BIG BEEF HYPE...

[Ed of Somis]

I am relatively new to the tomato craziness. Lately, I have been reading the praises of Big Beef. Like most of us tomato-growing weirdos...I am already planning next year's plantings. What is the truth about this tomato??? Should I include it in my 6-7 plantings?

[Lee]

Probably one of the best hybrids around.
Good flavor, production, size, shape, disease tolerance......
Very reliable and all around great variety.
I would include it in your grow outs for next year. (It will be in mine.)

Lee

[Farmette]

It is one of only a few hybrids that I grow...a consistently good producer and the taste is better than many hybrids, in my opinion.

[AKmark]

I used the hybrid off and on for years, this year I used the OP strain, which very much represented the hybrid taste wise. BB has never been my favorite standard slicer hybrid, it is just ok to me, this year my Celebrity, as a hybrid, beat it hands down, and my Neves Azorean Red (Spelling error for sure) was much better for a red slicer on the OP front, and yield is impressive too. To save myself from a beating I must say, some years Celebrity does not seem so great, this year the batch is really good.
However... I believe this is the last year for BB in my house, others in the red catagory treat me better, but it is much better than many strains, and certainly is better than a box store tomato, perfect round globes too.

[marc_groleau]

Great dependable producer of really nice and unform fruit. In a taste test with my heirloom varieties it wouldn't do well but in a taste test against other beefsteak hybrids it would be tops. I've grown it for years and it's always the top producer but this year I made room for more heriloom varieties so it had to go. I may be sorry I did that. Time will tell.

[BigBrownDogHouse]

My father-in-law's favorite tomato. I have to grow it for him every year.

Thumbs up from us!

[b54red]

I too am a fan of Big Beef. It is by no means a perfect tomato but it is one of the most dependable with great production and good flavor. Year in and year out it has beaten all the other hybrids I have tried. It also withstands very hot weather better than most without developing that leathery tough hide that Celebrity gets in very hot weather.

If fusarium is not a problem then you might want to try Bella Rosa which is a better tasting hybrid but it is determinate and not nearly as dependable; but when it does well it can be a massive producer. If you want a lot of big beautiful tomatoes without a lot of fuss then the highly disease resistant tomato Amelia is one you might want to try; but it is not as tasty.

In years when Neves Azorean Red does well it will match or surpass Big Beef in production and it is a much tastier and larger tomato; but it is not as dependable.

Bill

[Ed of Somis]

Wow! Lots of positive feedback from the experts on Big Beef! Nobody actually said it was a dud. I grow in containers, and am trying to decide on Celebrity vs. Big Beef. Other indeterminates like Cherokee Purple and Brandywine are doing well in my large pots. Supporting the maters is what I am learning.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by b54red

If you want a lot of big beautiful tomatoes without a lot of fuss then the highly disease resistant tomato Amelia is one you might want to try; but it is not as tasty.


Bill

Bill you had an extra word in your description of Amelia.... "as". Definitely remove the as.

Lee

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Lee

Bill you had an extra word in your description of Amelia.... "as". Definitely remove the as.

Lee

[TomatoDon]

Q. "Should I include it (Big Beef) in my 6-7 plantings?"
A. "Yes."

[gssgarden]

Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to your seed source and order some!!

ALWAYS in my garden. Only plant 3-4 hybrids of the twenty+ plants I go.

Greg

[TightenUp]

i am growing big beef for the first time this season. it has grown into a huge plant just loaded with tomatoes. for production its hard to beat.

however i'm also growing brandy boy this season and it beats it hands down in taste and production is pretty close. if you're looking for a red slicer brandy boy isn't it. it's a large pink beefsteak averaging over a pound for me. i have a second brandy boy plant in a 20 gallon container and its also doing fantastic with just slightly smaller tomatoes than the in ground plant.

if i could only recommend one hybrid it would be brandy boy, not big beef.

[nnjjohn]

Everyone here loves the super beef steaks I grewed Even the big boys taste great.. I must of picked about two dozen and most are still growing green and some look well over a lb. I will likely have to give a lot away when they really start coming all at once.. been eating them in salads /burgers/sandwiches.. nothing better than a home grown beefsteak imho

[PHONETOOL]

I ordered some last week