Most tomato varieties will do fine in NYC's climate, which is much more similar to the Mid-Atlantic states to the south than to upstate NY. The bigger issue is whether you're growing in containers, in ground, on a roof, etc. and how much sun the plants can get. More than anything, container size that you can manage and hours of sunlight will be the limiting factors if you are growing in the city. (I lived in NYC for 20 years and know some urban gardeners there).

Also, when you say "good producers", does that mean your priority is good production, i.e., getting a lot of tomatoes? Brandywine and many other large, late-season heirloom beefsteak types, while renowned for great taste, are not known for being very prolific, even when grown in ideal circumstances. There are many decent-tasting hybrid beefsteak varieties that are specifically bred for good production, if that's your priority.

We'd be better able to help you if you could tell us more about the conditions you're growing in, how much space you have and how many plants you'd like to grow, and whether or not beefsteak types are all you're interested in growing. Also, are you only interested in fresh eating, or are you planning to preserve some harvest?

Thanks for responding..

I can grow in ground or containers. However, container size will be 5 gallon buckets only, which would limit type I will grow.

I plan to grow in raise bed with size 4' x 8' for tomato which I know is not a lot of space, thus good producer is of priority for me. The bed will get about 5 to 6 hours of direct sunlight.

I don't have any preference for the types, just want to plant one that is meaty and less watery for salad, sandwich and fresh eating. I am open to all suggestions determine, indeterminate, brandywine, beefsteak, etc .

You say you "attempted" tomatoes before. Did you have problems that prevented success? If so, what?

1st have decent crop (at least for me). I was happy I harvested home grown tomato. But this year, there were blossoms, but only few tomatoes actually formed. May be it was weather and may be it was something else.

I am thinking may be other types are better and earlier for my zone. Also brandywine plants were huge and I want a smaller productive type if possible.

I want to optimize the amount of harvest given the small bed I have.

KLI_6B: Also brandywine plants were huge and I want a smaller productive type if possible.

The average tomato plant is very large. It's quite normal for tomato plants to get to be 8-10 feet tall. Don't believe the puny "tomato cages" you see online and in big box stores--most experienced tomato growers use those for eggplants or peppers. Unless you are specifically growing compact varieties, you should be prepared to offer at least 6 feet of support structure for a tomato (when the plant gets taller than that, you can let it drape over back down toward the ground).

Compact varieties exist, but many are determinate (this means all of your fruit will form and ripen all at once, and then your plant is done--no more tomatoes after that) or not as productive. And even plants that are supposed to be compact can surprise you over a long growing season. IMO it's better to just prepare adequate support.

There are also "dwarf" varieties (2 feet to 4 or 5 feet tall) that are indeterminate (keep producing fruit gradually all season), but they will not be nearly as productive.

I think you can fit 3 plants in that bed without ending up with overcrowding issues that lead to disease and general frustration. If you select some good hybrids, you should have plenty of tomatoes for fresh eating.

You probably can't go wrong with
Big Beef F1 - large, beefsteak-style slicers with very decent taste, good for sandwiches
Juliet F1 - saladette (larger than a cherry tomato) size plum shaped tomatoes, meaty but still tasty for fresh eating, good taste, good for salads, snacking, cooking
Mountain Magic F1 - saladette globes, excellent taste for a hybrid, good for salads, cooking, snacking, etc.
Sungold F1 - orange cherry tomato, very sweet and fruity, excellent for salads and snacks
(F1 = hybrid. Some people sell "open pollinated" versions of these, but they are usually inferior in taste and production)

In your situation, I would personally plant a Big Beef, a Sungold, and choose between the MM and Juliet depending on which shape I prefer.

The nice thing about these varieties is that you can usually find plants for them at big box garden stores, so if you're not really sure about starting plants from seed, you can purchase transplants. They also have some disease resistance bred in. It sounds like you're growing tomatoes year after year in the same bed, which means you need to select varieties with soil disease resistance. Sungold is the least disease resistant of these, but if you like cherry tomatoes, they are among the best tasting and routinely show up on lists of people's favorite tomatoes.

KLI_6B: 1st have decent crop (at least for me). I was happy I harvested home grown tomato. But this year, there were blossoms, but only few tomatoes actually formed. May be it was weather and may be it was something else.

1) Did you grow from seed or transplants?

2) How often did you fertilize and what kind of fertilizer did you use?

3) What is your watering routine?

4) What is the date you planting out (planting transplants out in your bed)?

Gorbelly has recommended some good popular varieties

How about some different colors (other than sun gold ) ?

Black From Tula is a good purple tomatoes. It is quite productive, tasty, early and plant size is not very huge.

sey

Gorbelly /Seysonn- thanks for the advise and suggestions.

I starated the seeds indoor and transplanted about a week after temperature reached 60F. I watered the plants every morning and fertilizer with Miracle about every two weeks.

I tried Super Sweet 100 this year from Bumper and was disappointed. I suspected the seeds I brought was mislabeled as growth pattern was different than what I was in internet and they weren't sweet at all.

I will definitely try Big beef and Sun Gold next season. If have space, I will try Black From Tula as well.

KLI_6B: I starated the seeds indoor and transplanted about a week after temperature reached 60F.

High heat can inactivate tomato pollen, so I was wondering if you planted out too late and this year's record heat hit before fruit could set. It sounds like that was not the problem, especially since cherry tomatoes tend to keep setting fruit well in hot conditions.

KLI_6B: I watered the plants every morning

Tomato plants do best when deeply watered deeply but infrequently. In NYC, you shouldn't need to water every day unless you have filled the beds with excessively well-draining medium. Before watering, check a couple inches down under the surface of the soil. If still moist down there, don't water. When you do water, water slowly and really well so that moisture penetrates deep down into soil. Mulching your plants will help stabilize moisture levels, so consider that if you are not already mulching.

KLI_6B: suspected the seeds I brought was mislabeled

It's possible that your production problems could be due to seed from a bad cross with poor genes for fruiting. Off-type seed is one of those bad luck things that can happen sometimes. When it comes to seed, it's good not to put all your eggs in one basket and not just grow one variety from one seed source. That way, if you have a problem, you still have other plants to fall back on.

KLI_6B: fertilizer with Miracle about every two weeks.

Make sure the Miracle Gro you use is the tomato-specific formula, not the general, all-purpose MG. All-purpose MG is way too high in N for tomatoes. A tomato plant that is fed too much N will enthusiastically grow tons of foliage but produce few flowers and fruit. If you fed all-purpose MG every 2 weeks, that may have contributed to your fruiting problems. IMO, even MG for Tomatoes is kind of high in N, but it can work OK. Switching to a different fert might be better, though, unless you have already stocked up on tons of MG for Tomatoes.

If possible, dig a couple inches of compost into the bed next spring and/or fold in a lot of fall leaves on top of the beds right now and let it decompose in place over the winter. Contrary to myth, a "chemical" fertilizer like Miracle Gro won't destroy your soil or anything, but soil does benefit from organic matter that contains and nurtures soil microbes, attracts earthworms, etc. Compost is a good way to do that, as is providing organic matter that can compost in place. Your plants will be healthier than if the only input into the soil is commercial fertilizer.

If I could grow just about any variety of tomatoes in PNW you can do even better in NYC area. In PNW summers are not quite as warm for tomatoes ( night lows hardly stays at 60F and above) plus the season is shorter. Also my garden got less than 5 hours of direct sun.

sey

Agreed. NYC is a good tomato climate.

Since you emphasized good production, I suggested some reliable, well-producing and disease-resistant hybrids that are pretty bulletproof as tomatoes go and have good reputations for flavor. But certainly you are not limited to those. As long as you have disease-free soil, you can grow practically any variety you want.

If you want to fit more plants so you can grow more varieties, you can plant more and prune them to one or two stems. It means many fewer tomatoes per plant, probably somewhat fewer tomatoes overall, but it will allow you to grow more varieties. It's really a matter of what your priorities are. I think the only varieties you might have problems with are large, very late maturing heirlooms, as the limited sun hours may produce more mediocre taste and lower or at least slower production than normal. A lot of that depends on how much sun you get as you get into August. A garden that gets 6 hours in June can get much less in August and September if there are buildings or trees that cast shade as the sun angle decreases going into fall.

If you prefer open-pollinated, something like Stupice is a plant that produces well, is early, copes well with both heat and cold, and doesn't get too massive. It's not the most exciting tomato, but it will produce lots of uniform, nice-looking, small red globes with decent flavor. A lot of tomatoheads I know grow one or two as a reliable backup tomato and for earliness and then, when the more exciting varieties start coming ripe, they'll can/dry/preserve the Stupice fruits for use during winter.

Sey/Gorbelly- thank you for the advises. I will take your suggestion and will plant 3 types with pruning.

I will trybBig Beef F1 and Sun gold F1. Then will add an OP type.

A 4X8 bed can contain 3 tomato plants without pruning, I think, if you space them well. In general, pruning will lead to fewer but larger fruit. Overall production, though, in terms of final mass of fruit harvested, is usually better on unpruned plants. (Talking about pruning to limit stems, not pruning off diseased or damaged foliage for routine plant maintenance).

NY is definitely a good tomato climate. Decent growing season without too excessive heat. Grow whatever varieties you want.