Love San Marzano Redorta

11 years ago

There have been a lot of questions about what is the best paste tomato on this forum and I thought I'd share my impression of San Marzano Redorta. This is the first year growing it for me so don't take this as a long term evaluation but so far I am loving this tomato.

Each plant got its own 24 inch diameter cage and I didn't prune them except for taking off diseased leaves. They have been extremely vigorous growers (approaching 7 ft right now) and shows good resistance to early blight. I don't spray and I garden in a community garden so I get that every year. The spread is much slower on San Marzano Redorta than other heirloom tomatoes I grow.

Fruit set was excellent until the heat and the drought set in a month ago. 40-50 fruits per plant which isn't all that unusual for paste type tomatoes but most fruits are 8 oz and over. Easy to peel and at this size fewer to peel as well for sauce. A small amount of BER during the drought.

The fruits are a great balance of sweetness, tanginess, and oddly salt. The flesh is firm but juicy, and there are not many seeds. It is great for sauce but to my surprise it is a very good fresh eating tomato as well. Haven't made salsa with it but I suspect it will make a rocking one.

In the past I've grown Opalka, Viva Italia, regular Roma, Hungarian Heart, and Amish Paste for my sauce needs but I have to say right now I am planning on growing only SMR next year in the paste category.

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Comments (16)

suncitylinda
11 years ago
I grew SM Redorta this year also and found it to be an excellent paste, as is Striped Roman.
ikea_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Hey suncitylinda, how big are the striped roman fruits? How's the taste? I am always intrigued by it because it is so pretty. :)
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Out of about a dozen varieties I planted this year, Opalka was by far the most robust and the most prolific; there are still a half dozen ripening tomatoes on the vines. The bugs seemed to ignore it in favor of other varieties. Also, this summer was abnormally cool and wet, and while all the other varieties were cracking, none of that seemed to bother the Opalka plants. It may be my location or my soil, but I wasn't too impressed with the flavor; it wasn't bad, understand, it just wasn't 'wow'.
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One of the best sauces we've made was when we add in some of our sweet frying peppers. It adds a bit more depth and a touch of sweetness. Here's a small batch getting started (mostly trying to clear counter space and make sure nothing went bad rather than making to freeze): Big Daddy Pepper, 1 or 2 Striped Romans, some Extreme Bushes, a couple small Cherokee Purple (counter ripened because they got knocked off), and Scallions Chocolate Cherry and Shimmer joined the party Gotta have herbs! Looks like sage, rosemary, oregano, and thyme in this one; parsley may have hopped in later with the salt and pepper, but I didn't take more progress pictures. And this is what actually made it to the fridge (cooked, strained, and partially used up):
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I am growing the following that I bought as plants from a local grower. I chose the San Marzano Lungo (slightly later than San Marzano) because it's a newer selection and supposed to be a heavy producer. But I chose Vilms because it is a 2-3 bite tomato that I wanted to dehydrate. It's also a late season here in NH. I need to check my garden to see what the heck is happening with Cuor di Bue (70 days) which is considered a standby paste tomato in Italy and Grandma Mary's (also early season) that is supposed to produce even during cold summers (which this one isn't). · 1 Cuor di Bue · 1 Grandma Mary’s · 1 San Marzano Lungo · 1 Vilms I grew a Hog Heart (1) and several Opalka from seed because I liked the large size for sauces and canning. They are ripening and showing some evidence of BER. The plants started off looking healthy but are starting to look spindly, possibly because of our drought situation. I have a plastic high tunnel which houses a few tomato plants. I have found the plants are much healthier and larger in the high tunnel. Even with the sides rolled up, temperatures get over 100 during the day. I use an oscillating sprinkler to water. I've been haphazard about documenting which tomatoes we like best. Right now I have 4 plants in a bed that despite duplicate growing conditions, are vastly different. Asia Yellow cherry tomato is producing a lot but the plant is extremely spindly. Another cherry tomato is very healthy, heavy with fruit and bushy with leaves. A second cherry tomato in a different bed is also large and heavy with fruit. Basically, with the paste tomatoes I found that I liked a small paste tomato for dehydrating and large ones for sauce. But I have a long ways to go in figuring out how to prevent some of the diseases. The drought has helped keep blighty diseases down.
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Grew this kind out from seeds purchased at Marianna's seeds. Before this season I had only grown Romas, but I couldn't be more pleased. The seeds germinated very quickly and the seedlings were robust. The plants are around 6 1/2 ft tall now, and most of the lower fruit is at least 2/3 the size of a soda can! Not showing disease or BER, although I did have to throw 2 out with BER earlier in the season. It is kind of a late bloomer and it doesn't look like much to start, but when you realize how big those things are and how much fruit it actually set, its crazy. I am going to try some other varieties next fall, but the Redorta is a keeper for me.
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suncitylinda
11 years ago
Both San Marzano Redorta and Oplaka were larger than Striped Roman but decent size. maybe 4 inches long or a bit more. Sweet. Good. It is a beauty for sure.
crazyoldgoose
11 years ago
My favorite for making sauce !
crazyoldgoose
11 years ago
A few of my biggest SMR's from this year. (thanks to the drip irrigation during this drought)

Can't wait to start making sauce!

crazyoldgooseman in Md
Creek-side
11 years ago
Can anyone tell me a reliable source for these? My usual sources don't seem to sell them.
Ohiofem 6a/5b Southwest Ohio
11 years ago
Tomato Growers Supply has them.
crazyoldgoose
11 years ago
One their website, Tomato Growers supply said they had them in stock last year but back ordered mine. I got them in time enough but ended up getting the some seed from "Seeds from Italy" just in case.

The ones from Italy were the seeds I planted and mine came out great. Good Luck crazyoldgoose in Maryland

Here is a link that might be useful: Seeds From Italy, San Marzano Redorta
helenh
11 years ago
Thanks for the tip. Seeds From Italy shipping is $3.95 for under $15.00 so I may order some although I already have too many tomato seeds to plant. I am also looking at their basil because of something on a herb garden thread.

This post was edited by helenh on Tue, Jan 22, 13 at 10:42
archerb
11 years ago
I certainly loved SMZ-Redorta as well, but there are so many excellent tomatoes similar to it. George, O'Brien, Opalka, and my personal favorite, Cherokee Sausage, aka Wessel's Purple Pride.

You also have your plums. Japanese Black Trifele, Dino Eggs, Christopher Columbus, and so on.
archerb
11 years ago
I forgot to mention the hearts, but you get the idea.

Don't limit yourself to just one tomato. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

This post was edited by archerb on Fri, Jan 25, 13 at 13:34
angela.t
11 years ago
Great. Now due to this rave reviews, I may just have to make room again for it in my garden. lol

I had tried it and Opalka since I planned to make sauce, but no joke, I believe they were the only tomato plants that did wimpy in my garden! It was my first year gardening, but with all the research I did and care I gave them, all the other ones rocked, like Middle Tennessee, Italian Tree, Mariana's Peace, etc., so much so I had to train them sideways along the fence. My paste tomato plants? I believe I did four and I think ONE got to a gangly 4 feet tall, not very branched, the others were stubbornly stuck at about two feet tall, though they did produce. LOL! So yeah, MAYBE I just might have to scrap the idea of another new oxheart variety and give a well praised paste tomato a second chance. ;)
williammorgan
11 years ago
I love San Marzano Redorta tomatoes too. It's like a regular San Marzano but much bigger, thicker walled and less seeds I think.

I ordered some from Tomatofest.

My biggest problem with this variety is I love them red and my dog likes them green.
Jessie Tenney
9 years ago
I LOVE San Marzano Redorta. Have been growing tomatoes for 40+ years (usually 100+ plants--I'm a little "tomato crazy"), and it is by far my favorite canning/paste tomato. Yield is excellent (unlike San Marzano), plant is hardy, flavor is wonderful. And suncitylinda, I have grown Striped Roman for a few years, an though they do compare in size to Redortz, I have found the skin on this variety to be exceptionally tough.
Jessie Tenney
9 years ago
Creek-side, I'm a little late to the party, but if you're still interested in seeds for the San Marzano Redorta, try Grow Italian. Great price, too!
Creek-side
9 years ago
Thanks for the tip. I managed to get some from Seeds From Italy.

Love San Marzano Redorta

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Love San Marzano Redorta

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