I don't grow giants to grow giants... and I do have a few big blooms - I'll be keeping an eye on... but my favorite BIG tomato - (for taste as well as being a real whooper) is Omars Lebanese.

Good luck on your 3lber.

Have you bought the 'Giant Tomatoes' book?

I don't grow tomatoes for huge fruits either, b'c taste is my prime objective, but here are some that have given fruits in the 2-3 # and plus range in my garden and also in the gardens of others as reported by feedback/

And I'm surprised you're getting such large fruits with Mortgage Lifter.

Possibilities: ( and Delicious I have not grown personally and won't be doing so)

Zogola
Cuostralee
Omar's Lebanese
Large Pink Bulgarian
Delicious, which still holds the world's record
Red Barn
Tidwell German
Neves Azorean Red
Lithuanian

... for starters.

Carolyn

Big Zac and Porterhouse. The rest are pretenders.

Big Zac and Porterhouse. The rest are pretenders.

****

And you're making that comment based on growing what other varieties for size? ( smile)

I've been following the Big Zac story ever since Minnie Zacariah entered into an agreement with Totally Tomatoes then owned by Wayne Hilton, now owned by Jung's after Hilton sold them TT and Shumway and Vermont Bean, etc.

Actually I was following Minnie's contest wins even before that from a newsletter done by Bob Ambrose in NJ.

And while Minnie won many large tomato contests with what's known as Big Zac, I've not been all that impressed with what most others are getting with it, again, as compared with other varieties being grown.

About Porterhouse I know nada except that it was included in the NCSU tomato Cultivar list several years before Burpee first listed it. I haven't figured that one out yet. LOL

(Porterhouse - Breeder and vendor: W. Atlee Burpee and Co. Characteristics: giant hybrid tomato. 2000.)

... which is one of the shortest entries in that Cultivar list. ( smile)

Carolyn

Thanks to Carolyn and bigdaddyj for the variety suggestions. And tom8olvr, I haven't gotten the "Giant Tomatoes" book yet, but I intend to very soon.

My main objective starting out this year was to grow the big ones, providing they had reputations for at least acceptable flavors.

I have what I think is a very good collection of them growing in my raised beds now. I included my list in one of the threads in here awhile back, and they include Big Zac, Ultimate Giant, Omar's Lebanese, Neve's Azorean Red, Red Mortgage Lifter, Tidwell German, Mexico, Rostova, Dinner Plate, Bull's Heart, Pineapple, etc.

Won't have a verdict till end of the season, but I am not pruning this year except to get the lower leaves off the ground. I use good soil and mulch. Should have plenty of decent size tomatoes, but no giants since I am not pruning to just one or two tomatoes on each plant this year, with the exception of one Big Zac which is being cropped to just two tomatoes (the first two that set on, and are now still pretty small).

I grow "Delicious Tomatoes" This is the weight of the tomatoes on one of my plants.

2.5, 4, 5, 4,8, 6,5,2,6,7.5, 5,4,3,5,r,2,2.5, 3,4, 3,3.5,3,3,2,
Oz. Each.
Total: 6 pounds 15 Oz.

If you want to grow ONE big tomato you must prune and pick off all the other bloom. Then you MIGHT get your big tomato.

I think that the Delicious tomato world record was 8 pounds.

So far I have picked 46 pounds of tomatoes this year off of my 13 plants.
Cost: 20 cents for the Delicious tomato seeds last year.
$1.85 for Better Boy seeds.
One bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer, but I dont use much as I use compost that I make.
30 cents for the Roma tomato from the grocery store.
And $10.00 for scales to weight the tomatoes.

Atlanta, Georgia

Karyl.

Thanks for the info, Karyl. It seems Delicious has the most hype attached to it, yet there are very mixed messeges about it's size and yield in websites/literature. It's nice to hear a fellow gardener give an unbiased opinion about it.

Kevin.

BIG ZAC--From a couple years back when I had seeds (I have them again now).

Highly recommended--big toms, excellent flavor, for really big ones (3 pounds and over) I think you would have to prune some of the toms off but I don't have the heart to do it.
I got lots in the 2.5 range but let lots of clusters stay together.

I'm working with Neves Azorean Red this year. I've alway gotten huge fruits with BeefmasterVFN over the years. So far the fruits are growing and have plenty of time to fatten up. I'm mostly after flavor and size (the tomato sandwich) but curiosity led me to the Neves.

this is first year growing german queen' very pleased with them.i got two that will be close to 3 pounds or more. got about three weeks left to grow if nothing happens to them.

Mountaineer Mystery -- Great taste for such big tomatoes. Not much mention of it here (sorta lives up to its name) but it is a great one!

I don't grow for big ones either.

Ok, so it's only a 2 lb 9.7 oz'er but I didn't prune or pinch blossoms. It was one of many big NAR that I grew last year.. Most were in the 2lb range.

What's more, it's a great tasting tomato!

From your list above I have grown:

Zogola
Omar's Lebanese
Large Pink Bulgarian
Delicious, which still holds the world's record
Tidwell German
Neves Azorean Red

They are all fine, just not HUGE!

I have grown Big Zac many years. I have had several over 3 pounds.

Last year I grew Porterhouse. It was a monster maker. I could not believe how many 2 plus pounders I got from both of last year's Porterhouse plants! I have never seen anything like it.

This is important to consider. I am talking of varieties that grow HUGE all on their own. I'm organic and don't prune. I get huge plants way taller than me and I'm tall! And I've never tried for HUGE fruit. That Grahm guy fertilized and pruned and started early and actively tried for large. What I am saying is that Big Zac and Porterhouse are two varieties that grow huge toms all on their own...:)

Of course, the other varieties on your list that I haven't tried I shouldn't be quick to judge so maybe there are some winners among that group. The ones on your list that I HAVE grown before ARE pretenders though based on my experience when compared to BZ and PH. And I've tried many other "supposed" large varieties as well...:)

I dont prune or pull suckers either.this year i planted german queen and have several huge ones there still green i'm waiting for them to turn so i can weigh them in.

tennessee
ED

Here's a Delicious that someone brought to Tomatopalooza[tm] III.
It topped out at 4 pounds!

Very ugly, because it had to sit in the fridge for 3 weeks to make it to the event. But I definitely think this falls into
the HUGE category. IMHO anyway.

As for Cuostralee, I think the fruit tastes too good to
sacrifice even just one for obtaining larger fruits! :)

Lee

After research on the subject and posts here, I came in contact with a very nice gentleman who got me some seeds to try and they are doing very well in the garden at this point in time!!

Giant Belgian
Gordan Grahams Delicious
Slankard

As I like to try all sorts of the "hierloom" tomato bug I have caught, I decided to try some Giant varietys and will see this year what these three yield.
I was very excited to find out that this GW poster lives in the same town my Father (GrhS) was born and grew up in!!
This kind of explains the other facination I have with the hobby and that is where all of these countless varietys of OP's came from over time.

The thought I could obtain seeds from the same tomatoes grown by my ancestors and may have been eaten by relatives as youngsters is way cool to me!!!!!

Unfortunatly he did not know any of my relatives. I still look for seeds from my wifes dads side too, an Oxheart from north of the Ozarks from the late '30's and early '40's.

Funny how results change from garden to garden. Last year was full of stresses including a hail early so most varieties didn't attain max size. But NAR for me was 4-6 oz. bigger than the biggest Porterhouse or Big Zac. Porterhouse was a good producer which I'm growing again. Not so much for size but for production and a good flavor that will sell good at the markets. Big Zac to me is overrated. This was probably the 3rd time I'm grown it and again had several beat it for size and flavor. And no intention of growing it again soon. Just too many that do so much better for me. Just my experience. JD

We have pictures of my Grandfather with his Estler's Mortgage Lifters; some of the fruits he could hardly hold with both hands. Nobody I know nowadays seems to be able to duplicate his unique way with them, though, unfortunately. Tomahtohs, I'd love to see some pics of your big ML's. pretty please?? :^)

Here are some ideas on how to grow a 'little' 4 pounder. (see link) Won't get you the world record though.

No matter what variety you have (heirloom or hybrid like Big Zac) you are not going to get much over 2.5 to 3 pounds unless you prune--but who would complain if they got a bunch of great 'almost' 3 pounders. Big Zac has the proven potential (as do other varieties) IF you want to really work at it--Totally Tomatoes sold an excellent little paper written by Minnie Z. explaining how she did it.

You are a breed apart if you want to cut off all the extra tomatoes and fertilize the heck out of them but just like the big pumpkin growers it is a contagious obsession and it is fun to read about the techniques.

I 'think' about pruning toms off on a plant or two but it ain't that easy to do. GIANT TOMATOES is a great book on just that subject but also has general information valuable to anyone as well.

Forgot to mention that I have grown Omar's Lebanese, Large Pink Bulgarian, and Neves Azorean Red. Didn't get anything all that huge, at least not worth a picture. :) Grew Delicious donkey's years ago--they were big all right. I know some people don't like the flavor --I can't remember what it was like as back then I only grew a few hybrids and had nothing to compare it too.

(Peggy, those sure are some spectacular looking NARs!)

Kudos To peggy again, Wasn't even thinking about getting a 3 pounder out of the two NAR's in the garden this year.
I was just so happy about getting seeds from where I did and have been enjoying the lush big leaves. One has the largest dia. stem so far!
Those pics were inspiration along with the fab reviews to ask for a few seeds (grin)

Tom

Alright here are a few pictures

This was my biggest tomato from a few years ago, weighing in at about 1 1/2 pounds. It was a first year really putting effort into my plants, and needless to say I was astounded by how big this one was. I took a picture of a printed photo with my digital camera, which is why it's so blurry.

While i'm at it, I might as well post a few others... This was my first Mortgage lifter flower this year. A massive triple bloom!

Unfortunetely, it idiotically decided to drop, and ended up looking like this...

luckily there was a double blossom one the same cluster...

Which did set fruit, and looks something like this.

other than that, I have this Yellow "Pear" plant, which I suspect was mis-labeled, because it looks more like a grape type.

Yep. That is all.

BIG ZAC is the proven best by far. suppose to taste pretty good also.

However to get a big tomato you need more information and technique. See the book GROWING GIANT TOMATOES by Marvin Meisner. published august 2007. 9780975515310 (0975515314)

This is my favorite book on tomato growing. Carolyn's book is my favorite on tomato varieties. the two books are very different. and both are best at what they do.

Big Zac All the way baby,,,,,,,,

One tomato that seems to be overlooked as a variety for giant tomatos, but astounded me a couple of seasons ago by their size is (The Dutchman) which for me produced a heap of 2 lb'ers, and a couple of three pounders.

Peggy, that's some BLT! LOL!

This thread is missing a few ideas. One is that giant toms want to go to 6 or 7 pounds with lets say a 4 pound minimum.

Talking about 2 and 3 pounders just does not do it.

2nd one needs to accept that big toms come from big blossoms. so the trick is not so much how big a tomato you can grow but really how big are the blossoms on the variety. To get a really big tom you want not just a double blossom but maybe a 5 or 6 fold blossom and then you must make sure it gets pollenated. if it does not get pollenated fully it might drop off as shown above or not grow big. It is the fertilizled seeds that cause the tom to grow.

If you want to grow a big tom for a contest your best bet is to grow ALL BIG ZAC.

You want a variety where lets say every plant is giving big blossoms and not a variety that maybe one plant in a hundred gives big blossoms. the point I am trying to make is that some varieties might give a big tom once in a blue moon. but you want a variety where every plant has a chance to grow a big winner. BIG ZAC is the best competition tom variety to grow. It wins most contests.

Actually the discussion about pruning is still open to discussion. To me it makes sense to prune off the small blossoms. they will not produce big toms so prune them off. but try to keep all the big blossoms and make sure they fertilize fully. At that point you might have say 5 or 6 fertilized toms on a plant. now you need to watch closely to pick the best one and prune off the others. You also want to mark the fertilization date so you can have a red ripe tom to take to the county fair.

the above is about 4.7 pounds. it is officially 2.155 kg.

now this tomato is 7 pounds 6.7 ounces. 3.365 kg officially. Anyway note the multiple lobes. each is from a blossom multibloom. this one looks like it has about a 7 or 8 fold blossom. well at least 5 or 6 fold. you need big blossoms for big toms.

Note above Peggy has a great looking NAR. A super beautiful tom but it was not a 4 or 5 fold blossom. thus it ended life at 2 pounds 9 ounces. a great tom but not exactly what is wanted to win contests.

I talked to an old farmer many years ago. about 40 years ago. he said how he worked hard to get rid of those toms that looked terrible. The guy who did NAR said the same thing. he cleaned up the variety by selecting to eliminate the terrible looking multibloon toms.

Well guess what? to grow big ones we need to do the exact opposite. we need to select genetics that give tons of big ugly blossoms. We messed up by selecting to eliminate the genes that produce multi blossoms. We need to now develop those genes to grow the huge toms.

as the tom grows big you will have to support it or it will rip off the plant as it gets too heavy. you can make a sling to support the tom up in the air.

lastly I suspect it is an advantage to grow at cool temperatures. In high heat the tomato probably ripens faster and thus has less time to grow bigger. a steady slow growing long term growth without ripening probably is an advantage just as blossom set is much better at cooler temps. That 7 pounder was grown in Canada where it is cooler.

And last but never least here is a picture of that handsome gentleman Marvin Meisner with his big tomato 2007 that he took up to Canada but grew down here in USA. He is the author of the book Giant Tomatoes shown in the picture.

it was 4.6 pounds. I believe it was the biggest tom in usa in 2007. officially 2.075 kg.

Dangould, great pictures! Thanks for posting. Those toms sure make the rest of ours look puny. Your're right for the average homeowner getting over the 3 pound barrier would take some real effort.

Holy cow... I feel so insignificant after seeing that 7 pounder! I guess I'll have try getting Big Zac for next year if I want to pass 3 pounds...

I am going to get a bit anal. But the contest is for biggest tomato, not biggest tomatoes. If you have cluster/megablooms, that's more than one tomato, in my opinion.

So Marvin should be the king for biggest "tomato".

jts:

DW and I had the same conversation viewing the great pics posted by dg.
She is OTO that it is still one tomato.
Not given I have bias toward Dr. Miesner for his kindness and forte' in the field, I believe he should have won in this contest also.

I would be interested in the scientific opinion, since it stands to reason these are multiple tomatoe's fused together from the close proximity and fertilization of multiple blossoms . Or could they be considered mutations?

Tom

You can keep those big ugly tomatoes. I go for flavor ONLY!

From one DR to another (not a real DR) I'll take a tomato anyway I can get it. I've grown tomatoes for 40 years but recently in my older years I have gotten interested in giants.I grow giant everything,tomatoes,pumpkins,cabbage,watermelon,ect.Anyways my point is veggies are fun to grow and have room for everyone's desires,be it a green one,a multi colored one ,a mini cherry or a monster.Just have fun and enjoy what your doing.When its no longer fun it becomes a chore and who needs more of that.