Although not in the Bay area, San Marzano has disappointed me for years. I vowed that this would be the last year of trying... In the past, the plants have looked bad and although the fruit tastes wonderful, the yield has been low as well. My garden is not huge and there are so many varieties to try... I am now growing SM 3. When I started the seeds, I had little faith but the seedlings were attention getting. I prepared for failure and only planted one plant, but I have to say it looks GREAT!! It has more fruit then any other variety, in my garden so far this year. A friend, that I gave seedlings (SM and SM Redorta and SM 2) to in the past, plants his in well protected areas and said that when we had a late frost, the SM plant was the best he's seen. Perhaps SM is too wussy for my garden environment, but I am surprised daily at the health and vigor of the SM 3. I'll share seeds in a few months. Email me if interested.

Frank, I have never considered Amish Paset to be a true paste used for sauces, etc. The reason being that's it far too juicy. Nothing wrong with the taste, so it just means that you have to cook it down more. Back when, some folks named varieties just based on the shapes of the fruit. I think that's how Amish Paste was perhaps named. Another one is Lillian's Red Kansas Paste, which in no way is a paste variety. The issue with paste varieties is that they should have dense fleash and few seeds, but so many of the paste varieties that folks cling to like the romas and costolutos, etc., are far more susceptible to BER as well as Early Bight. Which is why many folks don't bother to even grow paste ones, they use the best tasting ones from the garden that have dense flesh and few seeds, usually the heart vareiies, which have some of the best tastes, as well as some of the large red and pink beefsteak ones that have dense flesh and few seeds. Carolyn, but there are some paste varieteis that I do think work out well.

jollyrd - how many plants do you have room for? The other two are so-so. Nothing is extremely wrong with them, and I will most likely plant them again next year. They are fine, fruit is not cracking, no bad taste, but not 'wow tomato' taste or smell. Then why grow them again and waste the space? And why paste types if taste/flavor in fresh eating is your goal? Like mentioned above, paste types aren't grown for fresh eating (except maybe Opalka) or even flavor but for their thick sauce abilities to which lots of seasonings are added OR, in our case, for drying. While soil tests are very beneficial and nothing beats well amended soil for growing, and growing conditions can cause BER and other problems, TASTE is a whole other issue. Tomato fresh-eating flavor comes primarily from the variety you choose. So if that is the goal - fresh eating flavor - then you need to focus on some very different varieties. Primarily beefsteaks and so-called slicing tomatoes. No yellows IMO and no cherries except maybe Sun Gold and Black Cherry and no paste types. You will find literally tons of recommendations here on best flavor as it is a very personal taste-bud thing. So all I can do it list some of the many varieties we routinely grow for fresh eating (and also for canning). They are a mix of hybrids and open-pollinated varieties, all are indeterminates, and not necessarily in order, ok? Arkansas Traveler Giant Belgium Champion Jet Star Supersonic Beefsteak Rutgers etc. (there are many more) Then get your soil test and add what it recommends and you'll be good to go. ;) Dave

Hate seeing that, mister caledon, It has nothing to do with your San Marzanos and several paths will get you there. I doubt it is fertilization. But if you have been over-watering and/or it has been raining all the time that would be your reason. It is just another manifestation of stress,. Notice the lack of symmetry of the amount of seeds in the locules in combination with the hollowness. The problem's called puffiness (looks normally filled, but when sliced is hollow). In Florida it can be a big problem for me caused by hot nights. Most of my straggling/remaining non-cherries are suffering from it to some degree now after an extended period of night temperatures at 80 F. And my winter crop suffered somewhat from it but not as notably, in in low light and from cold temperatures. When the puffiness is slight most people don't notice (or don't want to notice lol), but it's there if you look at the tops of the seeds and under crowding of gel near the pericarp. . All are compromising the plants ability for thorough pollination and to set fruits. Look at your tomato picture, it hasn't ripened well, which shows more results of stress. Tomatoes are supposed to ripen from the inside out, but yours has the outside red and the inside a mottled or smudged sick color which is more stress. That explains I think the brown inside you asked about. The tomato is not ripening uniformly so parts that ripened earliest or didn't have what it took, can end up brown. You can help the situation by pollinating really diligently during periods of dryness if rain is the driving factor, I hope since the heavy rains have passed? If these are tomatoes that set while you had cold nights there, that could also be contributing since all the pollination and setting problems add up. You'd expect the problem to go away on the later tomatoes if it was the cold (like I get with low light in winter) Hope that helps. Here's a link to show you that the best tomato minds were at the point you are at now, in 1928: Tomato Pockets - 1928-30 style Cheers PC