Choosing varieties for Houston

One of our ongoing projects is identifying the varieties of tomatoes that are worthwhile to grow here. Space limitations prevent us from getting definitive results on a large number of varieties, but we do the best we can by growing one plant of each of several varieties each year. This process has allowed us to identify several real winners for the area. Some plants that did poorly for us may have been the victims of circumstances, but those that did well we feel confident in recommending.

Some general rules:

smaller fruited varieties will do better than giants, so look for those advertized as 12 oz. or smaller, rather than 1 lb. and up
Roma (plum) types are especially susceptible to blossom end rot (BER), so if you grow them, be extra careful to keep the moisture level constant
quality hybrids do tend to out-yield heirlooms significantly, so plan accordingly

Recommendations

All are indeterminate unless otherwise stated.

Variety	Type	Yield	Comments
Big Beef F1	slicer	high	A reliable producer of good quality, fair flavored fruit. Red.
Black from Tula	slicer	fair	Big, irregular shaped. The birds will fight you for the sweet, juicy fruits. Very crack-prone. Black-type.
Carmello F1	all-purpose	exceptional	Rampant grower and producer; flavor is unremarkable. Red.
Champion F1	slicer	good	Classic tomato flavor with some sweetness. Red.
Cherokee Purple	slicer	good	Soft, meaty, very tasty. Purplish-brown.
Gregori's Altai	slicer	good	A great early producer, very rich yet mild flavor. Pink.
Houston Brandy	slicer	fair	An off-type from a packet of OTV Brandywine, it was a very sweet and meaty large pink. We saved seeds and have others trying it. Pink.
Tasty Evergreen	slicer	fair	Finally, a winner in the "green-when-ripe" category. A bit of judicious bloom-thunking to get a good fruit set. Very interesting and tasty (kinda spicy) tomatoes - they turn a bit golden on the bottom when ripe. Extremely soft! Golden green.
Chadwick Cherry	cherry	high	Absolutely classic cherry tomato; rampant grower. Red.
Sun Gold F1	orange cherry	exceptional	Sensational producer. Flavor is classic when not-quite-ripe, sweet and fruity when fully ripe. Splits at the drop of a hat. Orange.
Heidi	Roma	high	Determinate after a fashion--huge plant! Excellent for sauce. Red.

Disappointments

Variety	Type	Yield	Comments
Fargo	Yellow cherry/grape	good	Flavorless. Determinate.
Super Sioux	slicer	fair	Super flavor, but lost a lot to BER and cracking. Might have been watering/shade problems.
Pruden's Purple	big slicer	low	The usual Brandywine problem: lots of vines, not much fruit, but excellent, meaty, and tangy.
Caspian Pink	big slicer	low	A little more fruit, a lot less flavor than Pruden's. Unripe fruits are beautiful, though.
Sunmaster F1	slicer	fair	Reputed to set in hot weather, it was in all ways unremarkable. Determinate.
Red Brandywine	slicer	fair	More real tomato flavor but fewer and lower quality fruit than Big Beef.
Costoluto Genovese	multi	high	True-to-type seed may not be available. This resembled a bell pepper. Tough and flavorless.
Orange Banana	orange Roma	high	Lost almost all to BER. Flavor was ok. Parents growing it in Kansas loved it.