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Here are some of the tastiest and most disease resistant tomatoes around.
'Brandywine' 80 days. Indeterminate.
Legendary for its very exceptional rich, succulent flavor, 'Brandywine' delivers large (up to 1 pound), pink-red fruits with creamy flesh. Vines grow quite tall and have potato-leafed foliage. An Amish heirloom since 1885.
SOURCE: Tomato Growers Supply Company www.tomatogrowers.com.
'Neptune' 67 days. Determinate.
'Neptune' is an early to midseason open-pollinated, fresh market tomato with multiple disease resistance. It was specifically bred for combined heat tolerance and resistance to bacteria wilt, which is prevalent in the Southeast, especially in Florida. This cultivar is also resistant to fusarium wilt race 1 and 2, verticillium wilt race 1, and gray leafspot. 'Neptune' is of special interest to gardeners and fresh market growers in hot-humid/rainy growing regions where it is difficult to grow tomatoes. This cultivar was developed and released to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange by Dr. J. W. Scott at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center at the University of Florida. Fruits are borne in clusters of 2 to 4 on 2 1-to-3-inch vines that are suitable either for ground or cage culture. The vines provide good cover and produce a high percentage of marketable quarter-pound fruits that hold well and ripen to a uniform red color.
SOURCE: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, www.southernexposure.com.
'OTV Brandywine' 85 days. Indeterminate.
'OTV Brandywine'is a strain of 'Brandywine' that comes from a natural cross between 'Yellow Brandywine' and an unknown red tomato. "OTV" stands for "Off the Vine," an heirloom tomato newsletter once published by Carolyn Male and Craig LeHoullier. Plants have red tomatoes and potato-leafed foliage. Yield is often greater than that of regular 'Brandywine', particularly in warm weather, where 'OTV Brandywine' sets fruit more easily. Fruits weigh about 1 pound, with delicious flavor and a nice blend of sugars and acids.
SOURCE: Tomato Growers Supply Company.
'Rutgers VFA' 75 days. Determinate.
Midwestern gardeners will often rely upon 'Rutgers VFA' for market and home growing for its resistance to verticillium and fusarium. This classic red tomato was developed in the 1920s, a couple of decades before the advent of the hybrid tomatoes. Bright red 6-to-8-ounce tomatoes deliver delicious old-time taste. A favorite for canning because of its abundance, juiciness, and deep red color through and through.
SOURCE: Tomato Growers Supply Company.
'Shady Lady VFTA Hybrid'75 days. Determinate.
'Shady Lady', which is named for the lush foliage that prevents sunburned fruits, is popular in California but will grow in other climates and regions. This cultivar is tolerant of verticillium, fusarium, tobacco mosaic virus, and Alternaria stem canker. Round, globe-shaped red tomatoes range from medium to extra large and have an excellent flavor.
SOURCE: Tomato Growers Supply Company.
'Stupice' 52 days. Indeterminate.
From the former Czechoslovakia, this extremely early cold-tolerant tomato bears an abundance of 1-to-2-ounce flavorful and sweet fruits. It has become a garden favorite for earliness, productivity, and taste.
SOURCE: Tomato Growers Supply Company
Sauce fans should consider 'La Rossa', with verticillium and fusarium 1 and 2 tolerance.
SOURCE: Park Seed; www.parkseed.com.
'Celebrity' is an All-America Selections winner and a popular cultivar among short-season gardeners, ripening fruits 95 to 100 days from transplanting, with tolerance to Alternaria stem canker, fusarium 1 and 2, nematodes, gray leafspot, tomato mosaic virus, and verticillium wilt.
SOURCES: Burpee, www.burpee.com; Territorial Seed Company, www.territorialseed.com; Tomato Growers Supply Company.
Way down South, 'Sunmaster' is heat-tolerant—even setting pollen when the weather is 87 F to 96 F—and has resistance to verticillium, fusarium 1 and 2, and Alternaria.
SOURCES: Park Seed, Tomato Growers Supply Company.
Try 'Italian Gold ' hybrid paste tomatoes for fewer problems with blossom-end rot than many Roma-type tomatoes.
SOURCE: Tomato Growers Supply Company.
