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What is the best Tomato seed variety for growing LARGE tomatoes?

Posted on 1/24/19 at 6:03 pm
Posted by Langland
Trumplandia
Member since Apr 2014
15382 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 6:03 pm
Specifically for Louisiana or Southern states gardens.

I will be starting from seed. Probably Tuesday.

I'm looking at the BHN 602 tomato. I have no experience with this one. It's a determinate (bush type) with fruit size of 10 to 12 oz. Thoughts or experience with it?

Fruit Size Comparison (Updated):
Determinate
Celebrity Tomato (semi-bush type) are 7 to 8 oz
Amelia Tomato (bush type) are 8 to 10 oz
Siletz Tomato (bush type) are 8 to 10 oz
Polbig Hybrid Tomato (bush type) 9 to 10 oz
Dixie Red Hybrid (bush type) 10 oz
BHN-602 Tomato (bush type) are 10 to 12 oz
Bella Rosa (bush type) 10 -12 oz
Charger Tomato (bush type) 10 - 14 oz
Goliath Giant Early Bush (semi-bush) 14 to 18 oz

Indeterminate
Super Fantastic Tomato (vine type) 10 oz
Cherokee Purple (vine type) are 10 to 12 oz
Pink Brandywine (vine type) are 9 to 16 oz
Big Beef Tomato (vine type) 12 to 16 oz
Better Boy Tomato (vine type) 16 oz
Beefsteak Tomato (vine type) are 14 to 24 oz
Mortgage Lifter Tomato (vine type) 16 - 24 oz fruit



The last two years I grew Celebrity tomatoes. They produce great, but most of the tomatoes are medium to small with the occasional large one.

I prefer the bush type because it doesn't require suckering.

It seems like the indeterminate (vine type) is where you ultimately find the larger tomatoes, such as beefsteaks and brandywine. But they don't seem to produce very much. Yes larger, but fewer tomatoes. And I don't like suckering or dealing with 8 foot tall plants.
This post was edited on 1/25/19 at 3:04 pm
Posted by Tigerpaw123
Louisiana
Member since Mar 2007
17919 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 6:54 pm to
Mortgage lifter
Posted by Langland
Trumplandia
Member since Apr 2014
15382 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 7:17 pm to
Mortgage Lifter Tomato (vine type) 16 - 24 oz fruit

Have you grown these before? In the South?
This post was edited on 1/24/19 at 7:18 pm
Posted by Langland
Trumplandia
Member since Apr 2014
15382 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 7:37 pm to
Just came across...

Charger Tomato (bush type) 10 - 14 oz
LINK

Bella Rosa (bush type) 10 -12 oz
LINK
I grew these before. They seem to do well.

This post was edited on 1/24/19 at 7:47 pm
Posted by Tigerpaw123
Louisiana
Member since Mar 2007
17919 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 7:40 pm to
I have, they were not the best tasting, but were big

Posted by Martini
Near Athens
Member since Mar 2005
49696 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 7:44 pm to
Cherokee Purple. You have to sucker them and tie them. They don’t produce tons of fruit but they are large with a very good taste.
Posted by Langland
Trumplandia
Member since Apr 2014
15382 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 7:54 pm to
quote:

Cherokee Purple. You have to sucker them and tie them. They don’t produce tons of fruit but they are large with a very good taste.

I grew these before and I agree on all of that.

Have you tried the BHN 602?
It seems they produce the same size fruit as the Cherokee Purple but a lot more.

BHN 602
"In our Alabama test garden, where the growing season is long and growing conditions are excellent, plants produce 40 to 80 fruits each in a two-month harvest season." LINK

Cherokee Purple
"In our Alabama test garden, where conditions are ideal and the season is long, we harvest and average of 20 or more fruits from each plant." LINK

Posted by LSU0358
Member since Jan 2005
8186 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 8:02 pm to
quote:

Cherokee Purple


This is my go to. Makes a great tomato sauce as well.
Posted by hungryone
river parishes
Member since Sep 2010
11987 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 8:03 pm to
AL test garden is meaningless....Huntsville or Fairhope? Some varieties hate high humidity and high nighttime temps. Know your microclimate and find a variety well suited for it. Cherokee Purple is delicicious, and I plant it, but it never bears more than a few large fruits per plant. I’m in 9b, with a garden in a very windy spot very exposed to the west. Raised beds, so my soil heats up. Celebrity produces volume, Beefmaster produces largest fruit. I usually try one or two new varieties each year. Better Boy also is an old reliable for me.

Posted by Lando789
Member since Nov 2018
307 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 9:58 pm to
(no message)
This post was edited on 4/20/19 at 6:59 am
Posted by SaDaTayMoses
Member since Oct 2005
4571 posts
Posted on 1/24/19 at 10:07 pm to
The Bella Rosea and Super Fantastic varieties are big and do really well in the Louisiana heat
Posted by Nawlens Gator
louisiana
Member since Sep 2005
5963 posts
Posted on 1/25/19 at 1:01 am to

I've grown them all. Big Beef is the best based on my and my neighbors experience.

Posted by CoachChappy
Member since May 2013
34329 posts
Posted on 1/25/19 at 6:08 am to
Big beef is my go to. I love those things.
Posted by Martini
Near Athens
Member since Mar 2005
49696 posts
Posted on 1/25/19 at 7:37 am to
quote:


Cherokee Purple


This is my go to. Makes a great tomato sauce as well.



It does but you have to leave the top off the pot to let the water cook off. They have a lot more water than say San marzano or Roma which is what a lot use for sauce.

A cool video on heirloom and contemporary pizza sauce

This post was edited on 1/25/19 at 7:39 am
Posted by LSUlefty
Youngsville, LA
Member since Dec 2007
28596 posts
Posted on 1/25/19 at 12:52 pm to
Mortgage Lifter and Big Zac although BZ won't make many.
Posted by Langland
Trumplandia
Member since Apr 2014
15382 posts
Posted on 1/25/19 at 3:39 pm to
I ordered these today:

Dixie Red Hybrid (bush type) 10 oz
BHN-602 Tomato (bush type) are 10 to 12 oz
Charger Tomato (bush type) 10 - 14 oz
Goliath Giant Early Bush (semi-bush) 14 to 20 oz (It's the same company, but they say 14 to 18 oz in their catalog)

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Goliath performs.

"'Goliath Giant Early Bush’ is a week earlier than abiding favorite ‘Early Girl’ and at 14 to 20-oz., as big as ‘Big Beef’, our most popular tomato overall. The taste? That classic, old fashioned tomato flavor that’s both tart and tangy." Matures in 49 days.

Too good to be true?
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