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My two top tomatoes are sweet 100 and Cherokee purple.
I tried the Indigo Rose for the first time this year, and let me tell you, it is a strikingly beautiful nearly black tomato. I let one get perfectly ripened in the summer sun, then I excitedly tasted it and it was worse than a mid-February grocery store tomato. Hopefully no one here repeats my mistake.
Black Krim, Black Prince, Cherokee Purple, and oddly enough, something called Patio, which did really well for us last year.
This year we have a Husky Cherry (couple of fruits so far are sweet and delicious but very tough-skinned), Mr. Stripey, and something called Celebrity, which already has softball-size fruits. Will let you know how they turn out.
Anyone who knows me or has read my posts on this forum knows that my current favorite is Stump of the World. I harvested nearly 15 fruits last season that were over 14oz with the largest being 24oz - total harvest was almost 60 tomatoes off of one plant. It's an incredible pink beefsteak that does well in cool, warm or hot weather and is very resistant to disease and pests. I didn't start to see any issues with the foliage until September, long after most plants showed symptoms for weeks. The fruits are dense and meaty and possess a perfect balance of sweet, rich, tangy flavor. I used to laugh at people who described tomatoes as "complex", but this one cleared it up for me. Very little juice and seeds. Just a fantastic, balanced tomato. I have two of them in the garden this year and they're both 6' tall, full of tomatoes and thriving. Hope to begin seeing ripe fruit in 2-3 weeks.
Another delicious variety is Violaceum Krypni-Rozo, another pink fruit that has very good flavor, much like SOTW. The problem is that most fruit are cat-faced and irregular which renders them difficult to slice. They're probably better for salsas or pico or something where diced tomato works best.
I am growing a couple dozen new varieties this season, many of them pink, and hope a few of them are as delicious as SOTW. It would be nice to have a few standouts. Even if they suck, growing new varieties is so much fun, and they're bound to be better than any of the crap at the grocery store. Tomatoes are extraordinarily subjective when it comes to flavor - one man's favorite is another man's demise. I have read tons of praise online for the black/purple varieties, but they are by far my least favorite, at least in my 4 years of trials. I have a few yellow/orange/white varieties this year and look forward to tasting them.
The last couple of years, I have grown, and greatly enjoyed, Lizzano cherry tomatoes. They are little and perfect for salads, kebabs, or just picking off the vine and snacking on. Slightly sweet with full tomato flavor. The plant itself flowers and bears for several months- so it has given a pretty good yield so far.
I have only container gardened the last two years, and am planning on a full garden for next year. Does anyone have any varieties of tomatoes (or other veggies) that they think are exceptional?
i have grown this san marzano Redorta past 3 years. they are a giant plum tomato with very little water and seeds, and lots of flesh. they are yuuuuge, some are the length of my hand. i use this for making paste and pizzas. they have a deep tomato flavor, with good sweetness and hints of beef. the plant stem can reach 8 feet. so need to support them well, as the fruit is heavy.
for multi use tomatoes, i now grow hybrid celebrity tomatoes. i used to swear by heirloom species only, but i gave that up. celebrity plants won't rot, yellow as much, are disease resistant, and will produce huge amounts of fruit which won't crack in the summer heat. they begin flowering and fruiting very low and produce fruit throughout.
I have planted a variety this year. Mortgage Lifter, San Marzano, Lemon Boy, Big Rainbow, Delizia, Sungold. I keep hoping I find a sweeter tasting slicing tomato.
When I had my house, I could grow tons of tomatoes. Early Girl, Celebrity ( my favorite), Better Boy, and one other I forgot, starts with a "C" too. But we moved to the beach and got a condo. That meant a planter. Two years of dismal failures. Celebrity just didn't work at all, white mold, worms, plants just yellowed and died. Tried several others. This year, finally, I actually have a couple of plants that are producing. A huge Early Girl and a Better Boy. So far, all green tomatoes, but quite a few on there. I have had some worm issues, little green ones, not the huge ones, but I've been picking them off. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I haven't had a decent BLT in 3 years.
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My moniker over there is OmahaJB. I don't have much imagine I guess because I like to use the city or town I'm living in and my initials.
