ETA on 7/28/10:

Our Paul Robeson tomatoes have begun coming in and oh.my.goodness - this is the best tomato I've ever eaten! They completely live up to their reputation and will be grown again every summer for the rest of my life. Delicious!

The White Tomesols are producing now as well and they are a really interesting mid-sized tomato. The flesh is mainly cream and near the top of the tomato gets slightly more pale yellow. The taste is very light and slightly citrus. I am pleasantly surprised as I mainly grew them for the kids - they like to see veggies growing in "funny" colors.

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I'm going to keep a running tally as various varieties ripen. It is so interesting to me how the area of the country they are grown in and the weather conditions present during the growing season can change a particular variety's flavor so much.

So far we've had four varieties produce ripe fruit:

Mystery Variety (I thought I was growing Black Cherry but Baker Creek has had a well documented mix up and they have no idea what seeds were put into one lot of Black Cherry seed packs, the lot I happened to get a packet from). It appears to be a paste variety and it is thick skinned and a bit mealy but still better than anything you can get at the grocery store. I will not be growing the seeds from that Black Cherry pack again. I like Amish Paste for a paste variety and unless this plant ends up being a prolific, steady producer I don't see any reason to grow it again.

Golden Sunray - Can in no way compare to Dad's Sunsets. They are fine, but the flesh is not very juicy and the flavor is milder than I like. I won't be growing it again.

Stupice - Early variety, the point isn't the flavor it is eating ripe tomatoes by late June/early July!

Sioux - Unbelievable flavor and juiciness. This variety has lived up to its reputation. The fruits are quite big, juicy and have a great tang. It will be on the maybe list for next year. Yum!

I have White Tomesol, Green Zebra, Dad's Sunsets, Paul Robeson, Brandywine, Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge and Amish Paste setting fruit and getting ripe. I'll report back when we've had a chance to eat some of them.


*I prefer juicy, tangy, more acidic tomatoes to sweet varieties.