Need Help w/ Evaluation/Reccomendations

[robin282]

Hello! There are so many tomato varieties that it can become overwhelming and almost impossible to just choose a few. Moreover, I am no tomato aficionado. Tomatoes are generally too much acid for me, but I am not the only person in my home, so... I am trying to put together a list, and need evaluation/reccomendation assistance.

My criteria in order of importance follows: flavor, disease resistance, days to maturity and no giant tomatoes (maybe in another year). Also, I would like at least one of 'each type': (no particular order) snacking, slicing, salad, paste/sauce, drying, low acid, and low acid/paste. I have a lot of growing experience, but not much tasting experience.

On another note, I have a seed charity, Need4Seed, and I need to pick out a few for that such as container, beefsteaks, and ones for various growing zones. The selection for N4S is the same as my personal one above.

If there are a few varieties that are rare, and need more people to grow them, I would be happy to have a couple of selections there too.

When I send seed out, it gets multiplied by the N4S recipients, so it helps to spread the rare ones around.

Finally a bit about my growing conditions. I have lots of garden space. LOTS. I live in zone 5 in DownEast Maine. This looks like it will be an earlier Spring than usual, and we do get into the 80s in the Summer. I will be finishing repairs on a greeen house, so I can use that as well.

Thank you so much for your help, and if you could make it evident which type/criteria you are giving me suggestions for that would be great. If you have any questions, let me know.

As you know, catalogues always give glowing reports of what they sell, but I look for ones that don't mention flavor much and avoid those, etc. I have been looking at a tomato catalogue and have picked out some to review in particular, but feel free to insert your own ideas, as I am really a tomato newbie as it pertains to eating.

Ones I have looked at so far: Paul Robeson (Russian origin means it will do well here), Red Pear (have yellow), Principe Borghese, Jersey Devil sounded good for a Paste, Juane Flamme, Amish Gold Slicer, Japanese Black Trifele, Black Plum, Bloody Butcher (flavor & early), Gardener's Delight, Micro Tom, Sun Sugar. If I am looking at any duds, PLMK.

Thanks so much!
Robin

[dave]

What tastes good to one may not even be appealing to another. I have learned I do not like sweet tomatoes, so I try not to grow them. I avoid ones listed as “sweet” in the catalogs.

I’m probably just a little north of you, but on the other coast Oregon. You have listed a few varieties I have tried with little success, but that could just be my skill set. Some of our favorites are: “Peace Vine”, a cherry tomato, (Peace Seeds of Oregon), “Sioux”, a slicer, (Tomato Growers), “Cherokee Purple”, a slicer, (Victory Seeds), and “Early Wonder” for juice and canning, (Tomato Growers). Actually my choices are mostly based on how well they grow and produce for me. Other than not liking sweet tomatoes, they are all good.

Growing a bunch of new varieties sounds like fun.

[robin282]

Thanks Dave! I just thought of a couple of other types: stuffers and keepers.

[kazedwards]

Goose Creek is a great slicer. Siletz is early too. Stupice is an early cherry/salad type. Old German is a sweet bicolored slicer. Micro Tom is a neat plant but isn't very useful. Lizzano is a great dwarf though.

[Al]

www.nickykylegardening.com/index.php/blog/395-tomato-report-2015
This grower in Ireland has some good recommendations for tomatoes of all types which have done well in a poly tunnel near Dublin. Low light levels & cool summers there are similar to my conditions in Edinburgh. Maine probably similarly short season except a bit hotter.
I was very pleased to discover Stupice, so early & versatile. Grushovka also early & productive.

[reed]

Jan 30, 2016 11:26:01 GMT -5 robin282 said:

Hello! There are so many tomato varieties that it can become overwhelming and almost impossible to just choose a few.  

You said it. That's why I completely bailed on the idea of reading about them or expecting my experience with a particular one to be in line with someone else's. On top of that I think the same kind will perform differently in different gardens. Take Stupice for example, its highly regarded and maybe rightly so by many people but it barely produced for me. Maybe I had bad seeds, who knows, but in any event it missed it's chance.

I would just reach out here on the forum and ask for seeds with little regard to descriptions of flavor or use and plant as many as possible so you can save seed from the ones that work for you. Two of the dozen or so I'm going on with came from one of  Joseph Lofthouse's landrace mixes. 

That being said I think disease resistance is very important so last year I bought several several that were advertised as being resistant. A couple of them were quite good, (according to me, for what that's worth)  one was Plum Regal and I don't remember the other right off. I won't be buying those expensive hybrid seeds again but saved the F2 seeds to try to add that resistance into my own landrace. I could spare a few of the F2 seeds if you want to see how they do for you. Send a PM with your address and I will send them to you. 

Trying and trialing different kinds based on descriptions and recommendations just didn't work out for me, wasted a lot of seasons on it. 

[robin282]

Thank you for the replies! Some years back, a neighbor gave me some tomatoes (an oxheart type). They made the best sauce I ever had. Even my other neighbor who went through cooking school said the same thing. Anyway, I saved the seed, and of course they must have been hybrids because the young-ins looked nothing like those oxhearts.

In addition, I have stomach trouble, so the only tomato I can get away with is in sauce, and I use broth and a bit of sugar to make it tolerable to my stomach. So, I will not be eating most of these. Therefore everyone's opinion counts since it will be others eating them.

I also have a seed charity where I give away seeds, and I am deficient in the nightshade group. I can wor my way around peppers & eggplant, there aren't as many of those, but tomatoes are far more complicated.

So keep the advice coming, and don't forget to mention where you live so I can compare it to here.In Maine my season is fairly short, but not too short. I can grow tomatoes.

Last year, I planted San Marzano Gigante (started indoors), and the first ones were ripening just as the first frost hit. Then of course after killing everything, there wasn't another frost for weeks. Blight also rolls through this region fairly regularly. Last year Spring didn't even really show. We went from Winter to Summer, so the season was cut short. By all indicators, this season will be here right on time, and possibly a bit early, so we will have a good long (for here) summer. I have successfully grown tomatoes here as have my neighbors, so it is possible.

Since one never knows if it will be a good year many months out, I am going to take advantage of this year. If I get many seeds from the tomatoes, I will have enough to share--even if the next 2 years are bad. Plus, we'll get tomatoes for the rest of the family.

Thanks again!
Robin Zone 5 DownEast Maine where it can be 42F one day and 92F the next.

[mskrieger]

Hi Robin,

It's good that you've listed your weather conditions. Many tomatoes varieties don't reach peak flavor unless temperatures get warm (above 80F) while they're ripening. It sounds like you get that type of weather, so I'll recommend Speckled Roman as a delicious paste, cooking and drying tomato. I cut it into salads, too, but for a nice big slicer I'd second kazedwards Old German recommendation.

As for tomato varieties--Johnny's Selected Seeds trials ground is located near you in Zone 5 Maine. So their recommendations on tomatoes will likely be accurate for your climate.

[robin282]

I have been able to sprout quite a few old tomato seed I have. I was wondering, what is the maximum number of tomato seeds that you have raised in a season?

[littleminnie]

I'm in MN and very fussy about my tomatoes growing well or they are not grown again. These are my favorites:
Stupice
Azoychka
Berkeley Pink tie dye (does crack in wet weather)
Caspian Pink
Northern Lights
KBX
Ernie's plump

There are some of my own too:
Sweet Brown
my own San Marzano
a pink beefsteak from Tatiana that was supposed to be Catwell

[robin282]

Thanks for responding. I am aware of some people who have grown 50 types! I was wondering what most people did. Here's why: I live in DownEast, Maine, and the last few growing seasons have been short. Last year, there was ice on the ground in some protected areas in May! I tried to grow tomatoes, but they didn't ripen. Anyway, this year it appears that Spring will arrive in March like it should, so the weather ought to be settled early on--compared to other years.

Therefore, I want to grow as many tomatoes as I can! My main interest is to grow seed for my charity Need4Seed. That way I can share tomatoes in the care packages. Also, my stomach doesn't agree with tomatoes in general, so sauce is all I can use them for (I can lower the acid a bit).

My hope is to grow a few of each kind like drying, sauce, slicer, stuffer, etc. I have a large unused field where I can grow them.

How far do they have to be separated so that the seeds I send will grow into what I write on the label?

I have several types growing already from old seed I have, but so far the Silvery Fir Tree and the Principe Borghese have not sprouted.

Thanks for any info!
Robin