I tried the German Queen very big fruit pinky flesh mild taste but didnt like the folds had to cut away alot of it. the biggest was 1 1/2 lb.!! and 17" round
whoppers always good large heavy fruit
Early girl lots of smaller fruit
grape tomato very sweet
and I tried a yellow tomato it is very mild and has large fruit also got a 1 1/2 lb. one
Any variety have a skin thats not so tough?

In zone 8 nc

This is a good topic. So I am bumping it up. I like Roma's and Juiliets. I tried Early girls.. but I think I would just as soon raise '4th of July's" by Burpee..Oops.. I may have transgressed here by referrign to Burpee, but what I have grown from Burpee.. has always produced: A. what the label said it would.. B. The seed always germinated. So shoot me...

Now that my tomatoes are beginning to get ripe, I can express an opinion about some of them.

The best surprise for me was a variety called St. Pierre.

http://www.reimerseeds.com/st-pierre-tomato.aspx

The plant is big, lush and very disease resistant. The tomatoes are red, large, smooth beefsteak type with thin skin. I'm growing Big Beef (BB) too, and I think St. Pierre could be considered BB's nicer cousin. The most interesting thing about St Pierre is the "velvety" texture of the flesh.

Mule Team is another great tomato, tasty and juicy.

Early Girl did OK for me, but the fruits (compared to those above) are smaller, and the skin is thicker.

Amish Paste is really nice in size and fruit production, but it doesn't taste any better than a good San Marzano.

Big Beef is a good tomato, but the large plant is ugly and sprawls in too many directions. It's neither a pole nor a cage variety, so it should be grown as a vine and allowed to take over one's entire garden, and not very many gardeners may have that option!

Wisconsin 55 is a generic tomato in all senses. Nothing is remarkable about this variety (at least not in my area), but it is dependable and the crop size is good.

Sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold, sungold.....

Thanks for the replys.Im looking forward to growing some new verieties next year. I just picked my end of season green tomatoes the plants are all but dead and they still try to produce.I found a runner off the German Queen that has rooted itself so Ill leave it and see if it will produce a fall crop.Wasrabbity I wish I could rise from seed but was discouraged when my seedings all died off.I do love to look at that catalog too.OCTAVE that st.pierre sounds good Ill have to look for that one.Thanks for the link lots of info there maybe Ill try seeds again.GARDENDMPLS I think you like the sungold thanks for sharing yall.gotta go make green pickled tomatoes..

I really have no idea. The best tasting tomato I ever grew didn't even have a name, it was just a number (in other words, probably some GMO). I would love to find a VERY acidic tomato, as I love the flavor as opposed to "sweet" tomatoes. Any ideas or recommendations? I keep experimenting, and will continue to do so, but any acidic hints will be appreciated.

for flavor and tender skin, I don't think black krim can be beat. The skin is so delicate that it often splits on the way to the house. But it is so yummy.

But this year none of the tomatoes did much except the sweet 100.

I also second sungold, but it is a cherry variety. But very yummmy. Last year I almost didn't get any. My husband would chomp them off the plant as he worked, and seldom thought to bring any in for me. Didn't have a sungold this year.

mindwing

trinharder, the variety called Smoky Mountain Red is tart. It has a fantastic, tangerine-fruity like flavor. It's a rare heirloom, a bit hard to find, but perhaps these people still carry the seeds:

http://www.selectedplants.com/index.html

And if I recall it correctly, the variety called Druzba is on the acidic side.

http://store.tomatofest.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TF-0152

Trinharder, there are no GMO tomatoes. When a new variety of plant comes out it is often given a number. Those that make it through trials to the big time are then given names.

Druzba is a good producer. A similar one is stupice, a big yielder, but my kids make fun of the name.