Heirloom tomates are currently enjoying a huge surge in popularity. The wide range of colors and flavors make them extremely appealing for restaurant chefs and for fresh-market customers. Their special handling requirements make them an ideal niche crop for small, direct-market oriented farmers. However, the thousands of varieties available and the wide variability make for some difficult choices for farmers. In the summer of 2001, we evaluated 38 varieties for yield and quality under typical organic market farm management.

We were looking for varieties within each of several color classes which had high yields of marketable fruits and good flavor. Yellow/orange, black/purple, and bi-color (yellow with red stripes) tomatoes were evaluated at Simple Gifts Farm (SGF) in Belchertown, Massachusetts. Yellow/green, black/purple, and pink tomatoes were evaluated at the Big Red Barn (BRB) in Winchendon, Massachusetts. The black/purple color class was grown at both farms to compare site differences. In addition, 10 varieties in several color classes were evaluated in a high tunnel at SGF.

The sites differed considerably in conditions. Though less than 50 miles apart geographically, BRB is at a higher elevation, and experienced cooler conditions. First field harvest was on August 1 at SGF and on August 12 at BRB. Localized rainfall and a heavy soil provided adequate moisture at SGF, while BRB had drought conditions for much of the summer. Tomatoes at BRB were grown at a 3-foot spacing, with 2 plants per plot; at SGF, plants were at an 2-foot spacing, with 2 plants per plot. Both sites were set up in a randomized complete block design to compensate for variations within the field. Weight harvested, number of tomatoes per harvest, and average weight per fruit was measured at BRB. Only marketable fruits were weighed, so yield figures are marketable yield only. At SGF, number of fruits was not measured, so average weight was not calculated. However, both first-quality and cull fruits were weighed, so cull rates are presented. In all of the following tables, numbers within the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different. Columns without letters indicate no significant differences. The field trials at SGF exhibited very high levels of variation which eliminated statistically significant differences in many of the categories. Early yield indicates yield within the first three weeks of harvest.

Black tomatoes
Black tomatoes were grown on both farms. The black tomatoes performed very well at BRB, and very poorly at SGF. BRB found that the black tomatoes had the strongest yields and best flavor of any of the tomatoes. At SGF, the usually strong performance of the black tomatoes was not observed in 2001. Most of the black tomatoes had lower yields, paler color and less remarkable flavor than SGF usually observes for the same varieties in other seasons. There must have been some site condition which disadvantaged the black tomatoes at SGF this year (note that yields were higher at SGF in general due to the longer season; black tomato yields were higher at SGF than at BRB, but low relative to other tomatoes at SGF). Cherokee Purple and Black Prince were noted at BRB for their good flavor and uniformity. Black Plum and Russian Black both had high yields but small fruits and unremarkable flavor.

Yellow/Green tomatoes
Yellow to green tomatoes were grown at BRB. Green Pineapple was the most surprising variety, with beautiful fruit, great flavor, and high yields. Tasty Evergreen and Green Zebra are dependable and flavorful. Garden Peach and Plum Lemon are distinctive in appearance even though their flavor is not the best. Yellow Brandywine and Aunt Ruby’s Green were particularly low-yielding and inconsistent in appearance.

Yellow/Orange tomatoes
Yellow/Orange tomatoes were grown at SGF. This class did especially well, with many of the varieties exhibiting very good uniformity, yield and flavor. Nebraska Wedding, Moonglow, Russian Persimmon, and Amana Orange were all quite similar in appearance, being relatively round, defect free, and a nice bright orange color. Golden Sunray was disappointing—a strange off-orange color, and inconsistent shape. Elberta Girl was supposed to be a striped tomato, but came out practically identical to Garden Peach—pale yellow, small and fuzzy, with pleasant but not dramatic flavor.

Striped tomatoes
Striped tomatoes were grown at SGF. These were the highest yielding tomatoes due to their large fruits. The large fruits can be somewhat hard to sell at a premium retail price. The varieties were fairly similar in flavor and appearance, with the exception of Georgia Streak, which turned to be an orange tomato with no stripes and very inconsistent appearance. Gold Medal had slightly less distinct stripes than the other varieties, but had a very uniform appearance.

Pink tomatoes
Pink Tomatoes were grown at BRB. This category seemed to be affected by the drought more than the other two categories. Eva’s Purple Ball was the best variety in this trial, with good flavor and yield and extraordinarily consistent. Caspian Pink was also very free of defects, and had the highest yield, but had less flavor. The beefsteak varieties all performed poorly in one category or another. Pruden’s Purple was the best of the pink beefsteaks but the pinks should be re-tested under more favorable conditions.

Hoophouse tomatoes
Tomatoes from several color classes were grown in the high tunnel at SGF. First harvest was 3 weeks earlier than the field tomatoes, and the early harvests were heavier than the earliest field harvests. Fruit quality was higher, and cull rates lower, than in the field. Most culls came later in the season, due to a hornworm infestation. Hybrid tomatoes were also grown in the high tunnel—while they were not included in the trial, yields were higher than the heirlooms, but not so much higher that the heirlooms were unprofitable. In our marketplace, unheated high tunnels do not produce the earliest tomatoes, so the colorful heirlooms help to differentiate our product from the earlier greenhouse tomatoes. Cherokee Purple and Black from Tula were lower-yielding than they had been in previous seasons, as were most of the black tomatoes in the field at SGF in 2001. Tigerella had decent yields, but was uninteresting in appearance and flavor. All of the other varieties had great results in the hoophouse.