Opalka is better. Amish paste was one of my standards for years but did Opalka this year based on numerous recommendations from folks here. It beats Amish Paste in both size and taste for me.

As to "average size, numbers, days to maturity and..." Since we are in radically different zones my stats, even if I kept all those details, wouldn't be applicable for you but I linked its description below. Google it by name for many more detailed descriptions.

The only way you can truly evaluate the taste/performance/DTM etc. of any variety is to grow it in your own garden. ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Opalka tomato

Thanks for the input Dave.

I was thinking of trying Opalka. Now I'm sure.

I didn't know it was larger than Amish Paste. I read so many conflicting descriptions in the seed catalogues. I've never seen a weight listed for Opalka, while Amish paste is listed anywhere from 8 oz to 1 lb. Someone here on GW posted a pic of a 14.7 oz. Amish Paste a week or two ago. Do you think any of your Opalka's got to be that size?

I am also thinking of trying the Chyko. At 2 lbs+ it sounds awesome, but I've heard very little about it and there seems to be no info here on GW about it. Is ti too new or is it a poor tasting or growing variety? No ansers yet.

Thanks again for your comments.

SSE Members, does the SSE yearbook give information as to actual harvested fruit size and weight? I've looked for info about the yearbook and other member benefits on SSE's site but have found none so far. Is it hidden? Or did I just miss it?

Bob
wi-northernlight

SSE Members, does the SSE yearbook give information as to actual harvested fruit size and weight? I've looked for info about the yearbook and other member benefits on SSE's site but have found none so far. Is it hidden? Or did I just miss it?

****

You ,missed it Bob for everything is spelled out quite clearly. ( smile)

If you go to several of the seed sources, and TGS is good, you can read about Opalka and Amish Paste sizes and DTM's.

If you look in a Yearbook, which changes each year depending on who is listing what, what you'll see is X number of persons listing a given variety and of course there's a range of DTM and weights b'c no two folks grow tomatoes the same way. And they live in different parts of the country.

Caroly Chyko is far from a new variety, same with Amish Paste and I don't consider either of them paste tomatoes b'c they're both too juicy as far as I'm concerned.

You seem to be interested in large size but most decent paste tomatoes are not grown for size, and here I speak of Heidi, Martino's Roma, Opalka, Wuhib and similar.

Most folks I know gave up long ago on paste tomatoes b'c they are quite susceptible to BER and Early blight ( A. solani) Most folks I know prefer to grow just great tasting varieties and cook the sauce down a bit more to the desired consistency.

You can't really equate a variety name that has paste as part of the name with it's best use, in my opinion. There's also a variety called Lillian's Red Kansas Paste and it's not a paste type either. ( smile)

In addition to Opalka, which I introduced, I highly recommend Sarnowski Polish Plum, which is a meaty plum paste type, quite similar to in shape to Opalka actually, so I don't know why the Sarnowski family insisted I call it a plum. LOL Seeds for Sarnowski can be found at Sandhill Preservation online.

Carolyn

Do you think any of your Opalka's got to be that size?

No, but then I have never had an Amish Paste get to that size either. ;) Its avg. listed weight is 6-8 oz. but water weight can add ounces to any tomato. Course it also waters down taste.

My Opalka, for the most part were larger than any Amish Paste I have ever grown. I have had some San Marzano's get as big but not many. But it was the flavor of Opalka that sold me since I grow paste tomatoes - indeed all my tomatoes - for flavor not size.

Best bet is to try 1-2 plants of each and see which performs best for you and which taste you prefer. You may not care for either as many do not. For what it is worth, on another MB that I frequent, one that ranks/rates varieties, AP gets some neutral, even some bad reviews. Every single review of Opalka is positive. ;)

Dave

N-Light,

Last year I was looking for extra large paste tomatoes with flavor.

I grew Amish Paste from two sources. Both were about the same. I wouldn't call them paste tomatoes. They would've been considered large for paste if they had've been past, but they had way too much gel and seeds to be considered paste tomatoes. Personally, I found the taste a bit funky and won't be growing them again or recommending them either.

I also grew Polish Linguisa in 2006, and they were large to extra large paste tomatoes with good flavor for a paste tomato. I'd say overall, P-Ling tasted fair for a tomato in general, and was not mealy or grainy like a lot of paste tomatoes.

I grew Opalka in 2006, and they were not as large as Polish Linguisa and about the same as Amish paste but more consistent in shape and size. Opalka has excellent flavor for a paste tomato and superior flavor for a tomato in general. Also, their skin thinness and interior texture were supreme for a paste tomato and they were delicious right on a salad. I highly recommend Opalka as an all purpose tomato and excellent for fresh salsa.

This year I was looking for an even larger paste tomato and tried Romeo from Peters Seed Research. Here is their Web page for Romeo Tomato .

While I don't doubt their claim of "up to 2 pounds, I only got up to 1 pound, 12 ounces ... but I got several that weighed between 1 - 1.5 pounds of one of the two plants and most were 3/4 - 1.25 pounds off another plant. Our summer was extremely hot and dry ... August was like 25 days of 94 - 105*F ... and I don't think we had a half inch of rain. So, I would expect larger Romeo fruit in a normal season.

The reason I mention Romeo is because you are asking for a large paste with taste. Romeo's flavor richened as the season progressed, and by late August, the tomatoes tasted really good sliced on sandwiches ... surprisingly good for a super dense, meaty tomato with next to zero seeds and no gel in most of the locules except for just enough to serve as embryonic encasement for the maybe ten seeds per locule AT MOST!

For me, Romeo made extra good sauce that didn't have to be simmered too long. And if you roast the tomatoes first, they really tasted fabulous.

Here is a shot of the

There are some more extra large paste tomato I still want to try ... like Howard German and Big Mama ... but at this point, I think Romeo proved itself to be a jumbo paste with very good taste. It also was disease resistent and fairly heat tolerant.

Bill

Dave,
Thanks for you input. I think I'll pass on the Amish Paste in favor of the Opalka as you suggested. You make some very good points.

Carolyn,
You ,missed it Bob for everything is spelled out quite clearly. ( smile)

*****

I found it now. Wasn't really that hard. How'd I miss it the first time thru??? I think I'll have to join SSE. But I'm afraid then I will spend all my winters browsing the SSE Yearbook 8 hrs/day. Could be worse : )

Bill,

Wow, that's some tomato. It's exactly what I was looking for, a large good tasting paste type that doesn't need much cooking down.

I don't see the seed packets for sale on Peters Seed site. Is it a special order or something?

Thanks for you advice. Have you ever tried or heard anything about Carol Chyko's Paste? It is described as being 1 to 3 lbs. Also Italian Giant Paste at 1 lb+, described as being almost seedless and very dry. Sounds like it may be worth trying.

Thanks again to all.

Bob

wi-northernlight

Bob,

I don't see Peters listing Romeo in their new online catalog now either. Guess I was lucky to get two packets last spring. I can't believe they were charging about the same for them as for most other seed. I'm telling you ... I was getting like 25 - 40 seeds out of pound to pound and a half tomatoes.

Hey, thanks for the tip about Carolyn Chyko's ... I'll check that out in SSE Yearbook. If you can't get Romeo from Peters (they recently changed management and I noticed their seed catalog and offerings have changed dramatically ... call them), let me know and I'll send you a few of their original seeds and some seeds specifically from the plant that made the larger tomatoes for me.

tomatohead48@hotmail.com

Hey, thanks for the tip about Carolyn Chyko's ... I'll check that out in SSE Yearbook

*****

That's Carol, not Carolyn Chyko's Bill. LOL

And I'll just give an overview of what's in the 2007 Yearbook.

Only five folks list it and here's what they say, in brief form:

CA; 110 days, indet, thick and meaty with few seeds, thick skin reists cracking.....no fruit size given

IL: 95 days, good yield of 1- 1.5 # fruits, outstanding taste

NY: 90 days, huge orange-red beefsteak, little juice, few seeds, meaty, great taste

OH: 100 days, huge red bomb shaped fruit 575 gm average weight ( 453.6 gms = one pound, CJM) so fruits were a bit over one pound, meaty, few seeds

TN: 90 days, gigantic beefsteaks that are almost solid meat

So two listers get fruits in the one pound range, maybe a bit more, and two get 'huge" or "gigantic" fruits, whatever those adjectives mean in terms of pounds. ( smile)

In my post above I said I thought it was too juicy to be a paste tomato, but I wonder if it could have been the year, or whatever. Too long ago to remember every single variety I ever grew. Some stand out over the years, some don't. ( smile)

Carolyn

You might enjoy growing Kalman's Hungarian Pink.
{{gwi:1363736}}
It is just scrumptious.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down for description.

Carolyn,

Thanks for the SSE Yearbook reference.
That information is very helpful.
I understand that I need to interpret it correctly, as you have said, "your mileage may vary".

I didn't realize the Yearbook gave so much information. This is the first real sampling I've seen. That's what I was looking for on the SSE site, a sort of sample listing.

Now that I see, I am even more convinced of the value of this resource.

Thanks for sharing.

Trudi,

Nice Hungarians. Do you have the size and weights are or haven't these been picked yet?

Bob
wi-northernlight

I grew those a few years back. They were about four to five inches long and weighed about 7 or 8 ounces. The picture doesn't do them justice, it's a beautifully shaped fruit that feels so nice in your hand.

KHP is the first tomato that made Hubs really begin to enjoy eating tomatoes--he was always a tomato hater, but having grown up on the supermarket four-pack I can't blame him. I would take one of these toms, chunk it up, and stir in a small dab of mayo--that was all that was needed to make Hubs happy. He is an annoyingly picky man with his food, but these tomatoes he would happily eat as he thought they were delicious.

Hi there --

I grew Amish Paste last year in Zone 5, the finger lakes NY... I was not pleased with it... Not great yields, and found that it had very large green shoulders that never seemed to ripen, so that I wound up losing a big portion of the tomato to cutting off the unripened shoulders.

This year went over to Opalka, and what a difference! A great paste tomato, meaty, flavorful, and virtually no green shoulders at all.

Emily

Thanks to all for your help and advice.

HoosierCherokee,

Just in case my emails haven't gotten thru to you:
I DID get a response from Peters Seed. They are sending me a few of the Romeo Seeds they have left (not many). Thanks for your offer, but it likes they will come thru for me. thanks for steering me onto this tomato. Looks like a winner. I will still be buying Chyko and Italian Giant Paste. If you'd like some, just let me know. Email your address to me (bob@imagesbykehl.com) and I'll send you some seed. Thanks again for sharing.

Emily,

That's good to know. I'm thinking Opalka will be a better investment in my time. Thanks.

Bob
wi-northernlight