Although it has never been a top performer for me. Here it is what I call a mid season variety. Usually in the 70-75 day range. Depending on the size of transplant set out it could go 80 days here on the long side some years. It is a nice all around type that doesn't seem to do well in my stressful conditions. I'm sure others will chime in. Weather and soil conditions will have an impact but the time frames I mentioned are what I've observed here. Jay

I would also say midseason. I grew it last year and the first tomatoes lagged behind some of my others started at the same time. But I planted it on the west side of the greenhouse where it got morning shade and that may be why it lasted longer than some of the others in the heat. It also rebounded well in August, blooming after we got rain and cooler temps and I picked quite a few tomatoes from it in Oct. In fact, it had several green tomatoes still on the vine when that killing frost hit around the 20th. Rutgers was known as a "canning tomato" when I was younger because of the uniform size and shape. It does have a hard core at the stem end that needs to be cut out before it is sliced.

I've grown at least 4 different Rutgers strains, but they've all been mid-season and heavy producers. I wonder if the ridiculous DTM range in the BCHS catalog is because of the various forms of Rutgers that are floating around out there?

The original Rutgers is my favorite. You normally see it described as in indeterminate, and it is one of the 2 Rutgers strains I'm growing this year. It was released in the 1920s or 1930s.

The first improved version was released in 1943 and usually is sold as Rutgers Improved or Rutgers VF. It is the other strain of Rutgers I'm growing this year. I wanted to be able to grow it in the same year as the original strain to see how they compare because in the past I've grown them in different years. It grows more like a determinate but produces really heavy yields most years so it is well worth growing.

There is a Rutgers VFA and I am not sure who improved it and added the tolerance of Alternaria, and I don't think it grew any differently from Rutgers VF when I grew it. It is a determinate.

Then there is Rutgers Select, which I purchased from TGSC several years ago and grew. I couldn't see any real difference in it and the original Rutgers, although I think maybe it didn't produce as much fruit per plant. It is a determinate and the orginal is an indeterminate.

For me, they've all produced round, red 6 to 8 oz. fruit and plenty of them. I use them more as canners, but they aren't bad for fresh eating either, and have a fairly long shelf life so I imagine they are a good market tomato. I haven't had any particular disease issue with any strain of Rutgers, and if I put them in the ground in late March or early April, I'm picking fruit in June. They usually produce better than the average tomato in July and August.

Hope this helps,

Dawn

Thanks that is the information I was looking for! I will use it as a canning & a market tomato. I was guessing the huge range for maturity was due to so many rutgers varieties, but I would expect their field trails to give a more accurate date than what is listed in the catalog.

I'd expect the same thing from field trials. It makes me uncomfortable when they put out a date like 60-100 days because that is such a large range it is ridiculous and doesn't help a grower know what to expect. I expect better from Baker Creek. We all know DTMs are just estimates, but when the estimate is 40 days long, it it worthless for individual planning purposes. I cannot imagine what they were thinking!

I've always enjoyed Rutgers for fresh eating, though it is also a good canner.

George
Tahlequah, OK

I personally like DTM's and also and idea where that DTM was. We all know due to weather conditions they can vary. But overall most varieties will perform somewhat the same here in my garden. I might see extreme swings of 10 days over several years and much of that depends on the growth stage when I transplant. I know if a variety is listed as 70 days grown by a northern grower I can add 3-5 days usually. If grown by a grower considerably south of me then I subtract a few days. This has always worked well for me. I noticed several seed sources that listed DTM's with 20 days or more difference this year. With that kind of swing you can overlap early/mid or late season categories. But a 40 day swing is extreme. It is always interesting to me to see that a variety like Rutgers does well for many not that far from me and struggles so mightily here. Porter and Sioux are 2 more that seems to do well for many and don't produce very well here. Jay

I grew Rutgers Select last year and it did well enough for me that i'm trying it again this year.On page 25 of the totally tomatoes cat. they have it listed as an indeterminate. I've come to the conclusion that you just have to try a variety for yourself and see what it does in your garden because most of you love the blacks and purples and out of about 25 plants last year of various varieties I did'nt get enough tom. to fill an Easter basket.Black Krim being the exception.

I have grown Rutgers several times, but it doesn't stand out in my mind as anything special.

Telow, Black tomatoes may be the food of the Gods. I haven't found any of them that I didn't like.

I might like them too if I ever get to taste one. Kidding of course. Last year I got afew Cherokee Purple and afew Prudence purple but to me they were nuthin special.I know, I know, you all love them but give me a better boy anyday. As I recall in an earlier post you said Cherokee purple was a good producer for you SG and I'm happy for you,but, if it produced for you like it did for me you would be hesitant to grow it again also. The gods would go hungery around my house.

I have not eaten a black tomato that I was overly impressed with. none other than the black cherry produces outstandingly. I have tried several and they all were one-night-stands.

Black tomatoes become the instant favorite of everyone here in my neighborhood that I give them to, but everyone's taste buds perceive flavor differently so I can understand why their flavor might not appeal to everyone. My black tomatoes always taste best when grown on the dry side. Too much moisture just destroys their flavor and texture, much more so than it does with other tomatoes.

I may have to try a black tomato again this year. It will have to be one that I can buy because I did start any black tomato seeds. The tomato that I have liked best for taste is Brandywine, but they seem slow and lazy.

Again this is my opinion only. Many of what I call the "dark" types taste very similar to me. There are a few exceptions. There are a few that I feel the flavor stands out and different. But here in my climate I have to choose a variety not only for flavor but for what will produce well also. And many of the darks do better here. Another issue with many of the varieties is there are several what I call imposters being sold. Cherokee Purple is one of them. The first time I ordered seeds and tried it I said I would never grow it again. Then the original person who received the seeds and distributed some out sent me seeds. The difference was daylight and dark. I have grown plants from commercial sources usually alongside those from my saved seeds of the original.So far I've always seen some differences either in taste, size or color. There are several other varieties that this applies too. I feel this along with each of us having our own taste preferences is the reason there is so many differring opinons about a variety and not only the darks. Brandywine is one. I'm strongly convinced that your soil and growing conditions also enter in. I have never found that "to die for" flavor in a Pink Brandywine. The best tasting, best producing Brandywine type I've grown is a selection from the Tulsa area named Randy's Brandy. Very good and very productive for me last year. The seeds I received produced both leaf types and the seeds I saved from the RL plant that did so well is also. I will continue to select to see if I can stabilize so the seeds from each leaf type are stable. This is one I feel is worth trying for anyone who likes Brandywine. Our growing conditions including our soil influences the flavor greatly also. Another reason one person will really like the flavor of a variety and another may not. KB is a prime example. It is one of my favorites. For the ultimat flavor it needs to either be grown in well draining soil or watered only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise the flavor will be watered down. It also produces very well here normally. I believe it is Dawn who says it doesn't produce as heavy for her. But then varieties like Rutgers produce a lot better for her than they do for me. So in the end we each have to find varieties we like the flavor of, that will produce consistently in our own garden. Jay

I like the taste of Cherokee Purple, but it is not a big producer for me. I bought a plant one year from The Tomato Man and I think I got 2 tomatoes, but that was before I started improving my soil and before my neighbors tree was damaged by a storm and had to be cut down. LOL I have planted it several times since from seed and it tastes good but still does not produce heavily. I keep improving my soil and trying again. Black Krim and Carbon seem to do better for me that CP. Of course, I always plant Black Cherry.

Jay, you mentioned Sioux the other day. I planted a couple of plants two years ago and they just kept pumping out the tomatoes all season, but some were big and some little. The shape was even a little different from tomato to tomato. I just never knew what to expect from them. I had one in a short cage because I didn't know it was going to be as big as it was. It went over the top and draped back down and creeped into the pepper patch so sometimes I could see a ripe tomato, but had to work my way to it. I used them mostly for making salsa, and none of them were what you see in a nice round grocery type tomato. I will be planting a couple this year though because I need to make salsa again. I am hoping for a good tomato year.

In my opinion, Sioux's primary fault is a thin skin which cracks easily. But it sure tastes good, and, as Carol mentioned, it pumps out the fruit even when it's hot. I rather like the smaller Sioux tomatoes. I simply cut them in whole slices and pop them into my mouth. Yum!

I have grown Black Plum a couple of times. I REALLY don't like that flavor, even though many rave about the variety. It was only Dawn's evaluation of Black Cherry which convinced me to give it a try. Black Cherry is our all time favorite cherry tomato.

George

George

Found this page because I planted 3 Rutgers plants this year and was curious to hear other's experiences growing them in OK.
I always plant at least a couple Cherokee Purple and one Black Cherry, but most of the blacks I've tried simply didn't produce well, with the exception of Black Plum, which I didn't like.
Always plant a couple Souix or Super Souix and one I don't have this year, but really does well for me is Creole.

I haven't had much luck with bi-colors and the only yellow, other than yellow pear that's done well for me is Azoychka.

Some years I start my own plants and some I don't. This year I puchased them from OK Food Co-op suppliers and they're doing well. Cherokee Purple and Yellow Pear are already blooming. I purchased plants from TomatoMan a couple of times and they were gorgeous, pricy and didn't produce well for me at all.