Gardeners - What's your favorite tomato?

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That's a great system!

I started by using basic cheap tomato cages, but they're pretty weak. I then built my own using cattle panel -- heavy steel fencing sections cut down with bolt cutters, and shaped into cylinders with the liberal application of obscenities.

You can see them here, in the background:

p3517480-4.jpg
 
MK, Nice density. You must have great sun exposure. You beans look amazing too. My father used to use those wire baskets. its cheap and simple but not the most attractive ;-) Plus, I'd always catch my wrist on the exposed metal stubbs when pulling fruit out.

I love your stone raised beds with the stone border. If you get a chance, take a shot of the whole garden.

Do you gardent organically or are you a miracle-gro grower?
 
A bit wider shot of the beds below -- I ripped out the grass along our driveway, and stepped them into the hill.

Definitely no Miracle Gro here -- organic compost, sometimes a little TomatoTone, and compost tea. I've got massive sun exposure in this spot -- makes for a fantastic start to the growing season, but it also contributes to the overall misery by July, when everything takes a two-month siesta. The midsummer heat here is just brutal. With the tomatoes and beans, it's a sprint to get as much growth and fruit production in as possible before the heat really sets in, which both shuts down the plants and exacerbates pests and disease.

My biggest problems are funguses (leaf spot, etc.) and leaf-footed bugs, which go by a much more expressive name in my yard. I don't mind sharing, but any tomato they feed on goes sour and refuses to ripen. Once past the nymph stage, they have no predators, other than me. I keep a spray bottle handy with an oil/soap mix in it that kills them on contact, but they still take a toll.

p1605034878-4.jpg
 
MK I feel your frustrations believe me. I have vine borers that have broken my heart too many times with summer squash.

Regarding your heat problem, have you seen this Shade cloth? 40% reduction in light trnasmission. Claims to drop the tempatire as much as 20% Not sure how you'd rig it though?

For general pests I've had great success with neem?

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/40-percent-aluminet-shade-curtain/shade-cloth
 
Squash borers are truly the devil's own -- it took me a while to figure out what was even causing the damage, since it looks like the stems get some kind of weird rot. I've had decent luck using BT on other kinds of worms, but I've given up on growing summer squash here.

I've used shade cloth a bit, but to do it right I'd really need to put up a structure. If I were staying here, I'd probably do a shade sail, with posts set in concrete -- but that will have to be someone else's project.

Honestly, I don't have any idea about Plant Tone -- the tomato version is the only one I buy, and I use it on all kinds of things. ;)

Today I gave all the tomatoes a foliar feed of this stuff, which I love:

http://www.ladybugbrand.com/products/Johns-Recipe.asp

Then more mixed with extra Alaska fish fertilizer and seaweed on the ground.
 
Mark, I think the most important consideration for choosing varieties is to find out what grows best in your area of the world. What works in Southern California might not work for someone that lives very much to the north (you).

What I've found the best is to go to the farmers market and find out they are growing and have success with.

Buy those. I've had delusions of grandeur trying to grow Cherokee Purple, and many other varieties that have not turned out so well.
 
Last year I didn't do too well with the bigger tomatoes (pineapple and cherokee purple). My wife still teases me about my $100 tomatoes.
This year I am going to try San Marzano and probably Sun Gold because I like to munch on cherry tomatoes while working in the garden.
I am also going to try out making a couple raised beds.
Not warm enough here yet to put out the plants, but soon.
 
I really enjoy orange tomatoes. KBX, Kellogg's Breakfast, and Persimmon grow well for me and taste great. It's hard to make recommendations because different varieties will peform differently in your garden. Half the fun is trying all the varieties. Keep good notes and after several seasons you can have a list of top toms for your garden.

I have to difagree about Cherokee Purple, for me it is far down on the list for black tomatoes. They taste pretty good, but for me they get too large, the plants don't produce all that many fruit, and the have a very short window of peak ripeness...they will spoil rather fast if you have more than you can eat. Same story with Brandywine, overrated IMO.

It's also a good idea to try and get early, mid, and late season ripening toms so you get a steady flow and aren't inundated all at once. Stupice is a good early tom.

I find Sun Golds too sweet, but Black Cherry is awesome for snacking and they produce boatloads.

Good luck on your season!
 
For me the sun golds are like sweet fruit which I like.
But I will look for the black cherry.
There are a couple small organic farms nearby that do well with the pineapples.
I try to get ones that are just right and eat them same day.
They have a farmers market near me but you have to be early as the tomatoes and salad greens tend to sell out within a couple hours.
 
Rutgers easy to grow, short day, and tons of flavor . among several others I grow .
 
Caspian Pink...my all time favorite tomato. Not particularly easy to grow. Other favorites....Pruden's purple...easier to grow; and Mr. Stripey...very easy to grow.
 
orangehero said:
..... but Black Cherry is awesome for snacking and they produce boatloads.
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I just picked up 4 Black Cherry Tomato plants from a local farmer yesterday.
Since they are a 45 day variety I figure I might have a better chance this year.
 
Could one of you experienced tomato gardeners make a recommendation to me as to which variety might satisfy my needs -- and whether it would be best to start with seeds, or to try to buy seedlings?

The best way I can describe what I'm looking for, as far as final product, is a super-sweet tomato that I can either slice and enjoy plain, or -- only slightly fancier, though I guess not considered conventional gourmet fare -- that I can slice and consume as a simple tomato sandwich, on white bread with home made mayo. I have had spectacularly frustrating bad luck in recent years stopping at farm stands (not only around Philadelphia, where I live, but also elsewhere), and after telling them what I am after and being assured that they had just what I sought, getting home and discovering that the tomatoes purchased were disappointing.

So I want to try growing my own this year. Due to the threat of animals -- my backyard is adjacent to Fairmount Park, so my backyard gets regular visits from rabbits, deer and other creatures -- I think I will try to raise half a dozen plants in large pots on a second floor floor balcony that gets a fair amount of sun.

Suggestions? Many of you seem to rave about Cherokee Purple.

TIA,
Larry
 
I was not successful growing Cherokee Purple & Pineapple tomatoes last year but fortunately there is a local farm that knows what they are doing.
When I was able to get them I liked them both best as BLT sandwiches.
So for growing they were difficult for me. Probably because I only have direct sunlight the second half of the day.
You might do better than me. If you are successful, they are both delicious fresh eating tomatoes.
 
Where do you folks buy your seeds for these breed of tomatoes? Do you keep it local from a farmer, or buy online?
I'm moving into my first house and have a beautiful back yard that is fenced in and has a garden plot ready to be planted. I'd love to fill it with a variety of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. A long with others, but they are my priority.
 
I go to the local farmers market and get plants grown locally.
Figured I would have a better chance than with ones grown in another state.
 
jared08 said:
Where do you folks buy your seeds for these breed of tomatoes? Do you keep it local from a farmer, or buy online?
Click to expand...

Don't know if it's helpful, but yesterday I went to a local nursery and purchased two varieties of plants (not seeds): "Mortgage Lifter" and Cherokee Purple. They originally came from Quality Greenhouses in Dillsburg, PA. I realize that's not all that close to Scranton, but if they distribute in my (Philadelphia) area, chances are they're available at retailers in your neck of the woods too. But maybe you're only interested in seeds -- though I would think it's a bit late now to plant seeds.

I don't have very high hopes for my plants this year -- I'm going to try and raise them in pots, if I can find fairly large ones -- but miss good eating tomatoes so much that I felt compelled to try and grow my own for the first time. If they turn out well and you strike out, let me know and I'll mail you some (and you can mail some sausage to me :D ).
 
Frankly am torn between planting in some sort of container, away from predators, or planting in my backyard. I'd prefer the convenience of my backyard -- no hauling lots of soil up to my second floor balcony (though ideally I'd use soil that was purchased, and free from contamination -- insects, etc.). But the backyard would enable the roots to grow unrestricted. And I wouldn't have to worry about supporting potted plants that might well grow over six feet tall. But I worry that, despite perhaps chicken wire around the plants, any tomatoes would be enjoyed by raccoons, rabbits, deer, hedgehogs, birds and squirrels (and perhaps other animals that don't immediately come to mind). My backyard directly abuts Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, which has all the animals mentioned. So here's the question: if I surround the plants with stuff like cayenne, garlic powder, liquid soap and maybe even a commercial product like Shake-Away how likely do you think it is that I can ward off animals that would like to eat my tomatoes? Anyone have experience with effective repellents?
 
Only effective repellent is a gun or a fence. Also if you're going to grow in containers you need to use potting mix. It doesn't have any soil in it. Soil is too heavy and the plants will suffer...you need to use something that is light and airy. I like ProMix; it comes in a 3.8 cubic foot compressed bale.
 
orangehero said:
. . . . Also if you're going to grow in containers you need to use potting mix. It doesn't have any soil in it. Soil is too heavy and the plants will suffer...you need to use something that is light and airy.
Click to expand...

I'm going to give my backyard a try. But I'm curious about your comment concerning soil. I hope this isn't too naive of me -- I readily admit to having no gardening experience -- but if tomato plants can grow well in soil in one's backyard, why would the same soil be "too heavy" to use when planting tomatoes in pots? Does the soil somehow become compacted over time in a pot?
 
Annas Russian
Purple Calabash
Black Cherry
Berner Rose
 
Just planted a couple Green Zebras and San Marzanos

As for keeping the deer away;
Used to have a neighbor who would urinate around the outside edges of his garden. He said it would keep the deer away.
My thoughts were that he was always drinking beer and just too lazy to go inside to pee.
 
larrybard said:
I'm going to give my backyard a try. But I'm curious about your comment concerning soil. I hope this isn't too naive of me -- I readily admit to having no gardening experience -- but if tomato plants can grow well in soil in one's backyard, why would the same soil be "too heavy" to use when planting tomatoes in pots? Does the soil somehow become compacted over time in a pot?
Click to expand...

The answer is in books, way too may variables to explain. But something brief because your reading this. Love. The more you give the more you get. But seriously it has to do with how the plant roots breathe and root rot, ph levels yada yada yada...

Cherry tomatoes all the way. I dont know why they are just so addicting.
 
DDPslice, I'll take your word for it. It is academic at this point, inasmuch as I did plant the tomatoes in my backyard, rather than pots (and would probably do so again, in future years, if this year's first time experiment turns out reasonably successful). I started extremely modestly, going to my local Primex and purchasing one mortgage lifter and two Cherokee purple plants. After a disheartening setback -- looked like deer evidently sneaked into my backyard one night and ravaged my plants -- they have rebounded, after I trimmed back the damaged limbs. (But they remain unprotected; waiting for 6' metal stakes to arrive at my local Walmart, so I can put up deer mesh fencing, but that will probably be too late to make much of a difference. Was tempted to track down Mark's neighbor and ask him to pee in my backyard, but decided that might well be impractical.) The mortgage lifter is particularly impressive: over a dozen tomatoes developing, currently about golf-ball size. I need to read about about pruning and what I have to do to support the soon to be much heavier branches, but it is exciting to see the progress. I will be devastated if I get closer to harvesting mature tomatoes, only to have them destroyed by birds, squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits or some other animal.
 
Trying making a tea with rosemary and spraying the plants for bugs and a tea of wormwood for the animals, rabbits are destroying my mint and this should do the trick. But I haven't tried the wormwood tea spray yet. Also deer are very smart and will get past fencing if it's not sturdy and locked. But maybe your deer are docile, good luck!

Also I would look into vermicomposting aka earth worm farm. Nothing will come close to a better yield when you use the worm tea (worm pee, not boiling the worms) We had this at our community garden when I was in college. Make sure your in the right zone for this because being in a zone 8, it is just too hot for them outside and we had them inside. Which is fine if you keep the farm healthy and will smell of fresh earth, else it will smell like a compost heap, and your worms won't be happy either.
 
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