Alina,

If you are going to home depot and want to pick from their selection I would consider the following:

1. Champion is a fine mid-size early mid-season variaty. This one is prolific
2. Better Bush is semi-determinate and needs minimal staking. Good flavor and tends to be early.
3. Everyone like Betterboy.

Avoid Celebrity. The falvor is very disappointing. If you can find Sungold, and I don't think they have it, this one is a fine cherry.

Now if you have some success this season and get really ambitious please come to MAGTAG (tomato taste testing) in Baltimore this August 16th and try many Heirloom and other types of tomatoes. I think you will find there is more to tomatoes then Home Depot :-)

Greg

Thanks Greg,
I read a lot about MAGTAG, but I did not have a garden till last year (we bought our first home last summer). I am looking forward to attending it this year!
I am so glad I decided to ask before I bought my first tomatoes! I was going to buy 'Celebrity' because the tag said that it won some kind of award... Thanks for your recommendations!
Can I grow 'Better Bush' in a large pot?

Alina,

You can certianly grow Better Bush in a pot. There are several issues with pots however.

1. Use a potting MIX. Don't use anything with SOIL in the name. These tend not to drain well
2. You must fertilize it with miracle grow once a week after it starts producing little green fruit. Don't over do it and of course I am talking about the miracle grow you mix with water (not miracid).
3. The bigger the pot the better. I use 13.5 gallon pots but during the heat of the summer a large plant can use all of the water in one day. I do lots of pots so I use drip irrigation.

Celebrity did win the AAS (All American Selection) award. If you grow it you can see why. Its a beautiful plant with a wonderous production of perfect looking fruit. However, it tastes like something that you'd find at the salad bar of McDonalds. Very plain and bland.

The problem with the AAS award is that it is sponcered by the big producers of seeds like Burpee and others. They are esentially patting each other on the back and stirring up some publicity.

I do hope to see you at MAGTAG. All tomatoes and tomato based recipies are welcomed!

Greg

Thanks again for your help Greg. I grew many plants in pots, so I am aware of these issues. I am going to try some organic fertilizer (like Tomato-tone) instead of Miracle Gro though. Also, I read that adding a leaf compost to the potting medium helps to keep moisture. I hope 14" square pots will work. I calculated that they are about 13 Gal in terms of volume.
Very interesting info about AAS awards! I definitely do not want a "McDonald tomato" :-)
Thanks again, that helped me a lot!

Alina,

Ah... I see you are an old Pot pro! I love growing in pots just for the pure challenge. Have you grown tomatoes in pots before and if so which types?

Greg

No Greg, I only grew flowers :) I had 80+ containers with Peonies, Lilies, Clematis.... You can only imagine what I've heard from my husband when we were moving to our new (first!) home. I consider growing vegetables and herbs in pots because the lot is quite small and pots would allow to utilize the space better.
I've found and bought all varieties you recommended!!! I also bought 'Early girl' (figured it should be early :)) and 'Husky Cherry Red' (for the cherry tomatoes). I hope nothing wrong with them...

I found an interesting (for a newbie) tip:

When first transplanting tomato plants into the garden, remove all but the top set of the leaves. Dig a deep hole, and burrow the entire stem up to the top leaves, which should be sticking just a little above ground.

The plants I bought are about 1' tall. Does this mean that I have to bury that deep??? Does not sound reasonable. Are they talking about small seedlings?

Hi alina, I grew celebrity in New Jersey years ago and was also disappointed in the taste. Bought some a couple of years ago on sale at the Cox farm stand in Vienna and they were wonderful--our best variety of that year. Could have been mislabeled, I guess. We bought a celebrity last year but my husband (he has taken over the vegetable garden) lost track of what was what. They were all good, as I remember.

We usually buy a mixture on the theory that different varieties will do better in different weather conditions. This year Bryan has invested heavily in German Johnsons though. His whole family swears by this heirloom variety. We'll see how it does in Va.

I always make sure we have at least one early girl.
Great tomato! One year I had one that turned out to be indeterminate. The tomatoes were classic early girls but they ripened early and the plant kept on producing without let up all summer. One of the regrets of my life is that I did not try to propagate that tomato--I was just too busy! Oh well...

If you buy large nursery grown tomatoes you are supposed to strip off some of the lower leaves and bury a portion of the stem to achieve better balance between roots and top growth. You can sort of lay them sideways if necessary.

Hmm...just read that early girl is SUPPOSED to be indeterminate. My experience with them is usually a bounty of early tasty tomatoes and then the plant slacks off as the mid season varieties take over. Do most people have a long productive season every year with early girl?

Thanks Rian! I also read that EG is indeterminate. Will see... Thanks for your comments on planting...
One more question. I have a space in the garden for 2-3 tomatoes. The rest will go into containers. Which varieties are more suitable for growing in containers? Again, here is the list of the cultivars I bought:
Early Girl
Champion
Better Bush
Better Boy
Husky Cherry Red
Golden Jubilee (decided to try a yellow one)

Thanks again Greg and Rian!

Rian and Alina,

I have always loved Early Girl though many have diss it and suggested Stupice and Kimberly as substitutes. I have seed for them if you're interested. Niether Kimberly or Stupice worked for me in the same spot that I planted Early Girl. I grew Early Girl on the North East corner of my home it got morning sun and less later in the day.

My experience was that it was quite indeterminate and that it produced throughout the season. Also, it was variable from year to year like everything :-) Often its tasted was worse later but not always.

My neighbor grow Husky Red Cherry last year and found that the plant remains under 2 feet tall! I was not impressed with the taste but I'll bet under the right conditions it may make a great potted variety.

As far as burying the stem of the tomato I would have to agree with the Rian in that I would bury it horizonally vs vertially because the soil is warmer higher and will promote earlier growth.

Greg

Guys, do you start them from seeds every year? They are hybrids, how about coming true to type? Sorry if this sounds silly...

What is MAGTAG? Is it open to anyone? A fee? A web link with more info?

Alina,

I start plants from seed every year partly for fun but mostly because it allows me to try new varieties that I couldn't otherwise try. The seeds of hybrids, as a rule, will not give you the same plant as you started with. Early Girl is a good example of that. If you plant many of the seeds you will likely find a potato leaf plant among the seedlings.

Most of what I grow are either Heirloom or stable (open-polinated) varieties that will always produce true to type.

Amy,

MAGTAG is a tomato tasting shin-dig some of us enthusiast do at a pavilion in Baltimore. Last year we had 80 varieties to try and it was quite fun. Lots of folks bring tomato recipes and seeds to trade ect. It is August the 16th this year and all are welcomed. There is no fee but we ask for a donation to cover the $100 dollar cost of the pavilion. We just put out a jar and then make one announcement and it may or may not cover the cost and thats fine with us.

Greg

I always like to plant at least one Roma variety--I usually choose a disease-resistent strain if available.

Besides being better for sauce, as they are considered a "paste" tomato, the firmer flesh and skin, and the smaller plum-like shape, makes them very good for slicing into salads in little circles. I first saw that done in a salad served to me at a local eatery, The Pizza Grille.