largest earliest best-tasting
 

Most of the tomatoes touted as "best-tasting" seem to be late tomatoes. I always grow some of those, but this year it was disappointing to watch a couple tomato plants loaded with large greenies all summer that seemed to ripen at once, late in my season. So once again, I'm trying to tip the balance in favor of earlier-maturing tomatoes that will do well in cool summers and produce more evenly.

I've relied on Pruden's Purple and Caspian Pink for a couple years to get a great-tasting largish tomato relatively early in the season. Purple Brandy (=Marizol Bratka), Tobolsk, Kosovo, and Aunt Ruby's German Green were some other favorites that, in different years, produced before the end of July. (But in other years, ARGG produced late or sparingly.) What are some other varieties I can try?

Here are my criteria, in order of importance.
1. great sweet/balanced taste
2. does well in cool-summer climates, generally 70s days and 50s nights (and does not need heat to develop good flavor -- though we can get 4-day heat waves in the 80s anytime from Feb. to Oct.)
3. relatively early (early or mid season)
4. sandwich size

cant wait for people to chime in on this one

Moskvich. Spelled many ways but I use the spelling at Johnnys. I grew this thru a really cool wet spring a few years ago and the weather never slowed it down. Good, Medium size tomatos with a sweet, rich taste. Lots of other posters that year in CA commented on how well it handled the cool weather. My brother, who is coastal PNW grew it last year and was very happy with it. Not a super early, but early enough for him to get fruit.
I have heard good things about Early Rouge but growing it for the first time this year.

[URL]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Sophie%27s_ChoiceAnd[/URL]

And I'll suggest Sophie's Choice, link above. Note that the one person at the above page said it's as early as Stupice and when I was growing it it wasn't unusual to get 8-10 oz size fruits although they weren't that big near the end of the summer.

Taste was pretty darn good as well.

Carolyn

Hello from the frozen north :)

have you grown Anna Russian? If not it may well meet your criteria, great tasting Russian heirloom oxheart, tolerant of cooler temps and a reliable earlyish tomato in my northern garden maturing at about 65-70 days
good luck with your search
KO

Prudens Purple immediately came to mind, but I see you already grow that one.
Sophie's Choice is still my favorite early tomato. It is not as strong flavored and as big, but it always does well.
Carbon always sets fruit early for me, and it is tasty.
I've had other varieties be early for me, but I have not had a cool season for awhile so most were grown in warm seasons, and they might not perform well in your conditions.
Remy

In my location, most people who are novice gardeners and not tomato connoisseurs are very happy with Early Girl. It's the only variety that a lot of people will buy. They are early and at least sweet, but not the biggest, about tennis ball size.

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;315193]In my location, most people who are novice gardeners and not tomato connoisseurs are very happy with Early Girl. It's the only variety that a lot of people will buy. They are early and at least sweet, but not the biggest, about tennis ball size.[/QUOTE]


this variety gets crushed by disease in my area along the coast. it cant handle the salty water wet air and i think gets bacterial speck. most of my plants can fight it off but not early girl.

I picked this tomato for pretty much the same reasons you have. I have not tasted it yet though. It's from Tatiana's Tomatobase. Lorri D

Sakharnyi Zheltyi: 68 days, indet., regular leaf, large golden fruits, 8-24 oz, very meaty, typical beefsteak shape, very pretty; quite early for a large beefsteak, high yield, excellent flavor, some radial cracking when rainy season starts.

Maya & Sion's Airdrie Classic. Less than 60 days and very sweet and tasty. It's sliceable, maybe 6-8 oz or so, but not really huge fruits. It was developed in BC, so doesn't mind the cold and it did okay last summer when it was so hot for so long. Pink Honey (Rosovyi Myod) was around 65 days as well, and was very sweet and meaty. They are up to 1 lb. each or so. It also did okay through last summer's heat.

Robin

[QUOTE=TightenUp;315194]this variety gets crushed by disease in my area along the coast. it cant handle the salty water wet air and i think gets bacterial speck. most of my plants can fight it off but not early girl.[/QUOTE]

Early girl is worthless here in my neck of the woods too. Total waste of space. If I get 3 tomatoes I count it as VERY lucky.

Keep the recommendations coming!

I've grown some of these, but perhaps need to give some of them a second chance. Oh, another good one was Bloody Butcher from Marko, which he said was a larger-than-usual strain. My notes that year said "grow again."

I grew Early Girl F1 in 2006 because I'd heard so many people locally recommend it. It was not especially early for me, and it had thick skin. The flavor was ok as a tomato on its own, but compared to the heirlooms I was growing that year, the flavor was flat.

I can't vouch for its performance in cool summer weather (growing in KY), but one that is early, large and has surprisingly good flavor is New Big Dwarf. It's also pretty productive for a plant so compact.

[QUOTE=RobinB;315196]Maya & Sion's Airdrie Classic. Less than 60 days and very sweet and tasty. It's sliceable, maybe 6-8 oz or so, but not really huge fruits. It was developed in BC, so doesn't mind the cold and it did okay last summer when it was so hot for so long. Pink Honey (Rosovyi Myod) was around 65 days as well, and was very sweet and meaty. They are up to 1 lb. each or so. It also did okay through last summer's heat.

Robin[/QUOTE]

[URL]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Maya_%26_Sion%27s_Airdrie_Classic[/URL]

Actually Mayo and Son, etc, was and was not developed by Jeff in BC as the above link states.

But the original cross was done by Stanley Zubrowski who lives, as I remember, in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Stanley had crossed Brandywine with several different early varieties and I offered the F2 seeds of all 5 crosses in many seed offers prior to Tville opening in Jan of 2006.

But I was so pleased to see that Jeff went ahead and grew it out ands stabilized one of those crosses.

And for the person who mentioned Anna Russian, I would agree with that one, but Early Girl has never done Ok for most folks here in the East that I know but it's considered by many to be the state tomato variety of California.:lol:

Carolyn

Maya & Sion's Airdrie Classic is sold out for this year!! So that leaves room for something else...