Actual "heirlooms" or do you mean open-pollinated as opposed to hybrids?

Actual heirlooms - (likely the same as in the previous discussions since if they were good 2 years ago they don't change) Black Krim, Blondkopfchen (cherry), Azoychka, Giant Belgium. None of them, indeed I can't of any that will, "rival popular hybrids" in production. It just isn't a valid comparison because of disease resistance issues. But they all have good production IME in my garden and exceed any of the hybrids in flavor.

Open Pollinated - Mortgage Lifter, Kosovo, Wes, Indian Stripe, NAR, Arkansas Traveler, Eva Purple Ball to name just a few.

Dave

PS: there are several other 'best heirloom' type threads here and a great thread with many answers the search will pull up called "varieties you will never plant again" that the search will pull up if interested.

Hi Dave -

Actually, I originally asked the question back in 2011 but as you pointed out, others have since had similar requests. I realize the same questions regarding tomato growing frequently come up but there's also many new to growing tomatoes who might find the suggestions helpful, too, especially with the changed venue.

Seems each year several posters will come up with something of interest (e.g.: blue tomatoes) which trigger extensive threads and in my case a possible new plant to try, even w/ limited space.

Btw, thank you once again for sharing your tomato acumen over the years. Though a layman to seriously growing tomatoes, I've learned much from you and the other regulars who've unselfishly given of their time.

Will and the Furry Ones in So. Cal.

Here's one for you:

Green Zebra Cherry (not regular Green Zebra). This plant went absolutely nuts in my garden last year. The cherries are on the large side and I was inundated with them! Of the 29 varieties that I grew last year, including 10 cherries, it was the most prolific!

Linda

Our most productive heirlooms over past few years are Sungold, Lescana, Lillian's Red Kansas, Cuostralee, Middle Tennessee. and Bear Creek.

Stupice, although on the small side, will just keep pumping out the toms all season long. No matter what else I grow, I always grow at least one Stupice.

Cherokee Purple!

Sungold is an F1 hybrid, not an heirloom, sorry =)

Never had prolific OP/heirlooms.
Cherokee Purple has been low producer. And Stupice did not do well last year in my garden. I have heard there are 3 or 4 strains of Stupice.

Seysonn

Many of these forums will always have many who say one variety will do great and another who says they will not as in the case with Cherokee Purple in this thread. I think there are so many factors which are involved such as climate/zone you live in, how you grow them (do you regulary pinch off the suckers?) and other things, that for someone to say they did or did not produce great for them is not entirely what you should base your decision on.

I only grow heirlooms and grow organically. I grew about 60 plants last year and some were grown in smaller cages, some in larger cages, some up wire fence and some staked. For me, the red zebra was the highest producer, however we had a rainy period and I lost a lot due to splitting (I did not lose near as many larger varieties). The funny thing about the red zebras was that I actually ordered Mr. Stripy seed and got Red Zebras. The Cherokee Purple was the first plant to produce and one of the last tomatoes a got in November (yes I was still getting them in November here in Virginia- I acutally didn't plant some varieties until early June). It was my favorite overall last year. The Big Rainbow tomatoes did great for me last year and was my third best producer. Although I really liked the Chocolate Stripe, they were low producers. Other low producers for me were White Queen, Black Krim & Paul Robeson.

From the ones I've grown. Super Sioux and Black Zebra are moderately productive. Black Cherry is vigorous and get lots of fruit from them, but take longer to ripe compared to other cherry variety. I
get lots of fruits from Cherokee Purple here in Florida, but still
waiting for them to ripe to try for the first time, I like the fact it's not a tall
plant, but very productive and durable.

I'm growing Matt's Wild Cherry and Boxcar Willie, which are reputed to be heavy producers.

Kellogg's breakfast is very very productive for me.

pennypond USDA 10 Sunset 21 CA Kellogg's breakfast is very very productive for me
**************************
Good to know, Penny.
I am growing it this year for the first time .

Seysonn

I have the utmost respect for Eva Purple Ball on many levels including productivity.

Nitsua,
I have read a lot of positive reviews on EPB. Maybe next season I'll grow it, along with Big Beef , another one with rave reviews. But that is not a heirloom, though ?

Seysonn

Those are my two favorites and on my "grow every year" list. Yes, Big Beef is a hybrid, although there is a dehybridized version available.

Just a couple of good choices for your 2016 list.

I'll second Black Krim -- it always does great for me and we love the taste. A prolific paste is

Opalka and German Howard, but BER is almost always an issue.

Tobolsk was a great producer for me last year. So was Roughwood Golden Plum, but I'm not sure if that's an heirloom or just an OP.

Well while it may not win the taste contest. Yellow Pear is a very prolific heirloom. Not to mention a huge plant. I planted one last year. When the others floundered in the heat. The yellow pear was still putting out pints of fruit. I let them ripen to a darker near orange color and the taste was far better than the bright yellow colored ones. When roasted with some salt, and olive oil they were tasty. While not big in size they gave more than even my hybrids if you consider the total volume they put out over the entire season.

Cherokee Purple and Dester. I think that Cherokee Purple loves North Carolina as it is the most prolific of all my heirlooms, OP's and hybrids. Dester is the next in line, large wonderful pink beefsteak.

I have both limited space and a short growing season. For me, Gold Nugget, Taxi, and Green Zebra produce a lot of tomatoes for their smaller plant size. Pink Brandywine is a huge plant for me and always produces a ton of tomatoes, but most never fully mature before the cold weather hits. :p

Certainly you will get differing opinions about varieties from different people. However, I feel the value of forums like this is: when you consistently see people here talking about a variety that they like or dislike...pay attention. That does not mean everyone will agree. Many commercial growers will only hype their products...and they make everything sound great. I have learned so much here in the last 3 years. There are mostly honest and helpful people on these sites.