Beautiful, uniform, blemish free tomatoes

TomatoDon · July 11, 2020

I normally grow larger beefsteak tomatoes, but now I want to compile a list of tomatoes that meet these four criteria: 1. Excellent old-time tomato taste even if they are the earlier, smaller fruited varieties. Some of the smaller ones tend to be somewhat sweeter, and that is OK, but I also would like varieties with a more tart, acidic taste. 2. Blemish-free appearance. The varieties that consistently produce beautiful, uniform tomatoes that are practically blemish-free with good eye-appeal. I am primarily interested in varieties that produce smooth, round globes and are free of cat-facing and ribbed shoulders or an irregular or fluted main body. 3. A relatively short date-to-maturity after transplanting time (less than 72 days) so I can have nice-looking tomatoes earlier, and plant a later crop that can mature well before frost. 4. By virtue of taste and appearance, would be an excellent market tomato.

We know that most of the cherry tomatoes are small and virtually perfect, so I'm more interested in somewhat larger varieties, that produce tomatoes up to about the 6-8-10 ounce range, including the bush varieties. I have a definite interest in the bush varieties since I can grow more in less space and they don't require the substantial staking or caging like the big beefsteaks need, such as Goliath.

Thanks in advance for what I expect to be a great list tasty and beautiful varieties suggested by the knowledgeable growers here at Tomatoville. I don't have much experience with these and I'd like to try a few while I still have time to grow them off before the cool weather sets in.

Don

slugworth · July 11, 2020

I go with 4th of july hybrid for a fast good tasting golf ball size tomato, indeterminate.
This year I also added Independence day,a determinate plant it was based on, for a
variety of sizes per plant.
Bloody butcher is also a good smaller size tomato,indeterminate.

Labradors2 · July 11, 2020

You'd probably enjoy Moonglow, a compact plant that produces multitudes of slightly tart perfectly round orange orbs from 6-8 oz AND it does well in a cage.

An added advantage is that Moonglow contains high amounts of Lycopene, even when eaten raw.

Linda

TomatoDon · July 11, 2020

I've read a lot of good things about EVA Purple Ball, although it may be pretty small. I read that it's only 2 inches across, which makes it closer to a cherry than a beefsteak.

Labradors2 · July 11, 2020

I loved Eva Purple Ball when I grew it, but it's not tart/acidic so I don't think you would like it.

Linda

PNW_D · July 11, 2020

Looking through Carolyn's book .......

Box Car Willie perhaps

edweather · July 11, 2020

My Big Beefs look like regulation tomatoes. Great taste, and look like the tomatoes in the grocery store.

TomatoDon · July 11, 2020

Big Beef is a good one. It's second on my list to Goliath which is very close to being the perfect tomato for my area.

TomatoDon · July 11, 2020

What about Park's Whopper? Isn't it about 65 DTM? Doesn't it meet all the requirements?

PaulTandberg · July 12, 2020

I've grown Red Racer for two years now and it is a dandy. It is in the process of replacing 4th of July as my go to early. The fruit is larger than 4th of July and, for me, it is consistently earlier. It has a tart, pleasant taste and, unlike 4th of July, splitting has been uncommon (on the other hand, the skin is on the tough side).

I live in Grand Fork ND, so early matters. So far this year, as of July 12, I have harvested 28 tomatoes off of 4 Red Racer plants. I harvested nine on July 2, a record for me. By comparison, I have harvested one tomato of off my one 4th of July. The fruit ranges from golf ball to egg (if you squash the egg and make it round)

This is my last year with 4th of July. While it is early, the harvest is spread out (so I don't get a lot of earlies and the late ones aren't worth bothering with). And the fruit splits easily, and I hate splits (but fruit flies and other insects love them).

Red Racer is a determinate and tops out at around 4' or so. Garden variety tomato cages work just fine with it. Its only is issue is a slightly too tough skin, but marinading it takes care of that issue. It is not a slicer. It is just something good to eat while I wait for the main crop to come in.

Red Racer is a All American selection (National) from 2018.

PaulTandberg · July 12, 2020

Estiva, a Johnny's Seeds introduction, is gorgeous mid-sized tomato that is slightly earlier than Big Beef (for me) and bears its fruit in an attractive (marketable) cluster. The plant is vigorous, the fruit is very tasty (with character), the fruit clusters are very attractive, and each fruit is a looker.

New Girl, also by Johnny's Seeds, is a week to ten days earlier than Big Beef (Early Girl season). The attractive fruit is more consistently sized than Early Girl (Early Girl's fruit size is all over the place for me, from sorta big to small), I think New Girl, while similar, is a better plant with better fruit.

**nctomatoman** · July 12, 2020

Red Brandywine, Druzba, Arkansas Traveler, Lemon Boy, Azoychka for some ideas.

TomatoDon · July 12, 2020

Hi Craig and thanks for the suggestions. I tried about 20 Arkansas Travelers this season and they didn't do well here at all. Very small fruit and not much of it. I'll try to get a picture to send you.

I may compile a new list from input here and things I've seen on the internet, and see which ones you like best. I hope Fusion will chime in, too, because we are in the same zone with the same weather and live less than 100 miles apart. I've been over there several times to get seedlings in the past and he always has lots of tomato info for our area..
Thanks again. This is getting more and more interesting.
Don

Gardenboy · July 12, 2020

According to my tomato growing diary, Thessaloniki comes to mind. Great tasting, old fashioned taste, probably 75 DTM here in FL. Grows 5 or 6 tomatoes in truss and always has smooth, round globe tomatoes about 6 to 8 oz size fruit. I always have to support the branches because sometimes the tomato truss will break from the weight of the tomatoes. They are mid-season and indeterminate. It's one of my top 10 tomato varieties that I grow each tomato season. Good production as well for me.

zipcode · July 13, 2020

Eva Purple Ball is in the almost Big Beef size category (2-300g), certainly not small (although size varies quite a bit more than Big Beef). They are rounder than Big Beef which is a bit more flat.
I've grown some blemish free types, but none so close as EPB to the round type.

Neves Azorean Red is a very big dark red (maybe too big?), very attractive, but more flattened.

July 11, 2020	#1
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,521	Beautiful, uniform, blemish free tomatoes I normally grow larger beefsteak tomatoes, but now I want to compile a list of tomatoes that meet these four criteria: 1. Excellent old-time tomato taste even if they are the earlier, smaller fruited varieties. Some of the smaller ones tend to be somewhat sweeter, and that is OK, but I also would like varieties with a more tart, acidic taste. 2. Blemish-free appearance. The varieties that consistently produce beautiful, uniform tomatoes that are practically blemish-free with good eye-appeal. I am primarily interested in varieties that produce smooth, round globes and are free of cat-facing and ribbed shoulders or an irregular or fluted main body. 3. A relatively short date-to-maturity after transplanting time (less than 72 days) so I can have nice-looking tomatoes earlier, and plant a later crop that can mature well before frost. 4. By virtue of taste and appearance, would be an excellent market tomato. We know that most of the cherry tomatoes are small and virtually perfect, so I'm more interested in somewhat larger varieties, that produce tomatoes up to about the 6-8-10 ounce range, including the bush varieties. I have a definite interest in the bush varieties since I can grow more in less space and they don't require the substantial staking or caging like the big beefsteaks need, such as Goliath. Thanks in advance for what I expect to be a great list tasty and beautiful varieties suggested by the knowledgeable growers here at Tomatoville. I don't have much experience with these and I'd like to try a few while I still have time to grow them off before the cool weather sets in. Don __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS Last edited by TomatoDon; July 11, 2020 at 05:32 AM.

July 11, 2020	#3
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,889	You'd probably enjoy Moonglow, a compact plant that produces multitudes of slightly tart perfectly round orange orbs from 6-8 oz AND it does well in a cage. An added advantage is that Moonglow contains high amounts of Lycopene, even when eaten raw. Linda Last edited by Labradors2; July 11, 2020 at 09:41 AM.

July 11, 2020	#4
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,521	I've read a lot of good things about EVA Purple Ball, although it may be pretty small. I read that it's only 2 inches across, which makes it closer to a cherry than a beefsteak. __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

July 11, 2020	#6
PNW_D Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: West Coast, Canada Posts: 961	Looking through Carolyn's book ....... Box Car Willie perhaps __________________ D.

July 11, 2020	#7
edweather Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28 Posts: 396	My Big Beefs look like regulation tomatoes. Great taste, and look like the tomatoes in the grocery store. __________________ You'll be surprised what you'll never have to do, if you put it off long enough.

July 11, 2020	#2
slugworth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: connecticut,usa Posts: 1,150	I go with 4th of july hybrid for a fast good tasting golf ball size tomato, indeterminate. This year I also added Independence day,a determinate plant it was based on, for a variety of sizes per plant. Bloody butcher is also a good smaller size tomato,indeterminate.

July 12, 2020	#10
PaulTandberg Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: North Dakota Posts: 77	I've grown Red Racer for two years now and it is a dandy. It is in the process of replacing 4th of July as my go to early. The fruit is larger than 4th of July and, for me, it is consistently earlier. It has a tart, pleasant taste and, unlike 4th of July, splitting has been uncommon (on the other hand, the skin is on the tough side). I live in Grand Fork ND, so early matters. So far this year, as of July 12, I have harvested 28 tomatoes off of 4 Red Racer plants. I harvested nine on July 2, a record for me. By comparison, I have harvested one tomato of off my one 4th of July. The fruit ranges from golf ball to egg (if you squash the egg and make it round) This is my last year with 4th of July. While it is early, the harvest is spread out (so I don't get a lot of earlies and the late ones aren't worth bothering with). And the fruit splits easily, and I hate splits (but fruit flies and other insects love them). Red Racer is a determinate and tops out at around 4' or so. Garden variety tomato cages work just fine with it. Its only is issue is a slightly too tough skin, but marinading it takes care of that issue. It is not a slicer. It is just something good to eat while I wait for the main crop to come in. Red Racer is a All American selection (National) from 2018.

July 12, 2020	#12
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Red Brandywine, Druzba, Arkansas Traveler, Lemon Boy, Azoychka for some ideas. __________________ Craig

July 12, 2020	#14
Gardenboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 771	Thessaloniki According to my tomato growing diary, Thessaloniki comes to mind. Great tasting, old fashioned taste, probably 75 DTM here in FL. Grows 5 or 6 tomatoes in truss and always has smooth, round globe tomatoes about 6 to 8 oz size fruit. I always have to support the branches because sometimes the tomato truss will break from the weight of the tomatoes. They are mid-season and indeterminate. It's one of my top 10 tomato varieties that I grow each tomato season. Good production as well for me.

July 13, 2020	#15
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	Eva Purple Ball is in the almost Big Beef size category (2-300g), certainly not small (although size varies quite a bit more than Big Beef). They are rounder than Big Beef which is a bit more flat. I've grown some blemish free types, but none so close as EPB to the round type. Neves Azorean Red is a very big dark red (maybe too big?), very attractive, but more flattened.