HELP: Any MUST GROW tomatoes suggestions

[MsCowpea]

I grew yellow pear many years ago, wasn´t impressed by the taste but by the adorable shape..lol and I have Beam´s Yellow Pear, not sure if it is the same as the one I grew before though.

Karen , Oh they are cute alright and you will have a billion of them to ‘enjoy’. Bland and the texture is mush.
But they should maybe be put into the do not bring up topics (I.e. religion and politics) to avoid quarreling as they have their staunch fans.


Year round summers leave a lot to be desired. Something to be said for the invigorating kick of cold weather.
Our Florida ‘snowbirds’ may have the best of both worlds. They stay up north when it is nice and migrate south
when snow-shoveling weather threatens.

[TheDante]

I grew yellow pear many years ago, wasn´t impressed by the taste but by the adorable shape..lol and I have Beam´s Yellow Pear, not sure if it is the same as the one I grew before though.

Karen , Oh they are cute alright and you will have a billion of them to ‘enjoy’. Bland and the texture is mush.
But they should maybe be put into the do not bring up topics (I.e. religion and politics) to avoid quarreling as they have their staunch fans.

No way! You are so killing me! Best to shshshshshshshshshshshshshshs then! lololol

check PM - think I pmed you for dear life… lolol

[Nan6b]

Karen, there are many yellow pear-shaped little tomatoes. Most people don't like the one called Yellow Pear. But Beam's Yellow Pear, Medova Kaplya, Galina, etc., are different types that taste different. Obviously you need to try them all.

[MsCowpea]

Nan, that really would be beyond the call of duty but a service to the tomato community. . I didn’t know there were more than one. I always thought yellow pear fans had faulty tastebuds as I couldn’t even say to myself the usual “everybody’s tastes are different.” They may be growing that not widely known delicious yellow pear aberration. I would still put those YP variety trials off as long as possible.

[MsCowpea]

That Mega Marv Tomato pic from Max Johnson on the first page went right over my head.
Is that from Marvin Meisner (Giant Tomatoes)?

Have you tried Minnie Zaccaria’s Big Zac . Love that tomato
and her whole story and accomplishments. (Though not that easy to get good seeds.). Does Mega Marv taste as good as Big Zac?

[Tormahto]

Yellow Pear is the only variety that I've banned from the MMMM swap. It still gets sent in.

To me, its only redeeming quality is that it is the perfect edible dipping instrument for a really good salad dressing/dip.

[MissS]

When I was a kid my mom use to put a few plants of yellow and red pear in our play yard for us to snack on. Every year she did this. We did not like them at all and would use them as bombs, mash them for poison, have the toy trucks haul them around, but we would never eat them. We even put them in the bird bath and the birds would not eat them. Then we would go to grandpa's garden and eat the fresh tomatoes right there in the garden with the juice running down our faces. Mom just never caught on... Lol

[TheDante]

Karen, there are many yellow pear-shaped little tomatoes. Most people don't like the one called Yellow Pear. But Beam's Yellow Pear, Medova Kaplya, Galina, etc., are different types that taste different. Obviously you need to try them all.

Will do Nan, thanks, have all you have suggested

[TheDante]

It appears that yellow pear has such a bad rep!

am surprised that Purple Calabash was not on your ´banned´ MMMM swap too I know I know, it is kinda getting old...

[TheDante]

Which got me thinking…

Are Black tomatoes and Purple tomatoes the same?

Should they be categorized differently as 2 different colours? Or are they actually synonymous?

I would think that Black tomatoes aren´t really black, but more like dark brown right?

And purple toms are kinda purplish?

Need anyone´s experience and/or expertise to maybe enlighten me or some of us? No right or wrong answer I reckon too.

Which begs the question, should I start a new thread on this question?

[Tormahto]

The names go back more than 100 years. Today's pink (clear skin) tomatoes were sometimes called "purple" back then. And, that may have been in only certain regions of our large country.

Purple Calabash (more of a burgundy/brown color) is from Maine, where they likely had no idea people called pink tomatoes purple. Purple Calabash is closer to purple than pink, in color.

Then there's the modern "antho" tomatoes, the closest thing to black, but many are called "blue". And from my observations, there are extremely dark blue and extremely dark purple antho varieties.

I don't taste with my eyes, so it's not a biggie with me. But, my eyes general can tell when a tomato is ripe, or very close to being ripe. And, the one thing I keep my eyes out for in new-to-me varieties are green shoulders that take their sweet time to change color. It's usually the sign of some of the best tasting tomatoes in my garden.

[MsCowpea]

I once read that green shoulders in the old varieties made them sweeter. Later determined green shoulders weren’t appealing to the consumer so bred out in favor of more uniform ripening. But there went the flavor.

These were the blackest tomatoes I ever saw. Maybe a very black purple?? Pic taken on a trip to Ca. (dev. by b. gates)

61CC2C2C-0DC6-4C49-B4D0-FA754D8A5D04.jpeg

[TheDante]

Hey Elaine, lol I cannot really tell if they look appetizing. I have absolutely NO experience with black or blue toms.

I heard that ´blue´ (anthos?) toms are notorious because of their ´blue´ genes contaminating the integrity of the other ´heirlooms´ etc.

I am hesitating to grow any blue toms this year because of this. May either grow some farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr away from the ´normal´ group or postpone them to the future years.

Thanks Tormato for the insight - taking down notes fastidiously...lol

[MissS]

I don't taste with my eyes, so it's not a biggie with me. But, my eyes general can tell when a tomato is ripe, or very close to being ripe. And, the one thing I keep my eyes out for in new-to-me varieties are green shoulders that take their sweet time to change color. It's usually the sign of some of the best tasting tomatoes in my garden.

I have found that to be true for me as well. I am so glad that someone else noticed it. When looking at catalogs, I am always looking for tomatoes with green shoulders. When I looked up "green shoulders" on the internet, I found that it was a sign of some deficiency. So, do you have varieties that do in fact have green shoulders or is it a deficiency?

[MsCowpea]

This is the article that mentions green shoulders and its relationship to flavor. Interesting audio discussion.
“How the Taste of Tomatoes Went Bad and Kept Going”

Besides listening , be sure and click on the actual link to read the article . (Blue font)

[MsCowpea]

And there is a lot of info on the actual physiological disorder of yellow shoulders and other problems
Here is just one.

https://ipm.missouri.edu/meg/2012/8/Hot ... -Problems/

[Growing Coastal]

There is tons of info online but sometimes it is hard to figure out exactly what's what. It took me a couple of years to see that some of the deficiencies in my tomatoes was due to PH that was too high (PH 7 city water) which stopped the uptake of potassium and iron. An extra hot summer didn't help either. A gardening buddy thought I was nuts last year when I started complaining about plants starting to show signs of their deficiencies. She thought the plants looked great but I could see very early signs at leaf margins of tomatoes and in the leaves of the tips of some pepper plants.
It does pay to read these articles and learn as much as we can while we closely inspect the plants as they grow. There is less leeway when growing in containers, I think and it helps if we can spot issues early


Green shoulders. Some tomatoes just seem to have them while others don't. Last year I grew Black Bear and noticed that it had green shoulders. It was a good tasting tomato that will be returning. I see in online images that this variety has green shoulders so I think it just does and it's not growing conditions. When I read the linked article above, I recalled how I tried tasting what was under that green skin and it was not a bad taste.

[Shule]

Nan, that really would be beyond the call of duty but a service to the tomato community. . I didn’t know there were more than one. I always thought yellow pear fans had faulty tastebuds as I couldn’t even say to myself the usual “everybody’s tastes are different.” They may be growing that not widely known delicious yellow pear aberration. I would still put those YP variety trials off as long as possible.

We grew one such aberration decades ago! It was great. Not sweet, but astringent (maybe tangy, but I don't recall very well). ~2" long. Prolific. Green shoulders for a while before fully ripe. Great fresh and canned. We grew another one which I gave to the neighbor, and it was too mild, mealy, and a little sweet, with smaller fruits (cherry-sized). The necks weren't as well-defined. Both were prolific.

I would recommend checking out Fargo Yellow Pear, Polen Yellow Pear, Beam's Yellow Pear, Austin's Red Pear, and Victory Seeds' Yellow Pear. Maybe even Yellow Plum (if you like plum tomatoes; they're confused with pear tomatoes sometimes, too). I haven't tried any of those I listed in this paragraph, yet, but they're supposed to be good, and I hope to try them some day.

If you want a giant, yellow, pear-shaped tomato, try Yellow Trifele. I've grown that one. Like Yellow Pear, it can be mealy, though (but less mild). Not as prolific (but not stingy for the size), and has a smaller plant. By giant, I don't mean giant for a tomato; I just mean it's a lot bigger than Yellow Pear; about four inches long.

If you want a dwarf, yellow, pear-shaped tomato, maybe try Peardrops F1 and/or Peardrop, if they're different. Haven't grown it.

If you want a brown pear, try Chocolate Pear. It's pretty nice (but cherry-sized). Prolific. Can be very sweet, but not every year. I've grown it twice.

Green Pear is a nice green one (it can get a little yellow-ish). Good flesh texture: it would probably be excellent diced for all your diced tomato uses (if you don't mind dicing pear tomatoes). Not as early as some pears. They're bigger than Chocolate Pear. Maybe 2 to 2.5" long. Prolific. I've grown it. Got lots of BER the second year on one plant, in less-than-ideal conditions.

Cherokee Green Pear is a bigger green when ripe one, with a sweeter, fruitier taste. Very small seeds. I've grown it. It wasn't mealy.

[EdieJ]

I grew Galina's last year. It was not pear for me, rather a nice round cherry-type and quickly became my husband's favorite. So if it's supposed to be a pear, I got something else instead (seed packet came from Tomato Growers.) I have enough seed to grow a couple of plants this year but will need to get more next year.

[imp]

Many of the yellow pear varieties are tasty, at least to me, LOL, and I suspect a lot has to do with climate and gardening styles as well. I've found the textures and flavors to be better when kept a bit short of water and in our hot dry heat here in north Texas.