So my list of tomatoes planted is really varied. Not only by size but by type as in hybrid, heirloom or just plain open pollinated.

After two years of really going in for the heirlooms and open pollinated types I Have brought back the old hybrid favorites. But still did a nice selection of heirlooms and my favorite open pollinated types.

Hybrids-
Early Girl
Boy Boy
Better Boy
Roma
Juliet
Country Taste
Orange Zinger
Sungold
Kakao


Heirlooms-
Golden Jubilee
San Marzano Retorta
German Lunchbox
Russian Queen
Brandywine Cowlicks Strain
Black Plum
Azoychka
Golden Queen USDA Strain
Rose De Bern
Virginia Sweets


Open Pollinated-
La Vie En Rose
Vinson Watts
Taxi
Uptown Funk
Wild Tiger
Lee's Sweet
Cal Red And Green
Ambrosia Giant
Bandolier

Those last 5 listed are all J&L Gardens intros. Love J&L Gardens intros. And the first 5 listed are all old hybrid favorites grown here for years. IN fact my mother always grew Big Boy tomatoes when I was a child so I grew up eating them. And Better Boy really does taste about the same. I sure can't pick slices of one from the other by taste.

Thank you, Don. I look forward to talking with you all about everything tomatoes and your words of wisdom that comes along with it.

Rita, that is a wonderful and long list of tomatoes.

wildflowers said:Rita, that is a wonderful and long list of tomatoes.

I can't wait for tomato picking and eating time!!

I started planting in May and finished on Monday. So the past two years I was about to plant out at the end of April and by May 1st all tomatoes where planted. But this year it was simply too cold and I had to wait. So I am really really happy its done and now they can grow.

I have cherry tomatoes and saladette tomatoes and slicer tomatoes. I have paste tomatoes and yellow tomatoes. I have Red and I have pink slicers. I have black tomatoes and I Have swirled mulicolored tomatoes. Have lots of diversity.

You know what's a FEAST? A big tomato sliced thick, served on a plate with a scoop of cottage cheese and chopped green onions, and the tomato eaten like a steak with knife and fork.

Saltflower said:You know what's a FEAST? A big tomato sliced thick, served on a plate with a scoop of cottage cheese and chopped green onions, and the tomato eaten like a steak with knife and fork.

Sounds GREAT to me!!

Making me hungry for those juicy ripe tomatoes!!

@newyorkrita How did you find Taxi? I have been searching unsuccessfully for either Lemon Drop or Lemon Cherry for a small yellow tomato, but have only found Yellow Pear (on my bleh list) and Lemon Boy (on my meh list). I picked up Taxi on the advice of a small nursery grower, who says it is a small yellow and all the rest of my plants are in so I went with it. I checked online and your photos looked like perhaps a large cherry sized? How was the flavor? Cracking? I forgot to check for form, and usually buy indeterminates (I use spiral twisty rods for support rather than cages), and this is of course determinate. So, a bit of a chancy purchase. Per the database it states it will only get 2' tall. Hmmm. Let me know your thoughts on this tomato. Thanks.

Bonehead said:newyorkrita How did you find Taxi? I have been searching unsuccessfully for either Lemon Drop or Lemon Cherry for a small yellow tomato, but have only found Yellow Pear (on my bleh list) and Lemon Boy (on my meh list). I picked up Taxi on the advice of a small nursery grower, who says it is a small yellow and all the rest of my plants are in so I went with it. I checked online and your photos looked like perhaps a large cherry sized? How was the flavor? Cracking? I forgot to check for form, and usually buy indeterminates (I use spiral twisty rods for support rather than cages), and this is of course determinate. So, a bit of a chancy purchase. Per the database it states it will only get 2' tall. Hmmm. Let me know your thoughts on this tomato. Thanks.

Well it gets a lot taller than 2 feet but no it's not tall. It is much bigger than a cherry tomato. I would say Saladette size.

It is totally tasteless and bland but it is early. Planted it to get early tomatoes and as soon as I get tomatoes from other varieties I will no longer eat them and simply give them away.

Well, that's not real promising for me...I only grow 5 (yes, Rita, you read that correctly) plants every year so I like to be pretty picky about what varieties get the green light. Maybe I'll keep hunting for Lemon Drop - that is the one I really want for a yellow cherry - per my notes it was sweet and tasty, and ripened well in cooler weather (which can be a factor for me, although lately not so much). I do have to keep in mind, however, that some varieties just don't do well under certain conditions. Last year, I found my SunSugar to be noticeably less yummy than in years past - no clue what may have contributed to that.

Bonehead said: I do have to keep in mind, however, that some varieties just don't do well under certain conditions. Last year, I found my SunSugar to be noticeably less yummy than in years past - no clue what may have contributed to that.

Probably cooler weather and a lack of warmth. Also too much rain can be a factor.

@Bonehead
       Deb, Burpee's sells Lemon Drop plants at
https://www.burpee.com/vegetab...
       ...and of course you can buy seeds for next year at Burpees, Totally Tomatoes, Ohio Heirloom and a few others if the plants don't work out.

       Rita: Thaks for the review of Taxi. We need to know which varieties not to order as well as the good ones. P.S. It evidently tastes better to some people who recommended it for salsa.

It is better than nothing so I planted it to get something early. Honestly I have never found a really early tomato that tastes great.

Rita, I encourage you to add a comment to the database regarding all your tomatoes. That is where I first look for reviews, it's just too cumbersome to try to wade through the voluminous 'chat' threads and I don't have any luck at searching.

Bonehead said:Rita, I encourage you to add a comment to the database regarding all your tomatoes. That is where I first look for reviews, it's just too cumbersome to try to wade through the voluminous 'chat' threads and I don't have any luck at searching.

I try to post comments about the tomatoes that I grow. I thought I had done comments about Taxi, if not I will work on it.

Rita, I like reading your veggie reviews. Did you grow Kakao tomato this year? It's an F1. I thought about getting seeds based on your review but decided they were too high priced at Johnny's where I found them available.

wildflowers said:Rita, I like reading your veggie reviews. Did you grow Kakao tomato this year? It's an F1. I thought about getting seeds based on your review but decided they were too high priced at Johnny's where I found them available.

I had bought my seeds at Johnny's. This spring I had 3 seeds left from my pack of very expensive seeds. So I planted them and all three sprouted. So I have three plants of Kakao growing well in my garden this season.

No more seeds though so next season will be without or try one of the saved seeds which might be close. Or spend a fortune for more of the seed from Johnny's.

Just my two cents worth: 'Johnny's" is not only very expensive but worse. they put their own " names" on common varieties available everywhere else!!! pathetic!!

fwmosher said:Just my two cents worth: 'Johnny's" is not only very expensive but worse. they put their own " names" on common varieties available everywhere else!!! pathetic!!

Really I don't know if they do or not but the Kakao tomatoes are not common and I have never seen them anywhere else.

Re 'Taxi' - I planted this out a few days ago and was reconsidering replacing it with something tastier after Rita's less than stellar review. This morning all that is left is a single stalk coming out of the ground. I don't think my chickens would have eaten it, I've never had problems with them before and the leaves are somewhat toxic to them so likely don't taste good. Maybe slugs or cutworms? Who knows. The tomatoes on either side of Taxi are untouched. So maybe it's just karma. I did see 'Lemon Boy' in town, which I've grown before and while that didn't make my Yum list, it's on the Meh rather than Bleh list. My notes are it performed well but was bland. I think most yellow tomatoes are.

Bonehead said:Re 'Taxi' - I planted this out a few days ago and was reconsidering replacing it with something tastier after Rita's less than stellar review. This morning all that is left is a single stalk coming out of the ground. I don't think my chickens would have eaten it, I've never had problems with them before and the leaves are somewhat toxic to them so likely don't taste good. Maybe slugs or cutworms? Who knows. The tomatoes on either side of Taxi are untouched. So maybe it's just karma. I did see 'Lemon Boy' in town, which I've grown before and while that didn't make my Yum list, it's on the Meh rather than Bleh list. My notes are it performed well but was bland. I think most yellow tomatoes are.

Many are bland but not all.

This year I have Golden Jubilee again which I have had before and is not bland. And I am try Golden Queen USDA Strain new to me this year.

Favorite yellow slicer is a large beefsteak heirloom from Baker Creek seeds called Harless Creek Gold. Really a very tasty tomato.

I cut the bottoms out of plastic drink cups and use them as cutworm collars. Otherwise I loose too much to the pests.