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Old July 28, 2018   #1
BOBSCACTUS
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Default Tomato plant rating system

Is there a rating system for tomato plants?
I know ratings are subjective to the individual but before I try to set up a system to rate all the different varieties I grow this year, I hope someone has already made up a rating chart
The most important to me by importance are
Flavor
Production
Plant appearance
Fruit appearance
Picking ease
Disease
Fruit size
Problems
Timing - early, mid, late
Thanks for any help
Cactus Bob, north . San Diego county - no frost area
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Old July 29, 2018   #2
b54red
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The problem with rating plants is that all the factors used to rate them are so variable from season to season. The differences can be huge if different locations and climates are factored in.

I would suggest you pick the ones you like and eliminate the ones you don’t. Over years of growing you will develop your own list of favorites and can keep trying new ones that you believe might fit in.

Bill
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Old July 31, 2018   #3
Nan_PA_6b
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I used a 5 point system for a while:

1= none, yuck, dead, unusable, difficult, puny, depending on the parameter.
2= below average but not the worst.
3= average.
4=above average though not perfect.
5=yes, all, excellent, easy, gigantic, etc. depending on the parameter.

Don't try to get others to use your numbering system; most of your family/friends don't want to give it that much thought.
Nan
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Old July 31, 2018   #4
Tormato
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Flavor - Aunt Ginny's Purple - 9.95


(I know of no 10)
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Old July 31, 2018   #5
Father'sDaughter
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I just use a basic spreadsheet with columns for all the identifying facts (color, leaf type, shape, etc.) and columns for the more subjective info (yield, plant growth habit, ripening date, taste description, whether it's worth growing again, etc.). I also have a column for the year the seeds were saved so that I can sort to see which might need refreshing.

I started the spreadsheet years ago on the Numbers App on my iPhone so that I could access it while out in the garden. There are many other options today for cloud-based spreadsheet apps/software that syncs across multiple devices.
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Old July 31, 2018   #6
maxjohnson
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Flavor - There is the brix rating which measure the sugar content. A brix value of 8 or better for tomato is superb. This is influenced by the genetic and also the growing condition. Taste is very subjective and imo brix value alone doesn't tell everything about the overall flavor complexity.

Production - Various factors including what is advertised and actually experienced, also climate plays a big factor.

Plant appearance - For plant sizes, there are: microdwarf, determinate dwarf, indeterminate dwarf, determinate, and indeterminate. For leaf shape, there are: regular, potato, rugose, and whispy (oxheart), and maybe others I'm not aware of.

Fruit appearance / size: There are different colors, bicolors (stripe), anthocyanin blush, ribbed texture, paste tomatoes. Different sizes: cherry, grape, salad, medium beefsteak, large beefsteak, oxheart. They will generally list the average fruit weight.

Disease - Hybrids have certain abbreviation keys to denote how well they resist certain diseases:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-l...nce-codes.html

Timing - Look at the "days to maturity". The number of days is actually from transplant, not from starting from seeds.

Some seed sellers give more info than other, but it all come down to experience, not only from yourself, but by other growers. There are such things as hypes in tomato growing, what they tell you and advertise may not be what you actually experience. What I learned is if it sounded too good to be true, it probably is.

Last edited by maxjohnson; August 1, 2018 at 12:04 AM.
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