CompuServe Thread

My favorite is Big Rainbow. It is an indeterminate, which I like, and the large fruits are incredibly beautiful, with deep golden color and a radiant red 3-D blush at the blossom end. And the taste is fantastic, too. Shep Ogden

>>Let's start with something easy for the first question: Which varieties of tomatoes do you grow? Which is your very favorite, and why?<< Warren, Thought I would give you some input on your first question in the Survey. This input comes from Indianapolis and your answers – of course – are going to vary greatly by secion of the country. WHICH VARIETIES: I have always preferred "Big Boy" and "Better Boy". FAVORITE: "Better Boy" WHY: Every year I try some plants of the above varieties and some plants of "some other" variety to experiment. Have always had the best luck with the above two and have always been partial to the texture, flavor, and garden performance of the "Boys". I was planting "Big Boy" for 4-H contests as a boy some 35 years ago and still find these two varieties my favorites. BOB

Micro-Tom, because it gives me such joy in the winter, still growing on the window sill in 4" Dandy self watering pots. I still have one growing and producing that was planted 12/30/90, repeat 1990! It is only about 7 inches high too, but very profuse. Strange answer, but true.

Warren: I'm glad we now have a gardening forum on CompuServe! I have grown Early Girl, Roma, and yellow pear tomatoes. I like small tomatoes, especially Roma, because they are firm, not runny or watery, and they are not as acidic as the larger tomatoes. I know Roma tomatoes are supposed to be for sauces, but we like them also as they are in salads, etc. I vote for Roma. Frank

Warren, the varieties we grew last year were: Homestead Big Boy White Beauty Evergreen Goldie Golden Giant Belgium Pineapple Williards Whopper Beefsteak Beefmaster Sweet 100 Better Boy Bonnie Best Prudens Purple Purple Calabash Out of those our favorite and best producer was Bonnie Best. This year we are adding: Egytian Cherokee Purple Caro Rich Hugh's Banana Legs Black Green Zebra Big White and I don't think I'll plant any more Purple Calabash as it was pretty much worthless in our area. Derek

That is not an easy question. Each year I grow 12 to 15 varieties, mixing in old favorites with a few new ones. Among the favorites that I would never omit are: 1) Camp Joy – a large cherry tomato which has the more typical tomato flavor than some of the other cherries; 2) Sweet 100+ which is an amazingly prolific and sweet cherry tom.; 3) Carmello – a relatively small fruit which is very meaty and consistently blemish free with a rich taste; 4) Supersonic – for larger classic tomatoes; 5)Whopper – for large, delicious tomatoes that are so juicy they are thirst quenching. This year I am looking to grow for the first time Viva Italia and Costoluto Genovese. My favorite? Slices of Carmello with chopped fresh basil lightly drizzled with olive oil. Can't wait.

Warren, Better Boy and Best Boy are the old stand-bys in our garden. They're great on salads, etc. But for sauces I like Beefsteak better. I haven't tried growing some variety of Italian tomatoes, but I'm going to look into that this summer. Steve

On our rather large farm here in upstate NY, we grow many different varieties of tomatoes every year. We grow primarily to feed our family of 5, so we try to spread our risk somewhat. One favorite that cans and freezes well out here, never lets us down and tastes great in just about everything is Roma. As a matter of fact, here it is, February, some 20 degrees outside and snowing, but up in my closet I'm picking ripe Roma tomatoes, green chile (we're originally from New Mexico) and a varieties of fresh herbs and spices from my home-built hydroponic system. By the way, contrary to Rodale, it is possible to grow hydroponically using a completely organic solution with excellent results…it's the only way we'll do it.

rudgers and early girl the geese like them both equally. R

Here in Baltimore MD, I've tried Burpee's Supersteak, Good 'n' Early Hybrid, Basket King, and Homestead. The largest tomato I've grown was a Supersteak, with a radius of about 8" (I didn't weigh it but it had to be over 2 lbs.), but I only got one of those whoppers in 4 years. My favorite is Basket King, which I grow in the garden rather than in the recommended hanging basket for which it was bred. I like it because it's so goof-proof. Last year I had the earliest tomatoes in the neighborhood, around June 20th, but all my plants were spent by the time my neighbors got their tomatoes….except my trusty Basket Kings. I also get a lot of volunteer "no-name" tomatoes because I tend to get lazy when the weather gets cold, and let the green ones drop and "compost".

I'm replying from Calgary, here in the foothills of the Rockie Mountains. We typically get down to 5 to 8 degrees Centigrade on summer evenings. We would be clasified as a sub-alpine environment. The two varieties that we've had the most success with are Tiny Tim and Siberia. We have had to start them indoors in early February, and they don't go outside until mid-May. We had constant fruit from shortly after planting until the first frost. The Tiny Tim's are a cherry tomato, while the Siberia's are similar to Roma's in consistency, but round in shape. Rob

My favorites are Celebrity and Sweet Million. I am not in the milder, Narragansett Bay climate of most of RI, so I start them indoors in March and put them out by the middle of May, if the weather is decent. They are both short-season enough to give me fruit at a decent date, and Sweet Million is probably the best-tasting tomato — large or small — that I've ever encountered. Sweet Million seed is not always easy to come by, though. I do try others every year, just to maintain a comparison. Best part about Sweet Million: the fruit literally ropes on the plant…you really DO seem to get a million.