Help Narrowing Down Black PL Choices

[NYTomatoNewbie]

I need to choose one of these three options. The two things that are most important to me is days to maturity and avoiding thin skin/cracking. I am in zone 6 and can handle Midseason but not late season. All of these are listed as Midseason. I need these to sit on the counter for awhile and anything thin skinned or cracked that I can’t eat right away goes in the compost so it doesn’t rot on the counter. If you have grown any of these could you please let me know your experience?

Spudakee
DB Cooper
Abraham Brown

[MissS]

Abraham Brown gets soft very rapidly. It won't sit on the counter long at all.

Late season varieties do fine for me here in zone 5. They are only a few days later and their flavor to me is usually well worth a few days wait.

[Seven Bends]

Of those, I've only grown DB Cooper, and only once (2023); I probably won't grow it again. I had some cracking with it and it wasn't the best keeper on the counter. The fruits were mostly medium slicers, maybe 6-10oz on average; taste was okay but not my favorite. The tomatoes were mostly uniform/nice in shape, no significant cat-facing or weirdness, and they were juicy with good texture. Skin was thin or at least not noticeable. It was mid-season for me. The plant was smaller than its neighbors, more manageable or less vigorous depending on how you want to look at it. My overall opinion: okay, but there are better options in the black/dark category.

[NYTomatoNewbie]

@MissS and @Seven Bends this is very helpful, thank you!

[Tormahto]

I need to choose one of these three options. The two things that are most important to me is days to maturity and avoiding thin skin/cracking. I am in zone 6 and can handle Midseason but not late season. All of these are listed as Midseason. I need these to sit on the counter for awhile and anything thin skinned or cracked that I can’t eat right away goes in the compost so it doesn’t rot on the counter. If you have grown any of these could you please let me know your experience?

Spudakee
DB Cooper
Abraham Brown

My very limited experience with black tomatoes is that they can have a very short shelf life, compared to other colors.

DB Cooper has a few reviews of not exactly having the best flavor. I heard good reviews for Abraham Brown.

Did I include a "varieties to save " card? I haven't included many cards with packages, because my hands are still cramping up when trying to hold a pen/pencil. You are the only one to receive Spudakee so far, I still have a few seeds left, but, hint...hint...

And, as far as tomatoes sitting and rotting, at a certain point in the season most people are overwhelmed, including neighbors. The only thing that works for me is to cut the tomato in half, and eat the bottom half or less, which ripens earlier than the top. The top half is for extracting seeds, making sauce, or compost.

[karstopography]

Is Gary O’Sena not among the list for any particular reason? Delectation of tomatoes lists it at 77 days. Heritage Seed Market lists it as a mid-season.

And if you have any freezer space at all put the ripe tomatoes straight from the counter before the rot right into the freezer. Don’t park them in the fridge first or cut or core them or any of that stuff, tomatoes being berries after all freeze great without any processing, blanching or anything other special prep work required.

Then later when things are chilly outside and fresh tomatoes are but a memory and you want a tomato sauce, well, you have the makings of a great tasting sauce right there in your freezer providing the tomatoes were any good to begin with.

My experience with the various dark tomatoes I have grown is that they are good for pasta sauces mixed in with pink or red tomatoes. I don’t believe I’ve yet made an all dark tomato sauce from frozen dark tomatoes.

The beauty of once frozen then thawed whole tomatoes is the skin peels away at whatever speed one’s hand can move. No skin obviously makes for a better sauce. Beefsteak type of structure for tomatoes generally have minimal seeds to flesh and a few seeds in the sauce aren’t a deal killer for me, but I suppose the seeds could be processed out.

[NYTomatoNewbie]

@Tormato Yes, I have the card. Adding, Spudakee, there are a total of 10 on the card. I have 7 on the card marked for growing this year. The other 3 I can hopefully do next season. I have about 20 kinds I am going to try that I don’t see mentioned in Tomato Junction, so hopefully I can share new ones to the swap. I think the rest I am growing from the swap might still have enough inventory. And I will see if I can grow out any of the old beans and peas to send back.

@karstopography thank you for all the tips. Gary’O Sena is on my list for next year.

[MissS]

If you are looking for a dark PL tomato that has very good flavor and keeps well then you should try Daniel Burson. Not only does it taste so very good but it is very productive as well.

If you need seeds, I have them.

[sic transit gloria]

Grandma Oliver's Chocolate is a black, but not a PL, and it does have a very good shelf life for a black tomato.