Tomatoes

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The worst yielding (size and quantity) is the big boy )</font>

And I thought the Big Boy was just about my best. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I tried a number of different varieties and finally decided to go with nothing but Big Boy, Early Girl, and La Roma, although there are certainly several others that are more popular.

 

[paulss]

If you can find them, Brandywine and Zebra are the best eating tomatoes I've found. Both are old varieties and have lost favor because they are not as aesthetically pleasing as most of ther new hybrids. Brandywines are not perfectly round and usually don't get much more than pinkish red. Zebras are green with stripes that get a yellow cast to them as they ripen. They both have very little acid and are very tasty.

 

[Chuck52]

IrTxRx,

Ask me later. So far, all I have is some pretty good sized green tomatoes. All four Lemon Boy plants have at least ten decent size tomatoes on them, up to maybe three inches in diameter. My buddy who plated those last year says he got lots of medium sized tomatoes from them though the plants never got over three feet tall. My problem with them and some of the other types is that they are going brown at the bottoms, and I'm hoping they either recover or at least ripen the tomatoes they now have on before expiring on me! I put in the Parks Whoppers again this year because they gave a good yield last year and also were very good tasting tomatoes. I think my Better Boys gave the best over-all yield last year and they taste fine, but they aren't anything special. I suspect many of the supermarket and vegetable stand tomatoes are Better Boy because they are reliable. I'd sure like to try Brandywine again, but I had failures with them three years running. Where I'm located, central Missery, most years you need irrigation to ensure a good tomato crop, and I've only used some soaker hose around part of my garden. When I have time and money, I want to set up some buried water lines close enough to my garden so I can use drip irrigation. This year, we've had plenty of rain...probably too much at times...but I'm counting on the big dry to start any time.

Chuck

 

[Chuck52]

Bird,

I wish I could get a normal sized tomato that was as certain to yield as Sweet 100 Cherry. Those plants can look like refugees from a concentration camp and still put out more cherry tomatoes than we want. One year I tried drying them because I hated to see them just rot on the vine. I ended up, after hours in the dehydrator, with a handful of very seedy red specks. Sure were sweet, though! The other thing they're good for is letting the grandkids pick them. They're sweet, small, and.....expendable!

Chuck

 

[DAP]

I'm still surprised at how many folks have never heard of or tried 'fried green tomatoes'. A lil flower and S & P, some hot oil and yum diddly yum yum.

My dilemma with tomatoes is finding antique varieties for home growing.

It should no longer be a secret that tomatoes (like corn and just about every other cash crop) have been thoroughly studied to realize optimum cash output. Big surprise in our culture.

Anyway, I've read the reports where the scientists (I don't remember who they worked for but Weyerhauser comes to mind) discovered the gene that enables tomatoes to rot/ripen.

This gene was altered and/or replaced in many varieties. The causation is simple. The unfettered fruit must be picked at exacting times and has a very short shelf life. This alteration provided new and profitable margins for time to market production of the tomato fruit. They can pick the fruit normally but can now store and transport the produce on a more optimal time frame. It's all about the money again.

Finding out if you have 'traditional' tomatoes - untampered - is proving difficult.

Somewhat sad, but substantially true and irreversible.

 

[DAVELR]

I use concrete mesh. I have some cages I have used for 20 years. I cut about 4 feet and make a cage. Works great.

 

[Chuck52]

Do a search on "heirloom tomatoes" and you'll find many sources for seed. If you are into starting your own plants, it's easy enough to find the seeds, and I would think most of these sources are honest....that is the tomatoes are what they are said to be.

Even before gene manipulation, marketability was a major goal for many plant breeders. Unfortunately, how well a tomato stands up to shipping and storage doesn't seem to be directly correlated to taste. I originally thought the Parks Whoppers I chose to grow were an heirloom variety, because the name sounded like one. However, they are apparently an "improved" version of an heirloom. In this case, the improvement seems to be mainly disease resistance, and the tomatoes taste great. I suspect that success growing many heirloom varieties may require more luck with your environment or more work to keep the plants disease free. If Fusarium wilt, for example, is common in your area, many of the heirloom varieties would be hard to grow successfully.

Chuck

 

[EastTexFrank]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> a tomato that was as large as the entire peice of bread </font> )</font>

Oh I wish, just once, to get one that big. I've never had much luck with large/giant tomatoes. My wife seems to have better luck than I do. I can never get the watering right and they always end up splitting. Doesn't stop me from trying though. We've had a glut of eggplant and purple peppers so far this year. The other peppers and tomatoes are just starting to deliver now. By the look of it, it's going to be a good year. I planted bush tomatoes for the first time this year. They don't seem as prolific as the others and the taste is good but not extraordinary but boy are they easy ... no staking.

The only thing that I can think off that can rival a freshly picked tomato is an ear of corn, picked at just the right time and rushed to the kitchen or grill and cooked right there and then. Smothered with butter, that takes some beating.

 

[IrTxRx]

<font color="blue"> The only thing that I can think off that can rival a freshly picked tomato is an ear of corn </font>

My neighbor had a great corn crop growing. the winds that toppled my tomatoes ablolutely mowed down his corn crop. Maybe next year we'll have fresh corn and tomatoes at the same time.

FYI - last year I tried cooking COC (corn-on-cob) a different way. peel back husk and de-silk then fold husks back in place. soak to moisten husk, cook over inderect heat for about an hour on the grill/BBQ. peel back hus to make your handle, dust with garlic salt/ chili powder and comino (cumin). Very fresh tasting, fat free and a little south of the border flavor

 

[IrTxRx]

Bird,

I am noticing that some of my plants (most noticable on Big Boy) have the buds nipped off. What is most likely doing this and what is the best way to, safely, prevent the buggers from eating my toamto sprouts???

 

[Bird]

Of course I don't know for sure what might be nipping the buds off, but the only thing I've had do that was those big, fat, green caterpillar looking worms and I don't know their rightful name. Of course some years, the grasshoppers were hard on both the plants and the tomatoes, but I had so many more than we could use or even give away that I just didn't use any chemicals on my garden.

 

[AMP762]

DAP, You might find what you're looking for at
gardens@southernexposure.com they have a very good catalog with many seeds.I'm trying some of there Okra this year.
Paul

P.S. Do you think I need to water my corn /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[sassafraspete]

This post sure made me hungry. For me, the defining moment of the garden is picking that first ripe tomato. I like one that will cover my whole sandwich , and slice it about an inch thick....and enjoy.

I have 2 varieties you should try. One is called Big Beef, and was an all american selection winner a few yrs back. It has a lot of resistance to diseases and cracking, and is the kind you can slap on a big sandwich and cover the whole thing.

A second one for just popping in your mouth is another all american winner called Juliet Hybrid. It is looks like a small version of a roma , slightly bigger than a cherry or grape tomato. It is one of the best tasting tomato varieties you can get (imho) for just eating whole or on salads. I gave a few of these plants to the neighbors when I first tried them, and they quickly became one of their favorites. You don't plant many of these (they are big producers)....but just great to have so everytime you stop by the garden you grab a few and eat right on the spot. Sometimes when they are ripening, it is hard for me to mow by the garden...as I will make a round, then stop and eat a few, then mow another round or 2 and stop and eat a few more...and they are kinda addictive that way.

I've been known for going a little overboard on tomatoes. One year I ordered probably 40 - 50 different varieties of tomato seeds, and raised plants, to test them to see which I liked best. I had over 100 planted in the garden. The ones named by others are all good. Everyone says brandywine has the best taste, but I find that it cracks easily ...which is a common problem with many of the big varieties.

If you are into making paste, or ketchup.... I've found the heirloom variety Amish Paste, to be great. It is larger and meatier than a roma , and has a very good taste.

Ok, that was my 2 cents worth....

sasafraspete

 

[fishman]

Sassafraspete,

I harvested my tomatoes yesterday and have to concur with your assessment of the Big Beef. I don't have quite the database you have /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif, but this year it has outpaced all of the other 5 varieties I planted. Bigger tomatoes, very sweet, and prolific as well.

I also said I'd post after I ate my first 444 tomato. I think it's a keeper. Size approaching the Big Beef (at least in my garden), very meaty with fewer seeds and juice to soggy up the sandwich. No signs of leaf yellowing, blight, or other pests, unlike all my other varieties.

Next year my garden will include Big Beef and 444 along with some new contenders yet to be determined. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[sassafraspete]

fishman, I did my tomato testing about 6-7 yrs ago, so a little out of date. I have not seen the 444...but you have sparked my interest. Who sells the seed ? I will put this on my list to try next yr.

By the way, yesterday was a great day. I picked about 15 of my small juliet hybrid to eat with our meal. They were good, but not as good as they will be in hot weather. It has been a cool , wet late spring here and to get good tomatoes you have to have hot , humid weather in my opinion. I have a brother-in-law who is a Hoosier transplanted to Oregon. When he comes home to visit, the first thing he looks for are some locally grown tomatoes...as he says the ones they get there just don't taste like the tomatoes we have here. I've been to his place several times and the fruits and vegetables they have out there are spectacular....except for the tomatoes.


sassafraspete

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Has anybody tried the red plastic mulch that is supposed to cause tomatoes to grow faster and produce more? Any luck with it?

Steve

 

[fishman]

Sassafraspete,

I don't know who sells the seed. A buddy of mine gave me some leftover plants from a nursury he works at. This was the first year they had this variety. He couldn't tell me anything about it, so I'm just guessing here. But I think that it may be a determinate variety (i.e. one big harvest, then nothing). If so, it should be perfect for someone who wishes to make a bunch of tomato sauce, pico, salsa, or the like.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Usually what happens when you plant the seeds of a tomato hybrid they come back fine but they make a little pear shaped cherry type tomatoe we call a Tommy Toe here. usually if we have a tomato the get the rot on the vines we squish it and pant the seeds in a hole and they come back out loaded with blooms and the tomatos are about the size of a normal grape. great for a salad or salsa. dad usually tills a stip and we walk dowan it in the middle sqeezing the tomatoes that rot tthey spring the volunteers up quickly.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Since my wife has a king sized green thumb in a midget's backyard, see photo.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

She has a pot garden. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

These are volunteers. I'm not sure of their heritage. But some years ago a friend gave me a plant. He warned me that these tomatoes were the hardest he'd ever found to get from the garden to the dinner table. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I've found him right.

They are delicious and evidently aren't hybrids. This is about the fifth year and they're all volunteers. And yes, we've given away probably six or seven plants this year. Somethings are just too good not to share.