Let's Talk About Heirloom Tomatoes

[so lucky]

I know many of us are trying more heirloom tomatoes, or other open pollinated tomatoes, but the remarks about low disease resistance and low production has me thinking about next year. Most of the tomatoes I planted this year are OP. So this will be a pretty good test year, although not necessarily a good production year.
So I am wondering, to all of you who have planted OPs for years:
What have been the best producers for you? I'm thinking all around qualities: disease resistance, production and taste. Maybe if we discuss this now, we can keep from making heat-of-the-moment decisions in January, when we all have fresh tomato lust.

 

[catjac1975]

We have only had one terrible year in 37 years.It was a state wide blight. Growing a few resistant varieties with the heirloom may insure that you get some crop. When it happened here we really had very few tomatoes. All the bigs, big girl big boy, big beef-all resistant and all delicious.

 

[meatburner]

so lucky, I am in SW Missouri and have had great success growing Rutgers from Baker Creek seeds. We freeze and can quite a bit and Rutgers has worked out well for us. I realize the same tomato may be quite different is different states because of climate and soil but we are fairly close to each other. My MIL grew Rutgers down by Gainsville for years with great success.

 

[baymule]

The jury is still in deliberation at my house. I have grown Celebrity for some time because that what was available at the big box stores as plants. Then I got all crazy and ordered seeds. Must be that winter tomato lust aggravated by colorful catalogs and dreary winter days you talk about, @so lucky.

Last year I grew Cherokee Purple, which bore large delicious tomatoes, just not enough of them for my very limited space. I got one bag put in the freezer which made the best darn pot of chili I ever tasted. Cherokee Purple is growing in the garden now, waiting impatiently for them to ripen.

Last year I grew Orange Icicle from Baker Creek. I give them a thumbs up, they were good for fresh eating, I dehydrated some and canned some. They hung in clusters of 3 or 4 and bore well.

Last year I grew Riesentraube cherry tomatoes. I got so many we couldn't eat them all. I put some through the blender, dehydrated the juicy pulp and made tomato flakes. I used the flakes in cooking and in making "cup of tomato soup". I would grow these again.

Last year I grew Arkansas Traveler, it produced as well as the Celebrity hybrid. I would grow these again.

This year I am growing Tommy Toe tomatoes because of the childhood memories of my husband. He remembered eating them out of his father's garden. They make a big cherry tomato, they are tasty and produce well. These make the keeper list.

I am also growing Yellow Pear tomatoes. These are small and don't have a whole lot of taste, but they look pretty in salads.

Also growing Homestead (loaded with green tomatoes) Gypsy (a purple tomato from Russia) Paul Robeson (raving reviews on taste, but don't have many on the vines) German Johnson (big, but not many on vines) I haven't got ripe ones yet, so can't tell much about them. Will report back when I know more.

I am trying so many varieties because I am looking for that knock yer socks off tomato varieties that are a must have in the garden.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll keep doing my spur-of-the-moment choices, thank you but that's mainly when I see what varieties the guy that does the OP plant sale at the local Ozark Natural Foods store has this year. I got Eva Purple Ball and Chocolate Stripes from him this year as my spur-of-the moments. We'll see how they do.

A few years back I planted 17 different varieties of tomatoes, 15 of them OP. That was one of the years of drought and a few weeks of over 110 temps. The only ones that produced were the two hybrids and eventually Black Krim and Mr. Stripey. Those two waited until it cooled off then were impressive, but during the heat they did absolutely nothing. I've tried both other years and they did not do a lot for me. I do like the flavor so I often repeat those two.

A couple of years back my spring was really early. I planted Brandywine and was impressed until the heat hit, then they quit, never to return. I planted them last year but spring was very late and it turned hot fairly early. Brandywine did absolutely nothing.

I have that kind of stuff happen a lot. Something will do really good one year but nothing in other years. My seasons are fairly variable, temperature as well as rain. My summers are always hot and dry, but some years that hot and dry starts in May and some years it doesn't get ridiculous until into July. Sometimes the hot is weeks of over 110 and sometimes it barely cracks 100.

One of my open-pollinated this year is Jubilee, a medium yellow that I like. It is reasonably productive most years and occasionally has a real good year. I've saved seeds the last few years and they have always seemed worth saving. I'm also trying Hillbilly. It looks a lot like Mr. Stripey so I'll see how it does.

I also have a 4th of July Hybrid planted. Those always produce enough through the summer that I have some to eat on. Hybrid though, not open pollinated. I always have these.

 

[catjac1975]

Mortgage Lifter is an old standby with lots of taste and lots of tomatoes. Hence the cool name.

 

[digitS']

Love apples, @so lucky .

. . . I realize the same tomato may be quite different is different states because of climate and soil but we are fairly close to each other. . .

That almost seems like it could be a definition of "heirloom." We may be expecting a little too much from them if we expect broad adaptability.

Sometimes, gardeners talk about diseases that I know nothing about and have to assume that they just aren't common here. Some heirlooms are said to be resistant to the more common wilts. Having a seed company pay for research showing that, is unlikely. The company will not have exclusive rights to an heirloom and won't make the kind of money on them that hybrids bring. A modern but open-pollinated variety, Legend, has resistance to blight. I like it but it certainly isn't a first choice for taste.

I'm really looking forward to having Gary O Sena back again this year. It isn't an heirloom. It is a cross between 2 heirlooms, Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. @marshallsmyth suggests that one of the reasons it does well for me is because it maintains a degree of hybrid vigor. I could do with all the vigor that I can get!

Local conditions? Thessaloniki was the first heirloom that I deliberately grew. I think that it proved its ability to do well in this semi-arid climate and will ripen early enough with all the early season and nighttime coolness.

I wish that some of the yellow heirlooms like Kellogg's Breakfast would ripen early. The flavor is de-lish!

I don't want to give up dependable Big Beef and Early Girl. Moreover, I really like the sweet hybrid cherries. IMO, None of the heirlooms compare!

Steve

 

[meatburner]

yea digitS, I see folk asking about the best tomato for this and that but and just shake my head. Local knowledge is so important to seek out. I enjoy growing out some of the strong heirlooms to see how they grow here. Some do, and some don't. That is gardening. I hope the OP will continue to try heirlooms in their area and have success with it.

 

[Mel]

Trying some homespun OP tomatoes again this season. Developed and released by North Dakota State University, the Dakota Gold ,a large yellow, sweet fruit with excellent production and the Bison, a large red fruit with good flavor and very good production Both of these did very well in my North Dakota garden last season. Purchased the seed from Sandhill.
Hope their hardy cause theres a chance of patchy frost forecast for tonight. Believe that s#*t?
Cherokee Purple has a place in the garden also. My favorite.

 

[journey11]

Well, when you're talking about disease resistance qualities in heirlooms/OPs, you've got to consider that that view is generally coming from a commercial perspective. Tomatoes for market have to be reliable enough to be grown in large fields and they don't want the whole crop getting wiped out. They're pretty much all hybrids, so they've got that whole hybrid vigor thing going on. Flavor is also often traded off for uniformity of size, ability to ship long distances, quicker and shorter window of ripening time, etc. Many of your heirlooms will be late season DTM or ripen a couple here or there over a long period of time. That's a good thing in the home garden, not so good for market (or if you really want to can up all of your tomato sauce all in one day.)

If you're growing heirlooms in your own garden and taking proper care of them, mulching (really big deal...you don't want rainwater splashing back up on the leaves and transmitting soil-borne disease), patrolling for bugs, good healthy soil, etc. you are not going to have too much trouble or losses from disease. Every time I've gotten blight, it has been my own fault for not mulching promptly.

My favorite heirlooms/OPs are Black Krim (awesome flavor, pretty tomato), Delicious (huge beefsteak slicers with wonderful flavor), Black Plum (unusually deep flavored 2oz saladette, big yields), Kellogg's Breakfast (yummy, sweet, mild flavor and huge, great for showing off ), WV63 (good flavor, good for canning or slicing, and this one actually does have great disease resistance qualities), Golden Egg (cute little yellow grape tomato, tasty), Golden Jubilee (mild and sweet, my hubby's favorite tomato) and San Marzano (tasty and good for roasting/cooking).

I've got 23 OP tomato varieties in my collection right now and I've not even barely begun to sample what's out there, so I can't really say that I won't have new favorites next year. I'm lucky to have a nice, long growing season here, so I'm not limited in what I can grow. I'm not looking to turn a profit on my garden, so big yields aren't an issue for me. I actually appreciate that they don't all ripen at once. I keep the canner going all summer anyway. I'm more concerned about how it TASTES and of course, it doesn't hurt if it is also pretty! I've grown a lot of popular hybrids in the past before I got into heirloom/OP tomatoes, but I don't grow them anymore primarily because I want to be able to save seed from my tomatoes and I really do think the heirlooms taste better.