Hi housewife - Midwest is a BIG area with many different growing conditions in it so while I am not technically included in the 'mid-west' I am just over the border from Missouri which is. And that is a very different world from you in south central Wisconsin.

But fortunately, aside from those different growing conditions, most tomato varieties have no regional limitations or advantages. Most can be grown anywhere. So it is the "favorites" and the "never agains" in those other threads that rule when it comes to making your choices. :)

Of course methods used also plays a role - ie. containers or in-ground, days to maturity of the variety, length of your growing season, regional pests and diseases, etc.

For example, in 4b you will have more limitations than many of the other mid-western states do since you have a shorter growing season. That might rule out many of the late-season (the 80-90 DTM) varieties that are often recommended unless you do them under cove. And your plant out date will be 2-3 weeks later than someone in say northern Missouri. And according to your state's extension services you have some different, but generally less, pest issues than many of us further south but you don't have to deal with some of the soil-borne viruses the rest of us have (lucky you!).

So after all that rambling, other than maybe those really late season varieties you should be able to grow just about any of the varieties listed in those other threads. Plus there are many other 'favorites' threads here too that the search will pull up if interested in reading them.

What varieties are you growing this year? What was your first fruit set variety?

Dave

Ahhh. You are right digdirt2! I really should have been more specific. I'm really looking for large tomatoes that are mid season enough that they'll still produce. I have good early cherries but not much for big beefsteaks/slicers. I'm also looking for season extension ideas that have worked for people in my general climate that are NOT a greenhouse or high tunnel. I rent and my landlord would have kittens if I built one of those. I'm toying with the idea of a small collapsible greenhouse made of panels that wire together though... :D

One of the things specific to my area is some sort of soil disease? All the farmers around here know about it. I need to do more research because I'm not exactly sure what it is but it sometimes makes the nightshades very unhappy and sick. Not every year though. Just some years.
I so far haven't had any pest issues. People talk about tomato hornworms and squirrels eating their plants/tomatoes...and I've never seen a hornworm. The squirrels are too fat from birdseed and peanuts to worry about tomatoes in my yard :D

Everyone around here grows Roma and Early Girl. Bleech. The taste fresh (of both) is just so meh and disappointing, even from the garden. Roma is good for sauces but there are better ones with less BER I'm reading about (trying Costoluto G this year, going to try oxhearts next!).
And Early Girl. I kinda hate her. It's all my parents have grown for years and honestly I never could tell the difference between her and a grocery store tomato. Never ever. For years I didn't even like fresh tomatoes except with lots of dressing.

But the first year I grew my own...oh I had a Brandywine and a Cherokee Purple and they were a revelation. Raw tomatoes were good! I think I got 5 or 6 total tomatoes off the plants (my fault, due to it being my first year ever growing stuff by myself and me just sticking them in some dirt in the backyard in July, no fertilizer, not even watered unless they were wilting!). The next year I did the same thing...got about ten tomatoes. And planted my first cherries and discovered my deep love for Black Cherry and Sungold. Last year I found out about the soil issue and was told not to chance planting again (give the soil a year off) and planted in pots (way too small!) and got even WORSE production. I just keep experimenting and most of the time it seems I fail...but that was the year I discovered how much I like San Marzano and Sungold sauce (the only ones that still desperately pumped out lots of tomatoes while grown in tiny two gallon pots)

This year I'm growing in 5-10 gallon buckets and 20 gallon (DIY) earthtainers. Unfortunately building the earthtainers took so much time that my tomatoes got put in really late (first and second week of July) instead of the early date I was hoping for! (May 18 -our traditional planting date is Memorial Day) But they're built so next year I'm going to try for 6 weeks early (April) on my plant out with Walls O Water and possibly some greenhouse plastic on a low hoop/tunnel and frost blankets on cold nights. I do have a backup planting planned for 2 weeks early (May) in case of disaster. I'm hoping someone in Minnesota or Wisconsin has tried something like a low tunnel plus WOW? I really want to grow some darned Brandywines and CPs without needing a greenhouse or high tunnel. Zone 5 sure seems to be a sweet spot for CP's If I can just get my plants out a few weeks early and increase the heat/light around them maybe I can get the good harvests I've seen people in zone 5-6 talk about. :D

First to fruit has so far always been Sungold for me, though this year I tried Glacier and Black Sea Man as "earlies". I've got lots of fruit on all three but no blush yet. I think the BSM might even beat Sungold...I keep checking every day. :D

Haha and you thought YOU had rambled. ;)

This year I'm growing:
Sungold F1 Cherry - 57 dtm
Black Cherry - 65 dtm
Csikos Botermo - 65 dtm
Black Sea Man - 70 dtm
Japanese Black Triffle - 75 dtm
Paul Robeson - 75 dtm
San Marzano - 80 dtm
Costoluto Genovese - 80 dtm
Glacier - 55 dtm
Cherokee Green - 75 dtm
Pruden's Purple - 72 dtm
Aunt Ginny's Purple - 80 dtm
Pink Brandywine (Burpee, non named?) - 85 dtm
*I want to try some named ones and different colors next year
Aunt Gertie's Gold - 75 dtm
Kellogg's Breakfast Beefsteak - 80 dtm
*I wanted KBX but couldn't find seeds in time to start

I'm most excited to try Cherokee Green, Pruden's Purple, and Aunt Gertie's Gold. I've read good things about all of them so my fingers are crossed. Especially that Pruden's Purple is an earlier beefsteak with a taste similar to Brandywine. I couldn't find Brandy Boy seeds on the rack and forget to order them along with the others so that's an experiment for next year.

Some of these are late...and pushing my season a bit but I have some frost blankets for this fall if we get an early frost. (Sometimes it's early/mid September...sometimes it's October before we get a killing frost.)

I've been reading a lot about earthtainers in shorter seasons and they seem to be the answer for me! I can get stuff in earlier and keep it going later (I have the earthtainers on the south side of my home, the "real" garden is on the north side at the bottom of a small hill so frost just rolls down into the garden. There can be a whole month difference in harvesting tomatoes in the two spots).
Eventually I'd like to produce enough veggies that we don't have to buy any all summer (or maybe all year...I've been reading Elliot Coleman's books and The Year Round Vegetable Gardener and I'm dreaming of harvesting kale and carrots all winter long) and I'm planning to sell some plants this spring for seed money so I can try lots of new tomatoes each year till I find the best ones for my garden! ;)

Do I sound overly excited and super determined? Hey it's summer, tomatoes are kinda my favorite topic right now! :D

You already have a very good selection across the board. Your results this year can teach you more than anybody can suggest here. I , myself, am growing over 20 new varieties this year just to find out which ones will do ok in my climate.

When I read "Zone 4" all I can make out of it is " Short growing season for heat loving plants", like peppers, tomatoes. That is the only limitation so far as growing tomatoes..

If you have soil borne diseases, you would want to grow in containers, as you have already mentioned.

Sey

Tatiana website has amazing range of varieties you can experiment with, I too find it individual for every garden what will do best. Based on your ability to grow Brandywine I would suggest either Brandywine Yellow or Orlov Yellow instead of Aunt Gertie Gold- very late tomato for me even with WOW planting.

You are already growing some of the ones I grow each year. A few others that I like are Brandy Boy, Stump of the World, Kellogg's Breakfast-a favorite of DH, Caspian Pink, and various hearts, including 'Bobbie' because that is my name and I find it productive and tasty. It is fun to try new varieties. With trading and getting seed from wintersown.org and The Sample Seed site I've gotten seeds from more varieties than I have space to try. I am in Maple Grove, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota.