From the research I've been doing, it seems certain tomatoes do well in most any part of the U.S. I'm from Pennsylvania zone 5-6 and plan on giving these a try next season. They are: Lemon Boy, Early Girl, Better Boy and Big Beef. If you have grown any or all of these, please respond and let me know how you made out with them.
Thank You ............ Rich
I've grown Better Boy for some time. Very vigorous, heavy producing and reliable plant, a good percentage of big tomatoes (I grow in cages), and VFN disease resistance.
Tony M.
Thanks for the information Tony. I have read that Better Boy seems to out perform Big Boy and the Big Beef does better yet in most cases. .......... Rich
Lemon Boy is okay, and Early Girl, but Big Boy takes a long time to ripen, espicially in zone 6.
Have grown both in past years. No longer do. No particular reason. Not heavily into tomatoes (or to fruit, in general) and usually find 3-4 big boys and *sometimes* a determinate or two (two celebrity, this year), more than adequate. I'd hate to think that I had to deal with the product of 25 tomato plants. Although, as a rule, DW&I set aside one plant to ripen fruit but eat most of the tomatoes in some stage of "green"-ness.
EVP MAN wrote: > I have heirloom and hybrid tomato plants this season. Now I realize the > season is still early but the hybrids seem to be out producing the > heirlooms at least three to one and in some cases more than that. This > is counting both green tomatoes as well as blossoms on the plants. > Unless the heirlooms come on like gang busters later in the season, the > hybrids will win hands down as far as production. > Rich from PA Zone 5-6 >
Yeah, pretty much true. People grow heirlooms for their distinctive and wonderful flavor, and their "link to history" as it were. I think that's great. But generally speaking, more modern hybrids developed for the HOME gardener (not the reddish bocce balls sold in supermarkets) will out-produce the heirlooms.
Tony M.
Hybrids keep you tied to the grid. With open pollinated varieties, you don't have to buy seeds every year, and your plants acclimate to your environment. Open pollinated tomatoes are bred for flavor. Hybrids are usually bred for cosmetic reasons and shelf life, not flavor. Early Girl seems to be an exception, and is favored by (IIRC) Alice Waters.
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