I haven't seen one of these lists for a few years.The tomato can be an older variety that you are trying for the first time, this year.

Best new tomato, for me, is an F3 cross (a "working" name of Lilly #2, for now) of Lillian's Yellow Heirloom, the cross made by PNW_D. I just wished that I didn't misplace my LYH seed this year, and could have compared the two. By a huge margin, this tomato and LYH are my 2 all-time favorite yellows.

Sounds really good. Yellow's tend to be my least favorite color of tomatoes for flavor. So hearing of an exceptional one makes me want to try it out.

One I was shocked by this year was sweet cream. Intense sweetness. I always receive hate for the following... I typically don't love Brad Gates tomatoes. In the past for me they were more on looks that flavor (there are a few I really enjoy), but for a tomato to eat while out tending the garden it was delicious!

~Sam

I actually had a pretty successful year with new to me varieties. A lot I will probably grow again.

Fritz Ackerman - Large sweet beefsteak type, great for BLT
Santa Maria - productive, meaty, sweet all around tomato that I'll use for sauce
Konare - Large, pink tomato from Bulgaria. Great for BLT with a delicious old time taste
Pomodoro Cuore Antico di Acqui Terme - Late producing, but produces large 1+ pound very meaty, few seeds paste tomatoes

Magic Bullet -- beautiful, very sweet, striped, small pointed plum

One Trick Pony -- another dark tomato from Karen Olivier, only got a few but they are wonderful sandwich tomatoes

Cowboy -- good flavor, produced perfect unblemished fruit consistently all summer, but averaged 3-5 oz.

Raspberry Lyanna -- another consistent producer, small pink sweet

not new to me but haven't grown it in a while: Tommy Toe, large red cherry with great balanced flavor, can be picked at first blush and eaten at any stage of ripeness. We grew this for the master gardener sale, and I've been hearing reports that this plant is the last one producing in some gardens in a not-great tomato year.

OmarLittle wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 1:10 pm I actually had a pretty successful year with new to me varieties. A lot I will probably grow again.

Fritz Ackerman - Large sweet beefsteak type, great for BLT
Santa Maria - productive, meaty, sweet all around tomato that I'll use for sauce
Konare - Large, pink tomato from Bulgaria. Great for BLT with a delicious old time taste
Pomodoro Cuore Antico di Acqui Terme - Late producing, but produces large 1+ pound very meaty, few seeds paste tomatoes

Thanks for this post! I think I'll be adding Konare to my MMMM wish list. I've been a big fan of the few Bulgarian tomatoes I've tried so far.

Hard to pick just one.
Cowboy, Noire Charbonneuse, Vorlon.

Best comeback was GGWT.

Best new to me large pink…Brandywine Cowlick’s. Amazing flavor, large, well formed fruit. Production would have been very good but for the BER early. I blame the grower (myself) and not the tomato.
Best new to me large red…Red Barn. Deep, richly flavored extra-large fruit, and exceptionally productive on a manageable indeterminate.

I saved seed for both these. The seeds for both came from previous MMMM swaps.

habitat-gardener wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 2:25 pm Magic Bullet -- beautiful, very sweet, striped, small pointed plum

One Trick Pony -- another dark tomato from Karen Olivier, only got a few but they are wonderful sandwich tomatoes

Cowboy -- good flavor, produced perfect unblemished fruit consistently all summer, but averaged 3-5 oz.

Raspberry Lyanna -- another consistent producer, small pink sweet

not new to me but haven't grown it in a while: Tommy Toe, large red cherry with great balanced flavor, can be picked at first blush and eaten at any stage of ripeness. We grew this for the master gardener sale, and I've been hearing reports that this plant is the last one producing in some gardens in a not-great tomato year.

I think (just turned 65) that I remember you sending in Robe Mt. strain of Tommy Toe, several years ago?

I haven't found a new to me tomato in many years that has made it to my 'Must Grow' list. Well I have this year. I was blown away with the first bite and smiled happily until the end. It knocked both of my socks off as well as my shoes. I have pinks and blacks on my Must Grow list and this is the first time EVER that a red has taken a seat. It is Lloyd E. Frey. It is absolutely amazing to my taste buds. The sad thing about this is that so far I have only had one tomato, as a deer got to the plant. I have two more large fruits that are close to ripening. I hope that those fruits make it so that I can re-affirm what I tasted and save seeds from them. If you have this in your seed stash, grow it. If not, I hope to send a few into the Mostly Mystery Mater Mailing. I will most definately be growing this again next year to multiply seeds.

most productive
subartic plenty
petrusha ogorodnik
not kotlas, turned out to be a small tube shape average taste

best tasting
wladecks
polaris


keith

I like my red volunteer. It's the one that set fruit first (out of the two red volunteers). I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's half Cal Ace VF (it might be a cross with an orange/yellow tomato).

Newbies Big Bubba, Orange Accordion, Big Lou, and the Young Strickler Cross (seed H/T for the latter two [2] the divine @MissS) had far better than expected yields.

One more thing.

Any TJer who thinks they have their 2025 Grow List complete before reading this? That's so cute...and their best hope...possibly ONLY hope...is that they did it in pencil...

The Gotch

Tormato wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 4:53 pm

habitat-gardener wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 2:25 pm….
not new to me but haven't grown it in a while: Tommy Toe, large red cherry with great balanced flavor, can be picked at first blush and eaten at any stage of ripeness. We grew this for the master gardener sale, and I've been hearing reports that this plant is the last one producing in some gardens in a not-great tomato year.

I think (just turned 65) that I remember you sending in Robe Mt. strain of Tommy Toe, several years ago?

Great memory! Robe Mtn. Is a pink tomato. I haven’t grown that one for a long time! Mostly I’ve grown the red one.

So fare this year Jarson 16 (GR21) Striped has been my favourite, when tasted it I wrote “Perfect!” As the first word about it.

Cornelius_Gotchberg wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 9:45 am Newbies Big Bubba, Orange Accordion, Big Lou, and the Young Strickler Cross (seed H/T for the latter two [2] the divine @MissS) had far better than expected yields.

One more thing.

Any TJer who thinks they have their 2025 Grow List complete before reading this? That's so cute...and their best hope...possibly ONLY hope...is that they did it in pencil...

The Gotch

Going to Faber College, graduating, or not, would also increase that hope.

KinaTo wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 12:29 pmSo fare this year Jarson 16 (GR21) Striped has been my favourite, when tasted it I wrote “Perfect!” As the first word about it.

That there is one POSITIVELY GORGEOUS Tomato!

Here we go; I fear requesting seed. Why? Somebody (I personalize my varieties) would have to get cut.

The Gotch

@Kina2 Is Jarson 16 stable yet? I know that many of the Jarson's are still a work in progress.

That is a beautiful tomato!

MissS wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 10:23 pm @Kina2 Is Jarson 16 stable yet? I know that many of the Jarson's are still a work in progress.

That is a beautiful tomato!

It seems it’s that the 16 is stable in 5 colours- Purple, GWR, Striped, Yellow and Bi-coloured. Some
Of them are in F8-F9 state but I got these that are now F7.

The Jarson’s really are a hot mess as they were out in the market so early. Im growing out some F2 and F3’s aswell.

Also (kinda) new, the Lemonboy Plus F1, was an above average producer of above average sunny Yellers. And larger than the Lemonboy Hybrid I trialed last season.

The Gotch

New loves: Butter Apple, Green Giant, Dr. Carolyn. Probably could list more but these I most noticed early in the season before things went downhill. Pondering a bloglike update post on that topic.