Wine Tastings are all the rage these days but with the tomaoes producing volumes this year, why not consider hosting a ‘tomato tasting’ party? You will need to have a variety of tomatoes but, should you decide to have a party you could ask your guests to bring those from their garden or some from the Farmer’s Market to add to the collective fun. While wine tastings are limited to adults and wine lovers, tomatoes, the universal vegetable/fruit crop, can include the whole family. Those who don’t like tomatoes can satisfy their palate with the fresh mozzarella which serves as the ‘palate cleanser’. 
Sunday evening was the day for the ‘tomato tasting party here and all tomatoes tasted were grown here at Ledge and Gardens. The only plant not grown from seed was the cherry variety ‘Sungold’ which I picked up at the local independent garden center. Somehow, I forgot to plant my favorite cherry tomato. That is okay, though, since the garden centers are well stocked with a wide variety of both heirloom and hybrid tomato plants early in the season. 
All tomato plants were started here under lights in mid-April. 
This gardener takes no chances with the vagaries of Mother Nature. I have started the plants earlier only to have to pot them up to bigger and bigger pots in order to keep the root system healthy and vigorous. All plants were planted out the weekend of Memorial Day, which fell on May 31st this year. All plants were planted with organic fertilizer and subsequently fertilized with liquid fish solution. In spite of the different “days to maturity,” which varied from 55 days to 82 days, all tomatoes started producing within a week of each other.
The cast of characters included the following:
‘Brandy Boy’ - 75-78 day maturity, indeterminate vine, a hybrid of Brandywine. This tomato is large and most fruit are in excess of five inches across. The skin is thin and pink and this plant produces quite a few fruit. It is much more prolific in production than ‘Brandywine’ . The flavor was described as tangy, sweet, zippy and robust. It was the clear favorite.
‘Early Wonder’ - 55 days to maturity, determinate. This tomato is smooth and round with dark pink color. It was rated sweeter than Brandy Boy and two of the eight guests loved it. and all others only had good things to say about this pretty tomato.
‘Glory’ - 75 days, indeterminate vine. This tomato is a hybrid of two heirloom varities, although I could not find out which two. It is a plant which yields quite a few fruit which are beautifully round. The flavor was described as tomatoey, good, sour, acidic and tasty. It does have a fairly thick skin, which is quite noticable in comparison to the thinner skinned varieties. The fruit was nice and clean and very round and uniform.
‘Green Zebra’ - 78 days, indeterminate vines. This hybrid was developed as recently as 1985 and it is small and round with clear green stripes. It turns a yellow/gold when ripe. I think that I picked and served these a bit early as the flavor, usually quite zippy and acidic was described as neutral and one guest said it was like eating a leaf. Hmmmm… Catalog descriptions say it has a lemon/lime flavor and I would concur with that. It is very pretty on the vine and plated with other tomatoes, adding interest to the dish. It was a favorite of one of the guests.
‘Legend’ - 68 day, determinate vine. This hybrid is said to be resistant to late blight which was such a problem in many gardens, mine included, last year. The fruit sets without pollinization (parthenocarpic). The fruit of this vine is blemish free. The flavor was described as complex, mellow, pleasant. I would grow this again just because of its’ resistance to late blight.
‘Mortgage Lifter’ - 82 day, indeterminate vines. This hybrid has a great history. It was bred from four large heirloom varieties by M. C.‘Radiator Charlie’ Byles who actually had no plant breeding experience. His day job was fixing radiators, hence his moniker. As the story goes, once Radiator Charlie developed his hybrid, he sold the seedlings to tomato afficionados from all around the area for $1.00 each. A supreme sum in the 1940’s. With the proceeds, he payed off his mortgage. The fruit of this hybrid are over a pound and a half and can weigh in at four pounds. I have to say that this is my favorite and the flavor was described as delicious. While I do like it for the size and flavor, only one slice for a good BLT, the plants produce many fruit. I find that an all too important and often overlooked characteristic. Give me fruit count in a description.
‘Sungold’ - 65 days, indeterminate vines. Very fruit forward…sounds like a wine tasting doesn’t it? This was the only cherry tomato tasted and everyone loved it. It had much more flavor than any of the larger tomatoes but who can make a sandwich from a cherry tomato?
GuestsOf the eight guests, four liked ‘Brandy Boy’ the best, two liked ‘Early Wonder’, one liked ‘Green Zebra’ and one liked ‘Mortgage Lifter’. The general consensus was that all the tomatoes from the garden were distinct and delicious and there was no comparison to those bought at the supermarket. I should have had a supermarket tomato as part of the tasting but, next year.
In conclusion, I would like to add that I am firmly convinced, but have no scientific experiment to back up the hypothesis, that tomatoes, like grapes, respond to terroir. Terroir (click on this) is the term for the specifics of the soil. The soil in which the tomatoes are grown gives them a unique flavor depending on its particle composition and nutrient analysis. Maybe this will be proven sometime in the future.
You can be sure that I have made a note of Mike’s favorites. I will be planting some ‘Mini Charm’ cherry tomatoes next year. Please share with all of us the name of your preferred tomato. Just make a note in the comment section. We would all love to know.
