Roma Tomatoes, but which?

[gunslingor]

There are so many types. Doing indoor grow tent romas for tomato sauce. Some look too short, 2 feet... would like 4 at least I think. Looking for max harvest and most authentic Italian. What would u use?

 

[Chuck]

There are so many types. Doing indoor grow tent romas for tomato sauce. Some look too short, 2 feet... would like 4 at least I think. Looking for max harvest and most authentic Italian. What would u use?

Most Roma tomato varieties are determinate plants. However, there are indeterminate hybrid varieties which will grow to the desired 4+ feet you want. In my experience the best indeterminate variety is called La Roma. Excellent taste and a very meaty tomato with few seeds. Mine grew to over 6 feet before frost killed them.

 

[Ruderunner]

Several years back we got "San Marzano" plants that grew large and produced most of the summer. The name in quotes because our local greenhouse isn't the best at labeling.

The tomatoes themselves were very unusual, very small core and minimal seeds and no pulp. They were pretty hollow inside and were awesome for cooking. They were regular Roma shape and size otherwise.

 

[gunslingor]

Most Roma tomato varieties are determinate plants. However, there are indeterminate hybrid varieties which will grow to the desired 4+ feet you want. In my experience the best indeterminate variety is called La Roma. Excellent taste and a very meaty tomato with few seeds. Mine grew to over 6 feet before frost killed them.

What's the difference between la roma i, ii & iii?

 

[Chuck]

What's the difference between la roma i, ii & iii?

I don't know except the La Romas I grew had a much larger plant and the tomatoes were also larger than the La Roma 111. I presume the La Romas are indeterminate because of the size my plants grew to and they never stopped producing. I only grew them 2 seasons as they are just as succeptible to BER as other roma tomatoes. I haven't grown the 1 and 11.

 

[A. Lyric]

Excellent taste and a very meaty tomato with few seeds

My method for choosing which tomato plants to grow is “guess and by gosh”, due to my lack of experience. This summer I grew Sun Sugar Cherry indeterminate, which was amazing in every way. I also planted Rosella Purple and Homestead indeterminate varieties, which were pretty dismal and disappointing.

I gave my tomato plants one square foot of growing space, thinking that was Mel Bartholomew's recommendation. Please don't scold me, lol. I know now that's not enough room because I had such a dense, overlapping, intertwining mess of branches and leaves that I Googled to make sure that spacing was appropriate and read conflicting info. I'm still giving my tomato plants more room next time if only because they became such a jungle it was sometimes hard to even see the tomatoes and to reach them without doing harm.

Between my poor spacing and the extreme heat/humidity, I realize it's not fair to judge their performance, but suffice it to say I don't want to grow them again. I would like to grow the best variety I can find for fresh eating, whether determinate or indeterminate.

Would you please make recommendations?

 

[Chuck]

My method for choosing which tomato plants to grow is “guess and by gosh”, due to my lack of experience. This summer I grew Sun Sugar Cherry indeterminate, which was amazing in every way. I also planted Rosella Purple and Homestead indeterminate varieties, which were pretty dismal and disappointing.

I gave my tomato plants one square foot of growing space, thinking that was Mel Bartholomew's recommendation. Please don't scold me, lol. I know now that's not enough room because I had such a dense, overlapping, intertwining mess of branches and leaves that I Googled to make sure that spacing was appropriate and read conflicting info. I'm still giving my tomato plants more room next time if only because they became such a jungle it was sometimes hard to even see the tomatoes and to reach them without doing harm.

Between my poor spacing and the extreme heat/humidity, I realize it's not fair to judge their performance, but suffice it to say I don't want to grow them again. I would like to grow the best variety I can find for fresh eating, whether determinate or indeterminate.

Would you please make recommendations?

Really, it is impossible to say which is the best or worst tomato because what grows well in my location, soil and climate is completely different than everyone else. I have been growing tomatoes for over 60 years, always searching for the Holy Grail of tomatoes. I've come close but no luck so far. I have grown tomatoes that I thought were perfect only to find out that they weren't all that great the next growing season. It really is a matter of guess and by gosh. You just have to experiment. I can give you some varieties that seem to do well in many different locations though. I suppose the best everywhere large tomato is a semi-determinate hybrid named Celebrity. I've not heard of anywhere it has not been successful. As far as heirlooms are concerned it really is a toss-up. There are literally hundreds of varieties but they seem to be even more picky as to soil and climate than todays hybrids but I will give you my recommendation for some of them as well. In my hot dry/humid climate the best large tomato is Cherokee Purple. Most seasons it will have excellent production. The only thing wrong with this variety is that the fruit has a limited shelf life and the plant can grow to an astonishing size. For a medium sized tomato there are two varieties that stand out. One is Arkansas Traveler and the other is Sioux. On cherry types you can't go wrong with Sweet 100 and Sun Gold. My favorite cherry although not quite as productive as the aforementioned is Large Red Cherry. As far a spacing goes, IMO 2 feet apart is the absolute minimum for determinates and a long 3 feet for indeterminates. Cherokee Purple I try to give at least 4 feet. The main thing is to have adequate air circulation and to keep soil from splashing up onto the stems and leaves with the use of mulch.

 

[DirtMechanic]

There are so many types. Doing indoor grow tent romas for tomato sauce. Some look too short, 2 feet... would like 4 at least I think. Looking for max harvest and most authentic Italian. What would u use?

Lol silly rabbit, trix are for kids. San marzano grown in the volcanic soil is your answer which you can give me the money for recreating that in a mediterranian climate.

Sauce tomato gives pith.

pith.

not juice. not seed. not skin.

Use sugar to adjust acidity.

Garlic, onion, salt, pepper etc but boil them soft before you squeeze them else you are back here complaining they destroyed your tomato press machine.

 

[YumYum]

always searching for the Holy Grail of tomatoes. I've come close but no luck so far.

Hmmm. I'm in the process of that too with Heirlooms. I did learn this year that if the size is right, the taste is bland. If the taste is great, the size is too small. If they produce a consistant size of tomato, they don't produce that many tomatoes. There seems to always be that second part that you don't really want to happen.

I tried the Cherokee Purple this year and it was a great tasting tomato for burgers and tomato sandwiches but every single one (except maybe one) cracked at the stem end badly and that causes the short self shelf because they will blacken. Mine didn't grow real big but I put them out for my Fall tomatoes. I had also planted Black Krim but it was clearly the wrong seed so I didn't get to try it.

I have more to try next year. I guess that is what makes it fun when you do find something great that works for your tastes. I like to make tomato juice with my extras so I look for a tart tasting tomato.

 

[Chuck]

Hmmm. I'm in the process of that too with Heirlooms. I did learn this year that if the size is right, the taste is bland. If the taste is great, the size is too small. If they produce a consistant size of tomato, they don't produce that many tomatoes. There seems to always be that second part that you don't really want to happen.

I tried the Cherokee Purple this year and it was a great tasting tomato for burgers and tomato sandwiches but every single one (except maybe one) cracked at the stem end badly and that causes the short self shelf because they will blacken. Mine didn't grow real big but I put them out for my Fall tomatoes. I had also planted Black Krim but it was clearly the wrong seed so I didn't get to try it.

I have more to try next year. I guess that is what makes it fun when you do find something great that works for your tastes. I like to make tomato juice with my extras so I look for a tart tasting tomato.

I found the same exact thing over many decades and literally hundreds of varieties. What is really frustrating is to have a great producer that tastes great and you think to your self, self, I have found the perfect tomato and you save the seeds or make a note with the name and where you got the plant and with great expectation of the next season wait with the knowledge that you will have a bumper crop of great tasting tomatoes next year. The planting season comes and you even plant extra plants knowing that all is well. The plants grow but something is not right. Perhaps it is a lack of minerals or a fertilizer. You rack ;your brain and go over last years notes. Everything you have done is correct but the plants are not producing like they did last year. You end up with tomatoes but not what was produced last year. You say to yourself that you will give them another try next year and you plant a couple of them. But the same thing happens and it is back to a different variety next year, hoping for the perfect tomato. I am about convinced that there is no such thing as the perfect tomato.
I have found that Cherokee Purples are more water sensitive than most other varieties and depending on the rain and the age of the tomato, cracking can be a problem. But even if they don't crack they still have a shorter shelf life than most other tomatoes. I have found also that the first 3 or 4 tomatoes that have set are going to be much bigger than later sets. The biggest I have grown was 2 lbs 4.5 ounces, but most average about13 onces.

 

[skinyea]

I started growing Amish paste Tomatoes a few years ago. Love them.

 

[gunslingor]

Thanks for the input guys. I definitely want roma, thought about san marzano, but a farmer in Italian told me they are best for pizza sauce, not tomato sauce for pasta. So think a tall roma variety.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for the input guys. I definitely want roma, thought about san marzano, but a farmer in Italian told me they are best for pizza sauce, not tomato sauce for pasta. So think a tall roma variety.

Pizza Sauce vs Pasta Sauce: What Is the Difference?

What's the difference between pizza sauce and marinara sauce and are they interchangeable? Find the answer to this and all your other sauce-related questions here!

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[DirtMechanic]

I grew san marzano this year and outside the whole Italian climate and volcanic soil discussion vs the clay and humidity in the southeast usa, they do have their own flavor when cooked. When making a sauce filtered for seeds and skins it is boiled tomatoes and then run them through the press. I was suprised to learn a variety of tomato types are commonly used.

 

[Ruderunner]

I just wish I knew what kind of tomatoes I grew the one year. Sigh, I should have saved some seeds.