I know this will be difficult but...

[fortyonenorth]

I wouldn't be without Jaune Flammee.

[k3vin]

Costoluto Genovese is the only variety that I plant every year. It's not much for fresh eating, but it's great for sauce. It produces a bright, savory sauce that I'm just not able to duplicate with other varieties.

[DeanRIowa]

Guker's Special for me

[PaulF]

Cherokee Purple

[Mudman]

Sungold, Cherokee Purple, and Amish Paste. How much is bail?

[Fusion_power]

We go through these lists just about every year. I have a long list of favorites but if I got down to just one variety to grow for myself for fresh eating it would be...


So I decided to do something different. Did I mention that I am a master data manipulator in one of my alternate personalities? or that I have records of every garden I've grown since 2002? I analyzed the plants I've grown over the last 10 years and here is what I found:

Eight of the last 10 years I've grown:
8 - Brandywine - this one would have to be at the top of my list
8 - Cherokee Chocolate
8 - Cherokee Purple - Have to agree with others, fantastico.
8 - Red Brandywine - not that it is a terrific tasting tomato, rather because I am always running out of seed
8 - Marianna's Peace - had to produce a ton of seed, not a great tomato, but consistently very good for me


Seven years I've grown these:
7 - Aunt Gertie's Gold
7 - Black From Tula
7 - Gregori's Altai


Six years I've grown these
6 - Andrew Rahart
6 - Aunt Ruby's German Green
6 - Box Car Willie
6 - Crnkovic Yugoslavian
6 - Dora
6 - Dr. Wyche
6 - Druzba
6 - Heidi
6 - Kosovo
6 - Lucky Cross
6 - Omar's Lebanese
6 - Rose
6 - Tastiheart


The caveats for the above should include that if I have only had seed for 2 or 3 years, then that variety will be under-represented. I have a few that should be in the above list and would be if I had gotten seed in 2002 like the rest of the above. KBX would be one example that would be 8 years if I'd had it in 2002. I should make one special mention of Burgundy Traveler. I have grown it 8 consecutive years, but I grow it for my MIL who wants it in her garden every year.

My personal favorite flavored tomato at this point would be Sunlucky, but it is still a breeding line and is segregating heavily. Give me another 3 years and I might be able to share with others. It combines the sweetness of Sungold with the intense tomato flavor of Brandywine. Just to give you an idea how heavily it is segregating, I had one good flavored plant out of about 80 grown this year. There were half a dozen more that were good flavored, as good or better than a really good Brandywine, but only one that made my eyes pop open and my legs get weak.

*Worth* In for a penny, in for a pound, I'm putting worth in gaol preemptively!

DarJones

[kath]

For me it's Sungold F1 without a doubt. Can't narrow it down to one open pollinated variety yet, but I'm hoping to have such a standout at the end of the 2012 season.

[FarmerShawn]

Like others, I can't do just one. So:
Sungold for in-garden snacking,
Early Girl for canning, although I am trying a bunch of others in hopes of replacing it,
Blush for dehydrating (but the Juliets were pretty nice)
Opalka for paste and sauce,
Brandywine and Cherokee Purple for table, though I will always, I think, grow Big Boy.

Shawn

[tgplp]

I try to be different and all, but I must say Sungold. I think every tomato hater should try Sungold, and then they would probably change their minds. Also, it didn't split for me, not even early in the season. And where I live, it rains a lot!

Taryn

[tessa]

stump of the world

how are you all getting sungold over there? i thought that was a super secret british F1 hybrid. more importantly...who's got seeds?

[Marko]

My vote goes for Chapman, one of the best tasting reds in my garden, reliable producer and good disease resistance.

[carpenterlady]

Another vote for Sungold

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

[Worth1]

Look folks I like Sungold but really----- the only tomato to grow if you just had one choice.

And another thing, it seems as though people are in total disregard for the rules here.
The courts are over booked and the jail is getting overcrowded.
We may just have to amend the law to allow people to add maybe just one or two more varieties.
For medicinal purposes only.

Worth

[cloz]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Look folks I like Sungold but really----- the only tomato to grow if you just had one choice.

And another thing, it seems as though people are in total disregard for the rules here.
The courts are over booked and the jail is getting overcrowded.
We may just have to amend the law to allow people to add maybe just one or two more varieties.
For medicinal purposes only.

Worth

"For medicinal purposes only" I would grow Stump of the World and Granny's Heart along with the Sungold F1. If it were strictly for taste (production consideration being ignored) I would grow Brandywine Sudduth every year.

[kath]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Look folks I like Sungold but really----- the only tomato to grow if you just had one choice.
Worth

Yup- absolutely! I stand by my decision and DH will vouch for the fact that every year when it's the first plant to ripen and I'm in the garden snacking on them, I inevitably will say, "I really don't know why I'm growing anything else!"

kath