imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

How do you know if you have a good tomato?

I try new tomatoes all of the time. Most of them I buy off the shelf but I also order quite a few. It seems some of the tomatoes, actually quite a few haven't lived up to their descriptions.

This is what I have sort a figured out.

If the description talks about disease resistance and not taste. It will probably grow well but not taste that great

Red round and beautiful doesn't taste nearly as good as lobed, and green shouldered.

If the description does not say anything about taste, there are better ones. If the description describes the taste as good, there are better ones. "Excellent", "tomatoey", "sweet tart", "old fashioned flavor" usually have more taste.

I also found out that besides seeds being mislabeled, that some seeds are generically labeled "Beefsteak" or "Brandywine" without specifying the strain.

Size is regional. I cannot grow one pound tomatoes with my short days, but I can come close. More typically the tomatoes are about 8 oz.

People have different criteria for a good tomato. While I like a tomato that tastes like a tomato, I do not like acidic or mushy fruit. I like a tomato that is meaty with firm texture even though it may have a blander taste.

If the tomatoes are really good the birds will go after them even when they are green. If the tomatoes are not so good, the birds will leave the ripe ones untouched.

So far my best tomatoes have been sungold, sunsugar, sweet 100, sweet mojo, amish paste, and a generic "Brandywine"

tomc
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Location: SE-OH USA Zone 6-A

Sample some of the pink oblate (beefsteak) tomato be it Tibet Appel, to Olena Ukrainian.

Look for some of the pink and or red strawberry (oxheart) shaped tomato, Grightmires pride, or Verja paradajz.

Try a semi-determinate like Nyagous, Mobil, or Snow White.

You'll have an inkling when your tomato patch' scent creeps across the back yard.

mattie g
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Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a

Hmmm...as someone who doesn't particularly like raw fresh tomatoes, this is a tough question.

For me, a good tomato is one without too much gel so that I can make it into pico de gallo without too much gutting of the tomato, one that can hold up to freezing since I freeze so many to make sauces and canned salsas later, and one that puts out plenty of fruits for use in these ways. I also like the occasional caprese salad (*loaded* with basil, mozzarella, and aged balsamic), so something that goes well in that works for me, too!

I like the novelty of large tomatoes, but in general I've found that medium-sized tomatoes - in particular, ox hearts and paste types - are where it's at for me, and my garden this year is a testament to that I get frustrated at BER in my San Marzanos, though. Sooooo frustrated!

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Lindsaylew82
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I ALWAYS get BER in san marzanos.......

I enjoy really rich tomato flavors. Almost ketchupy!

I enjoy the "salty" flavors that the black and brown tomatoes lend.

While I also enjoy sweets like Sungold, they're not what make my mouth water.

My all time, across the board, best tomato flavors are from Rutger and Marglobe. And they're not huge fruits, medium sized. I like big, balanced, slightly more acidic tomatoes. That's where it's at for me.

Now if I could just get some off these dang plants! This year has been a crummy tomato year! Sigh...

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

At the very basic level, good tomato is the kind that grows from seeds with minimum fuss, growing strong despite some issues that bring down the lesser seedlings, and patiently waiting despite the delayed uppotting and planting out, taking off with renewed vigor as soon as new roots take hold, shaking off the ealy septoria and blight that may try to creep up from below.

Good tomato blooms and sets fruit within reasonable amount of time, and produce at least clusters of 3 per truss, at regular intervals... more is nice. Good tomato won't go splitting at every little rain, and not make faces when everyone else is bright and round faced. Good tomato will ripen well off the vine without getting spotty, and when it's finally time to taste, the flavor should be outstanding and not insipid,

GREAT tomato can be all diva and fussy and need extra care and coddling, taking forever to bloom and fruit, yet only producing grudgingly, but when it's time to eat, the flavor will be out of this world. A good indication of a GREAT tomato is when you find yourself saying "OMG, OMG" after every juicy bite, and find yourself taking the next bite before the words are fully out of your mouth because you can't wait to taste more. One such tomato variety for us was Terhune.

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Lindsaylew82
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One such tomato variety for us was Terhune.
I was just reading the history of that one on Tatiana's!!! Some say that she just kept yearly seed from pink brandywine. I know better than to ask if you've grown brandywine....

IYO, is there a remarkable difference in taste between the two? I thought PBW was pretty tasty. I really like the texture,too.

I think PBW is a diva plant, and so is yellow brandywine (first timer yellow BW grower).

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applestar
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I haven't read the history on tatiana, but the "provenance" I heard was that a landscaper found this tomato growing in some old lady's garden when he was hired to clean it up after she had passed.

I haven't grown them in the same season so I can't compare, but look for my tomato tasting thread and you'll see Terhune was the favorite out of all the ones we tasted, and we were specifically comparing for better or worse ranking.

I have two Terhune plants growing this year and will be comparing against the rest of this year's highly recommended "best of the best" contenders later on. 8)

- Grandma Oliver's Chocolate
- Not Purple Strawberry
- Rebel Yell (may drop out -- suffering from russet mites)
- Indian Zebra
- Captain Lucky
- Malkhitovaya Shkatulka (Malachite Box)
- Liz Birt (purple)
- Neves Azorian Red
- McKinley
- Tidwell German
- Ananas Noire
- Russian Rose
- Royal Hillbilly
- Faelan's First Snow (Variegated Cherokee Purple)
- Wes (Terhune was better last year, but who knows?)
... more ...



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