublesome in your area too.

Tatiana's Tomatobase is a good resource to learn the specifics of each variety (size, yield, DTM, etc.) and you can find some opinions from growers there too. I refer to my Baker Creek catalog a lot for opinions on different varieties too. They are usually very descriptive about taste, yield and disease resistance and for those I have grown myself, I've found that I usually concur with their opinion.

 

[Jared77]

High maintenance is right!!! We were gardening on 2500sq ft and had over 60 tomato plants that year. Was a good year for them and the green zebras were very prolific. Those things cranked out tomatoes.

We were hauling 5 gallon buckets of tomatoes and gallon pails of green beans out of the garden on a weekly basis and to stop and check each tomato on the green zebra plants was not part of the plan. She liked them but said it wasn't worth it. I may sneak in a couple next year and blame the nursery for mislabeling them

I'm a big fan of Tatiana's Tomatobase too. Ton of info there.

 

[Nyboy]

After reading this thread I am craving a BLT !!

 

[Mel]

Passion of the Tomato Lover. You can feel it as you read each post.

 

[digitS']

Oh I don't know ...

This winter I was all excited about a new idea of growing my own mulch right in the tomato patch! Yes, I'd sow oat seed early (got it saved from last year)! Shortly after the tomato plants go in, I'd pull the oats and lay it out between the plants - it worked fine with squash last year!

Wouldn't you know it! I forgot to sow those oats back in April! The time to pull them is now, with all the tomatoes in the patch. ... i think i'll just forget about growing tomatoes this year ......

steve

 

[so lucky]

This winter I was all excited about a new idea of growing my own mulch right in the tomato patch! Yes, I'd sow oat seed early (got it saved from last year)! Shortly after the tomato plants go in, I'd pull the oats and lay it out between the plants - it worked fine with squash last year!

Wouldn't you know it! I forgot to sow those oats back in April! The time to pull them is now, with all the tomatoes in the patch. ... i think i'll just forget about growing tomatoes this year ......

steve

Yeah, I believe that.[/QUOTE]