which heirloom tomato?

[Moonglow]

Oh, no! I have a Purple Calabash duo!

[habitat_gardener]

Purple Calabash is very productive! I grew it once, and ate them all. It has some of that black tomato flavor. It was by no means a spitter, though I probably wouldn't grow it again. The year I grew it, I had three or four flavor duds -- one was bland, a couple were so-so to unpalatable, and one was inedible. Purple Calabash wasn't in that league, but I wouldn't put it on my ten or twenty or fifty best-tasting list, either.

[barkeater]

Holly,

Moskvich/Moskovich is one of my favorites. It is my earliest large red and very cold tolerant - important up here. As with most tomatoes, the first couple may not be at peak flavor, but they will soon. Too bad I have about 2 months until my first. Enjoy yours!

[Fert1]

Oh good. With luck, mine may be ripe enough to pick today. I can hardly wait. I've been going out twice a day staring at it - willing it to ripen. LOL!

[aninocentangel]

I'm right there with you fert, those dang things sure are taking their time. They've been orange for-ev-errrr!

[Fert1]

Here's a picture of my first ripe Moskovich.



And here in my hand so you can tell relative size.



Can't wait to try it. The shoulders are not quite 100% red on one side. So I will probably let it sit on the counter for a day or two. I'm very eager to try it though. It's very large for such an early tomato. If the flavor is equally impressive, it's going to be a keeper! It has some discoloration on the bottom where it was sitting directly on top of the ground by the time it finished growing. Shouldn't hurt it though.

[korney19]

Marizol Korney, Olive Hill, Kellogg's West Virginia

[Gerald51]

Originally Posted by WVTomatoMan

Sure I agree with the Eva Purple Ball, Box Car Willie, and Red Brandywine recommendations. But, I'm from West Virginia and I have to recommend Aker's West Virginia*.

Randy

*Note: Wasn't production listed as the first criteria, along with taste?

This is my 1st year to grow Aker's WV. Out of the 14 varieties I'm growing, it has produced the most green tomatoes and the largest vine by far.

Box Car Willie and Red Brandywine are the least productive that I'm growing this year and are now just now putting on a few tomatoes.

I certainly hope AWV ends up tasting as good as it produces.

Gerald

[Ruth_10]

I'm another fan of County Agent. It is fantastically productive (a machine), good-sized slicers, and the taste is right up there.

[Gobig_or_Gohome_toms]

Originally Posted by Ruth_10

I'm another fan of County Agent. It is fantastically productive (a machine), good-sized slicers, and the taste is right up there.

Got county agent as an extra in a trade did not have room for it this year due to limited space but I sure hope to grow it in the next couple of years.

Craig

[Jimche]

Originally Posted by tomatoguy

This is certainly a prime example of "your mileage may vary". My experience has been completely negative with both Red Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. I'm waiting for someone to recommend Church and Matina, last year's spitters for me.

mater

I've seen Matina raved about in various quarters. Like you, we found it unspectacular last year. Evidently, there is a lot that goes into how a particular variety satisfies its grower...