Tomato Flavor In The North

[Raffles]

I understand that the northern climate does not always make for good tomato flavor. In the past I had always credited it to seed descriptions being written highly creative people.

What are varieties that would increase the odds of me getting a better flavored fruit?

I'm in zone 3 with at best a couple of weeks of what others would call hot weather, a fair amount of cool weather and dull overcast days.

Thanks,

[cleo88]

I have a friend in Vermont that had great luck with Pruden's Purple.

I would also recommend Moravsky Div - early, productive and tasty.

[ContainerTed]

You might look to some of the varieties that have come from cooler climates like Siberian, Utyonok, Agatha, Finish, Mariyushka, Rozalinda, Shchelkovskiy Ranniy, Spiridonovskie, Zagadka, Mini Gold, Minskiy Ranniy, Belyi Naliv, and Sibirskiy Skorospelyi.

These are early and the taste is exceptional. While the ones listed above are from Europe, there are many from North America that are also early and tasty.

[Sherry_AK]

I agree with the recommendations above (I've tried many on Ted's list ... mostly compliments of Ted himself!!!), but I still maintain that even tomatoes "designed" for cooler climates don't achieve full flavor potential in our cooler climates. In other words, even though they perform well here and taste pretty darned good, if the same variety is grown in a warmer climate it will taste and perform better.

But with that said, we cool climate growers can only do the best we can and select varieties accordingly. From Ted's list I particularly like Agatha and Utyonok for both production and flavor. I'm growing Moravsky Div for the first time this year and like it too.

Sherry

[Raffles]

Originally Posted by cleo88

I have a friend in Vermont that had great luck with Pruden's Purple.

I would also recommend Moravsky Div - early, productive and tasty.

Thanks. I'd checked on Pruden's pride before but I don't really dare try anything with much more than a 75 day estimate on it. It sounds like a very good one though.

Moravsky Div sounds interesting though.

[Raffles]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

You might look to some of the varieties that have come from cooler climates like Siberian, Utyonok, Agatha, Finish, Mariyushka, Rozalinda, Shchelkovskiy Ranniy, Spiridonovskie, Zagadka, Mini Gold, Minskiy Ranniy, Belyi Naliv, and Sibirskiy Skorospelyi.

These are early and the taste is exceptional. While the ones listed above are from Europe, there are many from North America that are also early and tasty.

I've half a dozen Siberians out in the garden. They are a favorite and have a very nice flavor out of the hand or mixed in the morning omelet.

I'll check into the others as well. Much thanks

[tjg911]

azoychaka is very early and has good taste, typically i get ripe fruit after 42 to 45 days after i plant them out memorial day wekend. sun gold is also very early at 60 days and has exceptional flavor, just picked the first 2 on saturday. i'm quite a bit south of you and in zone 5a, it's pretty warm all summer at night rarely going below 50 from late may to mid september.

sherry may be in a totally different world than you, i'm guessing, but your ground should warm up where hers is going to be cold all summer. i suspect she grows in containers and or a greenhouse. i've read that tomatoes stop ripening or maybe even growing when the temperature is below 55 so if that is true then cool or cold nights will be a problem.

[Raffles]

Originally Posted by tjg911

azoychaka is very early and has good taste, typically i get ripe fruit after 42 to 45 days after i plant them out memorial day wekend. sun gold is also very early at 60 days and has exceptional flavor, just picked the first 2 on saturday. i'm quite a bit south of you and in zone 5a, it's pretty warm all summer at night rarely going below 50 from late may to mid september.

sherry may be in a totally different world than you, i'm guessing, but your ground should warm up where hers is going to be cold all summer. i suspect she grows in containers and or a greenhouse. i've read that tomatoes stop ripening or maybe even growing when the temperature is below 55 so if that is true then cool or cold nights will be a problem.

I was planning on trying azoychaka next year.

Part of the reason I first tried siberian was its ability to set fruit at low temps. Hopefully 40F is still a ways off but there should be a few nights in the low to mid 50s.

Thanks

[tjg911]

if you have just a handful of nights that dip below 50 is it possible to put something like a sheet over each plant to retain warmth from the ground? using crw cages would make this easier than staking.

tom

[Raffles]

Originally Posted by tjg911

if you have just a handful of nights that dip below 50 is it possible to put something like a sheet over each plant to retain warmth from the ground? using crw cages would make this easier than staking.

tom

Did the sheet thing last fall to add a few weeks to the pepper season. I managed to beat a couple of frosts with combo of totes and sheets.

[Mudman]

I live in Zone 3 and have never grown an early variety. I grow mid to late season tomatoes and have never been lacking piles of great tasting tomatoes by fall. I suggest you try varieties that sound good to you and see how they do in your area instead of just concentrating on early varieties because you are a northern gardener. jmo.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Mudman

I live in Zone 3 and have never grown an early variety. I grow mid to late season tomatoes and have never been lacking piles of great tasting tomatoes by fall. I suggest you try varieties that sound good to you and see how they do in your area instead of just concentrating on early varieties because you are a northern gardener. jmo.

That's what Barkeater, who posts here, does as well and he lives and gardens in a zone 3 just south of the Canadian border in VT.

Actually I know he has two gardens now and over the years he just sees what does and doesn't do well and raises some darn good varieties.

[tnpeppers]

I am in the next state over; growing over 50 varieties of toms...I don't pay the slightest bit of attention to all that 'short season/'long season' stuff...from Stupice to Pineapple...everybody is doing very well. I am still planting 'black tomatoes' in containers for fall. I have a 'black cherry' volunteer that is over six feet tall...even a mid-summer frost in your area is possible, though...might be time to consider a hoop house or some other type of 'season extending' device...

[Raffles]

It sounds like you folks have better behaved behaved tomato elves in the garden than I do. Mine seem to be off hob-nobbing with the hobgoblins and drinking on the job.

A hoop house might help. Even just a hotbed to extend the early part of the season a few weeks. I was thinking today about trying to scavenge up the parts for one. Any extra heat on the cool days will help.

I've gotten a few of the black tomatoes to ripen here but the flavor was not great. To be honest, the black cherry I got last year were pretty bad. The Cherokee purple the year before even worse.

There was an older guy a few miles away in Hardwick who could grow any variety he wanted. As long as he started them so early they had set fruit by the time he set them out. Even planting deep he still had big plants.

I guess I'm going by the thought that a variety bred for the climate will have better flavor than one coaxed into growing in the climate. I've been checking into the Russian varieties with that in mind.

[beefsteak]

I'm not sure what you mean by North, but we have some of the best tasting tomatoes I have ever had, and these are beefsteak varities which are not early. zone 5 nw Pa. My dad always grew marglobe and rutgers, which are not early either and they were very good!