It could be true, but sounds a little strange to me. With 12 years there you definitely have experience. I live in upstate NY in Z5, and would love an extra month of growing season. But I can still grow excellent tomatoes here, just not late maturing ones some years. Maybe it is the humidity there, I don't really know. I'm sure others will comment.

Well you might want to post this over on the Virginia Gardening forum here for advice. But I would be prepared to duck since I'll bet that the thousands of Virginia gardeners who manage somehow to grow "good" tomatoes there each year will be throwing them at you. :)

Personally I think you might be trying to compare apples and oranges - California and Virginia climates. And might be making several underlying assumptions based on what you have "heard" that just won't hold up to scrutiny.

First, define "good". Good tasting to you? That's a personal taste buds thing. Different varieties? No reason I know of why the same varieties can't be grown both places. Different soil? Possibly true but adjustable to a large degree. Different weather? Very true, but the two states also have very different growing and planting seasons so maybe it is a need to adjust to the planting times in VA. And many other states also have very different weather than California so if it is only the CA weather then the rest of us would be up the creek without a paddle too. ;)

See what the folks on the VA forum have to offer in the way of advice on how to improve your VA tomato growing. It might be something as simple as a soil additive or a different planting time.

Good luck with your tomatoes.

Dave

shlacm

No doubt one's taste buds get a bit jaded along with college life, you know, what with smoking and drinking and late nights! :-)

More seriously, are you sure you are not suffering the effects of just getting older and the effects of aging on one's taste buds? I will swear that chocolate ice cream does not taste as good now as it did when I was a kid. It's bland.

And there's one more thing which is discussed occasionally on GardenWeb. Many of the hybridized tomatoes developed in the past have been for the market convenience of agribusiness, mainly so they would ship well, not for taste. The heirlooms haven't lost THEIR taste, and some of the newer hybrids, like Brandy Boy, are very tasty.

Maybe people in the Virginia forum can recommend good tomatoes, open-pollinated and hybrids, to grow in your area, as Dave suggests.

You've all made some good points, and here's my "rebuttal" lol. I'm not the only one who says this, it's one of the first things I ask people who've lived in CA and here both. My Mother is much more adamant than me about it, and it's certainly not an "aging" tastebuds issue for her, especially since she was here for a few years then moved back to CA. Now, I can agree that perhaps it's not a matter of "good" but of "taste" but the question still remains, why the difference? I did find somewhere a reference to humidity lowering the acidity of tomatoes, but very little was said.

As to the Virginia forum... it's not very active, and more importantly, Virginians think that their tomatoes ARE good, and they would argue the point to death! But, if you've never had a homegrown CA tomato, how can you compare?

I'm certainly not suggesting that CA is the only place one can grow tomatoes that taste good. My mother has lived in Washington (state), N. Texas and CA for significant periods of time and had no idea there existed a "bad" homegrown tomato until she lived here.

Were it only my own homegrown tomatoes that didn't taste good, I would certainly assume it was grower error, but how can ALL the tomato growers in the area be making the same errors, unless it's something unavoidable, such as the humidity?

Anyway, not trying to start an argument... just wondering why the VA tomatoes taste SO different than the CA tomatoes... is that better than saying they're not as good? ;) I have a couple heirloom varieties this year, so, we'll see!

Perhaps Carolyn will chime in here.........

I am in Central Virginia and there is a difference in tomatoes from different areas of the USA. Soil, fertilizer, insecticide and fungucide use, type of plant, weather (temperature, rain, etc...) AND method of cultivation are just a few things to consider. When you become accustomed to a certain flavor and prefer that flavor you may not be able to reproduce that flavor unless all of the variables are the same - or pretty close. If you did a blind taste test with the CA toms and well grown Virginia toms you might be able to find a tomato grown in Virginia that is to your liking -- NOT the same as your favored CA tomato but just one (or more) that you like.

You are right the folks in Virginia do think they have the best Tomatoes - ever heard of the famous Hanover Tomatoes?? I don't like them and can't understand what all the fuss is about but around here you would be charged with 'treason' if you say that out loud. It is all a matter of taste - Keep looking and growing - you will find a tomato that taste good -- to you. That tomato may not taste good every year and may taste different in some months of the same year.

I know this is WAY, WAY off topic but - I can not find a good cheesecake in Virginia. The Greek and Italian restaurants (diners) in New York State just have 'something' that the cheesecake bakers in Virginia can not replicate. Go figure??? Ever had "sweet Maine shrimp"?? ONLY place you can get them is in Maine!! No shrimp anywhere else in USA taste like them.

DL

Thanks DL. I do hope someone will know about the effects of humidity on flavor. But, for now, I've tried to pick out a few varieties that do well in heat and humidity, and have "robust" flavor. So here's what I'll be growing (perhaps I went a little overboard, lol): Clint Eastwood's Robust Red, Arkansas Traveler, Neves Azorean Red, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Stripe (too pretty/cool to pass up), German Johnson and Yellow Pear (my 5 yr old's pick).

Shalacm, I'm a Virginian who thinks her tomatoes are good. LOL, and
I was raised in Southern California. We do have acid soil here in Virginia
Beach. Where ever I plant vegetables, I put Espoma lime first. Maybe
you water your tomatoes too much?

roper - I wish it were only my own tomatoes I didn't like, lol, I've always had a brown thumb (hoping this site will change that!). What's the humidity like in VA Beach? I'm really thinking that may be the culprit. I assume tomatoes absorb moisture through their skin (like cherries), so perhaps the humidity dilutes the flavor? As I stated earlier, where I grew up was very hot and DRY during the summer, so, maybe the flavor of the tomatoes was more concentrated... I'm just guessing. Over-watering there was nearly impossible, lol.

Yeah the thought of over-watering got my attention too when roper said it...maybe after growing in a hot climate you would get used to watering a lot, and then brought those habits with you into VA. Just a thought. Over watering would dilute the flavor and cause many varieties to crack. Seen a lot of splitting in your tomatoes?

I grew up in Virginia Beach. Yes, it's humid during the summer months. Having never tasted a homegrown CA tomato, so I can't argue. I think the tomatoes my dad grew when I was a kid were fine. He sure loved them. The ones my Grandfather grew were better. He lived in Carolton(near Smithfield) in Isle of Wight Co., not 30-40 miles away from where I grew up. The climate and humidity was the same.

Well water in VB is hard and most wells are very shallow. The city water is hard too. The water that fed my grandparents house was from an artesian well and was as soft as soft could be. Excellent tasting drinking water without the use of filters and conditioning. The same water was used to water the garden. The area was more rural, the soil seemed a bit more fertile and needed less amending than in VB. Cotton, Corn, and Peanut fields all around.

I'm not sure if the water and soil have anything to do with what you are claiming. I have to think it does. Perhaps you haven't tried any VA tomatoes from the right VA locations or backyards?

Yes, it is humid in Virginia Beach, just like Lynchburg should be. I
think you are, I'm guessing, 4 hours away. My dad use to grow
tomatoes in Chino Hills, CA. It's been so long I can't remember
what they tasted like. I wasn't into gardening back then, but the
tomatoes grew really nice. I don't think the humidity waters
down the flavor. Maybe you should try a brandywine. I did about
9 years ago. They were big and absolutely delicious. The only
reason I didn't grow it again is because only got 5 tomatoes from
one plant. I am trying the Cowlick's Brandywine this year, so
hopefully more tomatoes.

Stress? perhaps in california your hot dry summers cause drought stress on your tomatoes. where as virginia is more humid which is what the tomatoes like producing less stress hot n humid. In areas where tomatoes come from Bolivia and peru the elevation of the cloud forests is out of blights zone and as surprising as it may seem tomatoes like hot n humid. but stress produces flavonoids in the fruit. this is well known among hydroponic controlled climate growers to prevent tasteless crops. i cant refrence it. but a little research into whats mentioned should throw up some hits. ps STRESS YOUR PLANTS A LITTLE. threw drought,cold nights or maybe hard pruning its off topic but i think its the direction here. try it cant do any harm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavonoid

http://www.newenglandvfc.org/pdf_proceedings/2009/PHTRFBC.pdf

these sorts of links may help i know its in vertical farm by dr despommier.

lil epic just so you know i have not grown any virginia tomatoes ... yet just saw it finding out about climate here.