How Do You Pick From All the Available Tomato Varieties?

[petalfuzz]

I'm growing two kinds of tomatoes this year (my first): fresh salsa, and lemon boy hybrid. I picked the first cause my DH wants me to make salsa, and the second cause DH wanted a yellow variety and this one seemed easy to grow and disease resistant.

But, I'm a person who "doesn't like tomatoes" but has been gradually liking them more for the past 2 years. I'm 29 years old and just recently ate a grape tomato for the first time (not a fan--was very acidic). I love salsa and tomato sauce, however.

I'm thinking I'd like tomatoes that are less acidic and more fruity. I guess I just have to pour over catalogs and websites and make best guesses. Then I shall try 2 varieties next year.

But how do YOU make your selections?

[maseverde]

judging by taste is what I do. I eat alot of fresh uncooked raw produces. tomatoes among one of my faves. ive tried several different kinds.

such as....
supersteak
better boy
bigboy
and many others... and hybrids as well

do you intend on selling,eating, cooking with them?

[Brandywinegirl]

If you like mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar, basil & olive oil, you may enjoy tomatoes that are less acidic, slicing them, drizzling balsamic vinegar and olive oil, fresh basil and a slice of mozz. cheese - heaven on earth!

Some of the heirloom tomatoes are interesting. Obviously, my favorite is Brandywine!

[cynthia_h]

I think I must have a genetic defect or something.

I cannot STAND the texture of raw tomatoes. The jelly stuff around the seeds just makes me want to...well, it's not a pretty image.

In the '80s/early '90s I decided to give this problem another shot. I grew--very successfully--Roma tomatoes that year. I mean, those plants were 7 feet tall, I swear!

One fine August/September afternoon, when the vines were redolent with the heavy odor of ripe tomatoes, I brought a salt shaker out into the middle of the Roma vines. Ahhh, I thought; NOW I'm going to have a tomato worth eating!

I carefully selected one of the larger, redder Romas, plucked it easily off its stem, cut it open with my Swiss Army knife, applied a few grains of salt, and put it into my mouth.

Yecch!

Even though the percent of the tomato given over to seeds/jelly is smaller than in sandwich-type tomatoes, these Romas were clearly destined to become spaghetti sauce. *sigh* And so they did.

So, for me, a variety of tomato recommended for canning/cooking is especially desirable. There won't be as much waste with the seeds/jelly; there will be more "meat" to cook.

And, yes, I blanch them to get those pesky skins off. Only once did I not do this, and I regretted it for a year.

So I'm growing San Marzano and Roma tomatoes this year. I have five heirloom plants for DH to fresh eat, but I hope to do some spaghetti-sauce canning in September/October.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[Reptilicus]

I just got into the gardening so I haven't grown to much. My gramps says better boys are best so I have them. I saw some different plants at a local place called Brandts. I'm not sure about them. I hope they are good.

I love tomatoes and eat'em anyway I can. We eat 'mater sammiches here.

'Mater sammich:
2 slices of bread
Tomato sliced
mayo
salt & pepper
and a splash of hot sauce.

[TheLorax]

Embarrassingly, I mostly let other people pick for me. Figured I didn't know what I was doing so no point to me selecting tomatoes for myself. I was mostly interested in heirlooms so that played into what people picked for me to try growing.

Here are the tomatoes I ended up with-
2 Roma
2 RoadRunner
2 JetSetter
had 2 down to only 1 First Lady
2 some sort of a grape cluster
2 Brandywine
2 Mortgage Lifter
1 Sausage
1 Middle Ten
1 Black Prince
1 Cherokee Purple.

I think if I had it to do all over again, I'd cut my list down to only 4 or 5 tomato varieties and only one of each. I'm growing them in containers and it takes a while watering all those 5-gallon buckets of tomatoes every morning. Next year I'll try the Orange Strawberry tomato, the Green Zebra, maybe the Yellow Pear and probably only 2 or 3 from the above list. I'll experiment for a few years with different tomatoes and different recipes to see which tomatoes we like best that will be the most useful then stick to those tomatoes in future years. Who knows, with so many tomatoes to take care of this growing season.. I may fizzle out and only grow two next year.

[petalfuzz]

I think I must have a genetic defect or something.

I cannot STAND the texture of raw tomatoes. The jelly stuff around the seeds just makes me want to...well, it's not a pretty image. Yecch!

Even though the percent of the tomato given over to seeds/jelly is smaller than in sandwich-type tomatoes, these Romas were clearly destined to become spaghetti sauce. *sigh* And so they did.

Ha, ha! Yes, I am the same way. I'll only eat a raw tomato slice in a sandwich, never in a salad. And I don't like cheese (I'm a freak, I know) so the mozzarella thing is out too.

So I'm definitely going to look for a paste tomato that can be used raw as well. I like the idea of heirlooms for preserving genetic diversity.

[cheshirekat]

From what I have read about the different varieties of tomatoes, you really don't want to sample paste varieties if you dislike raw tomatoes. Pastes are best used in cooking. They can be eaten raw, and many people do. But the best use of them is in cooking. However, as is with most foods, there are no hard and fast rules because tastes vary from person to person.

Take a salt shaker with you to sample plum varieties and cherry tomatoes. (My least favorite for texture is the cherry varieties. Food shouldn't squirt in your mouth especially if the size encourages eating them whole. The hubby picked out 6 cherry tomato plants last week - guess we will give a lot of those away if he doesn't eat them.) Try the different colors like yellows and brown fruit. Call one of the tomato growing outfits and talk to someone who can describe the different tomato fruits they have.

Personally, I love raw tomatoes. But I find that the store tomatoes and even a few restaurants have tomatoes with unpleasant textures. The texture of raw tomatoes in my mouth is much better than with oysters, mushrooms, etc., but the looks of tomato juice spilling out and oozing causes me gastric upset. I try not to look.

I couldn't tell you the different varieties I am trying this year. I know Roma and Big Boy, but I have some cherries and lemon something and I forgot what else. I try new ones all the time because the name doesn't paint the entire picture because environment, soil and additives can alter the taste. I love experimenting with veggies and herbs so I'm game for trying almost anything.

Grow some herbs. I really envy people who are already eating tomatoes. I have fallen in love with eating my cool weather lettuce crops with a lot of herbs, especially basil and oregano. But I only have store tomatoes and it is not at all complimenting my herb obsession. Look into companion planting because some herbs will enhance the natural flavors of tomatoes. You can experiment with different basil plants as they protect your tomatoes from pests also. I currently have about 7 different types of basil. Sweet, lemon, and spicy bush are my favorites so far. Peppers are good companion plants for tomatoes.

Raw tomatoes and nuts go well together so you might want to try some. You don't have to like raw tomatoes but there are a lot of ways to eat them to enjoy them. Eating fungus is very off-putting to me, but people include mushrooms in a lot of dishes. If you prefer cooked tomatoes, then you can still sample some of the different varieties available with herbs, nuts and other goodies from your garden. Spaghetti squash is great with stewed tomatoes, or Italian style sauce.

For next year, I've spied a few places with a wide selection of tomatoes. I'll choose the kinds that appeal to me then. Maybe I will have more of the same varieties from this year, maybe not.

[webmaster]

I'm a person who "doesn't like tomatoes" but has been gradually liking them more for the past 2 years.

Slice a home-grown or store bought organic tomato into slices. Sprinkle a little salt on the slices. Enjoy.

Works great for raw avocados, too.

[Quietly Awesome]

I like mine with a sprinkle of sugar. It's somthin I picked up from my Grandpa. DH 's at me every time I do this. But it's better than all the salt he pours on his.

[cheshirekat]

I have high blood pressure, so I avoid salting most of my food. With store tomatoes, salt doesn't help because even a little bit takes over and dilutes the little tomato taste there is. With homegrown, I love to eat them with herbs. I have a lot of herbs growing all around my tomatoes and upside-down tomatoes. I'll probably smother my first tomato pick of the year with basil and oregano.

I never thought to try sugar. I'll look to see if we have sugar when the cherry tomatoes ripen. I often use a lot of honey on different foods and might even try it on tomatoes this year. One of the reasons I'm growing a lot of tomatoes (couple dozen plants, not counting the cherry) is to experiment, and it is a very healthy food from the garden.

Wish my tomatoes were ripe now.

[TheLorax]

What are spicy bushes please?

[JennyC]

Reptilicus: you forgot to mention that a 'mater sandwich must be on white bread!

I'm growing a bunch of Rutgers, which is a determiniate heirloom, for canning. I should get a big batch of high-acid tomatoes at once, which I can can in a water bath canner (hybrid tomatoes are often too low-acid for this to be safe and need a pressure canner).

I'm growing a bunch of Romas, which I like raw.

And I'm growing one Beefsteak, because they were giving away tomato plants at the bank.

[Jess]

Tumblers for me.
https://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/product_19264.html
I love cherry tomatoes and the fact that these can be grown in pots and baskets means I can sight them near the kitchen, by the front door, in a pot on the patio, anywhere that both myself and the kids can just pick and pop them like strawberries. They are very sweet and so productive.
For large tomatoes you cannot beat beefsteaks for meatiness and flavour. I slice and add a dash of olive oil, white wine vinegar, chopped chives and loads of freshly ground pepper. Delicious!

[cynthia_h]

What are spicy bushes please?

Not a clue; who mentioned them in this thread?

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[TheLorax]

Those tumblers look pretty too. Well suited to a hanging basket.

[cheshirekat]

I mentioned spicy bush basil as a good companion plant for tomatoes. Is that what you wanted clarified?

[TheLorax]

Sorry cynthia_h, we cross posted. It was cheshirecat who mentioned the spicy bushes and I think she just answered my question.

Thanks cheshirecat, you added the basil and I was able to look it up. Totally wasn't familiar with what a Spicy Bush was, kept thinking you were referring to a Spicebush and that wasn't making sense to me. I think this is the Spicy Bush- Ocimum basilicum var. minimum? It's a sweet basil? I think I'd like to try this one. I like pesto. Maybe next year.

[cynthia_h]

Got it! And, yes, pesto is a Good Thing in my own personal culinary world...

Cynthia

[Bihai]

But, I'm a person who "doesn't like tomatoes" but has been gradually liking them more for the past 2 years. I'm 29 years old and just recently ate a grape tomato for the first time (not a fan--was very acidic). I love salsa and tomato sauce, however.

I heard somewhere that our tastebuds change over time, so you might develop a taste for them. I've always loved tomatoes, but I know a lot of people who hate tomatoes, and I usually benefit from theirs. Oddly, they all also love salsa and sauces.

I chose Better Boy because the description says they are good for eating sliced. I also have a "tomato tree" someone gave me, which is supposed to get to 8 feet tall. Next year I want to try some heirlooms, the purple one looks fun.

[TheLorax]

I came home with two new tomato plants. One of them was labeled 'Big Red' and the other was labeled 'Golden Queen'. Looks as if the 'Big Red' I was given could be any number of big red tomatoes and isn't any particular variety. Suppose I can grow that the same way I am growing all the others. I looked up 'Golden Queen' and learned it is an Amish heirloom paste tomato that supposedly has superior taste. Any good paste recipes specifically for 'Golden Queen' or just use it as I would in any other recipe?

[cheshirekat]

I got two new tomato plants this weekend also. Can't tell you the name of them at the moment because it was so hot out this weekend that I just put them in a shaded spot since the nursery is a big greenhouse. Got a couple peppers as well. Have had to water late in the day when it was nearly dark.

So I guess that's another way I determine what variety to choose - if my local nursery has them and if the name and days to maturity are appealing at the moment. I also look at the health of the plant. I tend to be an impulse shopper but I already knew I wanted a couple more tomato plants this payday.

The nursery has a huge tomato plant for sale. Actually it looks like a hedge and is about 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It was loaded with tomatoes. I wonder who will buy that one or if the staff will draw names to win it if it isn't sold by a certain date. They also had quite a few espaliered trees that are very mature and already bearing fruit for sale. I like the espaliered passion fruit they have but can't see me spending nearly $100 for it. I've got two tiny ones growing well that I will take indoors for the winter. They aren't even big enough yet to decide what kind of trellis to use so I will start them off with bamboo.

[TheLorax]

Beggers can't be choosers. The 'Big Red' and the 'Golden Queen' were given to me from two people who started more than they could plant. I had no idea what I took home until I started looking online for information. Guess I'm an impulse "taker".

Espaliered fruits really catch my eye. I like the orderliness of them. Not that I would pay $100 for one but perhaps trying a few from scratch might be a project for a few years down the road from now.

[doccat5]

Lorax, Golden Queen is probably a low acid tomato, most of the yellow varieties have a tendency to be low acid. But you just treat them like any other tomato. Add acid to the jars if you are caning them, normally I use lemon juice. But the different varieties offer a marvelous chance to experiment with different tastes in sauces, pestos, etc. I normally "play" with my frozen tomatoes in the winter in this way. Nothing like homemade sauce on a cold winter day. Yummy!

Freezing is so much easier if you have a bumper crop and are sick and tired of looking at them by mid summer.

[TheLorax]

Why whatever makes you think I might get sick and tired of looking at them by mid summer??? Could it possibly be that I now have almost twenty 5-gallon buckets of tomatoes out there?

I'm beginning to suspect that my love for tomatoes may wane before the end of summer and I might be beyond the freezing phase and smack dab into pelting anyone who crosses my path the wrong way with tomatoes.

Got any tasty tomato recipes that are out of the ordinary? I'm feeling the need to locate something different to try out.

[cheshirekat]

Well, I was out pampering my babies all evening and still forgot to look what kind of new ones I have. I think one was Sushine 100 or Sweet 100.

I will be on the hunt for new recipes this summer. The hubby insists I will like eggplant. I bought one this weekend because he likes them. I'm not going to hold my breath because when I tried them in the past, they were the worst thing I had ever eaten. Hopefully my tastebuds have changed. Glad to know I have a lot of tomatoes and peppers to smother them with.

Also got one okra plant - have no idea how much they will produce. I hope one plant will be enough for us to sample a few new recipes. I'm dying to do 1001 ways I used my tomatoes this year. (All the herbs and different veggies I'm growing should make it more interesting than I previously imagined.) We didn't have as many tomatoes (four plants) two years ago and I was always finding new stuff to eat with my tomatoes. We also have a bigger variety of tomatoes this year and I'm just so excited I think I might explode. Last year we had very few from two tiny plants that the squirrels ate most of and I still feel deprived from lack of tomatoes since store bought ones were not able to provide any satisfaction.

Tomatoes, the next best addiction.

[TheLorax]

I've got two good eggplant recipes that might turn you into a convert. I'll dig them up and post them for you.

I'd like to try new okra recipes myself. Okra is one of those veggies that is good in soup and ratatouille recipes but I haven't found much use for it other than that.

editing to add one recipe-

Eggplant Parmigiana
Recipe courtesy Vita Greco
Ingredients
2 to 3 eggs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups bread crumbs
2 medium size eggplants, peeled and thinly sliced
Olive oil, to fry eggplant
Vita Greco's Gravy, to cover, recipe follows
2 medium size mozzarella

Directions
Amounts of all ingredients would depend on how many pieces of eggplant you are preparing.

Beat together the eggs, cheese, parsley, pepper, and garlic powder. Some people put the peeled, sliced eggplant in a colander with a heavy object on top, so it can drain somewhat.

It's been known to be less tart, then. I don't do this any longer, because I found little or no difference in tartness.

Dip the sliced eggplant pieces into the egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs, so that they're nicely coated. Fry each piece in olive oil until very brown on both sides. This is important. If the eggplants are not thinly cut or if they're not browned enough, the taste of the entire dish is not
right.

Both hands have to be working to get a good system going for this, and I use a medium to high flame. At certain intervals, I stop and dump the oil, wash the pan, and begin with a clean pan. This makes a big difference.

As the eggplant pieces are done, you can drain them on a paper towel and then place them in a baking pan. When you have enough for one layer, coat the layer generously with tomato sauce. (Reserve meats to eat seperately.) On top of that, sprinkle grated mozzarella generously. Keep repeating layers.

Make sure the sides of your pan get some sauce, too. Now, I freeze this before baking. When I defrost it, I bake it as usual, and it's great. But if you want to eat it now, bake it in a preheated 350 degree F until the cheese melts and the sauce is bubbly.

editing again to add the other recipe-

Eggplant and Zucchini Bake

500g. short pasta e.g. rigatoni, penne, farfalle, etc.
2 X 440g. cans whole tomatoes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large eggplant or 4 finger eggplant
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
2 teaspoons finely chopped oregano or marjoram
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
250g. grated mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180deg.C.

2. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor. Pour the mixture through a sieve and remove seeds and reserve liquid.

3. Cut eggplant into chunks and place in a large baking dish. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of oil and bake until softened and starting to brown a little.

4. Heat remaining oil in a pan and sauté the onion, garlic and zucchini until the zucchini has softened. Add the tomato puree and herbs and simmer until the sauce has reduced by one-third. Stir in the eggplant and season to taste. Pour sauce over pasta and stir to combine with reserved cooking liquid and mozzarella.

5. Spoon mixture into a large shallow gratin or lasagne dish and sprinkle the parmesan over the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through.

[JennyC]

I'd like to try new okra recipes myself. Okra is one of those veggies that is good in soup and ratatouille recipes but I haven't found much use for it other than that.

TheLorax, you know you're a Yankee, right?

Okra: a staple of Southern cooking. Slice the pods lengthwise into little rounds about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick. Bread with cornmeal (get 'em wet, dredge in a bowl of dry cornmeal with some black pepper mixed in). Fry till crisp in a skillet with about a half inch of oil (use canola if you don't want a heart attack, although I'm positive my grandmother used Crisco). Serve with turnip greens, blackeyed peas, and cornbread.

You can also cook sliced okra with tomatoes and hot spices, which is actually very good, but I love fried okra so much I've never really learned how to do this.

[TheLorax]

But, but, but...

That's why we poor deprived Yankees are here in the midst of all you southerners. You can set us straight by providing us with reasons to WANT to grow okra. Go ahead, make my day. Provide me with more reasons to want to grow it! So far I've found it to be sort of slimy sliding down my throat and always wondered what you good folk down south found so desirable about them. They seemed to be nice enough drowned in soups and out competed in ratatouilles.

(Taps foot) More recipes please!

[JennyC]

Nope. No more recipes till you fry some. Make sure the oil is really, really hot (splatters, so be careful); then the okra won't be too greasy. The frying method completely cuts out the slime. Get this right and you won't want more recipes.

You do know about gumbo, though. Right? Nobody lives that far north!

[JennyC]

OH! I forgot to tell you about pickled okra. Yummy, yummy, yummy. The hot kind is the best. I can't tell you much about recipes; I've always gotten my pickled okra at the store. You need small pods for pickles; pickle them whole. (Okra pickles are not slimy.)

Whenever I'm looking for inspiration, I often turn to the ingredient search at Allrecipes.com. Here's a link to what you get with "okra":

https://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx?WithTerm=&SearchIn=All&Wanted1=okra

I can't vouch for these, as I haven't tried them, but I usually get good results from high-rated recipes. Of course, I don't think I've ever used one "as is" -- I always change recipes, depending on what I have and what I like. I also modify everything to be fat-free or at least extremely low in saturated fat. But this will give you a good idea of the range of ways you can cook okra. I don't know about that okra, chicken and rice casserole, though. Seems to me it would be slimy.

When my mom gets back from vacation, I'll get her recipe for okra and tomatoes. If I made it, I know I'd spice hers up (Mom's a spice wimp), but it's otherwise good. Down here, you can get canned okra and tomatoes at the store.

[MaineDesigner]

The only context in which I really like okra is Indian food. Try goggling under bhindi, bhendi, dharosh, bendakaya, vendakka and vendakai. Most of the Indian languages don't really have a separate sound for "v" and "b" and that coupled with the large number of Indian languages (roughly twenty major ones) and dialects makes for a wide range of phonetic transcriptions.

[MaineDesigner]

To return to the basic question after the okra digression I look at the basic sort of tomato (I.e. slicing, paste, cherry, etc.), the reputation of the tomato (partially word of mouth and partially reading), how early it matures, whether it is indeterminate (vine type) or determinate (bush type) and disease resistance - if any. Since I've generally grown tomatoes in relatively short season climates I usually don't bother with tomatoes that have longer than 80 day maturity. Coastal Maine has the added complication that summers are cool and damp which is not ideal tomato growing climate.

This year I'm growing Stupice, Carmello, Marmande, St. Pierre, Mosvich and Brandywine. Stupice is very early maturing and sets fruit in cool weather. The tomatoes themselves are small (lime sized) with good but not great flavor but they beat every other type I've tried for first mature fruit by 10 days to two weeks which makes Stupice worth it for me. I've also grown Dona, Costoluto Genovese, Black Prince, Juliet, Sun Gold, Camp Joy (by far my favorite cherry or small fruit tomato), Pruden's Purple and a few other lesser tomatoes which have faded from memory. On my "must try" list are Glacier (a possible rival to Stupice), Cosmonaut Volkov and Rose de Berne.

[TheLorax]

Nope. No more recipes till you fry some.

Hey, no fair. I don't even have any tomatoes yet! I'll try fried green tomatoes just as soon as I get some! Promise.

Nope, not too far north to know about gumbo. I've got a good turkey sausage gumbo recipe somewhere.

I've got the fried okra recipe from your site, looks easy enough and you say it eliminates the slime factor which is a plus-

INGREDIENTS

* 10 pods okra, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 cup cornmeal
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, soak okra in egg for 5 to 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, salt, and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge okra in the cornmeal mixture, coating evenly. Carefully place okra in hot oil; stir continuously. Reduce heat to medium when okra first starts to brown, and cook until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Is your mom back from vacation yet? I'll try her okra recipe too. I'm not growing any but I can buy it frozen.

MaineDesigner, I had no idea you were such a tomato aficionado

[JennyC]

Mom's back and I asked her. I'm afraid she cooks like me, though. She said "equal parts okra and tomatoes and add some Greek seasoning."

Which sound wonderful but isn't very specific, I know. The traditional recipe would involve salt and pepper instead of Greek seasoning. You slice the okra for okra and tomatoes and cut the tomatoes into chunks. I don't know how any of this will work with frozen okra, though. I wouldn't recommend trying okra pickles with frozen.

Back on topic? Let's see. I think you could make okra and tomatoes with most varieties, but it would be better (or at least would taste "right" to me) with the higher acid heirlooms. If you get a determinate and manage to time the tomatoes to be ready when the okra is, you can can a big batch and eat well all winter. Or you could freeze the tomatoes until the okra gets ready.

[WinglessAngel]

May I also add to the mix? lol....I absolutely adore fresh sweet tangy and all things tomato! I like to use crusty thick bread slices, a hearty helping of tomato slices, fresh chiffonade basil from my garden, oregano sprinkled on with salt and pepper sprinkled on it as well with a slice of sweet onion and some mayo....makes a great veggetarian sandwich is delicious and very filling, good for you too, as not a lot of mayo is needed, just a dab will do....you want the tomato and basil to shine in this sammie!

[WinglessAngel]

I forgot to add that sourdough is my fav for this type of sammie, but I also make my own bread at home and use that whenever I deem necessary to make it lol but toasted bread is a must with this sammie for sure!!

[Tony02905]

For the most part I like all veggies, so for me, I am up for trying anything in the garden. Last year I developed an addiction to heirloom veggies. I grew about 5 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, the most memorable were the Violet Jaspers. Yummolicious!!! Also grew heirloom eggplants and cucumbers. There are plenty of webistes like rareseeds.com where you can choose from tons of heirloom varieties.

Just a note on heirloom tomatoes - they tend to be more acidic than hybrids, are not as shelf stable so eat them fairly quickly, but the trade off is some truly unique shapes, colors and higher nutritional content. They tend to have more bold flavors that hybrids as well.

[tedln]

Tony,

Welcome to the forum. I love to get everyones thoughts on growing veggies in the garden. I look forward to your contributions. If you want to discuss the attributes of heirlooms (especially tomatoes), we have a lot of experts on this forum. I'm not one of the experts, but I have learned a lot from them. Pick a variety and ask some questions. I bet someone will be familiar with the variety.

Ted