Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Ventura, CA
Posts: 142
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I love any fruit with a nice sweet-tart balance, tomatoes included. Of the few dozen varieties I've grown, Rebel Yell, Spike, and Brandywine Sudduth are the best examples of sweet-tart varieties that also have that classic tomato flavor. What are some other varieties with that sort of flavor profile that are also productive?
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Chicago-land & SO-cal
Posts: 583
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Are you looking for bold/intense? or more subtle? Cause you have something really tart and really sweet vs something subtly sweet and subtly sour.
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Ventura, CA
Posts: 142
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Bold and intense. I've seen Spike described as having a bombastic flavor, and it's probably my favorite tasting tomato so far.
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Chicago-land & SO-cal
Posts: 583
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Polish Ellis, Aunt Ginny's Purple, Sweet Scarlet come to mind
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Vermont
Posts: 1,001
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Check out Wes, a red heart with, for me, fantastic flavor.
__________________
"Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat, THAT'S bad for you!" -- Tommy Smothers |
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#6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tulsa, OK
Posts: 115
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I'll second Aunt Ginny's Purple. It's one of my top 3 favorites.
Lee |
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b
Posts: 1,110
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Red Barn is another with that classic tomato flavor.
Very happy to see Aunt Ginny's Purple on the list - I have a couple hardening off outside now! Jeff |
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#8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: MA
Posts: 4,966
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Aunt Ginny's Purple is my favorite tomato, out of 1,000+ trialed. In my garden, with my taste buds, it is not a sweet/tart tomato. Labradors2, I believe, described it the best..."almost too sweet". To me, it has the richest flavor of the "sweet class" of tomatoes.
Wes, much more sweet than two others that I recommend...Donskoi and Russian #117. Remember, my garden, my taste buds, your mileage may vary. Others that I recommend...Seek-No-Further Love Apple, and the most recommended of all... Stump of the World. If you want to venture into tart/sweet, it would be Aunt Gertie's Gold. To me, a tart tomato, that finishes with a hint of sweetness. |
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Ontario
Posts: 3,890
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Haha! You remembered, Gary
![]() I do agree about Dwarf Sweet Scarlet though. I found that a little too tart for my taste when eaten raw, but I thought it was sublime when cooked. I wish I could remember the flavor profile of Spike (which I grew last year). I liked it, but I liked Taste better. It's right up there with my all time favourites, Little Lucky and Blush. Linda |
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Chicago-land & SO-cal
Posts: 583
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I'd trust Tormato and Labradors2 before I would trust my own taste buds.
![]() Also second Tormato's pick Seek No Further Love Apple. |
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Vermont
Posts: 1,001
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I also love SNFLA, but class it as sweet/complex, in line with Brandywine. For tart/tangy, I like Jaune Flamee. Green Zebra is too tart for me.
__________________
"Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat, THAT'S bad for you!" -- Tommy Smothers |
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#12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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The sweet/tart balance can be fairly strongly influenced by fertilizer, high K and Ca will generally lead to high acidity. Of course, depending on the variety that balance has a limit.
My favourites for balanced that don't feel sweet or acidic are generally GWRs. Aunt Gertie I would describe as aggressively acidic in my conditions (which seek to enhance the flavour to the maximum). |
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#13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brownville, Ne
Posts: 3,289
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While I enjoy sweet tomatoes more than balanced there have been a few that have made me second guess:
Believe-It-Or-Not, Canadian Heart, Grandpa Willie, Italian Giant, Nepal, Old Brooks (my favorite tangy), Terhune and Watermelon Beefsteak I would consider sweet/tart grown in my Nebraska garden
__________________
there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes. |
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#14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Ventura, CA
Posts: 142
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I'd love to see what other folks think, too.
I think the way I grow my plants, in containers, the tomatoes tend to be very sweet, sweeter than when I've grown them in ground, and I need a bit of zing to balance that. But I do also like a complex, full bodied taste. FarmerShawn mentioned Jaune Flamme, which I like a lot, but it doesn't have that complex, full bodied taste to me. |
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#15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
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Try Olive Hill and also African Queen. Both are pink PL beefsteaks with an intense flavor, balanced but a bit in the sweet side. To me they both have that POW! Year after year I can't be without them.
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