Quick update - I thought I had made it past that frost/freeze last week, but when I came home after work on Thursday I found my Black Krim was completely wilted. It was the only plant without a WOW, and died because of it. Sounds like some people try to let them grow back, but this didn't look like it had any hope, so I pulled it out. Also the top of my Brandywine that was sticking out the top of the WOW froze and died. I pruned the top off, including the main growth tip unfortunately, so hopefully it will be fine without it. I was able to replace my BK with a Stupice. Wish I had exchanged that faulty WOW earlier, though this definitely proved how useful they are. Forecast shows a low of 33 for Friday (5/7), so I guess we still aren't in the clear yet either. Looks like we have a few nice days early this week at least. My Sunsugar and Fourth of July in my Earthbox both have several green tomatoes already...

Thanks seysonn. Back to the topic at hand, I actually have a Husky Cherry Red tomato and the Bonnie tag said Indeterminate. I planted it in a raised 4x8 bed. 4x6 was allocated to 6 indeterminates in 2 rows of 3 all outfitted with Texas Tomato cages. When I noticed the Husky Cheery Red was a lot shorter than the others, I went to the Bonnie site and it said it was a dwarf indeterminate. It too was stocky in nature and removed the TTC and added one 1x1 stake. Should have left the cage. One branch split from the maturing fruit but was able to add a bamboo stake and it survived. It's currently about 3' high and has multiple stakes. I like the "tangy" Husky Cheery Red, but prefer the sweeter little Sun Sugars (pictured) though it's a monster plant that is over 8' tall. I added another 2' TTC extension the other day. Poor Husky has to fend for itself between a zucchini and a Gold Medal even though I thought I had allowed enough room between plants. I chuck this year as a learning experience and hope to give everyone more room next year with wider spacing and additional beds.

I agree with what Seeker suggested, especially the new varieties from the Dwarf Project. Husky Red Cherry has that deep green rugose foliage and is what's called an ISI ( indeterminate short internode) variety and so it does stay compact as you note. All of the current releases from the Dwarf Project also have that deep green rugose foliage and also stay compact but the project has greatly expanded the fruit colors and shapes than have ever existed before for dwarf varieties. As a side note, I think the Husky Red is the only one remaining of a series of Huskies that were bred by Petoseed many years ago in many different colors. They didn't go over well with the public b'c of the rugose foliage, which I happen to think is beautiful, but was new to most tomato growers at the time. The pendulum went back to dwarf and det varieties b/c of so many folks wanting varieties that did stay compact for container growing and also for inground growing where space was an issue. Right now I have two from the Dwarf Project growing, Iditirod Red and Dwarf Jade Beauty and have grown Summertime Green, Summertime Gold, Wild Fred, and a couple of others. There are two places that carry ALL of the current releases from the project. One is the one linked to above and that's Tania's T-base which you can find by Googling and the other place is Heritage Seeds in CA where Steve also has all of them. I'm just too lazy this AM to go fetch the links, sorry. And other places that were initially sent some of the new ones include Tomato Growers Supply, Victory Seeds, Sandhill Preservation, and they may still have some but the two places I mentioned above have all of them now as will Gleckerseedmen for 2013 if seed production goes well. Hope that helps. Carolyn

For the first time, I don't think I had what I would call a bad variety this season. I grew 20 varieties and was content with every single one of them. Certainly, some were better than others, but it was a fantastic tomato season for me. I tend to grow for as much production as possible because I can a ton of tomatoes, so several of the best tasting tomatoes aren't necessarily among my favorite for that reason. We all know some varieties are worth growing strictly for taste, production be damned. :) My list is below and ranked by flavor alone, but I also included notes on growth, productivity, etc. for people curious in more than flavor (1 best, 19 least best): 1. Dr. Wyche's Yellow - Productive, beautiful, huge, sweet, tropical, meaty and juicy - it's an amazing tomato that does almost everything right. It has become a staple. Will grow again in 2018. 2. Brandy Boy - The flavor is what I expected - very balanced, complex, sweet and meaty. Not as productive as I hoped for (Stump of the World remains my favorite pink beefsteak of all time), but a great variety nonetheless. Will grow again, but not in 2018. 3. Aker's West Virginia - Had a late start in the garden (planted early June), but once it got going, holy smokes. Huge red beefsteaks with amazing flavor, tons of flesh and almost no core at all. Many fruit over a pound. One of the more productive large varieties this season. On the tentative list for 2018. 4. Burcham's New Generation - See TCA at #5 below. Very similar characteristics, but a bit more productive. Flavor is balanced and delicious. I will grow this one again, but not in 2018. 5. Todd County Amish - Gigantic pink beefsteaks, smooth skin and meaty flesh. Very flavorful with little gel, but the least productive beefsteak I grew this season. Will grow again, but not in 2018. 6. Cream Sausage - Third season growing, third season loving. It is my partner's favorite tomato. Very mild, balanced flavor and very prolific. Makes the most gorgeous sauce with its pale creamy yellow flesh and looks amazing canned in the pantry. Most certainly on the list for 2018. 7. Heatherington Pink - Nearly perfectly shaped, huge round light pink beefsteaks. Very meaty with little juice. Reminds me very much of 1884 (which I will be growing again in 2018), but lighter in color. On the tentative plans for 2018. 8. Hartsack Yellow - Very nice balanced flavor with sweet notes at the forefront and some acid following closely behind. Gorgeous yellow/orange with red striations. Meaty and juicy, moderately productive. Will grow again, but not in 2018. 9. Aussie - Great true tomato flavor, huge fluted fruits with moderate productivity and gorgeous bright red skins. Had issues with shoulders ripening fully and many fruit had large cores. Will grow again in 2018. 10. Green Moldovan - Surprisingly good/sweet flavor given its color when fully ripe (dark green with light yellow tinge at blossom end). Like most of these types, extremely juicy with short shelf life. Ridiculously productive and makes for very interesting conversation when canned. Will grow again in 2018. 11. Woodle Orange - Amazing, true deep orange tomato with sweet delicious flesh. Extremely meaty, baseball-sized fruit. Least productive plant overall in my garden this season (only 8 fruit). Will grow again to see if I can get better production, but likely not in 2018. 12. TIE: Bush Early Girl/Paragon - Very similar fruit, about baseball-size with nice bright red color and almost zero blemishes or flaws at all. Both varieties are very productive and perfect sandwich slicers, but also make wonderful tomato products. Very good all-purpose with good balance of sweet/acid. BEG is on the list for 2018, Paragon is tentative. 13. Urbanite - I believe I received some incorrect seed, as it grew as a heart-shaped tomato for me, which Urbanite is not supposed to be. Regardless, this was a nice surprise and a very good pink heart tomato with excellent flavor and meaty interior. Somewhat wispy initial growth that filled in nicely as the season progressed. Will try to grow again hoping for true seed, but not in 2018. 14. Krasnodar Titans - My absolute favorite for various canning applications, fresh pico and salsa because of its thick skin and fully meaty flesh with little juice. Keeps easily for a week or longer on the counter when ripe because of thick skins. Fruits are rather inconsistent in size (2-14oz), but very productive and tidy. Will be growing several in 2018. 15. Yaqui - A very productive, large Roma-style paste tomato with good flavor. This is a perfect canning tomato as it contains almost zero juice and is very fleshy, much like KT but generally smaller. Thicker skin allows longer shelf life; about a week, but probably even longer. Very prone to BER (the only variety in my garden to get it the last two seasons). Will grow again in 2018. 16. Cuostralee - I think I have seeds for the correct variety, because the fruit looked right, but were very small based on product descriptions online. Quite flavorful, but forgettable in general and not among my favorite. I have read this is an excellent variety, so I will try again. It's tentative for 2018. 17. Red Rocket - See notes above at #12 on BEG/Paragon - a moderately productive, gorgeous, red medium-sized slicer with balanced flavor and little drama, but flavor is not as memorable as those above. I'll keep the seeds around, but it is not on the list for 2018. 18. Tatar of Mongolistan - I believe I received incorrect seed, as it was much smaller, less productive and didn't fit the proper physical description. With that said, flavor was perfectly fine for salads and various other dishes, but it didn't win me over. I'll keep the seed and hope to rule it out some time, but I won't grow in 2018. 19. Box Car Willie - See TOM at #18 above - basically the same thoughts. It was a highly productive golf-ball sized fruit with good flavor, but was not BCW. Will grow again to rule out issues with seed, but it is not on the list for 2018. Shule, as you mentioned above, making these lists is challenging because so many variables go into what makes a tomato someone's favorite. I lean toward the large, heirloom beefsteaks because they're not only among the most flavorful, but they're fun to show off, make amazing tomato products and are often just as productive. Of course, you only need 1/3 the number of fruit as smaller determinate types to make the same volume of product, so there you go. I truly had zero spitters in the garden this season, but made good notes as I went along, so I feel my list is accurate for my personal tastes and experiences. We all know we could grow the same varieties next season and have completely opposite results. :) I hope others will share their lists and faves, too. My season officially ended this morning with a hard freeze (23º), so now I will be reading forums all winter just waiting for next spring to come around to start it all over again.