Thank you all. I have done some occasional stalking over on the Harvest forum, and you bet those folks know their stuff. Maybe I worded my search wrong, but couldn't seem to find the info I was looking for. (maybe because most people have enough sense to figure it out for themselves...) Thank you, Dave, for your words about Victorio. I bought it last year for dealing with blueberries, but it was an incredible help with my tomato harvest this year. It absolutely does leave the pulp. Last year (when I grew sauce tomatoes), I had lots and lots of sauce after I ran it through a wire strainer. I just didn't have enough sense to know what to do with it. This year, I did strain the first couple batches of tomatoes I ran through it, and the small amount of pulp that was in those beefsteaks made lovely sauce. Just not enough of it. What I especially liked was how quickly the pulp cooked down into sauce once it was strained out. After using this amazing gadget this year, I don't think there's much of anything that anyone could say to make me fall out of love with it. It's a huge labor and time saver! As a note, I discovered by accident, that if I filled the hopper with tomato pieces before I cranked them through and then emptied the bowl right into a hot pan, I had minimal separation of pulp and water in the jars. Re: Determinate Sauce tomato. I grow my vegetables organically, and honestly don't even like to spray organic concoctions. Add to that the fact that the entire county here seems to have Early Blight in the soil, plus the fact that our incredibly hot mid summer heat puts a stop to tomato production anyway, and I have decided that it really doesn't matter whether I grow determinates or indeterminates. I am still only going to get the first crop. I will try Opalka as an experiment. Sounds intriguing. But I am very grateful for the extra mention of Italia. All three recs are on my list to try.

Looking for a few seeds of any of the above tomatoes for postage. Or other heirloom tomatos email me at crabbett@aol.com Thanks!!!..... San Marzano Redorta Elmers Old German Italian Tree

I grew both San Marzano and Super San Marzano last year. My Super San Marzano plants grew very large, and larger than my regular San Marzano, both plant wise and fruit wise. I too was told it was a determite when I planted last year, so I placed them closer together and they became really cramped and really did not have enough room. I would plant them as an indeterminate as I felt they really do carry traits of an inderterminate as it kept right on fruiting and grew large in size. This way you do not make the mistake I did last year! Hope this helps! Christy

Carolyn, my Opalka seeds were sourced from Sandhill. I will admit, my first year growing Opalka BER became a problem for several varieties(but not all) of tomato that year. Lots of rain followed by drought, and then I think probably over watered to compensate. Last year I gave Opalka another shot. And while I didn't get any BER problems, the production, fruit size, and plant vigor just wasn't all that spectacular. As I said before, the taste, while not bad, was only a slight improvement over Roma(which I consider to be far more vigorous and productive). I know most here won't share my opinion, but I've found leaf problems are far less pronounced when growing hybrid tomatoes and varieties bred for resistance. I understand that all tomato varies are susceptible to one thing or another regardless of being OP or Hybrid, dictated by the grower, but more accurately, by the environment and soil- which is sometimes difficult if not impossible to control. Mulio, I am far from being an expert, but this "grower" has successfully grown and harvested many varieties of tomatoes over the last decade. I've made a few mistakes along the way, but it ain't my first rodeo. I mean, really, how hard is it to grow a tomato? Opalka just didn't pan out the way I hoped it would. Just because the majority likes it(and Carolyn recommends it) doesn't mean I have to. I know it's not a popular opinion and I'm ok with that. This year is a mostly hybrid centric crop, and the plants just look so much happier and healthier than before, and producing like mad. Pure luck? science? grower? There are a few heirlooms that I would probably grow again, but 1 or 2 varieties out of the few dozen I've tried is hardly worth it.