Best New Tomato From Last Year and Your Must Grows Every Year

[e.thad]

Originally Posted by smithmal

How does Ambrosia Orange compare to Ambrosia Gold? Where did you get your seeds? When you say that you "finally got it to grow true" does that mean that the seed line is unstable?

Thanks!

Ambrosia Orange from J&L Gardens should be stable for you. Never grew Ambrosia Gold.

[Canehdian]

Growing outside in Zone 3a the cool nights really compresses the season and the DTM time so I can only grow early or mid/earlies.

Best new discoveries from last year are - Kardinal Tchyornyi - a Black Russian beefsteak type RL. One of the best tasters I ever grew, and Jim Dandy - an Orange beefsteak potato leaf. Great vigour and flavour.

Every year must-grows based on earliness, productivity and flavour are:
- Kiss the Sky;
- Maglia Rosa;
- Azoychka;
- Marcia's Mystery Black (from Remy, i see she doesn't sell it now)
- Sakharnyi Pudovichok;
- Orange Minsk - OMG the rich flavour is outstanding;
- Cosmonaut Volkov;
- Grushevij;
- Golden King of Siberia;
- Orange Roma;
- 0-33;
- Plum Bush - (seems like an iteration of Black Plum) from Double Helix, but big production.
- Big Beef

A few others are close to being regulars on this list, but I have contracted SAD (seed acquisition disorder) from joining this site and need to rotate the new ones in.

[Tormato]

I saw, eh, what you did with your username, eh.

[smithmal]

Originally Posted by e.thad

Ambrosia Orange from J&L Gardens should be stable for you. Never grew Ambrosia Gold.

Thanks for providing the seed source. I ordered Ambrosia Orange UBX, Ambrosia Giant and Dr. Carolyn's Pink. I've grown Ambrosia Gold and was really impressed with it as a potential SunGold OP. I'm interested to see how well Ambrosia Orange UBX compares to it. Ambrosia Giant also look like a potential hit though I can't seem to find any growing reviews of it here on TV. Dr. Carolyn's is one of my very favorite cherry tomatoes. Hopefully the Pink variety is bigger and has a similar taste to the original.

smithmal

[nathan125]

Parks Whopper Improved.

[nancyruhl]

Best new ones that will be coming back are are Rozovyi Kilogrammovyi and Sedoj Ural, both sourced from Tatiana’s site. Even with our short season last year, Rozovyi Kilogrammovyi grew so huge I couldn’t keep the plant upright, and the yield was amazing. The tomatoes were huge, beautiful and so tasty. Sedoj Ural was not so huge but production was early and great. The tomatoes had very dense flesh and I loved the flavor.

One that was not new but brought back after a long absence was Cero Blackburn. I love the sweet, juicy, rich flavor of Orange tomatoes, and this one fit the bill. It was a neighbor of RK, and similarly knocked over its sturdy cage. Production was over the top.

Coming back again is Mimi Koch’s Italian, cannot remember the name exactly. Seeds came from Craig L and he received them from a local gardener here. It was not a huge plant but produced many clusters of 5 medium red dense tomatoes with few seeds and intense flavor.

I have made progress in firming up my grow every year list. Cherries: Maglia Rosa, Pink Princess, Goldkrone. Black Cherry has been there forever, but Garnet gave it some competition this season and was a healthier plant for me. Still struggling with an orange cherry.

Bicolor and stripes: Pork Chop, GGWT, Don’s Double Delight, Cherokee Lime Stripes

Oranges: Kellogg’s Breakfast and Summer Cider.

Black: Black Krim and Grandma Oliver’s. Others will be rotated.

Paste and Hearts: Rinaldo, Grightmires Pride and Work Release Paste

Determinate: Danko
Reds and Pinks: Berg, Brandyberry Pink, Geo. Detsikas Italian Red, Klara, Martina, Mikhalych, Mrs Maxwell’s Big Italian, Nepal, Palmira’s Northern Italian, Polish, Rebel Yell, and West Virginia Sweetmeat.

Then, I grow many Dwarf varieties. Never without Cherokee Tiger Large, Coastal Pride Orange and Red, Dwarf Beauty King, Dwarf Blazing Beauty, Dwarf Purple and Dwarf Scarlet Hearts, Dwarf Rumpelstilskin Bicolor, Dwarf Sweet Sue, Dwarf Wild Fred, Noah’s Stripe, Purple Reign, Sleeping Lady, Tasmanian Chocolate, Tennessee Suited, and Wherokowhai. I rotate through many of the reds and pinks from the project.

Experimental, but coming soon, Dwarfs I will continue to grow. Dwarf Buddy’s Heart, Dwarf Specked Heart, and Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet.

[NewWestGardener]

Blush, Maglia Rosa, Green Tiger, Sungold F1,Mountain Magic F1(not for its flavor), Jaune Flamme, Rebel Yell, GGWT, Malachite Box. Pork chop, Cowlick’s BW.
I often grow a Yellow Pear (don’t be mad with me) as I like the cute shape, which looks great in a cherry mix.

[b54red]

I have honed down my must grow list each year for a long time and now only grow varieties that I absolutely love the taste of. I have dropped some very productive tomatoes that just don't match what my taste-buds prefer; but to make my must grow list they also have to be somewhat dependably productive. For the first time in a long time I am going to introduce at least a dozen new varieties this season and see if any will live up to my expectations. I prefer that old fashioned tomato taste that is a combination of sweet and tangy that is also fairly juicy so most on the lists usually meet those requirements.

Must Grow list:
Brandywine Cowlick's and Sudduth's
Limbaugh's Legacy
Arkansas Traveler
German Johnson pl
Coulles de Tareau
Henderson's Winsall
Dester
Indian Stripe PL
Spudakee
Giant Belgium
Red Barn
Kentucky Wonder rl and pl
JD's Special C Tex
1884
Neves Azorean Red
Pruden's Purple
Stump of the World
Giant Belgium

Frequently grown varieties:
Indian Stripe
Berkely Tie Dye Pink
Gary O' Sena
Big Cheef
Delicious
Aunt Ginny's Purple
Tarrasenko 6
Hege German Pink
Rebel Yell
Marianna's Peace
Crynkovic Yugoslavian
Granny Cantrell

Some on the lower list are almost ready to add to the Must Grow list and a few are nearly ready to drop if they have one more year with lacking taste or production. At first I was just happy to have any variety that produced well and was edible but as the years have gone by my list has dropped from several hundred to around 50 and though I am excited to try some new varieties it could make it more difficult to make up my planting list each year.

Bill

[zendog]

Bill, I'm curious about your thoughts on how Pruden's Purple compares to Aunt Ginny's Purple. I've grown Pruden's for a while, but then tried Aunt Ginny's right beside it last year and Aunt Ginny's was more productive, with slightly bigger fruit and a very similar taste. I'm thinking of just growing Aunt Ginny's this year but didn't know if last year was a fluke and Pruden's might still be better in either flavor or production.

[Tormato]

I'll chime in, farther up north.



Of approximately 1,500 varieties trialed and ranked, Aunt Ginny's Purple is #1, and Prudence (Pruden's ) Purple is somewhere between #4 and #8, on any given day. They don't taste the same, to me. AGP is the ONLY tomato that makes my knees go wobbly.

[tomatoaddict]

All of Karen Olivier's tomatoes. TAÏGA, TRUE COLOURS AND POLARIS. 💖❤️

[decherdt]

First time in ten years I'm not trying any new to me's, just some tried and true good'uns

I expect to always grow Anna Russian and Black Cherry, with probably some GGWT and Spudatula.

http://www.tomatoville.com/album.php...pictureid=3240

[zendog]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Of approximately 1,500 varieties trialed and ranked, Aunt Ginny's Purple is #1, and Prudence (Pruden's ) Purple is somewhere between #4 and #8, on any given day. They don't taste the same, to me. AGP is the ONLY tomato that makes my knees go wobbly.

Thanks for chiming in. I guess I felt they tasted similar, but I probably didn't have them side by side. I think I'll stick to Aunt Ginny's this year based on your experiences and maybe try them head to head again next year. For a large pink I also grow Brandywine Cowlick and Stump of the World and am adding Omar's Lebanese as well. I tried German Johnson, Chapman and a few others last year, but they were a step below the flavor of my favorites. I have some seeds for 1884 I'm tempted to try... but probably shouldn't since this year's list is already too long.

[oakley]

"At first I was just happy to have any variety that produced well and was edible but as the years have gone by my list has dropped from several hundred to around 50 and though I am excited to try some new varieties it could make it more difficult to make up my planting list each year."

^I like that and about where I stand this year.

The past few years I added some Early cherries and very late large cherries that lasted through
Thanksgiving so this revelation has kicked some out of the sandbox.

I'll be organizing that stuffed crate soon and finalize. 20 years ago it was yellow and red
pear, times have changed.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by zendog

Thanks for chiming in. I guess I felt they tasted similar, but I probably didn't have them side by side. I think I'll stick to Aunt Ginny's this year based on your experiences and maybe try them head to head again next year. For a large pink I also grow Brandywine Cowlick and Stump of the World and am adding Omar's Lebanese as well. I tried German Johnson, Chapman and a few others last year, but they were a step below the flavor of my favorites. I have some seeds for 1884 I'm tempted to try... but probably shouldn't since this year's list is already too long.

I have only tried between 400 and 500 varieties and neither tomato has made my best tasting in any year I have grown them. Some years AGP is in the top 5 but I don't believe Pruden's has ever been in my top 5 but it has been in the top 10 numerous times. I agree AGP is a bit larger usually but productivity wise I would not say that. I have grown both nearly every year for the past 10 years and a few times AGP beat out Pruden's in productivity but usually Pruden's out produced. One of the reasons is I am in a much hotter and more humid climate where Pruden's is one of the top tomatoes for setting in extreme heat and I mean above 95 daily with nights in the 80s. Very few pinks thrive in that heat especially when it comes to setting a lot of fruit but it and sometimes Limbaugh's Legacy will set really good during the hottest weather. That is probably the biggest difference in Cowlick's and Sudduth's. Cowlick's is far superior in setting fruit when the temps get really hot and Sudduth's usually shuts down fruit setting then. Both have been my taste topper several times over the years and when they aren't number one they are usually in the top 5 most years. Only a couple of other varieties have ranked number one more than once for me.

The 1884 I grow is the red or purple one and it is extremely good and it sets well in the heat. Cowlick's unlike Sudduth's will also set fairly good in the heat and the taste is so similar I usually can't tell them apart. I grow German Johnson PL and it is usually in my top 10 every year also. I had really great production and quality of fruit out of Giant Belgium for the last two years but the three before it was only good not great. I always give a fairly good tomato at least three seasons before relegating it to my don't plant list. One that is totally bland or way too sweet usually only gets two years to make the cut. As I said before I like a well balanced tomato with a lot of sweetness countered by good tartness. Omar's is one that I grow every few years just to get a few really large fruits off of but it is not in the league flavor wise of the others mentioned in this post. It is frequently really bland and sometimes it is even mealy textured but it is a good show off tomato. Last year it produced less than a half dozen fruits but the taste was better than usual.

I will give you a list of my top 10 or so that get more than one spot each year in my garden because usually they are just so good but with tomatoes you never can be sure from one year to the next. No particular order to this list just tomatoes that have made it into the top three spot a few times and seem to be consistently better than most others in my garden and to my taste buds.

Dester
Brandywine Sudduth's
Brandywine Cowlick's
Arkansas Traveler
Red Barn
Giant Belgium
Neves Azorean Red
Spudakee
1884 (red or purple)
Aunt Ginny's Purple
Limbaugh's Legacy
Stump of the World
JD's Special C Tex
Granny Cantrell
Indian Stripe rl or pl
German Johnson pl

Most of the tomatoes that I plant tend to set fairly good or even really good in the heat except a few which are so good I have to have them so I make sure I plant them early.

Bill