Tomatoes: Where can I get the biggest?

[RavenLily]

I absolutely love tomatoes. They are one of my favorite foods on this beautiful green earth. I especially love making a nice healthy tomato sandwich loaded down with some mayo and salt. I can only find small to medium size tomato seeds though, and these just won't do. Can anyone suggest a tomato seed that will yield big tomatoes that are big enough for one slice per sandwich?

 

[Chuck]

I absolutely love tomatoes. They are one of my favorite foods on this beautiful green earth. I especially love making a nice healthy tomato sandwich loaded down with some mayo and salt. I can only find small to medium size tomato seeds though, and these just won't do. Can anyone suggest a tomato seed that will yield big tomatoes that are big enough for one slice per sandwich?

Any seed catalog will have big tomato varieties. Try a beefsteak or a brandywine or Goliath, there are all kinds, but whether your climate will allow you to grow them is another matter. Go to www.tomatogrowers.com. They have a fantastic assortment of all types of tomatoes.

 

[RavenLily]

Thank you so very much for your reply. I have heard of the beefsteak tomatoes but not Goliath. My climate is more on the humid side as I am in the Northeast. I am definitely going to have a look around the site you listed for me to see if I can find something that will tickle my fancy and fulfill my dream of having to only slice a beautiful tomato once in order to enjoy myself a sandwich. I am also going to have a look at the Goliath tomatoes you suggested to see if they would do.

 

[Chuck]

Thank you so very much for your reply. I have heard of the beefsteak tomatoes but not Goliath. My climate is more on the humid side as I am in the Northeast. I am definitely going to have a look around the site you listed for me to see if I can find something that will tickle my fancy and fulfill my dream of having to only slice a beautiful tomato once in order to enjoy myself a sandwich. I am also going to have a look at the Goliath tomatoes you suggested to see if they would do.

Humid is fine. Cool and cloudy isn't. You want a lot of sunshine.

 

[RavenLily]

Is there a limit to how much sunshine I should allow? I mean, one would think the more sun the better, but I have seen it take its toll on some plants here and there, so I want to make sure I don't give my beauties too much of the sunny goodness. I'm so glad Humid is fine. I will admit, I was worried my climate would prevent me from being able to get good yield.

 

[Corzhens]

I think you can buy tomato seeds in the store (we have stores like that in the mall particularly stores that sell fresh flowers). I forgot the name of the variety but I'm sure the store's catalog will tell you on the big tomatoes. What we have locally are the medium-sized one and I had seen the big tomatoes... they are all imported.

 

[Chuck]

Is there a limit to how much sunshine I should allow? I mean, one would think the more sun the better, but I have seen it take its toll on some plants here and there, so I want to make sure I don't give my beauties too much of the sunny goodness. I'm so glad Humid is fine. I will admit, I was worried my climate would prevent me from being able to get good yield.

The more sun you can give your tomatoes the better where you live. Here in Texas the July and August the sun is a bit much for a lot of plants but not where you live

 

[majorcatfish]

just imho bigger is not always better...
if you want to can tomatoes a good plum tomato is all you need ... more meat less snot......
yes they are smaller, but they make great fried green tomatoes.
make great stewed and sauces for canning.
they make a great green tomato relish as well.
and for tomato sandwiches all you have to do is add a couple more slices to it, and for a fresh basil,tomato grilled cheese sandwich ...yum

and yes will be growing a couple types this summer mainly for fresh eating as well as an experiment..
so really it's up to everyones taste of tomatoes.

 

[Chuck]

catfish is exactly right. Bigger is not always better in more ways than one. Many if not most of the large varieties take a lot longer to grow to their maximum size and during that growing period just look at all the things that can happen to them, where as the smaller the varieties mature earlier and therefore less chance of something happening. In the case of indeterminates such as the plums they start out strong and maintain. Granted it takes a bunch of plums or cherries to make one 2 lb beefsteak but you are able to enjoy fresh tomatoes earlier and longer. The small to mid size tomatoes are more versatile than the great big one's too. So what if it takes two slices to cover a hamburger bun. If you are a canner the smaller varieties are also better. But having said all of this, there is absolutely nothing that can compare to a one inch thick, four or six inch diameter slice of fresh out of the garden Brandywine inside of some good buns, especially when you smuggle in some of your fresh onions and lettuce with maybe a good jalapeno to spice things up a little

 

[headfullofbees]

Thank you so very much for your reply. I have heard of the beefsteak tomatoes but not Goliath. My climate is more on the humid side as I am in the Northeast. I am definitely going to have a look around the site you listed for me to see if I can find something that will tickle my fancy and fulfill my dream of having to only slice a beautiful tomato once in order to enjoy myself a sandwich. I am also going to have a look at the Goliath tomatoes you suggested to see if they would do.

If you get eight slices per tomato, what are you going to do with the rest of it?