I LOVE a small cherry tomato called Matt's Wild Cherry. It's got little tomatoes, but it produces prolificly, grows LARGE (approx.12') and produces until it gets killed off with a hard frost. Best of all, it has an incredibly intense tomato flavor. Because they are a good bite-size, they are great eaten out-of-hand, like candy. It volunteers for me, everywhere I put down compost (dicey, over-ripe tomatoes get composted), but I don't care, I just pull up those that I don't want and transplant a few to places I do want them. I do resow seeds every few years - I THINK I got them from Johnny's Seed Co., but it might have been another one. Since this year is a resow year, I'll have to recheck, but google for them and you'll find sources.

Every summer here in Raleigh they throw a big party/tomato tasting called "Tomatopalooza". Seems to me that over a hundred heirlooms are sampled and Cherokee Purple usually takes the big prize. You can collect seeds after the tasting is done so it is a great way to find and grow your personal favorites. The event is posted here on GardenWeb so keeps your eyes open for it next summer.

I think a lot of the cherry types are more reliable for good flavor, and they tend to out produce all the others.

My yard isn't the best for t'maters (not enough sun) but I grow a few and it seems that every year a different type is tastier than the others - so it must also depend on the weather.

this is something that seems to get discussed each yr, so if they haven't dropped off the boards, try searching and seeing if you can find the list from last yr.

i'm in the same situ as john & agree with him- flavor varies and cherries do best of any, esp with limited sun.

I planted Black Krim one year and they did great, the next 2 years, they weren't so productive. Sungold is probably my fav for productivity and taste. One thing to remember when planting heirlooms is that the yeild is usually lower than hybrids and they tend to bear later, so you will need more plants. (IMO) I usually plant a few hybrids that are early bearing to get my first few tomatoes of the year.

Here in S. C. we have an heirloom tomatoe site. I believe it is put out by Clemson University. Check it out, you can order seeds from them....

Here's the link to our tomato tasting. With this you
get to see pics from previous events that show all the different
varieties we've tasted. Some good, some bad, some phenomenal!

The really good ones I like:
Cuostralee,
Cherokee Purple
Green Giant
Lime Green Salad
Big Beef
Red Brandywine
Stone
Anna Russian
Orange Heirloom
Sungold
Arkansas Traveler

All of these are tops for taste, disease tolerance, and productivity.

Lee

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomatopalooza [tm]