I just planted some Celebrities because I heard they were so reliable and relatively easy to grow. I am a newbie, too, and I have to have something at the end of all of this experience in case some of my plants, which aren't looking terribly healthy compared to those posted by others here, (altho I have some Roma's already! :-) So I am hoping for my Mortgage Lifters and Better Boys in addition to my Romas, but also planted some Celebrities (yesterday actually) to replace some sickly looking plants. Hopefully the Celebs will be a sure thing. I also planted some Park's Whoppers. A lady I spoke with while tomato plant shopping said they were her all time faves....anyone planted them? Anyway, good luck whatever you decide!

Based on your numbers I'd call all of them "prolific". :) Some folks do it by number of fruit, some by total weight of fruit produced for the season. some go so far as to weigh each individual fruit and calculate weight by size (small, med., large). Over the years I have done all 3 many times but now days I tend to rate performance of a variety by what I call "proportional to the plant size/health" (for want of a better label). It's a stand back and evaluate the plant as a whole approach, a "just me" thing. In other words if it is a good weather year and I have done my job well so that I have a healthy plant of good size then I expect to see fruit in various stages evenly distributed throughout the plant to call it prolific. If not then it is just average production or poor production depending on the number of fruit and how they are distributed on the plant. I can't control the weather but I can compensate for it in many ways so my approach means I have to take into consideration my performance as a grower, something many fail to do. They'd rather lay any shortcomings off on the variety itself. Dave

Etta - like most of us, my zones and location are all part of my user name and appear in the above post - (6b-7a No. Central AR HZ8 Sun-35). It isn't so much that I dislike Beefmaster. It is just that there are so many better beefsteak varieties IMO and I have posted lists in most all the 'favorites' discussions here. But off the top of my head I'd take Big Beef, Giant Belgium, Brandy Boy, Mortgage Lifter, Crnkovic Yugoslavian, German Johnson RL, Marianna's Peace, Pink Ponderosa, Boondocks etc. Dave.

A few suggestions: Reds Chapman Red Penna Wes ( blunt heart) Rostova, aka Sunset Red Horizon, but seed problems right now Milka's Red Bulgarian Cuostralee OTV Brandywine Zogola German Red Strawberry ( heart) Pinks Tidwell German Omar's Lebanese Large Pink Bulgarian Nicky Crain ( heart) Stump of the World Prudens Purple Aunt Ginny's Purple ( pink) I don't think that most gold/red bicolors are meaty enough and the flesh is soft. I don't think that most so called blacks that I've grown are all that meaty either. Yellow to Gold/Orange Dr. Wyche Yellow Brandywine Lillian's Yellow Heirloom ( stays yellow at maturity while most with yellow as part of the name turn to gold Yellow Brandywine Kellogg's Breakfast ( orange) Carolyn, who did not put them in the order she would prefer herself; the varities just went out of my head to my fingers. LOL