Heirloom Tomatoes

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

We have planted Pink Brandywine and Purple Cherokee from last year.

New to us that we have planted this year are:

Park's Whopper

Black Krim

Missouri Pink Love Apple

Watermelon Beefsteak

Mortgage Lifter

Mortgage Lifter Bi-Color

Candy Stripe


Do any of you have recommendations, experience and etcetera with heirloom tomatoes?

Dinny

[Skip Towne]

I know those whoppers won't be whoppers unless you work at it. Pick off most of the suckers and only let it produce a few tomatoes.

[LaChapelle]

My problem with heirlooms is that they don't get ripe all over. You have to cut away green tops. Petty perhaps.

[penguinz]

End rot can be a problem with them. We get all our seed fro them from Seeds of Change

[cabletech94]

I've had TONS of success with Park's Whoppers. I also use a lot of cow manure. Huge Toms, I've always had lots on my plants, no offense to you Skip!

[Skip Towne]

I've had TONS of success with Park's Whoppers. I also use a lot of cow manure. Huge Toms, I've always had lots on my plants, no offense to you Skip!

No offense taken. I had them last year and just let them go. Average tennis ball sized fruit.

[Buzzsaw]

Heirlooms, unlike hybrids, have little/no disease resistance. To keep them free of nasty stuff like fungus, blight, powdery mildew, etc., mulch heavily (3-4" thick layer of compost or straw), try to keep the leaves dry by not watering over head, and then you might want to spray once a week with neem oil or a 30% milk foliar spray. HTH

[Dante84]

All I know is that I would kill for a plate of those cut up with fresh smoked mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and some balsamic reduction.

My favorite salad ever.

[Simply Red]

bump for Dinny, need Phil and CD's input on this, before it wanders off.

[cdcox]

bump for Dinny, need Phil and CD's input on this, before it wanders off.

I love tomatoes, especially those nice acidic ones grown in the mid west. But I'm a total brown thumb. We have very little sunlight in our yard, but even when I did have a good place to grow 'em, I totally flopped.

[seclark]

I love tomatoes, especially those nice acidic ones grown in the mid west. But I'm a total brown thumb. We have very little sunlight in our yard, but even when I did have a good place to grow 'em, I totally flopped.

i hate tomatoes, and most other garden items, but love growing them...mine are just about the size of the end of my thumb. hungarian and banana peppers growing out the wazoo.

sec

[Fire Me Boy!]

I once killed a plastic fern. No joke.

Whatever advice I might have you don't want.

[Alton deFlat]

Heirloom tomatoes are a passion of mine. Last year I grew,

Akers West Virginia
Black Cherry
Black From Tula
Cherokee Green
Cherokee Purple
Crnknovic Yugoslavian
Eva Purple Ball
Flathead Monster
Franchi Red Pear
German Johnson
Green Giant
Green Zebra
Gregori's Altai
Immun
Lida Ukrainian
Lime Green Salad
Mama Leone
Manyel
Marianna's Peace
Martino's Roma
Milka's Red Bulgarian
Mortgage Lifter
Mrs. Maxwell's Big Italian
Mule Team
Neves Azorean Red
Pantano Romanesco
Santa
Spudatula Black
Stump of the World
Traveler
Tschorni
Uncle Charlie's Giant Italian Pear
Yellow Mortgage Lifter

[BigOlChiefsfan]

I always grow and recommend a couple of french tomatoes, Dona and Carmello. Tennis ball sized, tons of fruit and they taste great. Toby Toberson recommended them on the radio long ago and I've been growing them ever since. Family Tree in O.P. and Shawnee usually have the plants.
These are big producers, and very tasty. I generally cut an X in the bottom of each, drop 'em in a pan of boiling water for 15 seconds, and then into some ice-water. Skins slide right off. Cut into quarters, add olive oil and basil. Cheese if you please, vinegar on occasion, or day old italian bread cubed. Just delish.
You can slice them for sandwiches - but I prefer a couple of the larger varieties for that so I grow Brandywines and/or mortgage lifter and try a few new ones each year. Grew some of the Paul Robeson and Black Krim last year. Nice taste, their commie background doesn't bother me. I for one welcome our new 'Dancing with the Czars' overlords.

But seriously...if you're having blossom end rot, try crushing eggshells around your plants, and mulch heavily (use straw, not hay). IIRC the extra calcium helps and consistent moisture is another help in preventing that unpleasantness.

[Alton deFlat]

But seriously...if you're having blossom end rot, try crushing eggshells around your plants, and mulch heavily (use straw, not hay). IIRC the extra calcium helps and consistent moisture is another help in preventing that unpleasantness.

You're exactly right about inconsistent moisture being a major cause of blossom end rot.

I also use crushed egg shell. I throw a handful in the hole, when I plant the tomatoes in the spring.

[journeyscarab]

I am trying those topsy-turveys tomato plant hangers this season. Our yard has too much shade but I found an area where they should get plenty of sun. I picked up some Jetboys and Early girls. I know those arent heirlooms but I like talking about growing tomatoes!

[cdcox]

BigOlChiefsfan ought to write book about "living right". Just about any recommendation he makes is either spot on (based on my experience the subject) or at least sounds fantastic.

[seclark]

I am trying those topsy-turveys tomato plant hangers this season.

same here...been pleasantly surprised w/them.
sec

[Skip Towne]

Has anybody got any ripe tomatoes yet?

[googlegoogle]

Anyone grow tomatoes indoors during the winter?

The crap tomatoes they sell during the winter are beyond gross. But they sure make them look red don't they.

[Skip Towne]

Anyone grow tomatoes indoors during the winter?

The crap tomatoes they sell during the winter are beyond gross. But they sure make them look red don't they.

They gas them with ethylene gas to make them "ripen". But they don't produce seeds and all the taste is in the jelly stuff around the seeds.

[Skip Towne]

Do any of you raise cherry tomatoes? I love them. Put a handful in a bowl and sprinkle with water. Salt them then eat them like popcorn.

[MadMax]

Do any of you raise cherry tomatoes? I love them. Put a handful in a bowl and sprinkle with water. Salt them then eat them like popcorn.


I love the things! Any growing tips? I have plenty of time on my hands now sooo.

[BigOlChiefsfan]

Finally starting to pick some ripe Carmello and Dona tomatoes. I'm usually happy if I get a few ripe ones by the 4th.

[HonestChieffan]

All I know is that I would kill for a plate of those cut up with fresh smoked mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and some balsamic reduction.

My favorite salad ever.


Had that last night. Yum

[seclark]

Do any of you raise cherry tomatoes? I love them. Put a handful in a bowl and sprinkle with water. Salt them then eat them like popcorn.

the cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen up...picked 6 last night.

i've been picking the banana peppers for about a week.
sec

[tooge]

I just picked my first real tomato yesterday. Its a hybrid (celebrity) bush plant. I have been getting cherry tomatos for a week or so. I'm having probs with the cucumbers. They are loaded with yellow flowers, but very few little cucs. When they do form, they turn yellow and shrivel up at about 1 inch long. No beetles visible anywhere. What gives?

[Chiefnj2]

I just picked my first real tomato yesterday. Its a hybrid (celebrity) bush plant. I have been getting cherry tomatos for a week or so. I'm having probs with the cucumbers. They are loaded with yellow flowers, but very few little cucs. When they do form, they turn yellow and shrivel up at about 1 inch long. No beetles visible anywhere. What gives?

They are not pollinating.

[tooge]

They are not pollinating.

So how do I get them pollinating, short of a glass of wine, some nice music, and a pack of cigs?

[Chiefnj2]

So how do I get them pollinating, short of a glass of wine, some nice music, and a pack of cigs?

Often, early in the season the plants will produce a lot of male flowers before the female flowers show up. At this point there isn't much to do. If it is still drying up in a few weeks and you have both male and female flowers, you could take a small paint brush and transfer the pollen from the male to female flowers.

[FAX]

Once upon a time, a family of tomatoes were going for a walk. They were going for this walk because they needed to discuss a very serious problem that the tomato family had. For, unfortunately, their teenage son had impregnated a neighbor girl (her name was "Nara") and the Teenage Tomato was refusing to do the right thing by her.

So off they went.

Momma Tomato and Daddy Tomato were setting a pretty rapid pace but Teenage Tomato was falling behind. Daddy Tomato was in a pretty bad mood anyway, but he became really irritated at having to wait for Teenage Tomato so he turned around, walked back to Teenage Tomato, stomped on his head, and said, "Marry Nara!".

FAX

[Fish]

So how do I get them pollinating, short of a glass of wine, some nice music, and a pack of cigs?

You need to hire some gigolo honey bees....

[Manila-Chief]

Has anybody got any ripe tomatoes yet?

We've had ripe ones for over a couple of weeks now.

A mator sandmich was what I choose, last night, after I did my weigh-in. Was great.

Do any of you raise cherry tomatoes? I love them. Put a handful in a bowl and sprinkle with water. Salt them then eat them like popcorn.

We ate out last year and they served "grape tomatoes." My wife really loved them. I planted some "grape type" seeds. They are larger than the cherry tom., but have less juice and have more "meat" to them. We, also, have some grape tom. but they are just beginning to ripen.

We have planted Pink Brandywine and Purple Cherokee from last year.

New to us that we have planted this year are:

Park's Whopper

Black Krim

Missouri Pink Love Apple

Watermelon Beefsteak

Mortgage Lifter

Mortgage Lifter Bi-Color

Candy Stripe


Do any of you have recommendations, experience and etcetera with heirloom tomatoes?

Dinny

Dinny, this is our first year to try heirlooms. We've got several different varieties planted ... now, not as many different ones as Alton deFlat has. That's really impressive.

We bought some plants from www.tomatobabycompany.com/ ... she ships, but we went and picked ours up. I wasn't impressed with her plants. They were too tall and leggy ... she wants to be sure they are ready to go into the ground and wouldn't sell until about mid may, sometimes. These were almost 2’ tall.

I'll not list what we have, cuz I've had several die on me ... maybe because of the nincompoop disease ... too much fertilizer or it being too close to the roots, breaking the stems, etc. ... plus, we got a fungus, blight, or something. When we realized what it was, we pulled the affected limbs off and they are doing better but not sure how many will make it.

Thanks for starting the thread. I like learning about the subject.

[tooge]

Often, early in the season the plants will produce a lot of male flowers before the female flowers show up. At this point there isn't much to do. If it is still drying up in a few weeks and you have both male and female flowers, you could take a small paint brush and transfer the pollen from the male to female flowers.

thank you for the info. How do I tell male from female flowers? They pretty much all look yellow to me.

[Manila-Chief]

Do any of you raise cherry tomatoes? I love them. Put a handful in a bowl and sprinkle with water. Salt them then eat them like popcorn.

Or as a desert substitute!!!

As many of you know, I've been on a low carb eating plan for the biggest loser contest. So, I haven't been able to eat the fruit from our garden. This afternoon, my wife went out and gathered a big hand full of grape and grape type tomatoes ... she came in and washed them, and placed them in a plastic cool whip container. I sprinkled course salt over them while they were wet. After my one meal for today ... the last entre was another mator sandwich (the left over sliced tomatoes were really nice and juicy and tasty) ... the grape tomatoes were a good substitute for a desert. A very nice touch to finish the meal.

Skip, the grape tomatoes are small but oblong in shape. The grape type tomatoes are also oblong but about 3 or 4 times larger than the grape/cherry. We really like them.

[Skip Towne]

Or as a desert substitute!!!

As many of you know, I've been on a low carb eating plan for the biggest loser contest. So, I haven't been able to eat the fruit from our garden. This afternoon, my wife went out and gathered a big hand full of grape and grape type tomatoes ... she came in and washed them, and placed them in a plastic cool whip container. I sprinkled course salt over them while they were wet. After my one meal for today ... the last entre was another mator sandwich (the left over sliced tomatoes were really nice and juicy and tasty) ... the grape tomatoes were a good substitute for a desert. A very nice touch to finish the meal.

Skip, the grape tomatoes are small but oblong in shape. The grape type tomatoes are also oblong but about 3 or 4 times larger than the grape/cherry. We really like them.

Those sound good. I'll look into them.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Okay, I got some some results.

Park's Whopper - produced a lot of medium sized tomatoes. They tasted better than "regular" garden variety tomatoes, but were not as tasty as see below. Will not grow them next year.

Black Krim - a complete and total waste of time.

Missouri Pink Love Apple - hands-down the sweetest tomato I have ever tasted. Will grow boo-koo love apples next year.

Watermelon Beefsteak - my new personal favorite. As sweet as the love apple with a richer flavor. If I were stranded on an island.......

Mortgage Lifter - question the source of my plant starts. Less than pleased with the results. Have seeds from Jung's for next year. Will try again.

Mortgage Lifter Bi-Color and Candy Stripe - have been late producers. Just got a MLBC today, and no Candy Stripe yet.

Have seeds for next year from Jung's for Black Brandywine and Amish Paste.

Will carry over from last year a Purple Cherokee strain that I've had for a couple years. Will carry over a Pink Brandywine that I've had for 6 years.

We have canned a bunch of these mixed this year. Looking forward to good tomato flavor in my winter gruels.

Dinny

[Fairplay]

I have been eating tomatoes like crazy. Maybe 6-7 lbs. a week.

I love it.

Not mine though farmers market.

[Skip Towne]

Missouri Pink Love Apple - Ewww to anything Missouri.

[Hydrae]

Once upon a time, a family of tomatoes were going for a walk. They were going for this walk because they needed to discuss a very serious problem that the tomato family had. For, unfortunately, their teenage son had impregnated a neighbor girl (her name was "Nara") and the Teenage Tomato was refusing to do the right thing by her.

So off they went.

Momma Tomato and Daddy Tomato were setting a pretty rapid pace but Teenage Tomato was falling behind. Daddy Tomato was in a pretty bad mood anyway, but he became really irritated at having to wait for Teenage Tomato so he turned around, walked back to Teenage Tomato, stomped on his head, and said, "Marry Nara!".

FAX

ROFL

That reminds me of the story about the acorn who fell out of the tree. One day he woke up and said "gee, i'm a tree." (math joke)

[Manila-Chief]

Okay, I got some some results.

Park's Whopper -

I'll comment inside your post. My Whopper's didn't do too well. We got some fungus/wilt disease and all our garden (not just tomatoes) have suffered. I sprayed but the plants still struggled and some have died. We drove up into Tenn and picked up a bunch of heirloom varieties. I wanted to try them out. None did well ... but it was the growing conditions. Too wet ... then dry and then too wet and the disease problem.

My best producer this year has been “Better Boy” … the ole standard around here. Oh, the “grape type” tomatoes have produced abundantly.

Missouri Pink Love Apple - hands-down the sweetest tomato I have ever tasted. Will grow boo-koo love apples next year.

Not sure I'd like them too sweet????

Watermelon Beefsteak - my new personal favorite.

Thanks! I'll give them a try.


Have seeds for next year from Jung's for Black Brandywine and Amish Paste.

Have you had success carrying seed from one year to the next? I read some "expert" who said seeds do not carry over too well???

We have canned a bunch of these mixed this year. Looking forward to good tomato flavor in my winter gruels.

Dinny

First ... not sure I've shared this with you guys. Last year my sister told us about canning tomatoes via putting the jars into the oven instead of boiling them in water.
1. You do the normal dropping them into boiling or hot water (I do it for a minute) & into ice water to slip the pealings off;
2. pack them as whole tomatoes into jars;
3. add a teaspoon of salt into each quart or 1/2 for a pint;
4. preheat the oven to 250 degrees;
5. put a towel on a baking sheet (just in case there is a spill over) and place the filled jars onto the baking sheet/cookie pan;
6. leave oven on @ 250 degrees for one hour;
7. turn oven off, don't open oven door, and just leave the jars inside until morning (obviously she works and does her canning in the evening).

I wondered if I could put more tomatoes into a jar if I ran the tomatoes through the blender ... but just via an eyeball exam ... it looked to me the same amount either way.

The ones I put through the blender didn't look so good in the jars ... about a 1/3 or 1/2 of the bottom of the jar is liquid. The ones I packed into the jars stayed whole and look pretty. My sister says you can open a jar on a cold winter evening and eat them as whole tomatoes. Great with hot southern corn bread. :D

[Saccopoo]

Great thread.

You lucky bastards in the Midwest got it easy. I've been trying to establish my tomato garden out here in Salt Lake, which has, without question, the worst soil imaginable. My heirlooms this year, which include the following:

Black Krim
Green Zebra
Brandywine
Old German
Big Rainbow
White Wonder
Pink Quartz

are actually doing fabulous. However, my standard varieties have had a real odd thing happen to them. Half the garden - literally half as if you drew a line right down the center of it - just started dying, and is pretty much gone. The other half is doing great. Can't figure it out for the life of me. Consists of Jubilees, Early Girls, Super Fantastics, San Marzens and Beefsteaks. Anyone ever experience this type of problem with their tomatoes?

[BigOlChiefsfan]

Caliche soil? Roots reached the 'bare rock' layer and give up. I don't know if caliche is laying under your dirt, but it's pretty common across most of the west.

Could be a virus, too. It might be smart to start a big pile of leaf mold this fall and try making some new raised beds next year.