ctcarol said:I just bought 5 different tomatoes...some hybrids and some heirlooms. Can't do anything about the weather, but I can find out what will do best for me.

Hopefully they all do well for you.

I grew Celebrity last year and it produced very juicy, good tasting uniform tomatoes. I ate everything but the stem. . . and then licked my fingers!! The plant performed so well and its fruit was the tasti-est. . . so I'm regrowing it this year!!

I understand the difference between hybrid and heirloom. . . . but when it comes to OP, I'm rather lost. I THINK it's another moniker for hybrid, as the flowers are pollinated by whoever from where-ever, so it doesn't breed true..as opposed to heirlooms, whose flowers are self-pollinated, so it breeds true. Have I got it right??

No Mam; All "heirlooms" are OP. Some differentiate based on "heirlooms" either being introduced by amateur breeders or found by a family who has grown it for several generations as opposed to those OP's developed By main line sources like Livingston, Burpee,
USDA, Universities etc. Some quote age of introduction. There does not seem to be a universal accepted definite. A new introduction will be vended as an "heirloom" by some and denied by others.

farmerdill said:No Mam; All "heirlooms" are OP. Some differentiate based on "heirlooms" either being introduced by amateur breeders or found by a family who has grown it for several generations as opposed to those OP's developed By main line sources like Livingston, Burpee,
USDA, Universities etc. Some quote age of introduction. There does not seem to be a universal accepted definite. A new introduction will be vended as an "heirloom" by some and denied by others.

Yes there are some modern day breeders introducing new open pollinated varieties. So not hybrids and will breed true but not heirlooms. But Open pollinated just as heirlooms are.

I bought my first three tomato plants today..1st is Fantastico, a grape shape which was an award winner in 2014. Has any one tried it? I also got a Mortgage Lifter and a Beefmaster. Any comments?

Paul2032 said:I bought my first three tomato plants today..1st is Fantastic, a grape shape which was an award winner in 2014. Has any one tried it? I also got a Mortgage Lifter and a Beefmaster. Any comments?

Beefmaster is a great large beefsteak type, tastes wonderful. I have never had good luck with Mortgage Lifter.

And the best tomato in the garden in 2016 was Mortgage Lifter, so you never can tell which will do well and which will not. There are many varieties with the Mortgage Lifter name attached so maybe it depends on which was grown.

Mortgage Lifter did great for me the first year! Last year I put one in a different spot, and it was a dud. I'm very limited on space and sun, so I grow some in self watering containers. I will get three of the 5 in ground, and the other 2 in the containers. It is all experimental, and I don't have the space to rotate crops, so I can only cross my fingers. I would think that nematodes wouldn't have a chance in containers, and I can change the soil in those. Not so in the ground, and there are some huge unidentified grubs in that spot, so I will be out digging holes and cutting out the tree roots from the Avocado I had removed tomorrow. What I bought today:
Persimon- Heirloom
Celebrity
Orange Ox Heart- did well in container last year, and was tasty- heirloom
Big Boy
Big Beef

BetNC said:I grew Celebrity last year and it produced very juicy, good tasting uniform tomatoes. I ate everything but the stem. . . and then licked my fingers!! The plant performed so well and its fruit was the tasti-est. . . so I'm regrowing it this year!!

I understand the difference between hybrid and heirloom. . . . but when it comes to OP, I'm rather lost. I THINK it's another moniker for hybrid, as the flowers are pollinated by whoever from where-ever, so it doesn't breed true..as opposed to heirlooms, whose flowers are self-pollinated, so it breeds true. Have I got it right??

Bet, to maybe add a little additional clarification to FarmerDill and Rita's posts... "open pollinated" doesn't mean "allowed to cross with something else." Tomatoes tend to be self pollinating so the chance of crossing is lower than with a lot of things, but to ensure "true" seed precautions should be taken to isolate the plants or the flowers from which seed will eventually be saved. Also, heirlooms are no more (or less) self pollinating than any other tomatoes; hybrids are deliberate crosses created by hand pollination.

Yes, it is confusing (but fun!)

Our preferences vary. Celebrity is very popular. I see it every where. I've grown it and it looked good and produced well but I found the flavor unexciting as did my Daughter. Its fun to look for perfection.......

I grew Celebrity for the first time a few years ago, because a friend said how much he liked it (it seems to be a variety commonly sold in the greenhouses locally); for whatever reason, most of the tomatoes fell off the vine before they came close to ripening, something I've never had happen with any of my tomatoes.

I did grow Carnival in the past and loved it though -- as I recall, it's pretty closely related to Celebrity. Unfortunately, I don't believe that it's available any longer (or, if it is and someone knows of a source, I'd love to be able to get it again). It wasn't just good tasting, and a nice slicing size (not humongous, but pretty large and a very nice shape), it was really pretty, with sort of a "sparkly" look to the skin.

Our tastes are all different, but being amongst the old, and having to buy tomatoes from Mexico, that have been bred for shipping, gassed to turn them red, I'm not as picky as I once was. Anything fresh and vine ripened is an improvement. I won't even buy strawberries, apricots , and a few other fruits, because they don't have any similarity to what I remember, and I can't grow them here.

Celebrity is one of the older hybrids, meaning seeds from it will not grow the same when replanted. It is also a determinant which makes it a favorite for those who like round, red, thick skinned unexciting tasting tomatoes for use in canning or freezing since the fruit ripens mostly all at the same time.

I have grown Celebrity only because a friend begged me to grow it for him. After years of no tomato disease in my garden, this one was a disease magnet. And not worth the time or effort to grow, but for a friend.... I can't figure out why it is so popular. Even my friend when it came time to harvest 'his' crop decided 'my' tomatoes looked and tasted better.

I suppose for a lot of people, anything that doesn't come from the supermarket is a step up... they just haven't had the opportunity to experience the ones that are several steps up from there!

Thanks for that Information! I guess that one will go in a container.

Weedwhacker said:I suppose for a lot of people, anything that doesn't come from the supermarket is a step up... they just haven't had the opportunity to experience the ones that are several steps up from there!

Well almost any home grown tomato is better than those store bought ones!!

Got mine all planted today, along with some other things. I Whuped!

PaulF said:Celebrity is one of the older hybrids, meaning seeds from it will not grow the same when replanted. .

Just to clarify, NO hybrid will grow fruits "true to form". You can't save hybrid seeds of anything and expect similar plants from them.

I found a nice plant f Kellogg's Breakfast tomato yesterday and will plant it today. Also bought some on the vine tomatoes at the grocery story. A poor sub but they are OK after a few days on top of the frig.......

With Modern hybrids, lots of times you will have difficulty differentiating between F1 and F2 generations. Most of the time you can expect similar fruits. Not exactly the same, but the parents are normally an inbred breeding line that are similar to each other. Example is the Santa which started the grape tomato craze.