Home grown tomatoes, recommendations for best taste in medium size?

E

ERD50

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Messages
27,414
Location
Northern IL
We had pretty good success with our patio tomatoes this year (container grown). I prefer the mid-sized fruit, the big beefsteak are just too susceptible to split, bruise, critters, etc.

And while they tasted good, we just have not been getting the intense full flavor I recall from years back. Even made me wonder if our taste buds have dulled with age, but I can tell the difference with really ripe melons, pears, peaches, etc. And even the ugliest heirloom tomatoes we get at the farm-stand aren't cutting it for us.

Can someone recommend a really full flavored mid-sized tomato for home growing (next year of course, but I figure memories will be fresh)? I'd prefer a modern hybrid for the disease resistance, but I'm willing to go heirloom if needed.
 
I cannot. I just don't think it's possible to grow on North America. The tomatoes we had in Greece last month are simply leaps and bounds ahead.

I think it is a combination of the humidity, wind, and microbiology of the soil that only exists in the Mediterranean countries.
 
Our very best, most flavorful slicing tomatoes are Mortgage Lifters. We also enjoy Brandywines, but if I could pick only one, it would be the Mortgage Lifter. They are incredibly "meaty", with few seed pockets. They are heirlooms, but I have not had any problems with disease or pests.
 
Those sound good, But I'd really prefer the smaller sized varieties. We'll only have a couple plants, so losing some fruit to rot, cracking, etc is a big hit. The smaller size just seem so much more reliable, and bear more individual fruits, so losing a few isn't such a big deal.
 
I'm not really helping by complaining, sorry. But one more thing: humidity. It is a real problem in the Southeast. We "fix" the problem by growing varieties resistant to fungus and viruses. I think that's a big part of the taste issue. Those varieties sacrifice taste.

OP, if you live North like Gumby, his suggestions are worth a shot. I'm also thinking wind is a factor. It helps dry the plant to avoid disease issues. I think that's part of the Mediterranean secret. Place in a moderately breezy area.
 
JoeWras said:
I cannot. I just don't think it's possible to grow on North America. The tomatoes we had in Greece last month are simply leaps and bounds ahead.

I think it is a combination of the humidity, wind, and microbiology of the soil that only exists in the Mediterranean countries.
Click to expand...
I dunno. I remember eating tomatoes from my Dad's large garden in N IL (two places, so two different soil types). I'm just not finding that flavor.

I recall my friend raving about the tomatoes in Portugal. Unfortunately, I haven't been to the Mediterranean or Spain/Portugal to taste for myself.
 
JoeWras said:
... I'm also thinking wind is a factor. It helps dry the plant to avoid disease issues. ...
Click to expand...
Yes, I might put up a wind barrier, we get quite a bit of fairly strong West winds here, and it did dry the plants quickly.
 
Yeah, grew up in N IL too and remember something more flavorful.
I know we focus on the seeds, but it seems there has to be something else. Water? Pollution? Acid rain?

I dunno.
 
The best tasting ones we grow are Jetter's.
 
We grew awesome tasty tomatoes in the 90s Central TX but I don’t remember the variety. Not heirloom. Just well adapted to the climate.
 
I don’t garden but my mom always grew early girls. We are in the California Sacramento valley.
She’s too old to garden much anymore so I’m at the mercy of the farmers market.
 
I only grow hybrids because I get much better yields than from heirlooms. There are many modern hybrids which combine disease resistance with great flavor. The only medium-sized tomato I've grown in recent years is called Purple Zebra. Great flavor and excellent disease resistance. Purple Zebra won an "All-American award" in 2022. These awards go to new vegetable and flower varieties which perform well in a variety of climates throughout the country.

all-americaselections.org

Tomato Purple Zebra F1 | All-America Selections

all-americaselections.org all-americaselections.org

Totally Tomatoes has the biggest selection of tomato seeds that I'm aware of. Curiously, they don't carry Purple Zebra, but lots of other seed companies do carry it. You might want to look through their offerings for other ideas.

Totally Tomatoes: Tomatoes, Peppers, Vegetables & More

Totally Tomatoes is family owned & operated. We are a leading supplier of non-GMO, heirloom, vegetable plants & seeds, herbs, fruit, and supplies.
www.totallytomato.com www.totallytomato.com

BTW, in the hot & humid DC area, I've grown great-tasting tomatoes since I was a kid. One of my best-tasting varieties is called Mountain Rouge, and it was developed in North Carolina. It requires 2 crosses, one to provide disease resistance to late blight (a disease common in my region), the other to provide outstanding flavor. But it's a full-sized tomato and is prone to cracking, so it doesn't meet the criteria of the OP. I'm still picking some tasty Mountain Rouge tomatoes right now in late October.
 
Wow, thanks for all these suggestions! I've saved a doc with all this to review next year.

I know 'Early Girl" is an old strain, maybe that has the flavor I recall. And, I think I might be able to find those as plants, I'd prefer to avoid the work of starting from seed, but if that's what I need to get flavor, then I should give it a go.
 
San Francisco Bay Area, close to San Jose. This year I planted one early girl, and one beef steak.
Early girl failed. Foliage bad. Produced only a few ping pong size tomatoe. Tasted a little sour.
Beef Steak. Success. Lots of green foliage. Large sweet, juicy, tomatoes.
 
Don't know the variety so can't help with that. But a good friend here in Colorado is a retired orchard farmer. His son is running the orchard, 4th generation and 96 years family owned. They are on the Gunnison river and have grandfathered water rights for basically unlimited water. Their ground is from generations of flooding until dams were built which has curtailed flooding and sediment deposits. Anyway the fruit and veggies from their farm is incredible. A lot of it is because they pick when ripe.
We've been scavenging what's left in the fields since they've finished picking for the season. Yesterday we picked more tomatoes, bell peppers, and hot peppers. I gorged myself on grape tomatoes. The tomatoes are so sweet they don't need any dressing and are about baseball sized. Incredible taste.
 
Yes, the benefit of homegrown tomatoes is that you can grow more tender varieties because they don’t need to withstand transportation and you can pick when ripe providing you can keep the birds off. But even if you pick with a little red color my experience is that they ripened up beautifully.

Just doesn’t happen with most store bought. I expect because they are chilled too early. As well as picked way too early. Plus tougher varieties, and exposed to ethylene gas to encourage color.
 
Stormy Kromer said:
Roma is my favorite. Medium size, high yield. Nice and dense, they slice well.

I'm in Minnesota.
Click to expand...
This is my favorite, versatile, not so watery and fewer seeds. Not sure where they grow best though in the US.
 
I think Carbon and Black From Tula might be worth trying. Both are "black" tomato heirloom varietals, and they both produce medium to medium/large fruits. I've grown both in recent years, and have found the flavors to be exceptional. My problem—living in the hot, humid, bug-infested Southeast—is yield. I routinely lose 50% of all fruits to pests and disease. Heirlooms are, of course, particularly vulnerable to such problems, but I've yet to taste a hybrid that matches the flavors of the Carbon heirloom. You can purchase seeds here.
 
Last edited:
I tried Celebrity here in hot and humid western South Carolina. The plant was looking good with lot of green fruit until July. With the heat, it just quit doing anything except drinking massive amounts of water. I had to water it at least twice a day for months. The tomatoes stayed green all this time and didn't start turning red until about 10 days ago when things cooled down.
 
Look up JetStar tomato’s. I’ve been growing all other varieties for years until 2 years ago when a friend gave me a few jet starts to eat. I live in west Tennessee, clay soil, hot and humid and they do well. May be a little bigger than you want and you will probably have to start from seed. They don’t (rarely) split and have a really good taste. Now, we do put about half a bag of cow manure in each hole when planting. There are a few fungus they are resistant to I believe but I was taught to treat any of that with hydrogen peroxide and water mix.
 
I grow mostly heirlooms. Did grow Better Boy last year which did pretty well. As far as heirlooms, I really like Nepal. Mine were slightly smaller than the Better boys, but kept really well after being picked. Great flavor.

www.craiglehoullier.com

Craig LeHoullier - My tomato collection tour - part 4. Tomatoes 31-40

We are just finishing up a truly picturesque snowstorm. Shoveling done, gas logs lit, seems a perfect time to keep pushing ahead on my seed tour blogs - so I am moving faster than my weekly target (for the moment - taking advantage of a nice slow day listening to WNCW and watching snow drifting down
www.craiglehoullier.com www.craiglehoullier.com
 
Warning notice: You may buy more seeds and spend more money than you originally intended after visiting this website. *You have been warned*

This is one of the best companies for heirloom seeds, particularly tomato seeds:
www.rareseeds.com

Heirloom Tomato Seeds | Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Discover the world of heirloom tomatoes with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Our selection includes various colors and sizes, perfect for eating!
www.rareseeds.com www.rareseeds.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom