Several years ago I was asked by MENews to participate in such a survey and IMO it's useless since it's folks from all over the US reporting back and not all had grown the varieties in the same season, and just too many variables to make any conclusions.

In retrospect I regret aggreing to participate but at the time I didn't know what the format was going to be.

I was also sent the article to porof, since it was Cheryl Long, the editor, who I knew when I proofed articles for Organic Gardening where she was at the time, and I also knew the author of the article, and I couldn't believe the number of errors and misstatements in that article.

They fixed most of them after I commented.

Carolyn, who thinks that the data above looks more like a send in your vote type list,

Looks like that same 2010 survey that many of us here participated in and then were amazed at the weird results. Don't know if all those discussions are still around or not.

I know they have since published several different lists using all sorts of criteria but a quick review of most of them comes up with many of the same varieties year after year.

I don't have any problems with their list of cherries except that it include Yellow Pear which should be buried in a 50 foot deep hole IMO.

Otherwise I'd go along with Rutgers, Giant Belgium, Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, Better Boy, Opalka, San Marzano, Speckled Roman, and Viva italia tho not necessarily in that order and probably ignore the rest.

I like Brandywine but the production is too low for me.

JMO

Dave

"I don't have any problems with their list of cherries except that it include Yellow Pear which should be buried in a 50 foot deep hole IMO. "

Only 50 feet?

"Only 50 feet?"

Apparently Arkansas is much closer to Hell than most people realize.

Apparently Arkansas is much closer to Hell than most people realize.

ROFL!! Yeah Yellow Pear came from hell and needs to be sent back there.

But here it's just all the &%$% bedrock you have to blast through to get even that deep.

Dave

Dave, kind of off topic, but do you get a lot of lightning strikes there?

I live on a giant slab of granite, some of it is exposed. There is a gravel mine about 5 miles from me chipping away on the same rock.

I get lightning strikes all of the time and I've read that it is because of the "big rock"!

I have to be sure I have a good ground on anything metal around here.

Yellow pear has gotta be one of the worse tomatoes ever. Bleh

Both the small Yellow Pear and Red Pears are pre-1800 varieties so there is some historical background for them. Do I think they're the best tasting ones around of that kind? I do prefer the taste of the red over the yellow and both sold very well when I was selling to restaurants who used them as garnishes.

Some alternatives that some here might consider are:

Medovaya Kaplya, which does have good taste and the fruits are similar toYellow Pear except they have no distinct necks and the fruits look like they've been tied at the top like a handbag of some sorts.

Yellow Submaine, which is PL and very similar to Yellow Pear, but again, has better taste.

Carolyn

Sorry if this is slightly OT. Why are Beefsteak and Sungold listed as being both F1 & OP at the same time in this article? I don't recall ever seeing tomatoes listed with both designations.

I'll answer for Sungold F1 and didn't go back up and see which beefstreak, or the one just called Beefsteak.

There are four OP versions of the original Sungold F1, three of them developed by Reinhard Kraft In Germany, a 4th one also exists, and a 5th one may be coming soon as bred by someone here in the US.

Are the current four as good as the F1? I don't think so but there are differing opinions.

There have been several threads about these here at GW and if you do a search and enter Big Sungold Select I think you'll find more info aboutall 4.

About OP versions of F1 hybrids in geneneral, What one does to convert an F1 to an OP is grow out the F1 and save F2 seeds. Then sow those seeds, see what you get with the plants in the next generation. And at the same time in the same season plant some F1's of that same variety for comparisons when making selections form the F2 plants.

There are OP versions of Big Boy F1 and several others and I was able to get a good OP version of Ramapo F1 as well.

Carolyn

Dave, kind of off topic, but do you get a lot of lightning strikes there?

Oh yeah. :) Good grounds on the well head and it still fries. Rods on the house. Trees, ground strikes in most any good storm.

I need to own stock in a top of the line surge suppressor company.

As Carolyn said, the same is true of Beefsteak, Dona, Rutgers and several others you'll see available with either an OP or an F1 designation, hybrid varieties that have been stabilized over time and still offered in both forms.

Dave

Good info as usual, Carolyn. Thanks.

Sungold Select appears to be different than Sungold F1 and somewhat unstable.

The OP versions of Sungold exist, but are not readily available to the average person such as myself. Sungold is technically both F1 and OP -- but heck if I can find where that they are sold in the OP form, or in both forms together. Isn't it a little misleading to list it as being available in both forms? Even more so if the OP versions have a different name and are not as good?

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Search: where can I buy open pollinated sungold tomato seeds

I feel a little inadequate to join a thread with you tomato expects, but will offer my 2 cents anyway. I would add Brandy Boy to the list of bests. I would add San Marzano to the same list that Dave puts Yellow Pear.
Just my thoughts.
John A

No, I don't think it's misleading at all to have places be offering an F1 and also an OP version .

They aren't identical as has been discussed here in this thread and also in the link below,.

And thanks for the Google search since I was able to find the thread here at GW quickly about Sungold that I was referring to.

If you want to find out where any of the OP versions of Sungold are sold, just go to Tatiana's T-base superb website, and I think you know it b'c you've been here before, but if not, Google it and when on the Home page click on shortcuts, then on alphabetical searching and away you go.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Sungold stuff