Oh, I'm growing Rebel Starfighter Prime too. Where is this video? My faves so far: 1. Purple Cherokee 2. Jaune Flamme. Also really liked Pink Berkeley Tie Dye last year but trying out different things instead this year. Sounds like I should have ordered Carbon too (am trying Paul Robeson though!) I went a bit overboard on the seeds but regret nothing...for now...

Ranch57,

I will try to post this link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r78zbdl9zI0

but if it doesnt work-

look up the Youtube video of Alices Dream Tomato by LUCKY GARDEN and look at his list of videos, you will find

"The most beautiful tomatoes ever ? Rebel Starfighter Prime tomato "

It was crazy how hard it was to find that video again.

Thanks for listing your tomato favorites.

I think that, in order to get good recommendations, its necessary to state your taste preference when asking for recommendations.

Because I like sweet, yet complex flavours, My favs are Little Lucky, Blush, Maglia Rosa, Sungold, Rose, Bulgarian Triumph and Purple Cherokee. I've discovered that "old fashioned flavour" is code for "acidic". Therefore, I do not like Rutgers, Jaune Flamme or Juliet F1.

Linda

That is incredibly helpful to me , and for future readers also I'm sure. Thanks for writing Linda.

It's all new to me, I'm learning slowly to recognize names of the outstanding tomatoes avid growers mention most often.

My stomach appreciates being saved some grief from the intense acidic sort.

I planted 27 varieties to give an assortment from mild to sharp for the Food Bank. Now I'm trying to decide a top ten to grow myself .

Thanks to Ranch57 and your input , I have a few selected for my own garden. I wish that I had known to buy Bulgarian Triumph seeds - that one is going on my tomato buying list for next year.

My all time favorite is Orange Russian 117 BUT I was out of seeds and my usual source for seeds sent me a substitute rather than the OR seeds this year. :-(

Wow Moosemac, I looked it up- that is one gorgeous delicious sounding tomato !

I would have been DISTRESSED to receive a substitute, I hope you have plenty of exceptional seeds to get you through this year. There are a few places it is still available but from what i have read now it's late to order and grow an oxheart from seed .

Our weather is still so freezing cold at night, I didn't plant the oxheart I wanted most, Everett's Rusty Oxheart. The description said 120 days to mature. Shipping was expensive , more than the price of the seeds, so next year Lord willing Rusty is getting planted no matter what the Spring weather is like.

OR 117 is going on my TOP TOMATOES list to try, THANKS .

That gives me a wealth of research to do...

I bought Northern Lights from Happy Cat Farms but there is nowhere on my table to squeeze in any more seed trays.

Thunder Mountain sure tempted me, I looked at it a number of times. You will have a beautiful tomato garden Moosemac , and I bet you are growing a future tomato Gardener.

The one tomato that I recommend for people to try is Stump of the World, a large pink beefsteak. It has "balanced" flavor. From there, gardeners should be able to determine if they like sweeter tomatoes, balanced tomatoes, or more tart tomatoes.

And, in searching for varieties, if there are any that people can't find from a vendor, just ask. My collection, which is really a collection from 100+ traders, numbers in the thousands. Each fall, I host a large swap (not just tomatoes), that is always looking for new participants.

That sounds fantastic Gary, count me in.

It's been a busy day, I didn't get over to the junction yet.

Must have spent $40 in shipping fees over the last 6 months trying to learn the hard way.

I remember seeing Stump of the World and chose not to order it because I am tomato ignorant -but not for long !

I'll have to comment on Everett's Rusty Oxheart. I've tried about 200 heart varieties, and while ERO is very attractive looking, it was the worst tasting heart of all the ones that I've tried. It's almost impossible to find lousy tasting hearts, but there are a tiny number of them out there.

berrypie7,

I've trialed 2,000+ tomato varieties, and I'm still fairly ignorant about some of the types.

I think that people new to heirlooms should take a couple of years trying as many different types of tomatoes, before they can really decide on what types they like the most. Weather conditions from year to year can have a huge effect on tomatoes.

Here's the link to a partial list of varieties from the last swap...

https://www.tomatojunction.com/2021-master-list-tomatoes-t2996.html

SHOCKING- in a good way.