Goliath?

Knowing it's a well-known variety, I've had in mind for years to maybe grow Goliath (tm) hybrid as a large mainstream production tomato some season. Totally Tomatoes recently sent me their 2012 catalog, and now I'm a little confused when it comes to Goliath. They list the following varieties:

Original Goliath Hybrid
Goliath Goldrush Hybrid
Pear Goliath Hybrid
Early Goliath Hybrid
Jalapeno Goliath Hybrid
Sunny Goliath Hybrid
Gentle Giant Goliath Hybrid
Prime Beef Goliath Hybrid
Italian Goliath Hybrid
Cluster Goliath Hybrid
Old-Fashioned Goliath Hybrid
Bush Goliath Hybrid
Goliath Griller Hybrid
Sweet Goliath Hybrid

Good golly, what's up with that? Obviously, all these varieties aren't simply variations of the same tomato - some are yellow, some are round, some are flat, some are elongated like peppers, some are early, some are late. So, what makes them all "Goliath"? Is "Goliath (tm)" simply a marketing term, and if it is, what are all these tomato varieties really?

A lot of your list are peppers not tomatoes. Not sure which seed development company is responsible for this series, Maybe Carolyn does. It is not uncommon for a company which markets a succesful variety to use that title for a whole series. They cover several types of tomatoes . ditto for pepper. Gold Rush is a yellow bell, Jalapeno is obviously a Jalapeno, Gently Giant is large frying pepper( Cubanelle type), Sweet Goliath is a large sweet pepper like Marconi types, Goliath Griller is a medium hot pepper.

I tried Goliath tomato years ago, but was not impressed.

We plant only Jalapeno Goliath peppers. Huge yields of nice big fruits. We love them!

Bernie

"A lot of your list are peppers not tomatoes."
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Well, of course they are. If my wits hadn't been addled by a big Thanksgiving dinner, I'd have noticed that. Still, it's odd how Totally Tomatoes presents all these varieties mixed together on two catalog pages headed "Meet Our Famous Giants and See Why Goliath Rules" without dividing them into one column for tomatoes and another for peppers.

I think "Goliath (tm)" must just be a marketing term for them - meaning only that these widely different and unrelated tomato and pepper varieties are all large.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Goliath

The original OP Goliath dates way back to the late 1800's, an heirloom from PA.

Perhaps TT picked up on the name long ago since I seem to remember that even when Wayne Hilton owned the Company there were many F1 Goliath's listed for sale, all before Jung's bought TT and the other companies he owned several years ago now, except for HPS.

The name sounds kinda Biblical to me which wouldn't be that far out considering the last century religions and devotion to same. ( smile)

Carolyn

CountryG: Thanks for the tip on Jal.Gol. peppers. I'll have to try them.
Ozark: Check what people have to say about Gol. Toms in DG Plant Files. Lots of negatives.

I've grown Early Goliath and (for me, at least) found it neither particularly early nor especially large.

For what it's worth: I have grown Goliath and have liked it. It produced early and was quite generous--also produced longer than some of the other tomatoes. The taste was okay--not outstanding but enjoyable. It doesn't put out a very big fruit, but puts out many tomatoes.