How was your season and which tomatoes did you like most?

[Greatgardens]

It was a dry summer here in central IN, but that meant fewer disease issues. Septoria was not a big problem. My best-producing tomato was Bush Early Girl. It's an 18" Determinate tomato, but it is still producing (albeit at a much reduced rate). You would not write home about the taste, but for salads and sandwiches, it's fine. It loads up with tomatoes of all sizes. Some 6+ oz and the smallest are cherry-like. For me, definitely larger but less flavorful than regular Early Girl. A nice surprise was Burpee's Mighty Sweet Grape. I grew it in an EarthBox, and it got to about 5 feet. Very sweet, but with a thick skin. I'd say thicker skins than many other grapes. Started out large at 1-1/2 ounces, and still producing, but now very small and not nearly so sweet. King Arthur bell peppers were also a standout -- big and beautiful like they came from the grocery store. All-in-all, a really good summer!

[AKgardener]

It rained most of my season everything got off to a late start the only thing I got to try were the patio plants got about 2 feet lots of flowers but by the time they were really pushing them out season was over got 2 from each plant 3 plants only that ripened .it was a good tomato not to sweet not to tart for me it was just dandy for sandwiches.I will grow those again I did give one to our new neighbors to try and yesterday she brought me over a gift with a card thanking me for the mater and welcoming to the neighbors asked when I was gonna have more haha

[karstopography]

At lunch I had a store bought red tomato sliced, a couple of slices anyway, with a whiff of salt, just as if the tomato was from the garden.

Oh boy, my hope was I might taste something at least evocative of the garden tomatoes from earlier in the summer. Hopes were dashed. Like not even in the same universe bad. We sent people to the moon, but a tasty store bought tomato remains out of reach.

I miss this season’s tomatoes. Best season ever. Flavor, numbers, size, minimal losses to predators, the stars aligned.

[DriftlessRoots]

Serious drought here which the tomatoes seemed to love. I did water periodically but they had mostly dry leaves all season and fewer problems in that respect. Heat was the bigger problem with gaps in production when it got way toasty. Loving the Gardener’s Sweetheart cherry tomatoes I got from the MMMM. Also enjoying the Pomodoro Cuore Antico di Acqui Terme ginormous paste toms. They are huge but so juiceless and light for their size they cook down into a thick sauce faster. I plan to grow both of these again.

[LindaJean]

It went amazingly well for the people I gave plants to. I only tasted a few little yellow cherries that were off an absolutely loaded micro dwarf. They were delicious - it may have been Jochalos. I have to dig out my stash and look at the names of yellow micros. If I have enough left I'll put the yellow micro seeds in the SWAP.
This morning I happened to look out the window just as the spray guy was making his way down the string of apartments slinging a poison cloud. His accomplice ( super nice fertilizing guy ) told him to put me on the NO SPRAY list, and he skipped my apartment, hooray !
I didn't want to grow poison tomatoes this year and missed the summer, but now I'm back in the game !!! I'm going online seed shopping...

[WoodSprite]

I'm in the center of Pennsylvania, zone 6a and grow in 2-ft tall raised beds. I plant out in late May and pull my plants around late October. This growing season was very dry early on then we had regular rain (but not too much) the rest of the season which was great since I didn't have to put effort into watering except for a few times.

I have a problem with septoria leaf spot, especially in the beds that I grew the paste tomatoes. Early in the season I did a good job of keeping the leaves that showed issues picked off but ran out of energy later in the season so the plants are looking pretty bad now with dried brown leaves.

I grow just one plant of several different varieties. For slicing tomatoes, this year I grew 7 "black" and 1 pink varieties. For paste tomatoes I grew 5 large-fruited varieties and repeated one of the varieties (so 6 plants total) because a different variety I wanted to grow didn't look good at plant out time so I duplicated with a variety I already had (Rocky). I'm not a huge fan of cherry tomatoes so didn't grow any this year.

Maragaret Curtain (50 fruits / 20.3 lbs) was my favorite for flavor from the blacks. It also gave me the highest yield in terms of weight though flavor is more important to me. It was very tasty, had a nice firm texture though seems to be determinate or semi-determinate when I thought it was supposed to be indeterminate. It was pumping out a few at a time which was great. Then suddenly I had 17 fruits ready in one day then 12 more just 4 days later and only one tiny fruit since then. It appears to be done producing now and is also mostly dead. This is a variety that I'd grow again if I didn't have so many other varieties that I want to grow already.

Paul Robeson (only 14 fruits / 10.3 lb), Tasmanian Chocolate (25 fruits & 16.8 lbs) and Boronia (only 15 fruits / 7.4 lbs) were my follow-up favorites for flavor from the blacks. Of these, Tasmanian Chocolate was the only one that I thought provided enough fruits. Almost all of the Paul Robeson fruits were cracked which was a disappointment.

I didn't like three of the black varieties and wouldn't grow them again. D.B. Cooper (27 fruits / 13.9 lb, most of which I had to toss) must have been diseased or something. Almost all of the fruits were deformed and scabby and I didn't like the flavor at all. The plant is dead now which is too early for tomato plants to die here. I also didn't care for the flavor of Chocolate Beefsteak (13 fruits / 11.2 lb, watery flavor) or Goose Creek Black (23 fruits / 17.1 lb, sometimes watery flavor). Both of those last two also often had a mealy texture.

I loved Goose Creek (59 fruits / 18.1 lb) which was the only pink I grew this year. It is very tasty when light pink and firm and also dark pink and soft & juicy. The fruits are smaller than all of the blacks that I grew. Most were in the 4 to 5 oz range but the largest was 11.5 oz. It gave me the most fruits of all of this year's tomatoes so far and there are multiple more fruit on it that I'll harvest soon.

I grew 6 varieties of large-fruited, indeterminate, paste tomatoes this year. They still have a lot of semi-ripe and green fruits on them. Cow's Tit (31 fruits / 13.9 lb so far) was my favorite for flavor and productivity. I plan to grow it again next year to compare to other new-to-me varieties OR I may just grow multiple plants of it because I love it. I also liked Blue Beech (19 fruits / 6.5 lbs so far) and Rocky (24 fruits / 12.2 lbs from one plant, 20 fruits / 9.4 lb so far from the other plant). They were flavorful but Blue Beech didn't produce as well as I'd like and Rocky often had odd black streaks inside the tomatoes. I noticed that when I grew it last year, too. I was hoping it was a freak thing that year but apparently it isn't. Not all of the fruits had the interior black streaks but enough that it detracted from my liking of it.

Sadly I was underwhelmed by Santa Maria (16 fruits / 5.1 lb) and Shannon's (21 fruits / 12.5 lb) for flavor. They were OK but nearly as good as the others.

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

In Western CT, struggled with a late frost, rain, humidity, heat. Plants ran about 3 weeks behind, some just never made it. I posted this season report on that 'other' page so copied and pasting here...

Of two Sunsugars - one was a usual monster, sweet and productive while the other struggled, failed to produce a ton and the fruits had tougher skins and little flavor.

Lynnwood was my first to go. I had to travel, made the decision to put my plants in the ground before I left because the long-range forecast was decent and I was relying on my 22 year old to address my dogs, cats, fish, chickens and just felt the plants might push him over the edge. We had that late frost, he covered everything really well but even so, Lynnwood (who was quite protected in the midst of others) bit the dust.

Flavor Bomb - who I started from seed from the grocery store, was an odd sole. Would grow a truss, flower, flowers would break off. Did that for ages remaining about 3 feet in height. After weeks, the plant simply exploded, it's a monster, with simply hundreds of cherries on it. BUT, the skins are a bit tougher than grocery store bought, taste is good, but they take forever to ripen. I have enjoyed the combo of red and yellow cherries this year in dishes, so may look for another red for next year.

Kosovo - a shocker this year. I have grown for years but this year it was a fail compared to previous years with only 6 fruits. It will be back though, I have too many good years.

Dester - won't grow again. Tried last year after reading so much about taste - it was a disappointment. It brought a new meaning to the term 'wispy'. Most fruits didn't develop properly and were only 2" or so in diameter. It just struggled both years, this year it was pitiful and I won't waste the space again. Zero useful fruit.

Anna's Noire - won't repeat. Another I was so looking forward to tasting. The fruit was watering, tasteless, unusual looking but not worth the space it took up, only a few fruit.

Kellogg's Breakfast - grew years ago, then experimented with other yellow/oranges, was indecisive between this and KBX for another go round, won't repeat. Ok, it sat until August, there are better options.

Cowboy and Tundra - first year in my garden for both. I just about gave up hope for them, not sure they like our heat. Once they decided it wasn't going to go away and to just deal with it, they kicked in gear and, oh my.... beautiful large, flavorful. I think the skin on Tundra is a tad tougher than Cowboy, both have the most amazing flavor and are so solid and meaty. Husband tasted his first Cowboy, which was 20 ounces, and said it was coming back - told me we should grow a garden full of just them. I think the largest was about 22 ounces with both plants fruits ranging from 14 - 20 ounces.

My most productive? GGWT.... she keeps going and going and going and going. We did have quite a few fussed blossoms this year which I haven't had in the past. Next year if it reoccurs, I will pluck them and maybe replace my seed source. Amazing productivity.

I had some okay productivity with Rosovyi Myod, NAR, 1884 and 2 hybrid; Buffalosteak and Early Girl. I struggled a tad more this year - not a fan of spraying, then it got hot and humid and I had to. Probably would be better off to bite the bullet and do it regularly.

My most impressive, to me, newbie was Pomodoro Cuore Antico di Aqui Terme.... holy cow, the most massive paste tomato ever. I grew it and Howard German. HG produced a lot of fruits, but they were tiny, 2 - 3 ounces and more watery than a paste should be. PCAdAT - when it's listed as a monster paste, they really weren't exaggerating. And very, very good taste - meaty, sweet, not what you expected when slicing up a 'paste' tomato. VERY little seed and gel. You can hold these with 2 hands and I have big hands - bigger than a softball. Not hard to determine who will be staying vs going.....

Rest of the garden - my celery up and rotted - every plant, never happened before. Everything else grew like monsters - except eggplant - need to go back to varieties I've grown before - poor production.

Here's PCAdAT with a Howard German.... those weren't even the biggest fruits of that plant.

[Tim DH]

Thanks for copying this across. ... I don't have permission to look at pictures on that 'other' page!

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Serious drought here which the tomatoes seemed to love. I did water periodically but they had mostly dry leaves all season and fewer problems in that respect.

You's might be onto something there...HERE!

The Gotch

[WoodSprite]

My most impressive, to me, newbie was Pomodoro Cuore Antico di Aqui Terme.... holy cow, the most massive paste tomato ever. <snip> PCAdAT - when it's listed as a monster paste, they really weren't exaggerating. And very, very good taste - meaty, sweet, not what you expected when slicing up a 'paste' tomato. VERY little seed and gel. You can hold these with 2 hands and I have big hands - bigger than a softball.

I've been searching out large-fruited paste tomatoes that are also good fresh for making bruschetta and pico de gallo in addition to canning salsa, sauce and tomato soup. I had never heard of Pomodoro Cuore Antico di Aqui Terme before. It sounds like an AMAZING tomato variety that I HAVE to grow. Thanks for mentioning it! If I can't find seeds to buy, would you be interested in a trade? So far Cow's Tit is my favorite paste so I can trade that or others.

[DriftlessRoots]

Here are the last four Pomodoro...etc. I picked ripening in the garage some more before they become sauce. These later ones seem to be getting smaller. Some of the earlier ones were at least 7" long. I regret not photographing them. I got the seeds in the MMMM and have saved some to send back this round.

IMG_8370.JPG

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

If I can't find seeds to buy, would you be interested in a trade?

Paying it forward... the seeds were shared with me so if you PM me your address, I will share with you. As driftless roots posted above, as the season goes on fruit is getting smaller, but a fruit picked yesterday was still 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" - not bad size for an end of season paste!!!

Here is a listing - out of stock on this site but you can see pics and read the description.... https://secretseedcartel.com/product/po ... qui-terme/ My fruits were larger than those shown but are getting smaller now late in the season.

[rossomendblot]

Outdoor tomatoes pretty good. They got septoria early in the season but recovered well. Early Blight arrived in July but didn't affect them too badly. Late blight has been around for a few weeks but hasn't affected any fruit yet.

Greenhouse tomatoes very bad. Poor growth on half of the 8 plants and together they've produced 1/3 of the weight of fruit they did in 2022.

It's not been a great year for taste in general but my favourites are probably True Colours, Daniel Burson and two hybrids Pink Honeymoon and Rose Crush (may be sold as Damsel and Medium Rare in the US).

[Toomanymatoes]

Mixed results for plant health/productivity. I did have some great tasting tomatoes! Need to go get my list as I don't recall which ones were 8+ out of 10. I do recall the worst tasting though - Queen Anne and Vintage Wine. They had a lot of flavor, just not anything I enjoy in a fresh tomato. I did wonder if they may have a place in the kitchen.

[Yak54]

My 2023 season was probably my worst in 10-12 yrs. Productivity was way down from the last 5 yrs. I attribute this to weather conditions mostly (excessive rain humidity and heat). How does the saying go ....into every life some rain must fall. And fall it did. So my best tasting tomatoes were AGP, Brandywine, Dester, Polish and Rebel Yell. If I'm lucky I'll get to do it all over again next year.

[MissS]

My 2023 season was probably my worst in 10-12 yrs. Productivity was way down from the last 5 yrs. I attribute this to weather conditions mostly (excessive rain humidity and heat). How does the saying go ....into every life some rain must fall. And fall it did. So my best tasting tomatoes were AGP, Brandywine, Dester, Polish and Rebel Yell. If I'm lucky I'll get to do it all over again next year.

That's a great lineup. It's definitely worth repeating.

[Yak54]

Thanks Patti, I been thinking about adding Daniel Burson to the line up since I've heard your complimentary remarks about it. We shall see.

[WoodSprite]

If I can't find seeds to buy, would you be interested in a trade?

Paying it forward... the seeds were shared with me so if you PM me your address, I will share with you. As driftless roots posted above, as the season goes on fruit is getting smaller, but a fruit picked yesterday was still 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" - not bad size for an end of season paste!!!

Here is a listing - out of stock on this site but you can see pics and read the description.... https://secretseedcartel.com/product/po ... qui-terme/ My fruits were larger than those shown but are getting smaller now late in the season.

Thank you so much for the offer. You said you got them in MMMM. I just checked my list of seeds I received from the 22/23 MMMM and see that I got them, too, but had forgotten the name! And I see I had it flagged as one I wanted to grow sometime. It's going on my "definitely grow next year" list! Thanks for mentioning it here with such a glowing review. I look forward to trying it, too.

[WoodSprite]

Thanks Patti, I been thinking about adding Daniel Burson to the line up since I've heard your complimentary remarks about it. We shall see.

Sorry to hear about your bad growing season. I hope next year is better for you.

I tried to grow Daniel Burson this year, in part because of MissS' raves about it and because I'm comparing different black/dark slicing varieties. Sadly none of my 7 seeds (from Renaissance Farms and sowed at different times) germinated for me. I was very bummed.

[AKgardener]

Does anyone have there 2024 list ready yet!! I do