well we got some Cherokee purple plant this spring all I can say is wow there good the issue I have is there splitting bad the early girls , beef masters are not splitting but there big also one slice to the blts as well as the purples never have had the purples be for there skin is very thin and they don't seem to hold up as well as the other maters just wondering if this is the norm. for them. the rest of the garden is growing so fast can hardly keep up the onions are softball size carrots are awesome peppers are going nuts a real explosion going on we will be getting more purples next year noticed they don't have as much of the acidy bite as the others

Grew some of those last year and had the same problem, I think it might be due to the color

But they are good

Purples are rather thin skinned and prone to splitting, especially if you get a good rain at the last moment. The flavor makes it worth the trouble though.

I pick them early and let them ripen up on the windowsill. Especially if rain is forecasted. I’ve never noticed any difference in taste.

All the heirloom types have problems of one sort or another; most people moved on to other varieties and left the old ones to become heirlooms. Not putting them down; just saying they have problems that limits their usefulness sometimes. Newer varieties have problems too. My favorites are mortgage lifter followed by brandywine. Wonderful flavor but a pain to grow compared to "modern" varieties. I still stick a few in the ground every year though.

There is a trade off between taste and hardiness in tomatoes, especially when it comes to the ability to be shipped. Store bought tomatoes around here are typically terrible. I should invest in a system to grow tomatoes all year.

Keith

Things are growing great here too. I have tomatoes about 7' tall now. They are Amish paste tomatoes. I have gotten a couple ripe ones but there are probably two bushels of green on on ten plants right now. Grew some roma's for sauce the last few years. Trying the amish paste one to maybe save a little work?

Have a couple of those plants. Need to pick before very ripe,to keep from splitting in wet weather.

Another vote for mortgage lifter.
I agree most of the old varieties got left behind for a reason however as in most things you fix one problem just to create another. Many of the new varieties may be prettier, disease resistant, or some other problem fixed but they too have issues.
That why I like trialing new ones every year while spending time and effort on some of the old ones.
I grow brandywines (sudduth, otv, platt yellow) every year for the flavor knowing they're liable to die or I won't get but a few wonderful tasting tomatoes off them.

For heirlooms try Tomato Fest, just search that on the computer. The guy is out of California, he has around 600 verities of tomato seeds at reasonable prices. The problem with hybrids is they were crossed to have certain characteristics for shelf life and shipping like a thicker skin ect. Some of them I believe had the flavor compromised in the process. For example, I one time bought a thornless black berry, the fruit was so sour you couldn't put enough sugar on it. Yes they bred the thorns out of them, along with the sugar.

My favorite tomatoe, that I am growing this year is Mr. Stripey. It is very sweet and has very little acid. Has anyone else tried one?

Keith

If you like bicolor one I highly recommend is Georgia Streak. It's one of the more recent "heirlooms" developed in Douglasville, GA.

By a backyard breeder not a big seed company.