Been a while since I put tomatoes in the garden. Nothing like fresh sliced tomato steaks with salt and pepper. What's your variety recommendation for size and flavor? Thanks

I like tomatoes that cover the whole sandwich. The bigger, the better. I have the best luck with better boy.

Boxcar Willie. Large size, high yield, GREAT flavor.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...sl_10p73i3yik_e

Tycoon and celebrity are the child bride's favorites. Tried beef steak and bigboy but only got a couple of batches before the heat took them.

If I can get the varmints under control, this year I may try the persimmon and/or talladega.

Celebrity has also done well for me.

Early Girl

They are a medium tomato and produce all the fruit at one time.

Determinate tomatoes, or "bush" tomatoes, are varieties that grow to a compact height (generally 3 - 4'). Determinates stop growing when fruit sets on the top bud. All the tomatoes from the plant ripen at approximately the same time (usually over period of 1- 2 weeks).

Beefsteak for me. Larger. Up to 1 lb fruit.

4th of Julys are 2nd. Medium. 6-7 oz fruit. .

I plant Homestead 24. It is a good sized acidic tomato. I like the little acid bite when you taste them.

I plan to get a six pack and put them in the ground next week. I can cover them, pull them up, or replace them. I like to have the first ripe tomatoes in my area.

I vote Celebrity, produce most of the summer if you take care of them

we've tried just about all varieties that our feed store and nursery sells (plus a few from Home Depot), off and on luck depending on the year. Celebrity and beefsteak for the larger size tomatoes and red cherry, Sun Gold or sweet quartz for smaller. We live west of Georgetown where it's solid rock and we have about 12" elevated beds (4'x8') using garden soil that I spade in heavily composted materials a few weeks prior to planting.

Celebrity for sure.

Can't find any that will handle the heat in north Texas....tried heatmaster last year....huge fail.

Huh? I even keep my celebrity tomatoes alive THRU the summer to enjoy a 2nd nice fall crop!!
Nothing more than keeping them watered REGULARLY.
Mulch the soil with straw, old hay, wood-chips; whatever you have helps too.

Maters will stop blossoming/producing once nights stay at 80 degrees, but will pick right back up (blossoms) late Aug/Sep and get loaded with EVEN MORE fruit than the spring season (plant already mostly grown).

Another vote for Celebrity

yep, we are usually a bit late planting in the spring, so about the time they start to produce, the temp shuts them down ... but we keep watering thru the heat of the summer and they will start producing again in Sept. and the plants are fully mature with established root system, put on a lot more tomatoes in the fall than spring/early summer for us.

My favorites are some variety of cherry tomatoes. I take 20 or so a day in my lunch in a little baggie when my garden is producing.

As you stated.....they will live, but quit setting fruit once we do not get the overnight temp drops, but I lose interest once they quit producing. Supposedly the heatmasters were bred to set fruit in higher temps....they did not in my area.

Cherry tomato--Sweet 100
Tennis ball size tomato--Super Fantastic

Mr Stripey, Black Prince, Chocolate stripes,

For big tomatoes, 1 - 5 lb fruits
1884, Big Rainbow, Big Zac

If you're used to the standard varieties you don't know what you're missing.

Five pound tomato?

NO DOUBT SUNGOLD!!!

I got a six pack of a new one yesterday and put them in the ground. They were called Bonnie something. It was either that or cherry tomatoes.

I buy a bale of coastal Bermuda each year to use as mulch. Straw bales have seeds and you will be pulling weeds. All other forms of mulch have dirt in them or fungus etc. and every time it rains or watering it will splash up spores onto the plants and they will get diseased pretty quick. This was the biggest game changer for me in all my years of growing tomatoes.

My favorite varieties... Hybrid-- sweet 100, super fantastic, celebrity,better boy,lemon boy,early girl....Heirloom-- Cherokee purple, box car willie, brandywine. Brandywine is the best tasting tomato i have ever grown, however, i am lucky to get 3 or 4 tomatoes off a plant and some years it doesn't set at all.

I believe you are mistaken about early girl being a determinate variety, mine produce all season and will grow over 6 ft. tall if allowed.

One good thing about north Alabama. I don't have to worry about the heat. I had both Celebrity and Big Boys last year.

Thanks all. Lots of very good information in here. So I put CELEBRITY and BETTER BOY (Katy TX) in the garden today. Probably planted too many. GF really hogs the beds with basil and thyme and Gawd knows what else ya can't put on a sammich. What a coincidence she is on the slopes in Taos right now. You snooze you loose.

We either make salsa, or can whole or crushed; so Roma is the best answer for us; Last year had good luck with Heinz too. Will work on those again this year.

How far apart do you plant the 1015 onions, just bought a bunch to plant?

I like 6” between onions. I usually pull every other one during the early part of their life to eat with my salad. The ones that are left are cured and hung up until they are gone or get soft.

2" and pull every other one for green onions.....From Neil Sperry.

I go four inches.

The new HEB had these on sale today in two inch pots at two for a dollar.



I got four. I hope I'm done.

Four of the six survived.

I have had better luck with the cherry varieties.
Large tomatoes have been a waste of time for me.

Amazing that yall are planting tomatoes in mid February. Up here along the Red River we have lows in the 20s forecast for the week.

It had blooms this morning. I forgot to put wood ash in my mound. I plan to add it to prevent blossom end rot as soon as my burn pile goes down.

Bill, what does the ashes from wood do for tomato plants? Just burnt a lot of tree trimmings. Does it matter what type of wood?

I use whatever in in my burn pile. It adds lime and other nutrients.

Cool, I have not yet cleaned out fire place. Will keep the ash for my small raised boxes.