We've got five copies of the The New Sunset Western Garden Book to give away to lucky readers. All you have to do is leave a comment here telling us where you live (not your address, but your city or region) and name your favorite tomato variety. This way we'll build a list of the best tomatoes to help everyone with their summer selections.
Tuesday, March 6th we'll announce the five winners here by the name they leave in the comments--so no anonymous entries, please. We'll work out delivery details from there.
Please be aware that this book is written for gardeners who live the western portion of North America: California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, or New Mexico.
We live in Indianapolis, IN and we do not have a favorite tomato choice yet* we are just starting to explore gardening! We are military and move very frequently and we are trying to find ways to garden in a home we only live in for a short time.
ReplyDeleteOoohhh...how exciting! I'm in Santa Fe, New Mexico and my current favorite tomato is the Yellow Taxi! It performed beautifully for us last year and I saved many seeds for this year!
ReplyDeleteI live in 'true' Northern California, Redding. My favorite tomato is the little yellow pear tomato. Thanks for sharing this new book.
ReplyDeleteWe are in Tempe, AZ. We use ALOT of Italian Heirloom for sauces and canning, etc. Would love to try other varieties too. You know, shake it up a bit!!!! Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMagna, UT. In theory my favorites are anything dark (black krim, purple cherokee, etc). But I've never gotten one to last till harvest, so in practice I'll go with roma.
ReplyDeleteI love Roma tomatoes Winnetka, CA
ReplyDeleteI'm in NW MN so I guess I'm not entering. Just wanted to say that taste-wise I'm crazy about Montesino tomatoes from High Mowing Seeds, unfortunately they're the only hybrid in my wide collection. I also love copias and, of course, brandywine.
ReplyDeleteI am sitting here in LA on the 22/24 border. My favorite tomato variety is yellow pear, but I have not successfully grown it here in the ridiculous summer fog. They grew great in Phoenix (13).
ReplyDeleteMy SWGB is from 1986--it was my grandmother's and has her notes. From zone 15 LOL.
I live in New Mexico,near Albuquerque. My favorite tomato variety is chocolate cherry for the color variety they give.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for the comments! I'm in the SF Bay Area and my favorite tomato variety is the Hillbilly Potato Leaf!
ReplyDeletePacific NW, near Portland OR. Gotta love cherry tomatoes, especially Sungold. :) Yum!
ReplyDeleteI live in the southwest corner of Wyoming and I don't have a favorite tomato yet. Most of my tomato plants grow well but don't really fruit. The only one that produced anything was the cherry tomato and they were AWFUL!
ReplyDeleteI live in LA, near Pasadena. I loooove Brandywine tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteI live in Denver, CO and looooove cherry tomatoes. They're like candy off the vine.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Hayward CA, and my favorite tomato is the cherry tomato.... They are so simple!
ReplyDeleteIn Denver! The best tomatoes we've grown are what I think are Cherokee purples (rareseeds.com). So stupid delicious. The yield was low the first year we grew them but I learned a lot about nurturing tomatoes in our arid weather. Hopefully we'll have better luck with the yields this year.
ReplyDeleteI live in Spokane, WA. It's kind of cliche, i know, but nothing beats eating cherry tomatoes right off the vine with my 3 year old daughter and teaching her the value of growing your own food.
ReplyDeleteI live in Gardena, CA and my favorite tomatoes are the renegade ones that grow from my haphazardly tossing old tomatoes into the crawling succulent patch.
ReplyDeleteSmoggy, grape-filled Fresno CA! Just bought an 1/8th acre city lot that needs a lot of TLC. Favorite Variety of tomato is "Amish paste"(Thanks Seed-Savers)They make the best sauce and I'm looking forward to seeing how they do In my new experimental Hugelkultur Bed. You guys are awesome! keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Michael Allison
I'm near Denver, CO and thrilled to be back in Sunset's chosen area. My favorite tomatoes are Isis Cherry and Mr. Stripey - we have tried other bi-colors but always come back to these.
ReplyDeleteI own & operate a 40 acre working ranch in rural southern Colorado. My favorite cherry tomato is the Super Sweet 100 - each plant produces hundreds of absolutely perfect & delicious fruits, in sub-irrigated containers or in the ground. This coming season, I'm looking forward to trying the Stupice variety of salad tomato, based on a lot of very positive recommendations from local farmers & gardening friends for its very early ripe fruits & heavy yields throughout our shorter season.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Albuquerque, NM. I loved the Cherokee Purple that I planted last year. Juicy with a great texture and beautiful color.
ReplyDeleteI live in Stockton, Ca. My favorite tomato is Costoluto
ReplyDeleteGenovese.
I live near you guys in East Hollywood. I think these are in the same family as tomatoes, but my favorite is the tomatillo (green tomatoe with a husk) which we use to make fresh Mexican salsas!
ReplyDeleteI'm in Oakland, and had the most success with a big beautiful Germanic orange slicer. I can't remember it's name, but it had very few seeds and was super juicy. I'm also partial to the San Marzano for sauce.
ReplyDeleteMid-City Los Angeles! Love the little yellow pear tomatoes. They come back so reliably year after year and provide tons of gorgeous tomatoes for salads, cooking or just popping in your mouth!
ReplyDeleteI live in San Diego and my current favorite is the Green Zebra tomato, it's so sweet and hardy!
ReplyDeleteI'm in Aurora, Colorado (just outside of Denver). Right now, I'm loving Purple Calabash - heirloom.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Los Angeles too and my favorite tomato varieties are Sweet 100 and Purple Cherokee. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your website and thanks for blogging!
ReplyDeleteSan Francisco Bay Area! I admit a total bias for the Bloody Butcher tomato. The name is just over the top awesome, and it's an early grower. After so many months of no tomatoes, I can't wait to get a bite!!!
ReplyDelete(http://rareseeds.com/bloody-butcher-tomato.html, FYI!)
Austin, TX, and my favorite tomato is probably the Sungold.
ReplyDeletePortland, Oregon and the Jaune Flamme tomato courtesy of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" (Barbara Kingsolver). Thanks for being awesome you two!
ReplyDeletePortland, OR. My first season with my own garden! So no favorite yet, but I have high hopes for the Orange Banana Tomato and the Purple Cherokee!
ReplyDeleteIn Vancouver, British Columbia we have a short season and lots of cloudy days so I plant mostly Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes. They start early and go til frost.
ReplyDeleteWell, I live smack in the middle of Silicon Valley, and I just had my first successful tomato crop last year. After years trying to grow in an industrial-adjacent space with way too many eucalyptus leaves messing up the soil, and WAY too many squirrels immediately stealing any tomatoes I did manage to grow, it was such a relief.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the sungold cherry--our single plant grew twelve feet high (yes, twelve), threw out vines to cover half the garden, and fruited well into November. It didn't require a lot of special care, and only attracted pests at the very end of the growing season. Sold!
I just moved to the CA high desert from Tucson area. My favorites there were the cherry tomatoes, small yellow pear tomatoes and the delicious Purple Cherokee. I am hoping that these will do well here too.
ReplyDeleteI live in Rio Linda, CA and I haven’t found a tomato yet that beats the flavor of a Black Krim.
ReplyDeleteI live in West Los Angeles. My favorite variety of tomato is the Cosmonaut Volkov. It grows really well near the coast, even under the Marine Layer.
ReplyDeleteI live in central Montana and boy do I love tomatoes. All of them in all different ways. So... Hmmmm....my favorite? Tat is tough one. Black Krim is something special and makes a very interesting looking salsa. I like the strange lobed shapes you find in bradywines, though I don't like their tendency to split. I got some swell amber tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, but amber colored) from my uncle that are good for drying. From our local seed shop we purchased a paste tomato called "Earliest Paste" that is so far our favorite to make sauce with because it is so dense and doesn't require as much time cooking down.
ReplyDeleteWe live in Riverside CA and although we have yet to establish a viable garden, we plan on putting forward a major effort to do so this year. We aren't sure of specific varieties, but we plan on finding a great variety for canning as well as cherry tomatoes to get the kids involved and excited.
ReplyDeleteI live in Las Vegas, Nevada and have been growing tomatoes here in the desert for years. My favorite large variety is a pink Brandywine that I've been saving seeds from for nearly 10 years. My favorite sauce tomato is San Marzano. For sheer volume of wonderful tomatoes during our hot summer, I grow Stupice (stew-peach-kuh), a Czechoslovakian variety that seems to thrive on our heat. I also like some yellow pear varieties to add some flavor and color to salads and soups.
ReplyDeleteMostly I grow them in 5-gallon, sub-irrigated buckets filled with mulch and compost. This allows me to avoid the water stress during the summer and keep them supplied with nutrients as they grow.
I live in Santa Rosa California. My favorite variety is Purple Cherokee.
ReplyDeleteWe live in Santa Ana, CA and my current favorite is Kellogg's Breakfast Tomato. It's an orange tomato and has a nice full tomato flavor. Close second from last summer was Pineapple, it's a pretty yellow and red combination fruit and it is slightly sweeter with a little bit of tart.
ReplyDeleteWe are trying two grafted 'winter' tomatoes this year and have had some fruit from Jetsetter but no fruit from Marianna's Peace. I probably won't waste the space on them next year given all the other tasty winter crops. I have heard that the grafted tomatoes can last several years, so we may transplant them into another area and see if they survive.
I live in rainy Portland, OR. It's been hard to adjust to the gardening differences (I'm a transplant from the Midwest), but I still love it. My favorite tomato variety is a black cherry tomato sold by Baker Creek. We haven't had success with it here, but in Illinois it was a heavy producer of the sweetest most delicious little tomatoes that I'd ever eaten.
ReplyDeleteI live in Bonney Lake, WA.
ReplyDeleteWe have gone back and forth on tomatoes, but currently we like Mr. Stripey.
Portland, OR. For the iffy weather, we like Earlygirl, then of course Brandywine.
ReplyDeletePamplemousse
Pasadena, CA. My favorite for taste is Purple Cherokee, but I hasn't grown particularly well in my garden. I get a similar hint from "Black Cherry" tomato, which is a beautiful purple, grows well here, and is my son's favorite tomato. For production and general usefulness, Costoluto wins for me. Great producer, and can be used for slicing or paste tomato uses.
ReplyDeleteHi - I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and have had excellent luck with Brandywine.
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Shea and I live in San Luis Obispo, CA. My favorite tomato to grow here is the "Oaxacan Jewel". I also had great luck with "Paul Robeson's" last summer :)
ReplyDeleteWe are in So.Cal right outside of Los Angeles. I am growing Cherokee Purple Tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteI live in Portland, Oregon, and my favorite tomato the last couple of summers has been the Momotaro. It's just so tasty.
ReplyDeleteI live in Pittsburg, where the winter has finally turned cold this year. My favorite tomato is Wapsipinicon Peach, which was kind enough to self-seed and volunteer least summer. It is a bit touchy about the air getting cooler at the end of the season, but boy it is prolific.
ReplyDeleteFairbanks Alaska loves Tiny Tim's.
ReplyDeleteI live in Ramona, CA (San Diego County) and I've had success with 'Mexico' beefstake tomato. 'Flamme' also outdid itself last year, but the fruit is small - somewhere between a large cherry and a small regular sized.
ReplyDeleteholy crap that's a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteI live in Ben Lomond (in the mountains near Santa Cruz). We've got a terrific local resource in Love Apple Farm, which specializes in heirloom tomato varieties. They used to be right down the street from me, but have since expanded and moved to an old winery in the hills above Scotts Valley.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm probably violating the seed-saving, heirloom-lovers' code, but I have to say I just love Sungolds--they were prolific and wonderfully sweet for me last year. I'm pretty new to this, so am experimenting with a few different varieties each year to see which do the best, although I think I'm always going to include a Sungold. In addition to being yummy, I appreciate their reliably orange ripeness. Last year I tried a cherry tomato called "green doctors." It is green when ripe. This was way too confusing for me. I would go out and stare at the vines every day, wondering, "Well, are they...???" Never did get a clue as to when I should pick them.
I really enjoy and appreciate your blog. I recommend it to people and check in to read it often, though apparently it takes a chance at winning something to pull me out of the blog-lurker mists.
I live in Carnation, Washington. My favorite varietal to grow in western Washington is Early Girl. Though not the largest or tastiest, it is often the only non-cherry tomato fruit to ripen during our short summers without a greenhouse!
ReplyDeleteI'm in Federal Way, WA- Sungolds did best last year, then Early Girl, and the Romas I planted didn't do well. I'd favor Sungolds 'cos they were so easy.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Valerie and I live in Maple Ridge, British Columbia and my favorite tomato to grow are Romas.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Los Angeles near Westwood and Brandywine's have consistently blown my socks off.
ReplyDeleteI live in Whittier, CA. I can still taste the Chianti Rose tomatoes from last year's harvest. Sweet, plump ladies!. One slice pretty much covers the whole surface area of your sandwich bread. I recall the green zebras from a few summers ago...great producers and funky appearance. I've also recently discovered how much you can do with green tomatoes. Long live the tomato!
ReplyDeletesadly I live in the Southeast - miss northern climate plants... It is so hot here that we are limited to what we can grow, We did have a crop of beans that made it. I would love to win this for my MIL. She bought a house in the pacific northwest and needs to shape up the yard
ReplyDeletePortland, OR. I love Pineapple and Striped Germans, but it's a summer-long battle with the slugs since these babies take their time ripening. Sungolds are still the winner for fresh gorging and bruschetta sauce.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm in Burbank and I'm torn between the Kellogg orange and the Cherokee Purple. Love them both!
ReplyDeleteWe live in Willits, CA. Our by far favorite tomato is Cherokee purple, a heritage variety. The year before last they were the best, so memorable we don't plant anything else. However, the deer agreed, and we lost a few to them, until we made our fences stronger. Last year we watered unevenly and it was a cool summer, so they didn't do as well. Definitely going for it again this year after our good experience two years ago. Refining, ever refining.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of green zebras. They sound cool and look cool and I think that helps them taste good. I live in inner-city unincorporated San Diego County.
ReplyDeleteIndianapolis, IN and I love the Black Krim!
ReplyDeletesoluckyducky at gmail dot com
Tacoma, WA. I love yellow pears! Delicious. I haven't had much luck with full sized tomatoes here in Western Washington, but after reading the previous comments I'm inspired to try a few Sungolds and Early Girl this year. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm from Oakland, CA. Our best producing tomatoes have been the Japanese Black Trifele and Sun Gold, but my favorite for flavor is First Light. It doesn't produce as much fruit but has by far the best flavor of the types we've tried.
ReplyDeleteSeal Beach, Ca. I have a community garden and out of all 30 tomatoes I grew last year, I had one Black Brandywine that was exquisite. I can still taste it.....
ReplyDeleteI'm from Anchorage, AK, and I do love cherry tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteI don't eat tomatoes... but I grow them for everyone else because how can you be a gardener if you can't complain across the fence about what the fog is doing to your tomatoes? I garden in Petaluma and I like Stupice. And if you haven't heard Guy Clark's love song to the tomato be kind to yourself and listen here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nitgmAInI18
Still exploring tomato varieties, but I've gotten some great ideas from the comments! I live in Berkeley, CA.
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles. I definitely love the Anna Russians. They don't produce insane crops or anything, but they taste amazing!
ReplyDeleteI live in Los Angeles, CA, just down the freeway from you! Favorite type of tomato (of the moment) is probably currant yellow cherry tomatoes!
ReplyDelete--Laura Kinson
I live in Marengo IL, which is nearish Chicago. I should say though, that I do plan on moving to NM someday with my fiance,who is from NM, to operate an organic farm and csa. My favorite tomato varieties are Mexico Midget, for cherries. They are tiny and tart and super producers. One plant will give you gallons and gallons of tiny tomatoes. I also love Silvery Fir Tree, but they are only good in containers. They produce a full size, great tasting, early tomato, in a small patio container.
ReplyDeleteI live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. We like to grow Roma tomatoes for canning, but we may try some different varieties this year.
ReplyDeleteI live in the South Bay area. I don't think you can ever go wrong with sun gold tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteI live near Studio CIty in Valley Village. I moved here from New England several years ago and am currently organizing a series of community involvement opportunities with our local nonprofit organizations and schools in Lake Balboa (where I work) with a focus on urban agriculture and environmental stewardship.
ReplyDeleteWhile i detested tomatoes as a child (but loved ketchup), when a farmer's market opened up in my town back east, I was introduced to more than the mealy tomatoes I would find at the bottom of the fridge at home. now I can slice then up and eat without abandon. Since I love color and visual texture, striped green zebras and chocolate striped. The more gnarled and odd shaped the better. Then you get an amazing still life AND a tasty meal.
Sandpoint, Id. Our faves are Cherokee Purple, for the big beefsteak variety, and Siletz, for the earliness...
ReplyDeleteI live in San Diego, California and I looove Black Krim tomatoes! Haven't tried growing them yet but they are incredible.
ReplyDeleteI live in Lyons, CO and I finally have a backyard to make a good attempt at gardening in.
ReplyDeleteI live in Provo, Utah and my favorite tomato is yellow pears. I grill them, use them in salad, good in salsa, and they are the only one my kids will eat. Very versatile!
ReplyDeleteI live in Eugene, Oregon... wet and warm! My favorite tomato is the Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato! I discovered it last season and it is the thickest, most flavorful tomato I have ever eaten. It is the type of tomato that we reserved for eating with just a splash of balsamic vinegar, oil and salt. mmm I cannot wait until tomato season!
ReplyDeleteMy family and I live in Rough and Ready, California. Basically the Western Sierra Nevada foothills. My personal favorite tomato to grow here at 1700 feet in the oak forests, is "Dad's Mug". A very hearty tomato that is great for sauce, but incredibly full of flavor! My boys eat them right off the vine.
ReplyDeleteSeaside, CA. Favorite tomato = Paul Robeson
ReplyDeleteI live in Austin Texas. We can grow many of the plants grown in the western parts of the country. Mine is a very common tomato variety but then I have nematodes in the soil. It happens to be 'celebrity. Sometimes I can get away with growing the heirloom varieties in a pot. Thanks for the chance to win this great gardening book. Sunset always has such wonderful ideas.
ReplyDelete.
I live in Eugene, OR. The past few years have been an interesting up and down for growing my tomatoes. My favorite of all, however, is the bright yellow 'Taxi' variety.
ReplyDeleteI live near Las Cruces, NM. I love the taste of the Cherokee purple, but last year, with so little rain, only our little tomatoes did well: the yellow pear and the orange cherry tomatoes went gangbusters!
ReplyDeleteI live in South eastern Washington. The climate is not like Seattle at all. Assuming I remember to water, tomatoes grow like crazy jungle plants here. I grew amish paste tomatoes from seeds of change last year and they produced an abundance of lovely roma-like tomatoes. I plan to grow more this year and start saving the seeds. My favorite tomato so far.
ReplyDeleteI live in Fullerton, Ca. My favorite tomato is Brandywine. I will be trying the Cherokee purple after reading all these posts. Love tomatoes. Thank you for your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Portland,OR. I don't know what variety they are, but we stumbled across a cherry tomato that my husband eats like candy. I'm also looking forward to growing a roma so we can make some decent sauce.
ReplyDeleteHey, it's me from up the hill. I never grew a tomato I didn't like, but for this poll I will go with Celebrity, because I have such consistent success with this variety, year after year. It produces a lot of fruit practically year-round and makes a darn good tomato sandwich.
ReplyDeleteI live in Monrovia, CA. My favorite tomato is the yellow pear.
ReplyDeleteHey! I'm up in Calgary AB, we've tried every year to grow tomatoes but we've had nothing but bad luck. I love roma tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Pasadena, CA - Sun Gold is my all-time favorite tomato. They don't even make it into the house - just pull up a chair next to the plant and munch away!
ReplyDeleteI am in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Last year, the hands-down taste-test winner from our garden was 'Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter'. It's an heirloom variety that was a huge producer of medium sized, moderately meaty fruit on a 6'+ vine.
ReplyDeleteIn my garden journal I have one word written beside its name: Tastey!
I live in Riverside, CA, and our favorite tomatoe is the Roma. My husband also loves BeefStake. Wow, this is great. I have a lot of different tomatoes to try now from everyone's comments. Might not have room to grow anything else!
ReplyDeleteYay! Sungold is by far my most favorite cherry tomato plant to grow in So.Cal. They are prolific and tasty! (We live in Pasadena and garden out of our front lawn). I'm still trying to find a good beefsteak type variety. Looks like I'll have many more options from the list here. Here's to hoping for the new Sunset book!
ReplyDeleteHi, I live in McKinleyville Ca. My favorite here is "Bloody Butcher" It produces great tasting tomatoes very early and continues till very late.
ReplyDeleteI live and garden in Portland, OR and my favorite tomato variety by far is an heirloom called "Old German." It has gorgeous, large, sweet and juicy fruit marbled with red and orange, and the flavor is indescribably delicious. These don't even make it back to the house sometimes, since they're out of this world eaten sun-warmed right off the plant. I've grown dozens of different varieties of tomatoes over the last few years and none of them compares to this one.
ReplyDelete