A Study in Scarlet

Worth1 · April 1, 2009

No not the famous story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the great detective Sherlock Holms about revenge were he lets the killer go but about Tomatoes.
Yes tomatoes, before I fire up the Deep Breather and head off to get my oak flooring in Austin I will ask this question.

Do you all grow mostly RED tomatoes or do you like to grow other lesser known colors like striped, yellow, white, orange, purple, green and black

This year I found myself with a lot of these so called wild colors with very few reds.
Mostly I have found that many of the OTHER colors seem to do well for me and it seems to deter the casual tomato thief from snatching them.
I can hear their little felonious minds now. What the devil is that? A tomato? It looks like one but IS IT ONE?

It could be poisonous or at the very least rotten!!!!!
There isn’t a single red tomato to be gotten.
Ah here is one that is red.
I think I will take it instead.

I won’t eat a tomato that isn’t red.
As I might find myself dead.

Yes I think I will just eat the tomato that’s red.

What do you like best and why?
Is it the novelty of it all or do they do best up until the fall?

Please, do please tell us all.

Worth

lumierefrere · April 1, 2009

Pinks are my favorite, at least for the last few years, the ones I grow are sweet and perhaps not so assertive to use Carolyn's word. I grow a couple very reliable reds so that my freezer will be well stocked. I'm enchanted by varieties like Little Lucky Heart--total pushover for the yellow stripes. These are real "conversation starters" because they're so unusual and lovely. Black or dark tomatoes scare people who haven't yet been introduced to heirlooms, they do indeed think they're rotten. They taste like tomatoes to me so after the first excitement of their visual difference, I've lost interest. The only dark/purple/black I'm growing this year is Purple Haze.

My pinks for this season are
Grandfather Ashlock (very reliable and early)
Honey (cute, smallish and really late last year)
a pink from Craig to trial
Ben Gantz

Barb

montanamato · April 1, 2009

I have met very few tomatoes I won't inhale, but reds are my favorite...
I think I favor reds, because I grow tomatoes mainly for year round cooking and only get to eat them fresh for a short time ...
The deepest red tomatoes always get my attention, as I like my sauces and salsas to be scarlet...I do occasionally make salsa with yellow/orange tomatoes, but never cook with them if I can avoid it...It is a strictly visual hangup of mine, but I don't like odd colored sauce on pasta....
Many of my favorite fresh eating tomatoes are blacks and oranges however...
I just counted up my seedlings and the reds are ahead about 78 out of a 100...

Jeanne

My opinion has been jaded by years of gardening in hostile areas, where red semi determinates out produce most everything under high stress, so they have won my admiration by filling quart jars...

spyfferoni · April 1, 2009

One of the most interesting tomatoes I have grown is Burracker's Favorite. We called it the tie died tomato. A couple friends asked me specifically for that tomato plant the next year. It was an nice big beefsteak, but the novelty of it is what I think they were after. I think that is what really got me interested in growing Heirloom and open-pollinated tomatoes, was the availability of so many different colors, and shapes. I have one little boy who will only eat yellow cherry tomatoes. I really like the color and flavor of Noir de Crimee too. Kellog's Breakfast is another favorite now. I don't have to worry about tomato thieves, but if I did, you could bet I would grow far less red tomatoes than I do now.

Tyffanie

shelleybean · April 1, 2009

You are quite the poet, Worth.

I tend to favor pinks, too. I don't think I've grown any true reds for a couple of years and I don't have any this year either. The only tomatoes I buy at the store are the red cherries so I guess I feel I don't need to grow them if I eat them all off season months. My husband likes yellow cherries/small salad types, too, and I have a couple of Green Gage this season to fill that niche. I like green tomatoes, too, and I think those three colors-pink, yellow, green-look nice together in a bowl or on a platter.

dice · April 1, 2009

I prefer red tomatoes for appearance, and because it easy to see
how ripe they are on the vine. For taste, however, anything
goes. If a tomato tastes good, I don't care what color it is.

Vince · April 1, 2009

Not counting red cherries, Last year I only had one accidental(crossed seed). I missed having some really good red tomatoes in the mix last year. This season I made sure I had at least one, Neves AR. Never grown this one, but it sounds like most really like it. I now wish I would have started a few of my coustrelle seeds.

Polar_Lace · April 2, 2009

I have many tomato plants growing in my back yard. Some are red, but many are the ones that are not strictly red, or not red at all.

I will be making warning signs for them; such as:

"Don't pick tomatoes that are not red or not ripe you'll get the runs." - greens

"If these tomatoes don't appear to red, then they must be the poisonous ones on the plant." - multicolored ones

"If these tomatoes don't look right to you; they must be the ones I'm experimenting with insecticides, they may be toxic for human consumption." for the darker/blacks

"If these tomatoes look like a Heart shape, then they're the ones I injected with raw Cows Blood." for the heart shaped ones

~* Robin

violet0996 · April 2, 2009

The majority of the tomatoes I grow are pink, but I always grow a few of everything. I prefer tomatoes which are 'assertive', as Barb put it. I also enjoy the visual rainbow of other colors of tomatoes on my plate, so I also have yellows, oranges, purples, blacks and the occasional white or green. My tomato thieves (mainly mockingbirds) do go for the pink or darker tomatoes, but last year it was so dry that they were even attacking the green ones.
- Dawn

April 2, 2009

The first thing that came to mind when setting up my TV user name was "Red". I was really surprised when it showed "available"; hence, I am Red! This year is the first time I have grown or desired anything but red. Since getting "hooked" here with the rest of Tvillians.....I will have my first taste of orange, pink, striped & bicolor, purple, black/green, green, yellow, and likely some surprises. I am turning red because I have "over done" it. If my wife sees all the credit card seed sales / supply stuff, I will be BLOODY Red!

Steve

Tormato · April 2, 2009

ne hundred pink beefsteak varieties, for this year.

Maybe one red, or two.

Tormato

ctx00978 · April 2, 2009

I was always a "red" tomato eater, or so I thought, until I became better informed and realized some of those "reds" were technically pink.

Last year was the first year I grew heirloom tomatoes. I initially found myself over at gw and read up on the different varieties. I purchased seeds with excitement (and a little bit of fear over some of the colors), but was pleasantly surprised at the end of the season to learn that tomatoes need not all be red! It was a revelation (to me, at least). I enjoyed the cherokee purple's, black krim's, jd's special c-tex. I enjoyed the heck out of my Aunt Ruby's. But, I have to say that my very favorite tomatoes last year were druzba and german red strawberry. So, while I'm now enlightened, it does appear that I still show a preference towards the reds. Does that mean that's all I'm growing this year? Heck no. I think I need to be in a tomato support group.....oh wait, this is one, only you're all a bunch of enablers

. I'm growing more varieties this year. Lot's more. And loving it!

Stacie

maryinoregon · April 2, 2009

Hi Worth. Some years I grow mostly reds. Some years it's quite a mix of colors. This year I will have mostly blacks and pinks, with one or two reds. I don't care what color they are, so long as they taste good.

barkeater · April 2, 2009

Of the 16 varieties planned this year, I'll have:

7 red
6 pink
2 black
1 orange

Douglas14 · April 2, 2009

I tend to favor reds and pinks heavily. Canning is one reason, as I like dark red juice, chunks, etc.
This year the only two I plan on growing outside of red and pink, are Sun Gold and Aunt Gertie's Gold. Both are outstanding IMO.
I've tried a number of blacks, but none really impressed me enough to keep me growing them. The bi-color or two I've grown were too one-dimentional(sweet).

April 1, 2009	#1
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	A Study in Scarlet No not the famous story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the great detective Sherlock Holms about revenge were he lets the killer go but about Tomatoes. Yes tomatoes, before I fire up the Deep Breather and head off to get my oak flooring in Austin I will ask this question. Do you all grow mostly RED tomatoes or do you like to grow other lesser known colors like striped, yellow, white, orange, purple, green and black This year I found myself with a lot of these so called wild colors with very few reds. Mostly I have found that many of the OTHER colors seem to do well for me and it seems to deter the casual tomato thief from snatching them. I can hear their little felonious minds now. What the devil is that? A tomato? It looks like one but IS IT ONE? It could be poisonous or at the very least rotten!!!!! There isn’t a single red tomato to be gotten. Ah here is one that is red. I think I will take it instead. I won’t eat a tomato that isn’t red. As I might find myself dead. Yes I think I will just eat the tomato that’s red. What do you like best and why? Is it the novelty of it all or do they do best up until the fall? Please, do please tell us all. Worth

April 1, 2009	#2
lumierefrere Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Zone 4 NY Posts: 772	Pinks are my favorite, at least for the last few years, the ones I grow are sweet and perhaps not so assertive to use Carolyn's word. I grow a couple very reliable reds so that my freezer will be well stocked. I'm enchanted by varieties like Little Lucky Heart--total pushover for the yellow stripes. These are real "conversation starters" because they're so unusual and lovely. Black or dark tomatoes scare people who haven't yet been introduced to heirlooms, they do indeed think they're rotten. They taste like tomatoes to me so after the first excitement of their visual difference, I've lost interest. The only dark/purple/black I'm growing this year is Purple Haze. My pinks for this season are Grandfather Ashlock (very reliable and early) Honey (cute, smallish and really late last year) a pink from Craig to trial Ben Gantz Barb Last edited by lumierefrere; April 1, 2009 at 05:25 PM. Reason: spellcheck

April 1, 2009	#5
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	You are quite the poet, Worth. I tend to favor pinks, too. I don't think I've grown any true reds for a couple of years and I don't have any this year either. The only tomatoes I buy at the store are the red cherries so I guess I feel I don't need to grow them if I eat them all off season months. My husband likes yellow cherries/small salad types, too, and I have a couple of Green Gage this season to fill that niche. I like green tomatoes, too, and I think those three colors-pink, yellow, green-look nice together in a bowl or on a platter. __________________ Michele

April 1, 2009	#6
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I prefer red tomatoes for appearance, and because it easy to see how ripe they are on the vine. For taste, however, anything goes. If a tomato tastes good, I don't care what color it is. __________________ -- alias

April 1, 2009	#7
Vince Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 942	Not counting red cherries, Last year I only had one accidental(crossed seed). I missed having some really good red tomatoes in the mix last year. This season I made sure I had at least one, Neves AR. Never grown this one, but it sounds like most really like it. I now wish I would have started a few of my coustrelle seeds. __________________ Vince

April 1, 2009	#3
montanamato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 1,038	I have met very few tomatoes I won't inhale, but reds are my favorite... I think I favor reds, because I grow tomatoes mainly for year round cooking and only get to eat them fresh for a short time ... The deepest red tomatoes always get my attention, as I like my sauces and salsas to be scarlet...I do occasionally make salsa with yellow/orange tomatoes, but never cook with them if I can avoid it...It is a strictly visual hangup of mine, but I don't like odd colored sauce on pasta.... Many of my favorite fresh eating tomatoes are blacks and oranges however... I just counted up my seedlings and the reds are ahead about 78 out of a 100... Jeanne My opinion has been jaded by years of gardening in hostile areas, where red semi determinates out produce most everything under high stress, so they have won my admiration by filling quart jars...

April 1, 2009	#4
spyfferoni Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 675	One of the most interesting tomatoes I have grown is Burracker's Favorite. We called it the tie died tomato. A couple friends asked me specifically for that tomato plant the next year. It was an nice big beefsteak, but the novelty of it is what I think they were after. I think that is what really got me interested in growing Heirloom and open-pollinated tomatoes, was the availability of so many different colors, and shapes. I have one little boy who will only eat yellow cherry tomatoes. I really like the color and flavor of Noir de Crimee too. Kellog's Breakfast is another favorite now. I don't have to worry about tomato thieves, but if I did, you could bet I would grow far less red tomatoes than I do now. Tyffanie

April 2, 2009	#8
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	I have many tomato plants growing in my back yard. Some are red, but many are the ones that are not strictly red, or not red at all. I will be making warning signs for them; such as: "Don't pick tomatoes that are not red or not ripe you'll get the runs." - greens "If these tomatoes don't appear to red, then they must be the poisonous ones on the plant." - multicolored ones "If these tomatoes don't look right to you; they must be the ones I'm experimenting with insecticides, they may be toxic for human consumption." for the darker/blacks "If these tomatoes look like a Heart shape, then they're the ones I injected with raw Cows Blood." for the heart shaped ones ~* Robin __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

April 2, 2009	#9
violet0996 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 36	The majority of the tomatoes I grow are pink, but I always grow a few of everything. I prefer tomatoes which are 'assertive', as Barb put it. I also enjoy the visual rainbow of other colors of tomatoes on my plate, so I also have yellows, oranges, purples, blacks and the occasional white or green. My tomato thieves (mainly mockingbirds) do go for the pink or darker tomatoes, but last year it was so dry that they were even attacking the green ones. - Dawn

April 2, 2009	#10
red Guest Posts: n/a	The first thing that came to mind when setting up my TV user name was "Red". I was really surprised when it showed "available"; hence, I am Red! This year is the first time I have grown or desired anything but red. Since getting "hooked" here with the rest of Tvillians.....I will have my first taste of orange, pink, striped & bicolor, purple, black/green, green, yellow, and likely some surprises. I am turning red because I have "over done" it. If my wife sees all the credit card seed sales / supply stuff, I will be BLOODY Red! Steve

April 2, 2009	#11
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,959	ne hundred pink beefsteak varieties, for this year. Maybe one red, or two. Tormato

April 2, 2009	#12
ctx00978 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Missouri Posts: 82	I was always a "red" tomato eater, or so I thought, until I became better informed and realized some of those "reds" were technically pink. Last year was the first year I grew heirloom tomatoes. I initially found myself over at gw and read up on the different varieties. I purchased seeds with excitement (and a little bit of fear over some of the colors), but was pleasantly surprised at the end of the season to learn that tomatoes need not all be red! It was a revelation (to me, at least). I enjoyed the cherokee purple's, black krim's, jd's special c-tex. I enjoyed the heck out of my Aunt Ruby's. But, I have to say that my very favorite tomatoes last year were druzba and german red strawberry. So, while I'm now enlightened, it does appear that I still show a preference towards the reds. Does that mean that's all I'm growing this year? Heck no. I think I need to be in a tomato support group.....oh wait, this is one, only you're all a bunch of enablers . I'm growing more varieties this year. Lot's more. And loving it! Stacie

April 2, 2009	#13
maryinoregon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Oregon Posts: 361	Hi Worth. Some years I grow mostly reds. Some years it's quite a mix of colors. This year I will have mostly blacks and pinks, with one or two reds. I don't care what color they are, so long as they taste good.

April 2, 2009	#14
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	Of the 16 varieties planned this year, I'll have: 7 red 6 pink 2 black 1 orange

April 2, 2009	#15
Douglas14 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 602	I tend to favor reds and pinks heavily. Canning is one reason, as I like dark red juice, chunks, etc. This year the only two I plan on growing outside of red and pink, are Sun Gold and Aunt Gertie's Gold. Both are outstanding IMO. I've tried a number of blacks, but none really impressed me enough to keep me growing them. The bi-color or two I've grown were too one-dimentional(sweet).