so many varieties how to choose?
 

I would like some direction on what variety to grow. I am looking for a large sauce tomato, that doesn't necessarily have to be red. What are your favorites?

Heirloom or hybrid?

Do you only want it for sauce, or also for fresh eating?

[QUOTE=Myronr;445627]I would like some direction on what variety to grow. I am looking for a large sauce tomato, that doesn't necessarily have to be red. What are your favorites?[/QUOTE]

Grow Oxheart tomatoes there are many to chose from.
By saying sauce tomato I am guessing you mean paste tomato.
[url]http://www.tomatogrowers.com/Oxhearts/products/5/[/url]
[url]http://www.tomatogrowers.com/ORANGE-RUSSIAN-117/productinfo/5539/[/url]
[url]http://www.tomatogrowers.com/ORANGE-STRAWBERRY/productinfo/3625/[/url]
[url]http://www.tomatogrowers.com/YELLOW-OXHEART/productinfo/5099/[/url]
The last isn't and Oxheart
[url]http://www.tomatogrowers.com/PURPLE-RUSSIAN/productinfo/5318/[/url]

Worth

[QUOTE=Worth1;445642]Grow Oxheart tomatoes there are many to chose from.
By saying sauce tomato I am guessing you mean paste tomato.
Worth[/QUOTE]
Yes I did mean a paste tomato. Good suggestions, and interesting too.

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;445640]Heirloom or hybrid? Do you only want it for sauce, or also for fresh eating?[/QUOTE]
This is intended for sauce or paste, I will have other tomatoes for fresh eating.

Johnny's has a new San Marzano type this year:
[url]http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-9296-tiren.aspx[/url]

I've grown Pompeii and make some great fire-grilled tomato sauce out of them, very productive: [url]http://www.groworganic.com/renee-s-garden-tomato-pompeii-roma-sauce.html[/url]

I got Darth Mater from a seed swap, and I'm trying it for the first time; it's a dark purple roma type.

And I have read good things about Banana Legs, a yellow paste:
[url]http://www.totallytomato.com/dp.asp?pID=00050&c=54&p=Banana+Legs+Tomato[/url]

[QUOTE=Myronr;445627]I would like some direction on what variety to grow. I am looking for a large sauce tomato, that doesn't necessarily have to be red. What are your favorites?[/QUOTE]


My favorite varieties are always something that I saved seeds from because it grew well in my garden previously. It's just too hard to trust the recommendations of far away people who grow in completely different conditions, and have different habits, tastes, and practices.

Orange Banana makes a prize-winning sauce (according to Johnny's; I can only say it's a great sauce tomato.). It's not a big tomato, though. Opalka, Polish Linguista, and Chinese are all larger, very tasty tomatoes similar in shape. Costoluto Genovese (from Brokenbar, if possible) is relatively small but amazingly prolific once it gets going, and it also makes a great tasting sauce. We also like Amish Paste, Kosovo, and...and...and...

[QUOTE=FarmerShawn;445749]Orange Banana makes a prize-winning sauce (according to Johnny's; I can only say it's a great sauce tomato.). It's not a big tomato, though. Opalka, Polish Linguista, and Chinese are all larger, very tasty tomatoes similar in shape. Costoluto Genovese (from Brokenbar, if possible) is relatively small but amazingly prolific once it gets going, and it also makes a great tasting sauce. We also like Amish Paste, Kosovo, and...and...and...[/QUOTE]
I grew Orange banana one year and it did great in the summer heat.
For the life of me I dont know why I didn't grow it again.:?!?:
Worth

Last season I grew Costolto Genovese which is a very old Italain heirloom.
I planted in ground and just allowed the plant to sprawl but removing many but not all suckers.
The plant grew close to eight feet in height and produced a very large amount of red deeply ribbed medium sized tomatoes.

The taste is strong acid with a very slight hint of sweet.
I loved it as a slicer for sandwiches.
I gave my neighbors next door quite a few of them and they made sauce only using that tomato. They LOVED it and so did I.

It is very easy to locate and really inexpensive to obtain.

Might I suggest our own Tatiana as a seed source. Her reputation is stellar.

[URL="http://tatianastomatobase.com/seed-catalog/html/"]tatianastomatobase.com/seed-catalog[/URL]

[QUOTE=FarmerShawn;445749]Orange Banana makes a prize-winning sauce (according to Johnny's; I can only say it's a great sauce tomato.). It's not a big tomato, though. and...and...[/QUOTE]
Thanks for all the suggestions. Last year it seemed like I pealed a billion little ones, I want to avoid that.

[QUOTE=PA_Julia;445761]The plant grew close to eight feet in height and produced a very large amount of red deeply ribbed medium sized tomatoes.[/QUOTE] I live in a pretty close together suburban edge of town, and lots of people see my garden. A huge tomato plant would be impressive.

I agree that oxhearts are the way to go for sauce. Just grow several of the very meaty large productive varieties of which there are many. The advantage of them is the lower seed and moisture content which makes cooking them down so much easier and quicker.

Bill

Opalka!

[QUOTE=Myronr;445792]I live in a pretty close together suburban edge of town, and lots of people see my garden. A huge tomato plant would be impressive.[/QUOTE]


Very good! I think you should grow it. It was an impressive plant. It also seemed to resist disease notably better than some other strains I was growing last season.

A plant of that magnitude does require one to stake it extremely well. I ended up having to use three seven foot 1/2 " X 2 " stakes to support it.

I would say the approx yield on that one plant equaled approx. 45 to 50 tomatoes that one could eat before frost finally killed it.