As I have promised , I will try to keep updates. So far my Triple BBs are in flowering stage @ about 30" tall.

Here are the pictures that I took on 5/16/16 :

sown : 2/21/16

Planted out : 4/5/16

pictures taken on : 5/16/16

Big Beef and Better Boy are running neck N neck with Big Boy a little behind, both in vigor and flowering. I anticipate Better Boy to present a tough competition to Big Beef. We shall see.

Are you growing any of those this season, side by side ? Mine are all in the same raised bed.

Here is a long shot of my garden . 5/16/16

Sey

How about Best Boy ?

I am curious if anybody here is growing it too along with the other BOYs !!

How does it compare to Better Boy and Big Boy ?

Sey

Progress;

Both my Better Boy and Big Beef are about 43" tall. Big Boy is a few inches shorter. I have to examine the expired flowers to see if anything is growing under the dried petals.

Good news:Starting this Memorial Monday, we will get warm ans sunny weather at least for a couple of weeks. This should speed up fruits developments a bit.

How are your plants and weather are doing ?

Sey

") BIG BEEF F1

2) BIG BOY F1

3) BETTER BOY F1

I have been reading a lot of reviews on these, for months now . They all get mostly positive reviews."

Do you see any negative reviews for BEST BOY? If not, you are being overly imitative in your choice of "Bs".

you are being overly imitative in your choice of "Bs".

------------------------------------

No I am not "imitative" at all . I am growing them as an experiment to find out for myself ,how they will do, even though there are lots of positive reviews. And The purpose this thread is for that reason.

Sey

". I am growing them as an experiment to find out for myself ,how they will do, even though there are lots of positive reviews."

That's fine, but, why are you telling us about it? Why do you think we care about your review out of hundreds of others for the same old tomato varieties? It makes more sense to fill a deficiency in reviews with Best Boy because less people are familiar with it.

Why do you think we care about your review out of hundreds of others for the same old tomato varieties?

--------------------------------------------------

Maybe you PERSONALLY, don't care. Then you don't have to be bothered with it. Just stop commenting. This is a forum, if you understand what it means ! There is no rules and restriction on as what one can talk about and share with others, who might be interested.

You suggest that I should've included Best Boy. Well I did not because I have not known it . There are thousand of varieties out there . I don't have time and resources to get to all of them. Why don't you do that if you think that it is worthwhile ?

Sey

"Well I did not because I have not known it ."

So, now that you know it, next year .... It is sold by Burpee in big box stores or the special deals insert of their catalog, but not in the main pages of their catalog.

"Why don't you do that if you think that it is worthwhile ?"

I reviewed it twice under different usernames but can only find one:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2230038/it-is-better-to-err-on-the-side-of-doing-nothing?n=10

I love reading Sey's posts and reviews! Thanks Sey.

Thanks for any little bit of addl info from anyone.

However, a sample of 1 does not prove anything except allowing an individual to form his/her preference for taste. It is only a slight indication.

I generally have 3 or more of any cultivar except for new ones being tested for taste -- all started from seed the same day and planted out the same day. For every cultivar, some plants are taller, huskier, earlier, more productive, etc. than other plants of the same cultivar. For an actual test among cultivars, a number of each cultivar is needed, planted alternating next to each other, and given identical conditions.

Still, a little more opinion from every one willing to offer it helps people form hypotheses to use in a true test. It is valuable, even though not at all conclusive.

Right taroll, one or two plants might not be 100% conclusive but they can provide good info about the variety. Within a variety they all share the same genetic make up and so variation cannot be too much.

Having said that, we are here sharing data and info. Hopefully this should help us further to make a conclusion of some sort.

I am growing close to 30 varieties this year. About half of the are for the first time. All I am hoping for is to find a handful of winners that can replace my old ones. So between Big Boy and Better boy , I will pick one of them, no more.

OK, lets here about what is happening in your garden.

Sey

A sample of one can NOT provide evidence, data, information, etc. except for personal taste preference. It provides an indication, an idea, a possibility, not facts.

However, any testing, including a sample of one, is certainly valuable as an indication or possibility to form a hypothesis. The more people who do this, the better. Put enough indications together, it starts to become information.

Actually, I am growing 2 of each of the BOYs , but one Big Beef. So far I can tell that plants within each variety are identical, in size and fruit setting, etc.

This is not a scientific study but a backyard observation. :-)

Sey

Looks like it's been over a month now. Any updates on the competition?

I like hearing real-life experiences of people growing any tomato variety and always enjoy Sey's reviews and notes. The fact is, results differ depending on conditions and locations, so, IMO, very little information on tomato performance gathered by people willing to document and log their experiences is extraneous. And if it is, there's no harm done, and it's easy to ignore.

You know what nobody likes? People who come onto people's threads to complain about how useless they think those threads are. Talk about truly useless.

"People who come onto people's threads to complain about how useless they think those threads are. "

Are you blaming me for Seysonn_ 7b-WA/HZ1's recent absence?

I blame you only for constantly souring the tone of this forum. You occasionally have good information but seem capable only of expressing it if you can put other people down in the process and aggrandize yourself needlessly at others' expense. I suspect you are a truly miserable person who just needs to do some consequence-free bullying to make yourself feel better, but I wish you'd just go spew that on reddit or somewhere more appropriate for such things.

I doubt Sey considers you important enough to be a factor in his behavioral choices. From what I understand, his weather has been cold, so his tomatoes have been progressing more slowly than expected. He hasn't been absent at all. My guess is that he's just waiting to update this thread until there's something noteworthy to report or nice pictures to post.

"I blame you only for constantly souring the tone of this forum."

Do you mean like this?:

"You know what nobody likes? People who come onto people's threads to complain about how useless they think those threads are. Talk about truly useless."

You know what nobody likes? Hypocrites.

I came on here to show support for a valued and active member of this community who is always kind and friendly to everyone here and generous in sharing his experiences and information and to let him know that unwarranted, petty, and mean attacks on him do not reflect other people's opinions because I, too, appreciate his posts, including this one.

But I did enjoy how you knew right away that you were the one whose bad behavior I criticized.

Cool it guys !

I am still here and active.

The reason for my not writing about the Triple BBB experiment is that there is nothing significant to write about. All 3 varieties are growing, flowering ... But because of cool weather they are not growing fruits. Just to give you an indication today's high is forecast to be 67F with 60% chance of rain.

It is not just my BBBs that are behind . Most other varieties ( over 25) are in the same situation.

I will definitely evaluate and review them when there is something to review,

Sey

"But I did enjoy how you knew right away that you were the one whose bad behavior I criticized."

No, no, no. You enjoyed how I knew right away that I was the one whose good behavior you criticized.

"But because of cool weather they are not growing fruits."

Best Boy would have grown fruits. Just kidding. We'll never know.

I have seen just one golf ball size on one of the Better Boys. But that is not conclusive.

Sey

I, by pure luck, opted to grow the Big Beef this year. I am really stoked about the general appearance of the plant, not to mention fruit production. Wow. I don't prune, I don't pull suckers...I just let it grow. The thing is a beast. Can I post a pic here even though I'm not part of the contest? My other plant is Mr Stripey, and I expect there are few who are growing it... and even less that want to compare notes. Gah.

On a side note....sey....I'll send you some of my extra degrees. We are in the middle of a heat wave. 90s all week.

Sexy, I would send some heat if I could. We tied our all time high yesterday. I can vouch for the crazing growing powers of the Big Beef. Three earned names in my garden this year- Godzilla, Hercules, and Goliath. They are still setting, but the high heat conditions produce tiny fruit. They ripen early and are undersized. In contrast, Mr. Stripey is late and stingey. I have a tomato to taste finally.

"Sexy" is supposed to be Sey. 8O. Darn auto corrector. Sorry about that.

Tarolli, a sample of one is a data point. Data points help.

Janice, thanks for the info on your other varieties...and yes, my daughter is a new transplant to your area and has been telling me about your hot weather. Yikes. I really like this Big Beef, but I have to ask...am I the only one who is not getting really large, "beefsteak" size fruits? They're not small, they're not big and frankly, they all seem to look pretty uniform in size? I have no blushing fruits yet,but I'm thinking the growth of the fruits already set has been completed. As for Mr. S...glad to hear your outcome is similar to mine. Leggy, spindly and stingy. Imho

I make all kinds of typos everyday. I even miss some after re-reading my posts/comments before hitting the submit icon. But good news is that you can go back and edit your post for quite some time after.

Sey

"am I the only one who is not getting really large, "beefsteak" size fruits?"

My Big Beef are being stolen by an animal, probably a squirrel, when they are about 2.5" diameter and green. I find some on the ground with a single bite mark. I am thinking about hanging mouse traps like Xmas tree ornaments.

The plants are still setting new fruit, but only one or two to a truss, plenty of pea and grape sized. No BER.

Aruzinsky, sorry to hear about your tomatoes. That stinks. About three of four years ago I had a stealth squirrel that devastated most of my vegetable plants. I have since acquired an Australian Shepherd and that problem seems to have disappeared as well as any wildlife, in general. The dog manhandled a rabbit late last year and I think the smell of fear surrounds the yard.

As for the plant, it's very healthy, I see no signs of disease even though our weather has been odd. Definitely no signs of BER, which I get often early in the season. Fingers crossed. I did expect a larger fruit, but I ain't complaining. Lol

My first post to the thread, but have been watching. I'm in the Denver area and growing Big Beef for the first time. The plant is about 4.5' tall and a beast with at least 30 green fruit, several approaching tennis ball size. Looks good at this point.

My Black Krim is bigger and almost as productive. Others, in order of early fruit set:

Lemon Boy

Early Girl

Black from Tula

Sun Gold

Thessaloniki

Cherokee Purple (in a disadvantaged location)

Jerry

"Aruzinsky, sorry to hear about your tomatoes. That stinks."

Thank you. Yes, it stinks big time, but, not for a reason that you are likely to relate to. I have only four Big Beef plants and I am using three as experimental subjects in plant growth regulator (PGR) experiments (one as control). The squirrel is screwing up the results. The squirrel seems to prefer the tomatoes that I coated with Forchlorfenuron (CPPU) solution which is supposed to make the fruit bigger. My largest tomato (base ball sized) is on a plant sprayed with Diethyl Aminoethyl Hexanoate (DA-6) solution which is supposed to prevent fruit drop. Pure DA-6 has a strong odor, so maybe the odor of the residue on the plant keeps animals away and that may be the only reason that that plant has the largest tomato.

Aruzinsky ....I have never heard of any of these things. I use Mater Magic pellets (I'm convinced they're just aquarium shrimp brine) every two to three weeks, and it seems to do the trick. I have not had BER since begining its use 3 years ago. Then again, i don't plant in bulk (2 or 3 plants) and am amateurish (I don't self pollinate, don't prune and use a red plastic sprinkler to soak my plants every few days).

Yes, it sounds like the squirrel screwed up the control. Now, you'll never know if it was the stench that permitted your largest tomato to dominate, nor if your CPPU really DOES produce bigger fruits.

Gah.

I revised my thinking and no longer believe that it is a squirrel problem. A green Big Beef, about 3 oz., without bite marks, dropped from a plant that I treated with brassinolide. I left it on the ground and after a few hours it was eaten by some animal, probably a rabbit. Now, I believe my problem is fruit drop and DA-6 helps.

I tried to find the reference about DA-6 and fruit drop to give you but couldn't find it. But, here is the one about CPPU:

http://ijfas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/930-934.pdf

Incidentally, in my experience, rabbits do very little damage in the garden and I leave them alone.

aruzinsky: Incidentally, in my experience, rabbits do very little damage in the garden and I leave them alone.

I can't grow any parsley, beets or chard in-ground without fencing because the rabbits annihilate them. But because I allow clover, plantain, and other weeds to grow in the back and side lawns, they generally seem to prefer the lawn to the garden beds unless I plant something they particularly enjoy. They don't seem to place solanaceous crops, cucurbits, or brassicas high on their list of desirable foods in my area in a normal year. I don't think it's possible to generalize, as how attractive your plants to a given potential pest probably depends on what else is available in your area and may change from year to year.

Last year, the squirrels left my garden alone almost completely, even though my main beds are right up against a squirrel highway (a combination of tall white cedars, utility poles, and utility lines) that is constantly in use by the varmints. There are lots of oaks in the neighborhood, and my neighbor has a neglected apple tree, and last year was a mast year for both acorns and apples here. I doubt my bitter-smelling solanaceous plants were that attractive given the bounty elsewhere. I will probably be less fortunate this year. I have friends who garden in various parts of the country who suffer a lot of heartbreak due to squirrel depredations, though.

Gorbelly ...I've given up on lettuce, beets, kale,etc because the Rabid Rabbit Pack ate it all, two years in a row. I might give it another try since I have a Garden Guard.

Sey ....here's a picture of my Big Beef. The guy in the background is about 6 foot 5, so I am guessing the plant is about 5 foot 7 or so. As you can see, I don't prune and only use a minimal cage early on and bamboo sticks to keep it in line. I'm sure there are better ways that require more science and finesse, but it works for me...the Garden Putzer.

It's a beast. Upon further inspection this morning, I noting pretty sizable fruits hiding in the center.

"They don't seem to place solanaceous crops, cucurbits, or brassicas high on their list of desirable foods in my area in a normal year."

"I've given up on lettuce, beets, kale,etc because the Rabid Rabbit Pack ate it al"

I have a lot of Kale (a brassica) and the rabbits don't touch it. When I grew cantaloupe, they only ate the tendrils.

Squirrels like to chew on electrical wires thereby burning people's houses down. If you get a squirrel in your attic, don't hesitate to kill it.

Rabbits don't eat my kale, either.

I hear pea plants are very attractive to rabbits.

A co-worker of mine once told me he started feeding squirrels when he moved in his 3rd story condo. He was quite urban, in general, and was excited to see the squirrels his area. I told him to stop. He didn't listen. To make a long story short, they began to terrorize him when he went out on his balcony without food, he almost got kicked out of his condo and he no longer likes squirrels.

As far as kale and rabbits, I was assured that they wouldn't eat it as it would cause digestive problems. Then I caught one red handed... .with kale hanging out if it's mouth.

Squirrels are very common in cities and tend to be thugs that create a lot of nuisance and sometimes terrorize people in city parks. I'm surprised that anyone from a city could be excited to see squirrels. When I lived in NYC, we called them "obnoxious rats with fluffy tails". It was really quite unfair, since city rats, while unnervingly fearless, are generally well behaved and won't harass people.

I worked at the Capitol of my state for 20 years,before retiring. I think they poisoned the squirrels or the squirrel population was kept low due to the rat poisoning program around the state owned buildings. I rarely, if ever, saw them. Then again, all of our state buildings had a contracted exterminator that addressed pest control before the problem started. My friend was thrilled to come into contact with the squirrels....but maybe he was odd. I tend to attract odd.

I have to admit, even though I know better, I can't bring myself to hate chipmunks. They're so adorable, even though they're basically just a ground-dwelling squirrel. So far, I'm lucky that the worst they've done is leave random 2" deep, 2" diameter holes around the garden. They seem to eat a lot of bugs, and I also think the voles are gone because the chipmunks evicted them, so I also feel a sense of obligation to them for doing me that favor (voles are always terrible). From what I can understand, chipmunks aren't predictable; some years they're pests, other years, they only pose a problem if they undermine structures on your property with their digging.

But did they rid the Capitol of all of the two-legged rats?

No, Sir. I've heard they continue to be a national problem, Jerry.

I am also growing Big Beef, Big Boy and Better Boy with Brandy Boy thrown in to boot. I would rank them in this order on terms of growth and production:

Big Beef: To be fair I am growing 7 of them so I guess I should rank the worst plant but still even it is out producing and has bigger tomatoes than the other 3.

Better Boy: Second in production and fruit size but the plant itself was not terribly impressive and got off to a slow start.

Brandy Boy: Probably second to Big Beef in vigor but slightly behind the other 2 in both production and size of fruit. It has done very well considering last year it was a total flop even though I had 4 plants. Have not picked a ripe one yet and I have off of the other 3.

Big Boy: It is doing decently but not as many or as big tomatoes this year as in past years.

I won't rank them on taste as that is subjective but I prefer a meatier tomato like Big Beef but others might like a juicier tomato like Big Boy or Better Boy. Also I will say that different years different plants do better than others and if I did the same thing next year it would probably turn out completely different. Good lord that's a lot of differents. :) Anyway I have found it advantageous to grow several varieties because you never know which ones will have good or bad years.

Hoosier, thanks a lot for the review.

Soon I will check the situation in my garden to make and early assessment . I have been out of garden/town for about 5 days. I am just back.

Sey

I live in the Chicago area for which the USDA recently changed hardiness zones from 5b to 6a. It's still 5b 10 miles west of me.

These are my four Big Beef plants:

http://www.general-cathexis.com/images/BigBeefPlants.jpg

The tallest on the left was treated with brassinolide but the first to have ripe fruit is the shortest which was treated with DA-6:
http://www.general-cathexis.com/images/FirstRipeBigBeef.jpg

The tomato's circumference is 27.5 cm..

You can see my six other tomato plants in the back:

http://www.general-cathexis.com/images/SouthView.jpg

Left to right they are Big Boy, Jet Star, Ramapo, Big Boy, Jet Star, Ramapo. This is a closeup of the far right Ramapo which was also treated with brassinolide and is 5 ft. high:

http://www.general-cathexis.com/images/RamapoPlantBrassinolide.jpg

Ramapo has the highest foliage to stem ratio.

A better shot of the other five:
http://www.general-cathexis.com/images/SouthEastView.jpg

Of these, I will only grow Big Beef and Ramapo again.

Indeed, animals are robbing me blind, more than ever before. I bought about 30 wooden mouse traps and 2 wooden rat traps. I am setting the mouse traps unbaited on the ground within the cages in hopes that the guilty animals will bump into them and learn to stay away. After about 3 rains, the traps fall apart, so I am dipping some of the traps in marine varnish. Every day, I find several traps set off. If this doesn't work, I will try rat traps.