Thinking About Tomatoes Already

[majorcatfish]

Major, I tried San Marzano a few years back. They were prone to blossom end rot here. My soil has plenty of calcium, I mulch heavily, and keep the moisture as consistent as I can but many of the paste tomatoes I've tried have had a real problem with BER even when other tomatoes grown side by side in the same conditions have not had that problem. That's why I settled on the Big Mama and Supersauce.

The Supersauce is supposed to be indeterminate but it sure grew like a determinate when I grew it. It produced really well to start with but the vine never grew that big and production tapered off. I'll probably not prune it this year at all and see how it does.

@Ridgerunner looked those supersauce tomatoes up very interesting think i will try a couple next season thanks for the tip....

 

[Lavender2]

I think I've tried enough heirlooms to know that if I had to rely on them for canning I probably wouldn't be canning.

I would love to have the room to try every one of them! But I have room for about 30 plants and not much wiggle room for alternating crops. Brandywine probably did the best as far as production, but it seems most others I tried set fruit so late I couldn't count on much of a harvest.

My boring selection usually includes early girl (a must), big beef, beefy boy, and Parks Whopper. Celebrity is a frequent determinate we like. This year I may try Prudens purple. I was surprised to see so many heirloom varieties of starts at the farm supply store last spring.

 

[Ridgerunner]

One year I grew 17 different open-pollinated varieties. That was one of the summers where we had record heat and dry. The only ones that produced were Mr. Stripey and Black Krim. That was after spending a fortune watering them and keeping them alive. That production came after the heat broke and it cooled off. The rest did practically nothing. But other years Mr. Stripey and Black Krim do practically nothing. My climate is so varied here that a typical summer doesn't mean a lot. Sometimes I'll get an open pollinated variety that does well really well. Parks Whopper has been a decent producer for me most years. Interesting with the difference in your climate in Minnesota and mine that we both like that one.

The hybrids don't always produce really well for me either, though they usually do OK. Each year it is a crap shoot. What should I plant and how much of each. Some of the hybrids have really good flavor. The ones I grow taste a lot like a tomato. But some of the open pollinated have their own unique flavor or appearance that makes them worth growing.

 

[digitS']

Ya know, there's an "Arkansas Traveler" tomato. @Ridgerunner makes me wonder if it only gained usefulness from traveling outside of its home state ..

Here is what I said about the first paste tomato I've grown in 15 years. "Heinz 2653, an heirloom determinant, rated at 68 days, it's the earliest I found from the outfits I usually order from. The small plants have been loaded with fruit in a really bad tomato year. I think the plants might have been larger without the summer windstorms but I'm okay with how they did. The Heinz 2653 sauce is nice and sweet and flavorful!"

I wrote that on September 30th, however. If the plants had died in our September 11th frost, I don't think I would have known what they tasted like. I was surprised that they were so late, pleased with everything else.

Steve
@Lavender2 , I think you might like Prudens. Very nice fruit but it only ripened during the final days of the season in my garden.

 

[catjac1975]

Heirloom tomatoes have been very popular for quite a few years. Many are special and delicious. Modern hybrids have been created to be hardy against many diseases and viruses, and of course the pros grow that keep well in travel and in the market.. That is not important until that one year when a virus blows through your state and your whole crop fails. That happened here in Massachusetts several years back. Supposedly one of the big box stores sold diseased plants. I lost most of mine except a few hybrids. The ones that fared best were the Italian Roma types.

 

[seedcorn]

I've grown heirloom varieties that were suppose to have that "special" tomato flavor. Yes, even black ones. Was not impressed with flavor nor productivity-except for San Marzano.

I will stay with hybrids. In home garden, except for sweet corn that you have to have a Monsanto ID, none are GMO's.

 

[so lucky]

Seedcorn, I have to agree with you; most of the heirlooms that I have managed to produce have not been particularly flavorful.

I wonder, has there been any research regarding what kind of soil produces the best tasting tomatoes? Other than the ph and organic matter? (What else would there be to consider?) Hmm, rocky vs sandy vs clay. Volcanic vs boggy? ??
Last year Baker Creek published some great information about the nutritional content of various tomatoes, and the brix level. But I would think the test subjects were all grown at the same farm, with the same type of soil.

 

[thistlebloom]

Also along that line of thought So Lucky, I wonder how the amount of watering, ( rain or irrigation ), affects flavor. It makes a difference to melons and strawberries.

 

[Smart Red]

Also along that line of thought So Lucky, I wonder how the amount of watering, ( rain or irrigation ), affects flavor. It makes a difference to melons and strawberries.

And the amount of sunshine, and the temperatures at ripening time and city water versus well water versus rainfall. We gardeners have so many variables to contend with from year to year ir would take far better record keeping than I do to define the perfect tomato.

 

[seedcorn]

Plus what you think is a good tomato taste may not be to me. I really notice it in Roma types as some of the "improved" varieties have little flavor-to me. Tried Abraham Lincoln's-great yield, nice large fruit, devoid of flavor.