Each type of tomato is useful for different types of things. Some for juice, some for salsa, some for sauce, some for salads.
If I can only have one... for me, it's the Roma.
/johnny
People in NC say Cherokee Purple are excellent.
We grew several varieties of heirloom tomatoes last year. Some were good, others didn’t get any tomatoes. I’ll have to check my notes to see which were the failures, before we plant for this year!
Love them all! Brandywine are my all time favorite. They are much better tasting then hybrids in every way.
/johnny
Grown Better Boys, they make great sandwiches.
Please see the Weekly Gardening Thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2866495/posts
Wonderful information for many questions and answers too!
Enjoy
See if you can find some big ol’ Burpee Marglobes. Oh, my gosh, what a tomato!
Most are ugly as heck but the flavors are beyond describing.
Yes, they ARE that good.
I have liked Cherokee Purple that I have grown better than any other variety.
I work part time in a fruit & veggy stand in Port Townsend and we get a lot of exotic stuff in. I think Heirlooms were an oddity when they first came in and sure, they tasted good and looked fascinating, but it was hit and miss. Some of them were actually on the tasteless side to me if anything. Also I noticed that they would sometimes be “pithy” on one entire side, while fine on the other.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the large purple or multicolored Beefsteak type Heirlooms were actually outstanding. But nothing can beat any of the West coast farms which produce the large, red, in-season Beefsteak tomato. They are like a meal in themselves, no need for even salt. So dang incredible. Organic or otherwise, major farms or family. I used to grow the Better Boys and Early Girls myself that turned out excellent but was never able to grow a nice Beefsteak for some reason. I just had to respond to this post. I hope YOUR tomatoes turn out great!
This would be a good question to post on the Weekly Gardening Thread.
Heirlooms rock! You can save the seeds and get the same tomato from them the next year. They usually have better old time flavor - may be a little more acidic which is good for canning purposes. Good luck with your tomatoes.
Besides buying into commodities, such as guns, ammo, long term food storage, extra durable clothes, etc., growing a garden is an excellent idea. All seeds should be heirloom as they can produce seeds that can be replanted. Neighbors have laughed at my garden, but it gets a little bigger each year. Have had some failures but that is part of the learning experience for the area and skills building.
I bought some Cherokee Purples last season and was disappointed. They are supposed to be low acid, which would be easier on a lot of people’s stomachs, but the ones I had seemed low on taste also... It was late in the season, and I may have just gotten some poor ones, though. The market guy said his customers are crazy about them (and they were pricey).
“Celebrity” tomatoes seem to grow real well around here (East TN). I usually grow a variety of hybrids. German Queen is my old favorite for eating plain, and Celebrity or Better Boy for sandwiches and canning.
Good luck!
bfl
Where do you guys get your hybrid seeds?
I like Pruden’s Purple - it tastes like Cherokee Purple but it’s 10-12 days earlier.
Aunt Ruby’s German Green - rich and spicy, sweet slicer, gets a golden blush when ripe.
Kellogg’s Orange Breakfast - creamy, smooth, loads of tomato flavor without any harshness
Black Krim - complex, spicy, but not the same as Aunt Ruby. Seems disease prone.
Yellow Pear - feh. Most prolific tomato I have ever grown, nasty, waxy, tasteless things.
Principe Borghese - for sun-dried tomatoes.
This year, it’s Kellogg’s, Black Krim (one more chance - if it’s sickly, I’m done with it), and Polbig - very early, sets fruit in cool weather.
There is a whole world of tomatoes out there, but I believe I’d be happy with Pruden’s, Aunt Ruby, Kellogg’s, Pr. Borg., and Sungold. And a disease-resistant black.
Mr. Stripeys are the best for sandwiches and salads- huge, beautiful with orange, red, pink and salmon coloring throughout and they taste heavenly.
Also, don’t try to can the yellow tomatoes. They have too much water to turn out right.
My favorites:
St. Pierre
Wapsipinicon Peach
Alicante
Rose
Black Russian
Amish Paste
Great White
I love Cherokee Purples, but haven’t had much luck with getting a high yield of them.
One of the best ever is Black Cherry (cherry size). They just keep coming and coming and have the richest, smokiest flavor you’ll ever find. I ate bowls and bowls of them. Trickle a little Italian dressing on them and you have heaven.