Honestly in your climate you should be able to grow just about any variety you wish. It is the quality of the growing conditions you provide rather than the variety itself that makes most of the difference.

I will say though that the varieties you named above are not commonly grown ones, so not proved producers with the possible exception of Lemon Boy. So you might consider going with some of the long-proven standard varieties for a change.

Still even then it is the growing methods that can make all the difference so why not give us some details on those - in ground or containers, soil-less medium used if in containers and size of containers, soil test results and amendments you use if in ground, your feeding regimen, your spacing and support system can be vital to production, do you prune or not, how and how often do you water, sun exposure, any pest or disease issues and how treated, etc.

Dave

well some stuff I grow in raised beds some right in the ground, the soil in the raised beds, a mixture of top soil, compost and peat, basically, try to add some organic matter every spring some plant tone, dehydrated manure. lime from time to time. after I plant out I give them some half dose soluble fertilizer meaning half strength after two weeks a touch of 10 -10 -10 or similar. during blossoming maybe some organic marine based fertilizer and again at fruit formation , after the first big harvest another shot of 10 -10 -10. if I can get compost I sometimes add more in the growing season. I forgot always a little bone meal for calcium. I don't know if I believe in the effectiveness of foliar feeding,for disease. I use diaconil in the beginning but from fruit formation on about every two weeks til sept with copper sulfide I place the plants 18 inches apart and the rows three feet apart. I mulch with a bed of straw. though i'm thinking of doing away with the straw I think its attracting rodents. i'd lick to replace it with landscape fabric. that's about it. so far my three most productive hybrids over the years have been, better boy, orange wellington, big boy bush and a French hybrid called olympe ,as far as op best were, good producers were campbells 1327, Bradley, ernies plump,, and grandma Aiello, Rutgers and marglobe which are supposed to do well in this area were a flop. tried homestead this year and got all small golfball and smaller sized fruit some were flat but very red and tiny. bo figure.

So what was the problem with the flops? Was it disease/insects? Or were the plants healthy and produce poorly? How poor exactly is poor?

If the first, you need to look at some more resistant varieties or at least more robust ones that can partly take the disease better. It's usually trial and select in this case. Also a better spraying schedule (spraying plants before fruits start to form is usually a waste of time and stuff, and copper sulfide is the worse thing you could spray with since it will be washed by the first rain and is absorbed by plants and is associated with poor pollination). In case of leaf fungal diseases, plant spacing and pruning is essential.

If the second, you probably need to use better fertilization, improve soil, use tomatoes with shorter DTM. (this will help in any case)

Agree with fungus for the most part that your fertilization schedule needs work as does the pre-planting soil preparation. A professionally done soil test (county ag extension office) may well prove quite revealing to you about your nutrient and micro-nutrient levels, especially if you have been using lime. A casual approach to fertilization can work IF one has extremely healthy soil with an active soil food web to convert the organics into usable nutrients. Otherwise a very regulated and consistent feeding program is required.

But the thing that really jumps out at me is your plant spacing. 18" might work if you prune to a single stem. Otherwise your spacing needs to be doubled to at least 36". That not only reduces any disease issues by improving air circulation but makes 2-3x the nutrients available to each plant.

And, as I mentioned above, a less eclectic variety selection will serve you well. I'd also focus more on indetermiates rather than so many determinates. I'm quite surprised to hear that Rutgers was a flop for you as it is a well regarded consistent performer across the board. So that alone would indicate some growing condition issues to me.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Dave, what would an example of a 'very regulated and consistent feeding program' be? I was jealous of all the soil work the poster said they already do!

Probably the most "regulated and consistent" program (aside from hydroponics of course) is fertigation - feeding diluted nutrients through your drip irrigation system every time or every other time you water. That is the most efficient method for dealing with larger numbers of plants. The frequency depends on the product you use and how often you have to adjust your watering regimen.

Next would be side-dressing a row or rows of plants every 2 weeks with a well balanced granular fertilizer that also contains micro-nutrients and then watering it in well. While the frequency is pretty much set, the amount used would all depend on the fertilizer used and the nutrient content has to change along with the growth cycles of the plant. In other words you don't use the same fertilizer every time.

And that's the primary point - know your fertilizers and how they work. Not all are the same, not all work the same way or at the same rate. For example, there may be a time for something like 10-10-10 but in most cases it is too high in N once the first fruit has set, has way too much phos and K and essentially no micros. You can compensate for some of its issues by first diluting it in water and then diluting it down to something like 2.5-2.5-2.5 and applying it more frequently. But it still isn't ideal.

In general, water soluble supplements give you better and more accurate control than any granular will. But dry granulars also have their place - pre-planting soil amendment for the most part.

I'm not stipulating either organic or synthetic - that's your choice - as long as your first understand that dry organics only provide nutrients IF you have an active soil food web. Otherwise they are just soil amendments. And they are low dose nutrients at best.

Dave

you what dave I think you hit it on the nail with spacing, because when I come to think of it the plants at the ends of the rows did much better. two years ago I planted a variety called ten fingers of naples to make jars for the winter. I used soy bean meal. they grew like crazy, but then again the end plants gave most of the bulk. but still out of 24 plants. I managed to make 80 jars. imagine if I space them properly. lately i'm trying to stay as organic as possible.when I use a supplwment other than organic I 've coe to like the ironite it has some extra minerals. trouble is dave .these surburban areas are not encouraging for gardeners , there is no available compost and the bags can cost of to 6 dollars so its a matter of affordability also. i'd like to try alfalfa pellets for nutients as well as they contain organic matter. would you suggest any soil prep for the fall, my grandfather used to dig in fresh manure for the fall and left a layer on top. as far as a soil test goes, I called the coop extension, they only test for ph. better than nothing.

the problem was not disease, just that every year I get an overabundance for at least three weeks now its about wo weeks and the harvest has been scant and there no large ones left on the plant. as far as the soil goes, don't know much cause I never had a test. but I do see a ton of earth worms. but i'm also having problems with rodents that's why I want to do away with the straw mulch and replace it with landscape fabric. less room for them to hide.