Ok, so maybe it was a little over the top, but I tried to keep track of the number of tomatoes harvested per plant this year to give me an idea of the best ones to keep in my not unlimited garden space. The attached graph shows the results. I reported on the cherry tomatoes earlier.
Sophie's Choice and Pink TieDye were the earliest, but a little disappointing in their yield. Although the TieDye is very pretty, I think next year I might try Matina and Lucky Cross instead.
Kosovo produced many hearts, and even though it was over a short mid-season, I'll plant it again next year. Gold Medal and Amish Gold were a bust this year, although to be fair, they were in a shadier location than most of the others. I'll go back to Kellogg's Breakfast next year for my yellow tomatoes.
I had four dwarf varieties in homemade earth boxes. Sadly Perth Pride, Wild Fred and Rosella Purple, while showing early promise, succumbed to blight (?) although I had used brand new potting soil. Iditarod Red, though, came through with flying colors, pumping out more than a dozen medium-small fruits in mid-season. I'll keep that one and try some other dwarves next year.
Heidi produced a slew of small tomatoes that I roasted for sauce in the latter part of the season, but the stars were my two hybrids, Mountain Fresh and Momotaro. Both had better taste than the typical commercial hybrid, and kept up the harvest for a long time. In fact there are still 4 or 5 green fruit on both of these plants which, if the weather predictors are right, might ripen before the frosts hit.
Cherokee Purple (also in a too-shady location) only gave me 3 fruits this year, but I like the taste enough to try it in a sunnier locale.
If anyone is interested in keeping such records, I would recommend keeping a small pad or notebook with a pen attached in the collecting basket so you can record the harvest of each plant. Since some varieties look alike, waiting to identify them after you bring them indoors is not a good idea.
