In search of that "old timey" tasting tomato
- Thread starter boggybranch
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Ridgerunner
Garden Master
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That is a good question. I lost some of my first crop because of this. I imagine many people can tell purely by color but I have trouble with that. I go by feel for the final determination. If it is fairly soft it is ripe. Mine ripen at the blossom end first, so if you wait until the whole tomato has changed color, you wait too long. After a bit of practice, you can handle it. I discard some of the tomato around the stem end as it is not usually completely ripe unless I am cooking it into a sauce.
I am a fan of the black tomatoes because of the taste. I don't think they are as attractive as many others from a pure beauty aspect. To me, a tomato should be a solid color, not part ripe and part green. They make a dark sauce and a dried black tomato is, well, black. This does not bother me in the least but it might be a problem for some people.
I am a fan of the black tomatoes because of the taste. I don't think they are as attractive as many others from a pure beauty aspect. To me, a tomato should be a solid color, not part ripe and part green. They make a dark sauce and a dried black tomato is, well, black. This does not bother me in the least but it might be a problem for some people.
old fashioned
Attractive To Bees
I keep experimenting with tomato varieties and prefer larger types. Makes easier work, I always say. I have grown...
Rutgers-years ago, and will try again this next season-I don't remember how they did on my tomato scale, but if memory serves(often doesn't) I think they did well and good taste.
Pink Brandywine-This is definately a favorite-huge tasty/flavorful fruit, great for fresh eating and canning.
Mortgage Lifter-big roundish fruit, tasty. I'm not sure if it's me or the variety or what but I get more plant than fruit.
Roma-for a good canner-I can't say enough. The fruit held well on the vine so I got one huge harvest. In fact, I got more off this one plant in one picking than I did from 12 other plants at one time. Fruit size varied from golf ball to almost soft ball size. I can't wait for next season to plant several of these for big canning projects.
This last season I tried Black Krim for something different. They grew in as green with darker shoulders and as the fruits ripened the green turned dark reddish/almost a purple tinge with even darker shoulders. Taste was great, produced well, but couldn't get the family past the coloring so back to standard red varieties.
Siletz-these did well, but small fruit-more like a very large cherry and because of that I won't grow again.
I also picked up starts of "heartland" that grew wonderful, good taste, plant stayed fairly compact with almost no sprawl until much later near harvest time-then kinda flopped all over. I don't know if it's an heirloom type or hybrid-probably hybrid. If anyone knows I'd love to hear cause if heirloom I want to grow them again.
Too late to grow last season, but will try this year-Campbell tomato soup variety seeds. I'm sure these wouldn't be good to save seed from but thought it would be fun to try growing
Rutgers-years ago, and will try again this next season-I don't remember how they did on my tomato scale, but if memory serves(often doesn't) I think they did well and good taste.
Pink Brandywine-This is definately a favorite-huge tasty/flavorful fruit, great for fresh eating and canning.
Mortgage Lifter-big roundish fruit, tasty. I'm not sure if it's me or the variety or what but I get more plant than fruit.
Roma-for a good canner-I can't say enough. The fruit held well on the vine so I got one huge harvest. In fact, I got more off this one plant in one picking than I did from 12 other plants at one time. Fruit size varied from golf ball to almost soft ball size. I can't wait for next season to plant several of these for big canning projects.
This last season I tried Black Krim for something different. They grew in as green with darker shoulders and as the fruits ripened the green turned dark reddish/almost a purple tinge with even darker shoulders. Taste was great, produced well, but couldn't get the family past the coloring so back to standard red varieties.
Siletz-these did well, but small fruit-more like a very large cherry and because of that I won't grow again.
I also picked up starts of "heartland" that grew wonderful, good taste, plant stayed fairly compact with almost no sprawl until much later near harvest time-then kinda flopped all over. I don't know if it's an heirloom type or hybrid-probably hybrid. If anyone knows I'd love to hear cause if heirloom I want to grow them again.
Too late to grow last season, but will try this year-Campbell tomato soup variety seeds. I'm sure these wouldn't be good to save seed from but thought it would be fun to try growing
seedcorn
Garden Master
If it's the same variety they grow commercially here for Campbell's soup, V8, etc, expect them to be hard as tennis balls. I've seen them fall of semi's here on the highway and the tomato just roll like a ball. They are hard little things.
Don't know about the taste but you don't hear of anyone going out and robbing the tomatoes.
Don't know about the taste but you don't hear of anyone going out and robbing the tomatoes.
beavis
Deeply Rooted
They are most likely hard because they harvested them green and then gassed them with ethylene to produce the red color. That helps them to ship better being the consistency of a tennis ball.seedcorn said:
digitS'
Garden Master
First off, for Goliath fans: Tomato Growers Supply has Goliath heirloom and Goliath hybrid. Hybrid listed with "midseason" and heirloom listed with "beefsteak."
Siletz is one of those early-season Pacific NorthWest varieties from Prof Baggett at OSU. He's the guy behind the SugarSnap peas, too. His Legend tomato is supposed to have some strong resistance to blight . . . just a word to the wise for those gardeners who had problems with that, last year.
I really like how healthy a determinate variety Legend is and how incredibly productive the small plants are. However, they aren't the most flavorful tomato out there. Legend is a "new" open-pollinated variety.
Steve
TGS has Heartland listed as a dwarf hybrid. Sounds interesting . . .old fashioned said:
Siletz is one of those early-season Pacific NorthWest varieties from Prof Baggett at OSU. He's the guy behind the SugarSnap peas, too. His Legend tomato is supposed to have some strong resistance to blight . . . just a word to the wise for those gardeners who had problems with that, last year.
I really like how healthy a determinate variety Legend is and how incredibly productive the small plants are. However, they aren't the most flavorful tomato out there. Legend is a "new" open-pollinated variety.
Steve
