My current desert island list of tomatoes that are a must each season...

[NRaleighLiberal]

Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Chocolate
Cherokee Green
Sungold F1
Green Giant
Stump of the World (just like Brandywine in all respects except yields better for me in Raleigh)
Little Lucky
Lucky Cross
Nepal
Lillian's Yellow Heirloom

What are yours???

[beac]

1. I'm still too much of a newbie to have a lot of annual must-haves, but

I really loved the Sungolds I grew last year, so they are likely to be come a yearly repeat.

I haven't had much luck with slicers. The Cherokee Purple I tried year before last didn't do much and the tomatoes it did make got stolen by groundhogs. Early Girl and Pink Brandywine were last year's busts-- too much heat stunted their production.

I grew Black Cherry tomatoes last year and really liked their sharp taste and pretty color, so they are back on for this year.

Your list has lots of varieties I've never heard of. Any you'd recommend for container gardening? My in-ground garden area is a)limited and b) indefensible from groundhogs. The furry jerks seem to be at least a LITTLE intimidated to come up to the front of the house where I put my pots.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. You can grow any variety in a pot....but the indeterminate (tall growing)

varieties and, especially, larger fruited types need large pots - at least 10 gallon - and frequent watering and feeding. Cherry tomatoes are easiest in pots, and Determinate and Dwarf types are fine for even 5 gallon pots. Problem with Determinates is that not many have great flavor - Taxi is a good early yellow, Sophie's Choice a good medium sized red. Southern Nights is a rather unusual purple tomato from Russia that has very good flavor in a short growing plant.

The Dwarfs have better flavor in general - they are like indeterminates in that they produce fruit until killed by frost, but are just much more compact and slower in terms of vertical growth. Dwarf Champion, Golden Dwarf Champion, Dwarf Stone, Lime Green Salad, and New Big Dwarf are the best known - and even then fairly obscure (Victory Seeds carries all of them).

I am co-leading a worldwide breeding project to create many more interesting Dwarf varieties - we are on the verge of having 9 newly named ones that a few select seed companies will be selling very soon. We are working toward large fruit, various colors, excellent flavors on plants that stay at 3-4 feet and grow well in pots.

[beac]

6. Thanks for the feedback.

I use large pots (15-20 gallon) for my tomatoes. Sounds like a dwarf would be right up my alley. I'm determined to have a successful slicer this year!

Very cool about your breeding project. Nice for us to have a tomato guru of our very own right here on DU. :)

[trud]

5. Stupice

Early, very very productive. Small but makes up for it with the productivity normally seen from cherry tomatoes.

[beac]

7. I've heard good things about Stupice before.

Cherry-tomato-like productivity sounds promising.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. I like the flavor of Kimberly a bit better - same idea - potato leaf, early, productive

smallish sweet red.

http://www.victoryseeds.com/search.asp?keyword=kimberly&search=GO

[Zoigal]

10. Stupice is one of my favourites...do well in pots, too......z

[ellenrr]

2. Rutgers Ramapo is my favorite

This Jersey tomato is so famous it was written up in the NYTimes. It had disappeared and then was brought back.
I grew it 2 years ago in my driveway in a big pot.
Delicious. Last year I tried to grow them in my garden, but even with a fence, the groundhogs got in, they take a bite out of a green tomato, and throw it on the ground. GRR
I didn't get any tomatoes out of 3 plants!

So this year I will do it in my driveway again, will buy more pots, I think I'll grow 3 plants.
I been dreaming about the taste of this tomato for 2 years.
I gotta tell you, if you haven't tasted a jersey tomato you have not tasted a tomato. :applause:

I can't grow in my garden til May, but am putting seeds out in containers.

Gosh it's hard to wait.
Every year I usually rush the season and lose one or two plants to frost. Now I have row covers which work well, so maybe I can put things in the ground the end of April.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. After growing over 600 types of tomatoes in the past 30 years -

many in eastern PA, more recently in Raleigh, you realize how variable flavor is - varieties vary widely depending where they grow and what the weather is like. I got to eat plenty of Jersey tomatoes when living in PA - and have grown tomatoes equally as excellent in Raleigh - all depends on which variety and whether it is happy with the weather and growing conditions that year. Some varieties certainly seem to like growing in a particular region - Cherokee Purple was very good, not great, in PA - but thrives in Raleigh (it originated in Tennessee, so clearly likes growing in the southeast). Brandywine was incredible in PA, not so good in Raleigh in terms of yield and consistency. Pretty interesting stuff, really.

[Botany]

9. my list

Black Krim
Cherokee Purple
German Queen
Brandywine
Jet Star
Lemon Boy
Roma
Sungold
Pink Girl
Mortgage Lifter
Rutgers


Cilantro, Better Bell Peper, Garlic, habeneros, and green onions are needed too = Salsa

[OnionPatch]

11. My favorite is Gold Medal

It's a big, red and yellow streaked beefsteak type tomato that's as delicious as it is beautiful. The most important thing is that it grows and bears well here in my little micro-climate of southern California. It's an early bearer, especially for the size of the fruit it bears, and I think it helps that it gets going before the worst of the summer heat sets in.

I have yet to find a red slicer or canning tomato that works as well for me. I'm still looking. The spring nights are very chilly here in the foothills, and shortly after those cold nights end, the summer daytime heat becomes brutal. Both factors cause blossom drop on a lot of tomato varieties so my yield usually isn't what I hope for.

[TuxedoKat]

12. What is a good tomato for colder climates?

As in upstate NY? Where do I get seeds for some of these tomatoes you mention too?

There is a cherry tomato I like called Sweet 100. I'd like to grow some of those old-fashioned, more thin-skinned sweet tomatoes.

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. Some really good seed sources for tomato varieties and advice -

Seed Savers Exchange commercial catalog - http://www.seedsavers.org/Content.aspx?src=buyonline.htm

Tomato Growers Supply - http://www.tomatogrowers.com/

Johnny's Selected Seeds - http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Pine Tree - https://www.superseeds.com/

Victory Seeds - http://www.victoryseeds.com/

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - http://www.southernexposure.com/

Sandhill Preservation Center - http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/

These are all fine companies - I know people at most of them (I've actually sent many tomatoes to some of them for offering in their catalog).

If you have questions on tomato growing, the best forum is Tomatoville....one thing great about it is that it is apolitical (to keep the peace in these trying times!)....http://www.tomatoville.com (right now they are having server problems - very rare - should be fixed soon). You need to join to see all of the forums (it is free)....

[TuxedoKat]

14. Thank you

This looks very helpful!