Paste Tomato Variety Suggestions - Page 4

bjbebs · December 23, 2018

I grew M.Fire as a novelty as paste tomatoes don't do much for me. Beautiful and productive on a smallish size plant. Split in half lengthwise, scooped out seeds and stuffed with various goodies. These were cooked on a very slow grill. M.Fire is the paste in the picture.

BigVanVader · December 24, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

We haven't grown any paste tomatoes for the last three years but in that time we've gone to growing all tomatoes in buckets instead of in the garden (nematodes) and results have improved tremendously. So we're thinking about growing another paste this year. Someone else posted about canning Juliets and we've done that too as they're so darned prolific.

This thread and a few others have been very helpful with suggestions. It seems these pastes have the most mentions: San Marzano Fire, Oroma, Santa Maria, Heidi, Opalka, Amish Paste. Of course it's all subjective with everybody having their favorites and I don't have room but for two more tomatoes in the 2019 plan.

I thought Carolyn's suggestion of using half pastes and half hearts for making sauce was interesting so maybe I'd like to try one heart and one paste. Never grown a heart tomato before as I'm just starting to branch out more into the tomato world. It seems Fish Lake Oxheart has a lot of fans.

My biggest question is what will do best here in the Southeast. Most replies to these paste threads seem to be from up north with one or two southwest or CA replies. In my experience any veggie I've grown that doesn't have a blurb about "does well in the South or in heat" just doesn't perform well for me.

Thanks for any advice!

Wes has performed well for me. I've grown it for years. For paste I like Rio Grande. It is determinate, stays small, and the maters keep quite a while. Performs well with sub optimal care/conditions.

GoDawgs · December 24, 2018

Thanks to all for the input. Rio Grande was on the initial possibles list and it's good to know someone over in South Carolina has had success with it. After checking sources, a lot of the other possibles I mentioned would necessitate paying shipping for just one pack of seed since they aren't available from my usual sources. I won't do that. But Opalka is also readily available. Decisions, decisions!

December 24, 2018	#48
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Thanks to all for the input. Rio Grande was on the initial possibles list and it's good to know someone over in South Carolina has had success with it. After checking sources, a lot of the other possibles I mentioned would necessitate paying shipping for just one pack of seed since they aren't available from my usual sources. I won't do that. But Opalka is also readily available. Decisions, decisions!