Heirlooms Vs. Hybrids?

13 years ago

Hello gardeners,

I'm a newbee here, joined on Fri. but not new to gardening, been at it for 30 some years. I see on the tomato forum that many members are enamored to the heirloom varieties, especially the Brandywines. My question is: is there anyone except me who grows and enjoys some of my favorite hybrids ie. Better Boy, Superfantastic, and a new found favorite the last 3 seasons, 4th of July? Don't get me wrong, I'm not doggin' the heirlooms in fact I admit that this year I have 2 each of Mule Team, Hillbilly, Mortgage Lifter and Homestead. This is my first year for the heirlooms and am looking forward to seeing what kind of production, taste and DTM,and will definately be saving seed on the ones I like for next year. The Brandywines supposedly are the best tasting tomato ever, is thier taste sweet and mild, or bold and acidic? My personal preference is a tomato so acidic that it will almost make your jaw aike! That is what I get with the Better Boys and Superfantastics, and most seasons have ripe tomatoes by July 4th and continue to produce right up till the 1st frost in early Nov.

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Comments (8)

dickiefickle
13 years ago
yes check some postings
digdirt2
13 years ago
Yep many here also grow hybrid varieties and many of them are standard recommendations when folks ask about favorites. ;)

Brandy Boy gets lots of good reviews as does Supersonic and Sun Gold. Some swear by Early Girl and Lemon Boy.

Personally I prefer Jet Star for it's consistent production and usually have a couple of Big Mamas and Viva Italia mixed in also for canning sauce. Tried Fourth of July 3 years and then decided it wasn't worth the space in my garden.

But when it comes to flavor as a slicer for a BLT I'll take one of my many heirlooms every time. ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Favorite hybrid discussion
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Strange that beans have become a side discussion here, since there are no hybrid beans. "What's with Fortex beans?? The one time I tried them they were knotty and didn't look worth picking.[not tender looking at all]" I'm a big fan of Fortex, but I did have a similar experience once, when I first started growing them. The pods twisted & curled severely, and had hard brown spots which would crack if bent. After some observation, I figured out that it was wind bruising - one of the variety's few weaknesses. So now I always plant them downwind of another tall crop as a windbreak (such as corn or pole limas) and get straight, beautiful pods. On to the original post. This is one of those topics that comes up every year, on almost every garden forum. There are devotees of both hybrids & heirlooms... but as Jimster hinted above, the topic should really be "hybrid vs. OP" (open pollinated). There have already been many valid points presented here. Hybrids might perform better under less than ideal conditions (such as the far North), or if a particular disease is a major problem. Some have also been bred for "all at once" harvest, which represents an advantage for canning purposes. However, those qualities are no guarantee of superior flavor. And as previously mentioned, you can't save hybrid seed & expect the crop to breed true, so new seed/plants must be purchased each year. Many of those who grow OP seed do so because it represents food independence... once grown, you never again need to purchase seed. Some state that OP varieties are inferior to hybrids; but many of them are the products of once-great public & private breeding programs, and are every bit as good as their hybrid counterparts. There are many heirloom/OP varieties with great flavor... but that should not be assumed, any more than poor flavor should be assumed of hybrids. There are winners & losers in both categories. Nor do hybrids have a monopoly on disease resistance; I have quite a few OP varieties that I grow expressly because of their resistance to the diseases present in my area. The only problem in that regard is that OP disease resistance is not well documented, so it might take a bit of searching and/or trials to find resistant varieties. That's one area where garden forums can really be helpful. As a member of the Seed Savers Exchange, my preference is to grow OP/hybrid as my first choice, so I have eliminated nearly all hybrids from my garden. There is a great feeling to saving your own seed, and keeping alive the varieties of the past. It's also nice to be able to share seed... and I should point out, not many share hybrids. ;-) But I am not an absolutist... my main objections to hybrids are philosophical. Still can't see giving up hybrid sweet corn... as Wayne stated, "it is hard to go back". One more note on flavor. Culture has at least as much influence upon flavor as variety. Even an otherwise mediocre variety, given good soil, TLC, and picked in its prime, will outshine the best supermarket produce... and the best variety, grown poorly, might be disappointing. It might matter less whether a variety is OP or hybrid, and more how much care is put into growing it.
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Hi ccaggiano - I don't honestly think you can make broad general conclusion on germination rates between heirlooms and hybrids. Too much depends on the variety and seed quality. Assuming good, fresh quality of both and equal conditions, I find little difference between germination rates/speeds, hybrids to heirlooms. But I do find a BIG difference from variety to variety of seeds regardless of whether they are hybrid or heirloom. EX: cherry/grape varieties often germinate faster than do beefsteak types, early varieties will germinate faster than late season varieties, and RL varieties will often germinate faster than PL varieties. So, given the info you provided I wouldn't give up on any of them yet. Hope this helps. ;) Dave
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You might try Golden Girl F1. Golden Girl is widely available. It is determinate and so makes an easily controllable plant. I've grown these in a the ground and an Earthbox with equal success. GG makes a smallish plant from germination and doesn't get nearly as "leggy" as some bigger tomatoes. To my wife and I, the taste is great -- sweet and tangy. A similar-tasting (but larger) tomato is Golden Sunray, but it is OP and indeterminate. I first encountered Sunray as a ~10 year-old at the Indiana State Fair, Purdue University Ag. exposition. I remember it so well since I had never seen a "yellow" tomato. I've grown it many times. -WC Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Growers
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trudi_d
13 years ago
I think most people on this forum grow both heirlooms and hybrids. Brandywines are just a "family" of tomatoes, there are so many OPs beyond them with great flavor and productivity too.
spiced_ham
13 years ago
My mouth quickly gets sore if I eat acid tomatoes so I have to stay away from many hybrids and heirlooms too. Brandywine (pink potatoleaf) does not have an acid bite that I can remember. I would say that it is somewhat sweet, and just has a little bit of a different flavor than most others, which sets it apart but not necessarily above other good tasting varieties.
azruss
13 years ago
I grow what tastes good to me. Period.

Usually the OP's are on top flavor-wise (Aker's West Virginia won the Blue Ribbon this year), but the hybrids Big Beef, Ramapo, Moreton and others have a welcome spot in my tomato garden. I think next year I'll give Jet Star a try. Tried Supersonic this year with seed from a trade and found it very prone to sun scald. Not certain if it was the real deal, Supersonic F1. Might try again next season with purchased commercial seeds. My Brandy Boy's all died!
soonergrandmom
13 years ago
jcheckers - You may have trouble with Brandywines in OKC. It is hard to get any production from them in the Oklahoma heat. I am growing both hybrids and OP varieties this year and the only one I am seeing problems with is Pink Brandymaster. It has set fruit but the leaaves are beginning to yellow, and not just the lower ones. I am wondering if it will make it through my summer.

I like acid tomatoes also, but there are some that are not high acid that I find wonderful. I planted several Black Cherry plants this year and the first one that I put in the ground is over six feet tall, so looks like it is going to be a monster plant. I really like the taste of Black Cherry. I also like Sungold which is another cherry that almost taste like fruit to me. Until a few years ago I didn't even like cherry tomatoes, but now that I have found such good ones, they will always have a place in my garden. In addition, they keep producing while some of the larger ones take a little summer vacation in our heat.
aixia
13 years ago
Yep, I do mostly hybrids, with the occasional heirloom/open-pollinated for fun. My favorite so far has been Juliet, but this year I'm trying Brandywine for the first time. I don't know why it's supposed to be such a low producer, mine's setting fruit like crazy! I've also got a Better Bush this year just for kicks, which is chugging along well, though looks incredibly runty next to the Juliet and Brandywine. (It's supposed to be tiny though, no worries, it just looks funny.) I've also got one volunteer this year, probably from a Juliet dropped on the ground last year, so we'll see how that one turns out.

My future plans include Cherokee Purple, Indian Stripe, and Sun Gold. All the recent talk about Black Cherry is making me curious about that one too. Maybe next year...
catman529
13 years ago
I mostly grow open pollinated varieties but this year I had to try Sungold because of all the amazing things I've heard about the flavor and production. I've got several open-pollinated ones this year that I chose carefully, some saved from last year and some new to me. Brandywine is one of the new ones, can't wait to try it - I've spotted the first BW fruit this year about the size of a nickel. One thing I like about open-pollinated/heirlooms other than flavor is the fact that you can save seed. However I might try saving seed from my Sungolds to try and grow out and stabilize it (yeah I know a lot of tomato growers do this in hope of finding the perfect OP version of Sungold)

Heirlooms Vs. Hybrids?

Comments (8)

dickiefickle

digdirt2

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