While I'm Waiting...

While I'm waiting for that first bite of tomatoey goodness, I've started planning for next year. I've learned a lot this first year. One of the most interesting things, I've learned it that there are more than 1000 varieties of tomato. And they are not all red. Who knew? In addition to red ones, there are black ones, green ones, yellow/orange ones, pink ones and striped ones. And there are giant ones that regularly produce fruit in the 2-3 pound range.

I've started gathering recommendations on GardenWeb. There are lots of opinions, but after reading many posts some trends start to surface. Here's my list so far. In each category, I have listed the varieties in order of preference (most desired first).

Giant tomatoes are the thing of dreams. Can you really grow a 7 pound tomato? If you want to give it a try, you have to start with a variety that has the genetics to make it possible. 4 pound Big Zacs are not uncommon. Here's what I'm considering.

1. Big Zac
2. Omar's Lebanese (introduced by Dr. Carolyn Male)
3. Porterhouse
   

Red tomatoes (these are mostly beefsteak) don't have to be run of the mill. These get high marks for both poundage and flavor. I'm growing Big Boy this season. If it does well, it may move up the list.

1. Neves Azorean Red (introduced by Dr. Carolyn Male)
2. Earl's Faux (Red Brandywine)
3. Jetstar (hybrid - recommended by Dr. Carolyn Male)
4. Supersonic (hybrid - recommended by Dr. Carolyn Male)
5. Big Boy (hybrid)
6. Mortgage Lifter
7. Big Beef (hybrid)
8. Beef Master (hybrid)
9. Brandy Boy (hybrid)

Now things get interesting. Black tomatoes. Some are a bit more purple than black. Either way they look very interesting sliced a plate. I'm in for at least two of these varieties.

1. Carbon (larger than Nyagous)
2. Nyagous (more poundage than Carbon)
3. Cherokee Purple
4. Black Krim

Pink tomatoes are like reds except the skin is clear, so the color comes from the meat of the tomato.

1. Arkansas Traveler

How do you know when a green tomato is ripe? It doesn't change color. Some of them develop stripes of a different shade when they are ripe. Others just have to be squeezed.

1. Aunt Ruby's German Green

Yellow/Orange tomatoes are supposed to have a sweeter, less acidic, fruity flavor.

1. Kellogg's Breakfast
2. Aunt Gertie's Gold
3. Pineapple

And every tomato addict needs at least one early variety to feed the hunger until the mid-season varieties come through.

1. Big New Dwarf
2. Early Girl
   

Here's my problem - I can't just buy a few seeds of each. Seeds come in 20-30 count packets for $2.50 to $3.00 per packet. Or I could buy plants from a place like The Tasteful Garden, but they are way more expensive and I'm not excited about the prospect of plants shipped through the mail. Seeds last a few years, so I can just start a few of each and keep the rest for the next year. And I could send a few of each to my Dad. He might enjoy a few gardening experiments.

If nothing else, I have plenty of time to decide which varieties and how to get the seeds.