Quote:
Originally Posted by b54red
I have only tried between 400 and 500 varieties and neither tomato has made my best tasting in any year I have grown them. Some years AGP is in the top 5 but I don't believe Pruden's has ever been in my top 5 but it has been in the top 10 numerous times. I agree AGP is a bit larger usually but productivity wise I would not say that. I have grown both nearly every year for the past 10 years and a few times AGP beat out Pruden's in productivity but usually Pruden's out produced. One of the reasons is I am in a much hotter and more humid climate where Pruden's is one of the top tomatoes for setting in extreme heat and I mean above 95 daily with nights in the 80s. Very few pinks thrive in that heat especially when it comes to setting a lot of fruit but it and sometimes Limbaugh's Legacy will set really good during the hottest weather. That is probably the biggest difference in Cowlick's and Sudduth's. Cowlick's is far superior in setting fruit when the temps get really hot and Sudduth's usually shuts down fruit setting then. Both have been my taste topper several times over the years and when they aren't number one they are usually in the top 5 most years. Only a couple of other varieties have ranked number one more than once for me.
The 1884 I grow is the red or purple one and it is extremely good and it sets well in the heat. Cowlick's unlike Sudduth's will also set fairly good in the heat and the taste is so similar I usually can't tell them apart. I grow German Johnson PL and it is usually in my top 10 every year also. I had really great production and quality of fruit out of Giant Belgium for the last two years but the three before it was only good not great. I always give a fairly good tomato at least three seasons before relegating it to my don't plant list. One that is totally bland or way too sweet usually only gets two years to make the cut. As I said before I like a well balanced tomato with a lot of sweetness countered by good tartness. Omar's is one that I grow every few years just to get a few really large fruits off of but it is not in the league flavor wise of the others mentioned in this post. It is frequently really bland and sometimes it is even mealy textured but it is a good show off tomato. Last year it produced less than a half dozen fruits but the taste was better than usual.
I will give you a list of my top 10 or so that get more than one spot each year in my garden because usually they are just so good but with tomatoes you never can be sure from one year to the next. No particular order to this list just tomatoes that have made it into the top three spot a few times and seem to be consistently better than most others in my garden and to my taste buds.
Dester
Brandywine Sudduth's
Brandywine Cowlick's
Arkansas Traveler
Red Barn
Giant Belgium
Neves Azorean Red
Spudakee
1884 (red or purple)
Aunt Ginny's Purple
Limbaugh's Legacy
Stump of the World
JD's Special C Tex
Granny Cantrell
Indian Stripe rl or pl
German Johnson pl
Most of the tomatoes that I plant tend to set fairly good or even really good in the heat except a few which are so good I have to have them so I make sure I plant them early.
Bill
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Based on what you're saying, we have similar tastes, and I would agree with a lot of your list of "must grow." A couple that I have on my list that you don't are KBX, Caspian Pink, and the most recent "must grow" that I have added to my list, Rebel Yell.