The biggest (or should i say the smallest) surprise in my garden this year is Big Beef. Big fat zapp!

Welcome, goodground.

Why is Big beef is a zap ? Mine is not doing that good either but not a zap yet. It is in a two way competition with Better Boy and Big Boy. But jury is still out.

Sey

My new find this year is the variety Yablonka Rossii. This is a semi-det plant (maybe 4 ft producing small, perfect, round red fruit, but so many tomatoes on a single compact plant. I grew only one plant this year, but will be planting several next year.

Here is the photo of the same plant (from 2 different sides).

Wow! That is LOADED!!!!

Linda

Nice new finds for me were:

Ambrosia Rose. Right up there with Sungold.

Rosella (cherry) a dark beauty with sweet fruity taste.

Maglia Rosa a pink-and-green striped elongated cherry - tasty!

Blush a yellow elongated cherry like MR, but bigger - tasty too.

Margaret Curtain, earlier and as tasty as Indian Stripe (black).

Aunt Ginny's Purple, a huge pink that tastes like a heart.

Linda

Sey, with a name like Big Beef, i did not expect it to be the smallest variety in my garden (all under 7oz). In my experience, it was a bad version of Rutgers.

Based on all the positive feedback, I wonder if the Ferry-Morse seeds i bought are actually Big Beef?

I agree. In my garden they also don't get very big either. They are anywhere from 4 oz to 12 oz. I think my Big Boys are doing better than Big Beef. So I might zap Big Beef too.

I was in farmers market today. On one stand they had huge Big Beef. I estimated over a pound each. The price at $4.95/lb was also impressive. hehe

sey

Every dark/black varieties in my garden are doing great. But the NEW found is Indian Stripe. Nothing to taste yet but is is very productive. Fruits size is variable, I think and smaller than Cherokee Purple.

sey

Sey,

Is Cherokee purple sweet at all? What are some other dark tomato varieties you recommend?

mottogear ,

CP has , IMO, a unique taste. Not too sweet or tangy. Maybe somebody else can describe it. Most dark tomatoes have a different taste than red.

Other than CP I recommend Black fron Tula. It has the same color, texture and taste as CP but it is much more productive and a bit early too.

I just took this picture . BFT is in the middle.

Sey

Thanks! Next year I'm gonna look in to growing dark tomatoes. I think next year I will try Cherokee purple or Black Fron Tula.

Dark / black tomatoes have different texture and taste. Most people like them , some don't. The best way to find out is to grow them and see how you like them. Cherokee Purple, for example, is among few top favorites. I personally recommend it.

Sey

Thanks.

Sey, my Indian Stripes were a bit smaller than my CPs. But a lot of my CPs were huge this year. In fact, my largest tomato this year was a CP.

I'm doing Indian Stripes again though... It was prolific and earlyish and it tastes good too. Just not quite as complex as a CP.

I grew Black Krim, Black from Tula and Cherokee Purple this year. CP was at a big disadvantage set off to the side in decidedly inferior soil. While half the size (or less) of the others, it did produce some very tasty tomatoes of decent size - usually 9-13 oz.

Black from Tula and Black Krim were in the main raised bed and extremely productive and nearly as good tasting as CP in taste - some may prefer them. I am guessing I will get 20 LB from my BFT plant and 30 LB from my BK (up to 21 oz).

I plan to save seeds for the first time from BK and BFT.

I was pretty pleased with all the varieties I grew this year. One stood out from the rest on the OP/Heirloom side. Chapman. Very prolific for an heirloom and very good looking tomatoes with good taste. That is just one year so I will have to try it again but at least I have seen what it can do in a good year.

ncrealestateguy

Sey,
my Indian Stripes were a bit smaller than my CPs. But a lot of my CPs
were huge this year. In fact, my largest tomato this year was a CP.

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nc , that is the situation in my garden too. CP has about 6 real big tomatoes. Indian stripe has a lot of tomatoes of different size. Same goes for Black from Tula. They are all now ripening.

CP

BFT

I have 2 more interesting finda :

1- Indigo Apple: Very pretty , productive and very good tangy taste.

Another picture :

It is a bit late for its cherry size but worth the wait.

Sey

One of my surprise / new founds is an unknown dark tomato. It has been early and prolific. The fruit size is most uniform. Here is a picture.

Riley suggested that it is Sara Black (aka Schwartze Sarah ). And I think that is a close match. So far I have harvested about 10 and there are probably another 10 or more on the vine.

I will review a couple of more the next time.

Sey

pretty maters sey!

Talking about Black from Tula...mine were good. However, they were red (not brownish or blackish)...and I do not think I got anything over 7-8 ounces. Not what I expected.

My best tomatoes are usually Cherokee Purple and Brandywine, But I had 2 surprises this year. First, I grew Garden Treasure, a hybrid of Brandywine from University of Florida and while it wasn't CP or Brandywine, it was close and productive too.

Second I tried Ponderosa Pink. That was for my deceased Dad who thought it the best tomato, and when he lost his saved seeds in a move to NH (where they wouldn't have grown anyway in his forested yard) he was devastated. So I found some seeds and grew a few this year. They aren't the best tasting heirloom, but they aren't the worst either and I got a LOT more of them than any other heirloom this year.