I'm from Southern Oregon (Zone 8a). Not the lush green portion that is the Northern portion,but the Southern end where it is hot and dry during the growing season with a normally heavy dose for forest fire smoke in the summer. I have just a few raised beds in my smallish backyard,of which half the beds have been taken over for the searching for that Special Tomato.The only other forum I have participated in is Tville,but I don't reside in the Tropics anymore,so a change in my Nick was called for.

My Grandfather was a truck farmer in the earlier part of his life,and I picked up his fondness for Tomatoes. My Daughter now carries the Tomato fondness torch as well. The Daughter and I normally coordinate what varieties to grow,but she is a special needs teacher and also has 2 small children and a husband to raise which commands a large portion of her time. That makes me the head seed germinator and seedling watcheroverer.

I'm an oldster,just trying to find "my" perfect Tomato before my sojourn here comes to an unwelcome conclusion. I have found a couple Tomatoes that I enjoy (Wes Crnkovic Yugoslavian and a particular pheno of Amana Orange). Still deciding on what "new to me" varieties to try this year. No doubt the fine members here can help me with the additional selections.

Cheers!

Shortcut

A kindred holler from The 77 Square Miles surrounded By A Sea Of Reality!

The Gotch

Sending a Hey! from east central Georgia!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum, Shortcut.

From your short list of varieties, it looks like large, very sweet tomatoes are your preference. There are usually no shortcuts in finding that perfect one. However, it is possible. About 20 years ago was when I first researched tomatoes. I decided on Brandywine Sudduth as a must, as so many people back then raved about it. I also chose Aunt Ginny's Purple, as a few people who had grown hundreds of varieties liked AGP better than BS. After 20 + years, AGP is still my near perfect tomato.

Have you tried Stump of the World? It's more balanced in flavor than being on the very sweet side.

And, with little children around, I'll have to recommend SunGold.

Just remember that there are a lot of people, here, with weird taste buds, myself included.

Good luck in your quest.

Welcome, and good luck with those choices... hope you find one this year that you'll grow again and again.

Welcome to the junction from Down Under @Shortcut Slim, you may find the need for bigger beds a calling, espeially if you get caught up in the MMMM down the track.....

Welcome from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! I second what was said about Stump of the World; it's my favorite... so far.

welcome from da U.P.

here, we get about three weeks of hot weather, not consecutive days.
i still manage to grow tomatoes, along with other stuff.
it takes a lot of time to raise a husband i hear.


keith

Welcome from Austin, Texas.

Hello and Welcome to the Junction! Stick around a week or two and your grow list will be longer than you ever knew. I will second Stump of the World as a top tier tomato.

@Shortcut Slim

Welcome!

Sounds like your climate is possibly similar to mine, but in a warmer USDA hardiness zone.

I like Amana Orange, and it's one of the main varieties I plan to grow this year (I've grown it a few times). It's not that it does better than other varieties so much as I just really like the fruit (but one of my plants last year produced a lot, and I'm hoping that was genetic!) So, I'm very interested to learn about the phenotype you have. I might get Amana Orange (Burrough's Strain), too.

Welcome from Texas.

Welcome to the Junction!

Welcome from Virginia!

Welcome to TJ @Shortcut Slim!

Welcome to the Junction

Thanks so much for the warm welcome everybody. I'm hoping we all have a banner year upcoming. It's been unseasonably warm lately. I'd like it to continue,but I don't know if it would be a good thing, all things considered.

Look forward to seeing how everybody's gardens do this year.

Slim

Shortcut Slim wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 1:15 am Thanks so much for the warm welcome everybody. I'm hoping we all have a banner year upcoming. It's been unseasonably warm lately. I'd like it to continue,but I don't know if it would be a good thing, all things considered.

Look forward to seeing how everybody's gardens do this year.

Slim

Would it effect fruit trees blooming too early, there?

I'm not seeing any early budding of the fruiting trees yet. Hopefully the temp fluctuation is short-lived. I do have a Fig that I overwinter in the garage showing some green.I don't quite know what to make of that honestly. Just as long as it doesn't die I'll be happy.