A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 So, if you had to choose one tomato for slicing...

... which would you grow?

We have a teensy spot for produce gardening, and 3 tomato plants was too many this year (one cherry and two non-cherry [the plants got large but the tomatoes didn't get very large]).

My 5-year-old had a ball growing the tomatoes but he doesn't eat them.... however, *I* do, and the grandparents are very happy to share the bounty and he's proud to take his harvest to them of course.

I think we'll skip the cherry tomatoes and concentrate on the slicers. I'm originally from New Jersey so am wondering how the Rutger's (aka Jersey) measures up to the newer varieties. Naturallement I would prefer heirloom so we could start a tradition and keep it going.

Thanks in advance for any advice and all your opinions.

I'd probably chuck the heirloom idea and go with a compact variety that has been hybridized to produce well in a pot. Then you would be pretty assured of a good harvest.

Chuck the heirloom in favor of hybrids?!?! Blastphemy!! I guess you could do that if you don't grow tomatoes for taste.

Are you looking for something that produces or for something that tastes good? Are you looking for a more compact plant? Are you looking for something that you could save your own seed from?

No, yes, no, yes. ;-) Did I win?

^
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Okay, I'll edit; that looked dopey by itself... Three plants was too much, we'll just go for 1 or maybe 2 next year, same variety since I want to save the seed. I definitely want taste since I'm eating them, but I'm not terribly finicky so as long as they're better than grocery bought (and just about anything grown is, right?) it should be fine. I like traditional flavor, and I like to add salt to mine.

Production is not a big issue, everybody around here grows tomatoes so sharing with the grandparents is more of a trophy issue than a sustenance thing... in other words, the grandparents are not going to go without tomatoes if we don't provide them.

I understand your point of view, too, Tammy. Your circumstances are special, being in a very very confined space. I should have been more specific with my question. I have room for 2 full size plants (3 was too many) and I don't need a huge crop.

I'm looking specifically at what the taste preferences are, and specifically what the general consensus is on Rutgers (Jersey) tomato since, as I mentioned, I'm a Joisey transplant myself. Did anybody grow this variety, and did you like it?

Thanks again for all opinions.

I say go for it. Don't let anybody talk you out of it either. I've never grown Rutgers, but just about any homegrown tomato is going to be much better than store bought. New Jersey is good tomato growing country as well, so you'll be just fine.

Heyyyyyy Tam, I was going to say you'd better
"duck" with those words if Julianna or John see them..
They are definately heirloom diehards....
but I see John already beat me here...

I have to say, I grew the Rutgers', they were a good plant, produced, nice, and basically why I grow them, I find them cheap and early locally *the seeds* so, I grab 'em cause I"m a sucker for "homegrown" tomatoes like MrClint said, any "Homegrown" one is wayyyyyy better than any store bought one, any day..
(I'm duckin' too, when I say that... )

Compact sizes though, I'd go with any John suggest...<~~~~

Opinion on that one...

Never skip the cherries in my eyes, especially if you're tryin' to get them to eat from the garden...

Never skip something cause they don't eat it..
*at least for 5 or 6 years.. and even then always give them some to at least try...
Tastes' change*

*and this is a proven theory, that if you continue to give a child something on their plate, even if they don't eat it... eventually it'll be there so many times, that if you put that on their plate when you introduce a new food, they will at least try the old food, cause they've seen it so many times, they are more familiar with that food than the new one you put on the plate...~~~>does that many any sense?<~~~
And IMHO if your little one sees you eating them, then your chances are reasonably good he may too..
*I snack on them all the time while doing gardening chores and my kids don't exactly like tomatoes, but are willing to keep tryin' them, because they see how fanatical their mother is about them...*

And last but not least in the opinion department..
if you have a small growing area...
don't forget about growing tomatoes in 5 gallon food grade buckets...
Works really good...

My one and only positive experience buying a store tomato was when all the posts about Cherokee purples got to me and I bought one.
That thing was so good that it's made me plan to grow them this spring.

Celebrity is a nice slicing tomato,looks almost like sirloin inside (solid meat,little juice) and a nice taste.I favor pink brandywine for taste,they are ugly but great tasting.Sun Gold for the best cherry tomato.

Deborah, I grew Cherokee Purple this year for the first time, and it was awesome!!! I rank it right up there with Brandywine for flavor. Some people might be a bit put off by the color though.

Roflol, do you stake your tomatoes? If you stake them and train them to only 2 main stems or so, you can space them 2 feet apart. How much space do you have?

Sorry if I offended. I didn't mean to.

Ohhhhhh no Tammy.. D
You didn't offend anyone....
Not at all...
We just love Tomatoes so much..

But I know how staunch some gardener's can be with certain types, brands, varieties of 'maters..

And I know they both like to joke about their tomatoes being the best..
*which they are veryyyyyyy good...
i just never get around to growing them*

Oh please! No need to apologize. We'll convert you to a devoted REAL tomato grower yet. If the whole thing about poor production is the only thing stopping you, you really need to check into them more. There are many, many heirlooms that will out-produce even the most prolific hybrids. This is a common misconception. Sure, there are varieties like some brandywines that do not produce all that great, but even the few you get will make your eyes roll back in your head compared to, say, an early girl.

Ciao roflol,

My favourite tomato, bar none is Brandywine Sudduth. It doesn't produce a ton, but what it does will make your eyes roll back in your head. It's a gorgeous, slightly flattened pink tomato that will fill a piece of bread nicely and makes an absolutely heavenly BLT.

Another one I adore for slicing is German Red Strawberry, a heart-shaped variety, which is actually pink, not red. The only difference between a pink and red tomato is the skin colour..pink tomatoes have a clear skin, red tomatoes have a yellow skin. I'm quite partial to pink and purple tomatoes.

My third choice would be Black From Tula, a dark purple slicer, which for me has a very rich, almost smoky flavour I really like. This plant is what I'd call a compact indeterminate. It won't get huge, but in my garden, it gets quite bushy and will absolutely need staking. This year it got to about 5' tall.

My favourite green when ripe tomato is Aunt Ruby's German Green with it's almost spicy flavour. This one's a monster and can grow over 8' tall in the right conditions so consider that before you plant. It's a great producer, too.

Orange Strawberry was a huge hit this year as well. Gorgeous colour, very dense, meaty tomato, really great as a sandwich tomato.

I'd say those are the standouts. If you like a really huge tomato, grow Marianna's Peace. It's another pink and the tomatoes I got from it in 2005 were averaging 2 lbs each.

Cheers,
Julianna

There are many factors that determine tomato taste, and each region or climate tends to have it's favorites. That Early Girl that you just snubbed is a huge favorite here in the west. I picked the first one in March and sliced one just yesterday (and there has been a bunch in between). They are very good.

I took a plate of EG to Tomatomania here a few years back, and sat them right next to the brandywine this-eth, and the cherokee that-eth and marveled at the comments. One lady proclaimed, "Now that's how a tomato should taste!"

Terry, your comment explains a lot. We only had a 3x2 raised bed to work with (size was determined by how many cinder blocks we scrounged) and we didn't prune a single branch back (unless obviously dead... I just couldn't make myself do it) so it's no wonder the tomatoes didn't overwhelm us, lol - they didn't have enough room (to make matters worse, they shared that bed with the doomed pumpkin vines). But we did stake (with anything that would hold them up) when they started to fall all over each other.

Funny how it looked like there was all the room in the world for the 3 of them when we planted them, though!

Welllll, y'all are not making the choice easy of which variety or two for me to grow, are you? *Everything* sounds so good!

Do all the varieties you've been discussing come true from seed that you've saved, or do you buy new seed year to year? (I am still learning about this bit).

Thanks again for all the information, everybody.

Anyone used to eating hybrids or supermarket tomatoes is going to say that.

Without mechanical pollinator barriers or adequate geographical isolation there is always a chance of tomatoes cross-pollinating, but with the natural structure of the tomato flower the percentages are only in the 5-10% range.

Thanks, John.

I think what I will do is this: The small bed will be home to two Rutgers if I can get seed for that; we'll see how they do and continue that if we like them. If not, we'll try something else in 2008.

I am still interested in other varieties mentioned here, including cherry tomatoes (you're right weezie - heck, the little guy *loves* pizza, there's no reason he can't learn to love tomatoes by themselves eventually) so will start collecting some big buckets and have a few more plants in other places in the front and back yard, far enough away from each other and with enough plants between them that I would hope cross pollination won't be an issue at all.

Thanks again to each of you!

Taste is completely subjective. In reality, most folks grow both hybrids and heirlooms. There are productive and tasty tomatoes of both kinds.

That is quite an over-generalization. In reality, people who grow hybrids do so because they don't know better. They're the ones who buy their transplants at HD or walmart and are willing to settle for their taste not knowing there are far better tasting varieties available. :rolleyes:

I have to butt in here for a bit..
Sometimes when first time gardeners get
even interested in gardening at first..
I am grateful that they are willing to take the
time to grow a tomato, no matter what brand..
And when a person starts to garden, how do they know what is or is not available to grow, especially they start with growing what's available..
And if the hybrids' are what's available..
How would that gardener know?

Some don't have the internet connections,
or even maybe savy *of knowing how to surf and get/find info* so, they again are limited to what they are given or what's available to them..

I still stick by my HO that ANY tomato HOMEGROWN is waaaaaayyyyyy better than any store bought..

But I truly understand the need for heirloom seeds to be kept and continued...
And for those who are so deeply involved in them to help educate and spread good will with those
"heirloom varieties* that are falling behind the way side to those "pretty" new hybrids...

Also, I will stand by the process of talking, because one gardener loves one variety, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy, and tells the next guy

And that's how we spread the word of those heirloom tomatoes that have gotten left behind or forgotten...
because they don't look "pretty"....

So, if we keep talking positive of heirloom varieties... I believe that eventually there will be an even scale for both sides...

Oby, yes, the Cherokee wouldn't win any beauty contests, but it was so good it really surprised me.
I also really like the yellow pear, and want to grow the red pear too.
And the little Reisentraube and for fun, the teeny Micro-Tom.
Oops, I just remembered that this thread is about slicers.

It originally was, Deborah L., but we can go into cherries cause I'm going there after all... I'm curious about the Tumbling Tom as there is plenty of room to hang baskets of this under the eaves of the deck (west side of house, tons of sun, and they would not take up any space on the ground). Any experience with this variety?

And since there's activity on this thread, I'm begging - if you haven't already, please read this thread re the struggling corkscrew vine rooted cuttings and share your ideas on what could possibly be going on with these things. I'm at a loss.

Thanks in advance as always.

Well for slicing I have been growing Brandywine for many years, they are large, not always pretty to look at, but that doesn't change the taste at all, and a very good slicer. And as stated heirlooms are not always the prettiest as far as looks, but some of them are very tasty, So you should try heirloom tomatoes and other heirloom veggies....Our ancestors grew them and were satisfied.

I would urge anyone that hasn't already made up their mind about hybrids and heirlooms -- to continue keeping an open mind. Otherwise, you might miss out on some truly great tomatoes of either type. The Internet is a great resource, but so are your neighbors, state and/or county extension, and local nursery person. I hope that sounds more reasonable than, "if you disagree with me it means you don't know any better."

I agree with MrClint!
This year i grew a F1 hybrid called FERLINE, and it was the best tom ive grown.
every year i grow at least 1 new variety, FERLINE will be my first choice again next year, because its the only one ive grown that has'nt had any problems.
The reason i grew it, was because it was said to be blight resistant!
and yes it was
my dad grew his old favourite MONEYMAKER (op)beside mine and they got blight.
Taste was great'and a bonus was nice thin skins

Roflol, no, I've never grown Tumbling Tom.
I don't know anything about the corkscrew, sorry.

I do not disagree (but I probable don't know any better either ) , and being open minded is a very good way to be. When I first moved to Arkansas...I ask the locals what kind of tomato they grew...Arkansas Traveler is what everyone around here swears by, Ok..so I tried them the first year...I hated the taste the skins were tough, it was horrid to me...But to them they love them....So yes a person needs to try different things and find the perfect one for themselves, whether it is heirloom or hybrid.

There you go, taste is subjective. As for perfection, I gave up searching for that phantom years ago.

Ciao all,

I think John was misunderstood. I think what he was trying to convey is that for most people, they will buy what's easily available and if the nursery has it, whether it's heirloom or hybrid, that's what they'll go for. He and I both discovered heirlooms and after really amazing success, decided to go totally nuts and grow as many as we could shoe-horn into our yards. And now we're totally hooked. BUT..I actually got seeds from an absolutely outstanding hybrid from this same guy..Sungold F1, an orange cherry which is arguably the sweetest tomato on the planet. So it was the only hybrid in our yard, but still, we're not totally anti-hybrid for the sake of it. Show me a hybrid that tastes as good or better than an heirloom and I'll give it a shot. The downside is we can't save seeds from these things, but at $4 a pop for Sungold F1 seeds every single year if that's the only tomato I have to actually fork out money for, I'm ok with that. I'm also totally ok with trading with people because like John said, cross-pollination is still a very low probability even without bothering to bag blossoms and I got some very interesting tomatoes this year from another tomato-growing addict which were accidental crosses.

Cheers,
Julianna

Everyone has a right to choose what they want...no one's opinion is wrong or right...it's just what they prefer. I prefer a sour tasting tomato over a sweet...I've found MANY hybrids that quench that craving for me!
You just have try out a few varities whether they be hybrid or heirloom and see what your preference is.
Also, a tomato plant grown in my soil may taste completely different than the exact variety in the neighbour's garden due to soil conditions.
Of all varieties I've grown (and there's many), I still prefer my Better Boys! My mouth waters when I slice it..this coming from a girl who can live of tomatoes (and basically does!).

I've been in these hybrid versus heirloom discussions elsewhere. Nobody ever wins these things. Posts usually end up getting pulled or users banned. Heirloom fans are very passionate, almost driven! I like both types of tomatoes and choose to judge the plants on their own merits. Most folks are basically pragmatic versus being simply uninformed.

As for sungolds, they are simply awesome tomatoes. I am "ordered" to always grow them. Other great tasting hybrids that I am ordered to grow are momotaro, and juliet. This further proves the rule that taste is subjective, as each of these is the favorite of at least one family member. The juliet fan in the family does not care for sungold at all... So on and so forth.

We love tomato talk here MrClint..
And we'd never ban anyone for talkin' tomato.....

In my book anyone who takes the time to grow
tomatoes and talk tomatoes and to help those new
gardners learn how to grow "any" tomatoes is A~ok in my book...

I admire your passion MrClint!

Welp, I'll bet I'm banned....

Deborah...You are so funny, no one is going to ban you because you say you didn't like the taste of a certain kind of tomato. Everyone is different, as are their tastes. Also as was pointed out...alot of other factors can change the taste from garden to garden of the same kind of tomato. I'll be trying a few new varieties this next growing season and I hope to find a few I really like the taste of, I'll be growing only heirloom varieties, as I like to be able to save seed, esp if it something I really like the taste of.

Nope, not banning you Deb.....

You qualify to stay...
You're talkin' TOMATO !!!

I get to stay !!!

...and how many "heirlooms" have you grown Christina?

This is my point, most people have not experienced a really good tomato, so in their minds they can't realistically compare them. I would be willing to be a week's pay that if you put 100 blindfolded tomato lovers in front of a sliced better boy/early girl, etc., and a sliced brandywine, 95 of the 100 would prefer the brandywine and the other five probably had serious head colds or something clouding their judgement. :rolleyes:

Christina and Deb, if you like a "tangy" rather than "sweet" fruit, try some of the green-when-ripes. And Deb, don't judge Sungold on one year's growing. Try it again.

There are few hybrids that can be compared to most "heirlooms" IN GENERAL. Sungold, Brandy Boy, Big Beef to name a few, would be worthy in any devoted OP grower's garden in regards to taste.

At the end of the day most folks want it all. Since growing space is limited, we need taste, production and high quality fruit. It does us little good to focus on only one of those elements and forsake the others. I mention fruit quality because it can be a huge waste to carve out all the cracks, splits, scald and other bad spots from a completely mis-shapen tomato.

I've tasted a large number of tomatoes both heirloom and hybrid and have favorites of both kinds. The tables can be turned and one can ask an heirloom fan how many hybrids they've grown/tasted. You can't judge all hybrids on the boys, bigs or girls.

Here's Jamie's Big Beef:



Far too sweet for me.

Then what are you going to judge them against? Surely not on the ones sold in grocery stores. :rolleyes:

You know exactly the point I'm making. You have quite an eloquent way of being argumentative. I've seen it on other forums as well. Fools some I guess.

Way to go, Jamie ! Those are beautiful tomatoes !

Aww..how nice of you Deborah! I have a thread going in "Gardening with Disabilities" about Jamie...though I haven't added to it in quite some time.
They are beautiful looking tomatoes aren't they?
Thanks again,
Christina

Ok...guys

I'm sorry if the discussion has gotten anybody testy, I certainly didn't mean for it to.

I'd like to clarify something in my very first post that I think had I been more specific and less poetic in describing *may* have avoided all this:
By this, I meant I wanted to save the seeds of whatever variety we chose and keep growing it year after year (if we liked it). I'm still learning the nuances of hybridization, but is it correct that it's heirloom I would be wanting for this purpose, as hybrid may or may not grow true from seed? Please correct me if I am wrong there.

I was silly thinking there was one tomato that would be a hands-down favorite to grow and eat. Heck, I had no idea there were so many different tomatoes to begin with!

I am in the process of obtaining a few different varieties (Rutgers original for the bed, and Brandywine {pink and red} and Purple Cherokee for buckets, and still hunting for Tumbling Tom for baskets) and hopefully someday when somebody even newer than I comes on the board and asks this question I can tell them my experience with those tomatoes.

I can tell you (because I just dug the tags out of my seed box) that the tomatoes we grew from plants bought at Wal-Mart were Bonnie brand Heartland and Husky Cherry Red. Both were better than store-bought; that's about all I have to compare them to at this point. Maybe next year I can specify better compared to what I grow from seed.

Obviously everybody has different tastes. I appreciate everybody sharing their opinions and telling their favorites.

Those are some good looking tomatoes. Thanks for sharing!

First you would want an heirloom or an open pollinated variety to do what you want in my opinion.
I have grown tomatoes for over 40 years and have grown both hybrids and op's. The drawback I've had here in this area is finding op's/heirlooms that will produce. I planted 17 op's/ heirlooms this year and only two of them will be back next year. I will plant 20-25 different op/heirloom varieties looking for those that will produce here. I always plant about 30 hybrid plants of 5 or 6 varieties so I will have enough tomatoes for my salsa,eat,and ect.. Caspian Pink and Cherokee Purple are two that have done fair here and taste great. After six years of trying Brandywind(Sudduth) I leave it out this year. Brandyboy a hybrid was my best tasting this year for me.
If Rutger's does well for you and you like the taste that is what matters. Best of luck in your 2007 gardening. JD

Roflol, I had that idea too-that there must be the perfect tomato for me to grow and eat.
But, having learned so much in this terrific forum, I see that there's no such thing if I meant just one plant. In other words, my "dream tomato". For taste, texture, color, resistance, appearance, size of both fruit and plant, the whole thing. In one plant, ain't gonna happen...
A real plus about folks disagreeing here-we're still learning, still exchanging ideas, still FREE to speak up. And that's all a plus !
I'll bet in person we'd all like each other very much !
So many people with the love of gardening from all over the world-this place is great !
So we have our spats-what good relationship doesn't, right? So no worries.
I'm just glad to know all of you.

I agree Deb..
And I love to talk tomato..
And I love to listen to anyone's oppinion
on tomatoes..
Hey it's a tomato, how can a home grown,
fresh from the garden, be wrong....

and I really enjoy everyone and every point of view..
and I enjoy having everyone learn hear about what everyone does
with the homegrown tomatoes, and how they do it,
and best of all to see those homegrown tomatoes..

Just a thought-IS there a tomato that has good taste, nice and firm and juicy, a slice would fill a sandwich edge to edge, good disease resistance, would grow well in a big tub or half barrel, and is a nice bright red?
The tomato taste I like is the tart one. Not the sweets.
What tomato that would come close to this description, would you experts suggest that I grow?

I'm not an expert by any means, but I would stick with the dwarf varieties if I were limited to planting in a tub. The only experience I've had with dwarf tomatoes is with Silvery Fir tree, and I like them a lot. Some of the SFT tomatoes have been big enough to fill a bread slice but most have not.

Check out the New Big Dwarf variety at victoryseeds.com. I've heard good things about them and they sound like what you are looking for.

Very few. Dwarf plans with large fruit are not common. The closest would be New Big Dwarf but it's pink, not red....more on the sweet side, not tart and normally grows in the 3-4 foot range. Dwarf Champion might be another to try, but fruit size is in the 3-5 oz size.
Like I've said before, if you like tart try some of the green-when-ripes. Lime green salad comes to mind. Small plant would do well in a container with 2-4 oz fruits.

Good points, JCT. Hopefully a few differences here or there won't be considered non-starters.

At the end of the day, silvery fir tree would be my recommendation. I can tell you that if you want tart fruits from a prolific dwarf plant, SFT will not disappoint. They are very unique and attractive plants as well.

Are silvery fir tomatoes furry? Or am I thinking of another one?
Let me tell you, between Sorellina, JohnCT and Mr. Clint, I have learned alot about tomatoes-and I'm making notes as to what to try this spring.
I'm determined to grow at least three varieties, and Cherokee purple is one of them.
Since I'm 3/16 Cherokee-Choctaw, gotta have a Cherokee purple !
Great forum !

Just say no to furry tomatoes. :lol

You have access to Yahoo! too right?

SFT gets its name from its unique foliage. The leaves have sort of a silvery-gray hue and are shaped similar to carrot tops. Whoever first named them thought the leaves resembled those of a silvery fir tree.

Thanks for the explanation.
SFT does sound like a good patio tomato for me to try this spring.

Garden Peach

OK, that must be it-thanks !
I'm not gonna grow it, was just curious and thought I remembered seeing a fuzzy one somewhere.