We raise Mortgage Lifters as well and I’m pretty certain that starfire62 meant 2# 1oz(2.1). They are a large slicer indeed.

whats your favorite homegrown tomato?i started some heirloom tomotoes called mortgage lifters ,a relative of the beefsteek family and  wow is all i can say whay a great tasting tomato.i did 15 of those plants and they all took .my heaviest one so far weighted in at 2.1 ozs.[:X]

ANY tomato that was just picked from the garden is my favorite!

After three seasons of trying, we stopped with the homegrown. We just don't get enough sun in our yard.

I love all tomatoes. What I love to do most is cut up several different varieties and marvel at how the tastes can be so different, yet all be obviously tomato. Yuppicide, those green zebras are great, aren't they!

LOL! You’re doing something wrong. Mortgage Lifters usually grow about 1 pound or more sometimes. So far mine were all pretty large, but I didn’t have a lot of them. I’ll tell you why:

We have a roughly 22 foot by 22 foot space and planted 80 plants! The person who was supposed to help me, once they were in the ground, he did no work what so ever. He didn’t even come back to take any tomatoes! So, it was like a jungle in my garden. I have tomatoes of every color.. purple, red, pink, orange, yellow, white, green, striped, etc.

Here’s a sampling:

– Magnum Beefsteak – Mine are coming in about 2 pounds each. I’d get these next year for sure.

– Green Zebra – These are smaller (3 to 4 ounces each), they start off green, but mature as a green yellow. Also, Red Zebra – Similar to above, but green and red. They grow a lot of tomatoes. Not as many tomatoes as a grape or cherry tomato, but definitely a big producer.

– I have two white tomatoes.. White Beauty and White Queen. I am 99% positive the White Beauty came in first. It was amazing. White inside and out. Didn’t look ripe, but boy was it ready. Tasted like a lemon.

– I had one called the Hawaiian Pineapple, but I was not impressed.

– Black from Tula and Black Semen – I liked these both. The more sun they get the darker in color they get. Almost black. Very tasty.

I had Pink Brandywine, Golden Boy, Limmony, Azoychka, Russian 118, Ramapo, Mortgage Lifter, Purple Calabash, Chocolate Cherokee, Japanese Black Trifele, etc.

The ones I wouldn’t plant again, while very nice looking, there was one called the Striped German. They grow long like a pepper up to 5 inches. They come in red and yellow striped. I think they’re better suited for making sauce. Had a thick skin I didn’t like.

There is a lady in NJ that grows eggplants, chile plants, and tomatoes. She has over 120 varieties and that’s where I got all my plants from.

I still have a crapload of tomatoes growing lol. I usually bring home like 30 pounds when I go there, but last year we were pulling in like 60 or 70 pounds of tomatoes. Last year we planted like 50 something plants and managed them better, so we had better crops.

I have one more plant still growing.. it’s some pod thing from CVS. Drop in soil and it produces over 25 pounds of tomatoes for $1.99. I planted that super late, months late, but it’s looking great. Very healthy.

If you’re near Northern NJ, next Wednesday is the tomato tasting.. like 120 kinds of tomatoes, $7 all you can eat.

2.1 ounces? Are they grape tomatoes?

I’m a fan of Romas, because they have less gooey seed mess in them (I hate the gooey part). Plus, they grow well in containers which is what I am allowed to have. This year my sister grew pear tomatoes because she’d never heard of them, and they’re excellent for snacking! About the size of a cherry tomato, slightly sweet, and the three she grew have given us several mixing bowls full of fruit.

We do tomatoes with varing degrees of success each year. Some years several varieties, some just a couple. Last year was a disaster with blight, bugs and lots of poor plants that died off during the summer.

This year we bought several Roma plants from a local nursery and Jan started some others and some ‘Yellows’ from seed. They have done well. The Romas, my favorite eating tomato are massive up to 5 inch long by 2.5 inch diameter fruit weighing up to 8 oz. Solid inside and very tasty.  It is a good year here in Louisville for “Mater’s.”

Morgage lifter and brandywine are my only 2 varieties this year.  The brandywines are prolific this year, morgage lifters – not so much.

My favorite tomato is any variety grown in Grainger County, TN.  Here’s http://www.ritterfarms.com/tomatoes.html one of the farms which grows them.

Jman:  Ritter farms is my favorite in Grainger county.  Mamaw Smith and I go there frequently and while I am there I go a few miles up the road and cross the clinch mountain and get some wonderful vinegar pie.  Vinegar pie started during the civil war where other ingredients were not available and thus vinegar pie was created.

 http://www.clinchmountainlookout.com/restaurant.htm http://www.clinchmountainlookout.com/restaurant.htm

Paul E. Smith

knoxville, N

When you’re over in that area, do you ever go to Bulls Gap?  Yoders Country Store is an excellent store which offers all kinds of Amish/Mennonite foods, plus they have a great deli and bakery.

My favorite tomato is any variety grown in Grainger County, TN.  Here’s http://www.ritterfarms.com/tomatoes.html one of the farms which grows them.

Jman:  Ritter farms is my favorite in Grainger county.  Mamaw Smith and I go there frequently and while I am there I go a few miles up the road and cross the clinch mountain and get some wonderful vinegar pie.  Vinegar pie started during the civil war where other ingredients were not available and thus vinegar pie was created.

 http://www.clinchmountainlookout.com/restaurant.htm http://www.clinchmountainlookout.com/restaurant.htm

Paul E. Smith

knoxville, N

My favorite tomato is any variety grown in Grainger County, TN.  Here’s http://www.ritterfarms.com/tomatoes.html one of the farms which grows them.

I have limited sun in my yard, so I grow my tomatoes in “whisky barrel” planters on my front patio. No fancy heirloom varieties, just “big boy” and “better boy” plants I get from Home Depot. Just a half dozen plants produce more tomatoes than I can use. There is nothing like home grown tomatoes!

Blight seems real common in our part of WI this year.

I live n the Brandywine Valley of PA..not only is it the name not only of some lovely countryside, but also to one of the best Tomatoes (IMHO). I tried growing them at home once, but since we are sun-limited, the ones I get from my local produce stand (S|W. rte 100S) are much better as is any of his other “grown there” goodies. Ileechef with her comment about picked from the garden is spot-on; for those of us in shadyland, “H’s” (owner of S|W) stuff comes close..in taste and timing