I'm going to apologize in advance. This is going to be a rather long review, but I hope you find it interesting and useful.

It's August 1, and my growing season has come to an end. In truth, two or three plants could've kept going, but since they passed the point of diminishing returns, we decided to call it quits. I pushed it a bit this year, growing 10 tomato plants on our small patio (inspired by the MMMM swap). Last year, we only had 3. I'm going to list and review the varieties I grew, and then share my notes for what worked and what didn't.

Here is the list of tomatoes we grew, their yield, and my notes for each:

- Altai Orange - Grew well and large in a 13-gal container. Yield: 25 tomatoes (9 lbs. 10 oz.) Stayed mostly healthy; tomatoes were consistent in size and had great form. First few tasted mealy, but flavor improved a lot over time and became a favorite. Sweet, and flavorful. Taste rating: 8 (out of 10), with the occasional 8.5.

- Ananas Noire - Yield: 30 tomatoes (13 lbs. 10 oz.) From seed saved last year. Fruits were much larger this year, but not as sweet. Still excellent. Taste rating: 7.5.

- Spears Tennessee Green - Low yield (10 tomatoes; 4 lbs. 5 oz.) and fairly late; grown in a 13-gal container. Plant was a bit spindly and didn't grow big, although it looked pretty healthy. Not sure why it wasn't happy. However, this is a must grow next year because it was easily the best tasting tomato we've grown! Taste rating: 9, with the occasional 9.5.

- Alice's Dream - Grown with Ananas Noire in a 27-gallon plastic storage bin, this was by far the production champion at 62 tomatoes (17 lbs. 8 oz.). In fact, it had set several more tomatoes when I pulled it this morning. This suffered from foliage disease but grew so vigorously that it didn't matter. The diseases could not keep up! It matured early-mid (transplanted 3/13, first ripe 6/1). Taste was just okay. I give it a 6.5, but my wife did not like it at all.

- Dwarf Pink Passion - Yield: 34 tomatoes (5 lbs. 8 oz.) Grown in a 5-gallon bucket. It grew well, and produced early - cute little hearts - but disease eventually took it out earlier than the indeterminates. Taste was mild and slightly sweet. Taste rating: 6.5.

- Indian Stripe - Yield: 15 tomatoes (3 lbs. 12 oz.); grown in a 5-gal bucket. Something wasn't quite right. This did not grow that big or bushy. Fruits were firmer than expected, but the taste was there, especially as it warmed up. Taste rating: 7.5. I would like to try it again in a larger container.

- Pink Princess - Planted in a too small pot (~3 gal?), was late to mature, and we were constantly fighting foliage disease. It still produced well over 60 tomatoes (which is not much for a cherry), and the taste was excellent - we liked it better than Sun Gold.

- Sun Gold F1 - Seedling bought at a nursery late to replace a diseased (Egg Yolk) plant. This was put in a big container with a full grown ground cherry that shaded this too much, so it didn't get a fair shake. Didn't produce much before the heat and disease hit.

- EM Champion - Grew well in a 3-gallon pot, healthy, but every bloom was fused or misshapen; something wasn't quite right.

- Premus - Cute, produced a good number of small tomatoes that we didn't find sweet; not for us.

I started seeds indoors on January 18. This was almost a month earlier than last year, and probably too early, as the seedlings got big by the time we felt comfortable putting them outside. Next year, we will aim for January 31 to sow seeds.

I followed a weekly spraying regimen using primarily a baking soda mix, and removed the bottom set of leaves (and any diseased leaves). I fertilized 'weakly, weekly' using a water soluble fertilizer.

Other growing notes:
- I selected several early varieties to beat the heat and get an earlier harvest. However, the flavor of early varieties (and early ripe tomatoes, in general) wasn’t there, possibly due to the cooler weather.
- Use larger containers next time. Some containers used were too small, and the plants suffered. Minimum 5 gallons for dwarfs, and 7 to 10 gallons for indeterminates.
- I don't think I amended the potting mix enough with compost/manure. I'm guessing this could have affected plant vigor, health, and taste.

Thank you for reading! I promise not to write this much again. At least, not until next year.

Best wishes to all for a successful garden and good health and happiness in yet another challenging year.

- Bobby

Thanks for your excellent review which I found very helpful.

Sorry to hear that EM Champion didn't do well for you as I find it excellent and tasty. I grow it in the garden in a tomato cage, but I'm guessing that a 5-gallon container would probably work. I hope you will give it another chance.

You could try growing Maglia Rosa in your 3-gallon pot. That's what I do, and they always grow well here.

Linda

Thank you for your helpful review!

Great report! These are never too long. Can't wait for next year's!

Great review!
Do repeat whatever you did for Alice's Dream. That is more like the production you ought to expect from a container grown plant.
EM Champion is worth a rerun.
I don't think that anyone can ever say too much about tomatoes at Tomato Junction!

Thanks for that! I think you covered every important thing that a person can report about a tomato season, in just the right amount of words.
I would definitely grow Indian Stripe in a larger container - the fruit should be larger than that too. (@ 15 tomatoes being less than 4 lb!). Possibly try a different seed source? IDK if the small pot is enough to explain the small and not especially tasty fruit.

Thanks for all your kind words and suggestions! We got to enjoy plenty of delicious tomatoes, and overall, I'm happy with the production we got. Of course, we will do better next year.

Our patio gets 4-5 hours of direct sun during the summer, which probably reduces yield somewhat. In our zone 10a, it's almost considered a short season before the heat of summer slows or shuts things down.

[mention]Labradors[/mention] The EM Champion I started and gave to a friend did very well and I heard tasted pretty good, so they had better luck. Same seeds. I may give it another try, although there are SO many new varieties I want to try. You mentioned Maglia Rosa. I received seeds in the last swap, and was so tempted to try it. Will almost certainly try it next time. By the description, I think it's more up our alley compared to EM Champion.

[mention]Bower[/mention] We really liked Indian Stripe, so will definitely grow again. I like your suggestion about trying a different seed source. I really do believe that could make a big difference. A bigger pot and more organic matter should also help a lot.

Bobby

Spears Tennessee Green is a leafy plant here, one of the more vigorous varieties. Likes calcium rich soil. 13 gal should have been amazing, I grow in slightly below 5 gal and get roughly 16 lbs on one stem, your season sounds shorter though. It does tend to get over vegetative at first, which makes it somewhat late.
Em champion does produce fused blooms sometimes, but the final shape is still nice, not catfaced. Mild taste.
Sungold is imo not a very container suited plant. The production per plant size is poor, there's a reason it has so much sugar in it. Also container grown tomatoes tend to have tougher skin, which makes sungold seem covered in plastic.

Bobrarian, I hope you do grow Maglia Rosa next season. I think the flavour is fabulous and that it can hold its own with most of the other varieties that I grow.
I always start it a month earlier than the others, as the smaller pot can easily be transported back indoors, should the weather turn nasty.

Linda