Best type of tomatoes to grow in Central Texas? Advice Please

Originally Posted by Tracydr

If they're very sweet, I bet they'd be good for dehydrating and paste?

Tracy,

I've read similar comments before and don't understand. This past summer was my first to dehydrate tomatoes. I filled about ten quart sized zip lock bags and put all of them in an air tight container.

I didn't pay any attention to the sweetness or tartness of the tomatoes, while just trying to clear the counter every couple of days of excess tomatoes. Dehydrated, they all seem to have the intense tomato flavor which adds good flavor to dishes we cook.

I would think the sweeter tomatoes would have a higher sugar content making them more susceptible to spoilage than the tart/acidic tomatoes.

Why are the sweeter tomatoes better for dehydrating than the acidic tomatoes?

Ted

[greentiger87]

High sugar tomatoes, when dehydrated, have a lower water activity. The sugars bind the water and make it unavailable for microorganisms. This is why undiluted honey lasts forever and dry sugar never molds.

I was under the impression that virtually all tomatoes have a very similar pH... the taste varies according to the sugar content.

[greentiger87]

Originally Posted by mdvpc

You can also think about a late summer start with new plants, or cloning your spring/summer plants. My son in San Antonio did a fall growout and just 2 weeks ago I picked some fruit from his plants. Granted, this fall/winter is a very warm one.

I think the fall growing season is so much better. You have to nurse the seedlings a little in late July/August but then you pretty much just sit back and watch them grow. Spidermites go away as the night temps cool, and if you need to spray things (insecticidal soap) you don't have to be scared of burning your plants.

I'll be picking tomatoes this Christmas.. they may be less than wonderful in taste because of the cold snaps we've had.. but still, fresh tomatoes!

Celebrity is a trooper, but I think Marglobe (supposedly an heirloom) tastes better and is just as reliable. Merced was my favorite hybrid tomato from when I was younger, but it's impossible to find now. BHN 444 does fine, but the taste is so bland that I'd rather plant Celebrity.

The heatsetters hardly heat set and taste even worse than the standard hybrids.. just not worth it.

JD's Special C-Tex is great, as is Jet Star.

Also, if you're up for putting up 30% shadecloth at the end of May, it will extend your harvest significantly. If you're not growing too many plants, it's worth it.

Good information on the sugar/water relationship in dried or dehydrated tomatoes.

Shade cloths work great in the hot Texas sun. I used them two years ago with great success. I never found the time or desire to put them up this past summer and regretted it. I would have saved a lot of tomatoes from sun scald and kept a lot more plants alive into fall had I put them up.

I won't be picking tomatoes at Christmas, but I will be eating garden tomatoes at Christmas. We had two nights earlier this week with extended hours at nineteen degrees F. All my tomato plants are now dead and hanging on the cages. I harvested a lot of greenies though.

I was ready for this years garden to end. I planted my tomatoes on March 1. I harvested my first early varieties in early May. That is a pretty long season.

Ted

[b54red]

I have had consistently good luck in high heat with CP, IS, Black Krim, JD's Special C Tex, Spudakee, DDR and best of all Big Beef. Less consistent but still usually good in the heat are Dr. Wyches Yellow, KBX, Stump of the World, Druzba, Lumpy Red, Kosovo, Fish Lake Oxheart, Marianna's Peace, Neves Azorean Red, and Zogola.