Check with your state's Extension Service. They know varieties suited for your area.

Mike

I don't think the extensions are very good at recommending heirloom and other connoisseur-type tomatoes, at least not my extension. They can help you with the commercial varieties and well known hybrids but that is about it.

I grew a potato leaved Brandywine from Park Seed last year that was such a late season tomato that it got too hot here before I got much fruit. I ended up with lots of flowers but the flowers never set fruit - blossom drop.

But if I would have planted them earlier, the plants would have produced decently. The fruits were large, red and very good tasting. Had some cracking but otherwise great for slicing. I still have some seeds from them, but decided to try other varieties this year.

This year I am growing 3 jersey tomatoes - Moreton (F1), Ramapo (F1) and Rutgers (OP) and one canning tomato - Marglobe (OP).

This year I am growing 3 jersey tomatoes - Moreton (F1), Ramapo (F1) and Rutgers (OP) and one canning tomato

****

I do think you mean to say that you bought your Moreton F1's and Ramapo F1's, newly reintroduced, from Rutgers, and yes Rutgers OP was bred by Rutgers as was the original Ramapo F1 but Moreton Hybrid as it's known was bred by Harris Seeds in Rochester, NY, many years ago.

We NYS folks jsut have to speak up for out NYS bred varieties since they aren't "joisy" maters. LOL

Actually I don't grow that many hybrids, but do keep up and I still think the best tasting, best producing hybrids might include the following:

Harris ones

Moreton Hybrid
Jet Star F1
Supersonic F1

.....and Ramapo as well, both as the F1 and as the OP that I dehybridized from the F1 when Ramapo F1 was no longer being sold. Many folks are now on the F7 and more from that OP Ramapo and even a couple of Jersey commercial farmers say they can't tell the difference.

Carolyn

I agree completely that the Ext agents as well as the Master Grdeners who work for them as part of their training are not the best places to go for advice for OP varieties.

Alamo, there are many many threads here at GW about varieties that folks in your area have grown and liked and have done well.

The same obtains at the other place where you post and there's even a dedicated TX thread there. No, I can't name it but you know what I mean b'c if other message sites are mentioned here one can be banned,

Large Red or Pink slicers?

Reds

Neves Azorean Red
Red Penna
Chapman
Aker's West Virginia
Cuostralee
Milka's Red Bulgarian
Gianinni
Ludmilla's Red Plum
Russian Bogatyr

...and many many more, all grown by some of my TX friends

Pinks

Large Pink Bulgarian
Omar's Lebanese
TEnnessee Britches
Sanddul Moldovan
Crnkovic Yugoslavian
Lincoln-Adams

....and many many more

Hearts ( I don't call them oxhearts, LOL)

Danko, red
Linnie's Oxheart, red
Indiana Red
Russian # 117
Wes, red
German Red Strawberry, red
Fish Lake Oxheart, red
Reif Redheart
Bobbie, red
Hays', red

Kosovo, pink
Nicky Crain, pink
Anna Maria's Heart, pink
Anna Russian, pink
Tsar-Kolokol ( Tsar of Bells). pink
Serdtse Buivola ( Heart of the Buffalo), pink
Ukrainian HEart ( TNMUJ), pink

....and many many more

Hearts are what I want to grow, always, b'c I think they have the best tastes around in many cases although the production may not always be as great as some non-hearts.

But I grow tomatoes for taste, primarily, so there you go.

Carolyn

Carolyn, newbie to tomatos here. Question - I have heard that "hearts" don't do well in the south, in the heat. I would love to grow one, but is there any specific heart that does better on warmer zones than others? I live in Oklahoma, where heat is just a normal part of the climate in deep summer here.

Appreciate it. Since the OP wants to grow a heart, I just would like to know how you feel about it. Possible or impossible.

Susan

Susan, I have tomato friends in many areas where the summers are hot and sometimes humid, and you're the first person who has ever mentioned that they don't do well in the heat. ( smile)

Of the ones I listed above I'm pretty sure that every single one of them has been grown successfully in zones 8 and 9.

What's important is to get any variety started and outside before the scorching summer heat hits so that the fruits have a chance to set.

If you want to try just one perhaps Danko might be a good bet b'c it's a semi-det and has worked well for lots of folks.

Carolyn

Wow, thanks for the quick response, Carolyn, and I will look for Danko.

Susan

Susan, whenever you want to find a seed source for a variety I highly suggest you use Tania Tomato Data base.

I've linked to the page for Danko below . The picture shown is not a good one, IMO.

I suggst Gleckler's or Sandhill to start with for seeds.

On that page if you go to the top left and click on HOme Page then you can see what kinds of searches you can do for various tomato traits.

For simply finding a variety I use the alphabetical way, which you can also click on to find what you want.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Danko

I left out Victory Seed as a source as well. And of course you canm also look at Carol Knapp's source as well/

I know the owners of all four sources, actually, and if you don't know some of those seed sources, just in general, I think you should.( smile)

Carolyn

I live over in Dallas, so our soil and rainfall are quite different.
I've had pretty good luck with Marianna's Peace(very tasty) and I've heard good things about Pruden's Purple(actually a pink, 1884, and Neves Azorean Red. My favorite is Indian Stripe, which is nearly identical to Cherokee Purple, but earlier and more productive in my experience.

Pete