Need recommendation for best tasting Tomatoes.

[Will Carry]

My wife and I went to the local Harris Teeter grocery store on senior day (10% discount) last Thursday and I purchased one of each different type of tomato.  Beef Steak, Heritage and all. Guess what? You country boys and girls already know. None of them had any flavor!  They looked great but tasted like water.  Somebody recommend a tomato, I can grow, that has flavor, that tastes like a tomato.  I started making biscuits from scratch after Pillsbury changed their formula. Now I'm going to start growing my own 'maters.  

Edited 11 hours ago by Will Carry

[Defender]

1 hour ago, Will Carry said:

My wife and I went to the local Harris Teeter grocery store on senior day (10% discount) last Thursday and I purchased one of each different type of tomato.  Beef Steak, Heritage and all. Guess what? You country boys and girls already know. None of them had any flavor!  They looked great but tasted like water.  Somebody recommend a tomato, I can grow, that has flavor, that tastes like a tomato.  I started making biscuits from scratch after Pillsbury changed their formula. Now I'm going to start growing my own 'maters.  

I dunno, but I sure do  love  a good Bradley tomato, but I’ve heard they’re hard to grow and ya can’t get many crops in a season like you can others. I’ve also noticed a difference in taste of homegrown.  Lately I’ve been generating some store bought ones from Sprouts.  Can’t remember the brand but they are small and come several in a plastic box with vine attached. They may not be Bradley good but I like them a lot.

[ArmyBrat61]

Go to a local farmer's market and do the same thing you did at the Teeter. Find the variety then get the seeds from a co-op. You can also look for "Heritage" varieties and harvest their seeds........good luck!

[Will Carry]

I am reading about a tomato called Cherokee Purple.  The grow from mid-summer to frost.  I like the name. 

[DeepSouth]

Most of the tomatoes in stores are grown in greenhouses. None have any flavor. We have Grainger county, TN tomatoes in stores now along with a Ripley County, TN and another from south AR. All look great but no taste. Vendors at farmer markets will buy these and others from the local "Tomato House" near you for resale

Look on facebook marketplace for local grown. Just enter tomato in the search window.

Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Rutgers, Delicious, Mortgage Lifter, AR traveler. Big Boy, Better Boy and a few others have good flavor if grown in dirt. True Beefsteaks look like growing in a ball, hard to get a good slice.

I don't like the new flour and cornmeal mix. Can't find a loaf bread that doesn't smell or taste good.

[gregintenn]

Store bought tomatoes are grown for shipping; not for eating. Go to a farmer’s market of Mennonite store and buy real tomatoes. The variety isn’t nearly as important as the fact they were actually grown in dirt and sunlight. We like big beef, jet stars, Bradley’s, early girls, etc. Cherry tomatoes are good too, and a single plant will make hundreds!

[peejman]

As with the others, visit you local farmers market. It's still early to get fresh tomatoes, even the local stuff is still likely green house grown. 

We've grown lots of varieties, my wife got on a heritage kick a few years ago.  They all tasted good, but the plants don't yield as much and can be kinda finicky to keep happy.  The hybrids at the box stores are lower maintenance. 

Seedlings can be hit or miss with the heritage. Too late to start seeds unless you can grow them indoors. 

Cherokee purple was one of the better choices.  They can get really big but are prone to split. 

Amish paste are good if you want to make sauce and can it, similar to Roma.  

Cherry tomatoes are really tasty and very prolific.  A couple plants makes lots of tomatoes. 

Mr Stripey and Brandywine were good. Others we've tried.... Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter, Abe Lincoln, Homestead, German pink/yellow, German chocolate, ...  there's lots. 

 

[gregintenn]

I’d buy plants this late. Coop or tractor supply may still have some.

We usually get our first ripe ones around 4th of July, no matter when we plant them.

Edited 7 hours ago by gregintenn

[tacops]

We put in Early girls, Brandywines and Cherry tomatoes this year.  We have started picking a few cherry tomatoes and a couple of Brandywines already.  They taste much better than store tomatoes.

[glock55]

The heirloom tomatoes are my favorite 

not pretty but sure taste good

[joe4vol]

 Cherokee Purple and cherry tomatoes can’t be beat

[DRD]

4 hours ago, Will Carry said:

I am reading about a tomato called Cherokee Purple.  The grow from mid-summer to frost.  I like the name. 

Possibly my favorite tomato. I grow them every year. They are large and excellent tasting.  Heirloom variety. Vigorous and indeterminate. The only drawback is they tend to crack at the top, but this can easily be cut off. 

[DRD]

53 minutes ago, joe4vol said:

 Cherokee Purple and cherry tomatoes can’t be beat

I grow Black Cherry and Yellow Pear heirloom cherry tomatoes every year.  As far as hybrids, I like Sun Sugar and SuperSweet 100.

[HailDarkAle]

My answer will ALWAYS be a homegrown Cherokee Purple.

[monkeylizard]

Pineapple & Big Rainbow for full-sized yellow varieties. 
German Johnson for a robust tomato flavor. Great for sammiches.
Sunsugar for super sweet cherry tomatoes. Much sweeter than Sweet 100s or Sweet Millions.