Favourite Toms

[Cloud]

I have grown several variety of Tomatoes this year with mainly disappointing results apart from 2 varieties.
So what is your favourite Tomato for General use i.e;Ease of growing,Flavour and yield?

[Hazlerigg]

My favourite is Tigerella, got a good crop this year of visually stunning sweet toms, none have got as far as the kitchen yet tho !

[phil the shed]

my yield fave's are
sun gold baby
and tumbling toms huge amounts for over 5 weeks

[Cutecumber]

I can't just answer with one as they are used for so many different purposes...

Sungold for eating off the plant. They damn things split, but the flavour is unsurpassed. I have grown about 35 varieties of tomato so far and it is still the best balanced in terms of flavour. They fruit well in quantity and early enough to avoid blight.

I'd actually be surprised if Sungold didn't turn out to be the top (fresh) tomato taste-wise for any group of gardener's who have tried growing it.

For sauces, it would be San Marzano - heavy cropper which makes exquisite passata.

For grilling it would be a mid-size like Stupice or Bloody Butcher. Their flesh is soft and flavoursome and the skin isn't too thick.

[Flummery]

Sungold definitely for taste - wish they didn't split so much though. I've grown some on from the F1s and they are just about to ripen - I'll let you now how they go! I hope they have the flavour, the colour but not the price! If I can get a decent one selected out from the new generation I can save the seeds forever.

Grilling - it's got to be the fabulous Green Zebra.

[Cutecumber]

I'll be very interested in your results, Flum.

I'm afraid that Sungold are one of the only toms I grow not to give away... because of the silly price.

Anyway, apparently some people like Gardener's Delight

[sez]

Ildi (small pear-shaped cherry tomatoes) for me this year.

Gardener's delight did well as did golden sunrise.
Sub Arctic Plenty were crap ... early huge fruits but they got blight when nothing else did, and I wasn't impressed by the flavour.

[Flummery]

I'll be very interested in your results, Flum.

I'm afraid that Sungold are one of the only toms I grow not to give away... because of the silly price.

Anyway, apparently some people like Gardener's Delight

If I get anything good - and they'll need a couple of generations to shake down and rogue out oddities, you are welcome to some seeds. I'll let you know when I'm at that stage. In fact, if they are good, you can have a few seeds and do your own rogueing out! They might be a horrible disappointment!

Some people in America are growing F9 sungold unhybrids so it must be possible to get something decent from them.

[queen of the cobs]

All my cherry toms came out really well this year, esp Galina (thanks Phreddy for sending the sees) but all my meatier ones a complete disaster, absolutely gutted as there will be hardly any homemade tomato sauce this year.

[DavidJP]

Sungold has definitely been good but better has been the Piccolo seeds that I saved from supermarket tomatoes and then grew up. Piccolo is supposed to be F1 but all the plants I grew were uniform and very like the original piccolo and tasted great to boot, better than my Sungolds really though not too much in it.
Definitely a keeper for next year.

[kernowyon]

best this year - Purple Ukraine,
fantastic flavour and produced loads [got the seeds from a fellow grape via the seed swap - but typically didn't write down who, so a very big thank you to whoever you are]

[Janco]

My favourite is Sungold and I always grow some. Few get to the table.
I tried Ferline this year because they are blight resistant and they are!
Some others succumbed to the dreaded blight (in a greenhouse) but Ferline are still growing and ripening - not bad for flavour either.

[vicky]

Identical to Janco - Sungold and Ferline
Also grew sub Artic Rubbish, Legend (a bit unruly!), gardeners delight, and Tigerella (pretty good)

[baggyman]

Sweet million.

[SarzWix]

As a general use tomato, I'd recommend Shirley - seeds are a little more expensive than some, but the flavour is great, the plants are healthy and they have a high yield.