Stopped being a tomato snob after a bad August

I used to only grow heirloom tomatoes on my balcony because I thought hybrids were fake and boring. Then last August a heat wave hit and all my Brandywines split open overnight while my neighbor's Better Boy plants looked perfectly fine. She gave me a basket of them and they actually tasted great in sandwiches and salsa. Has anyone else had a hybrid save your season when the weather went sideways?

2 comments

2 Comments

umaprice11d ago

Oh man, I feel this on a spiritual level. I had a similar rude awakening when my fancy, heirloom Black Krims turned into a mushy mess after one rainstorm while my neighbor's random "Celebrity" hybrids sat there smug and perfect. It's like finding out your indie band's next album is actually just noise, lol. Now I keep a few tough hybrids in the back just in case Mother Nature decides to throw a tantrum.

grantthomas10d ago

My neighbor down the street is a 70 year old guy who only grows one thing every year, a hybrid called "Big Beef." I used to feel sorry for him because I thought he was missing out. Then last summer we got that crazy two week monsoon and my Cherokee Purples turned into water balloons. He brought over a grocery bag full of Big Beef tomatoes that looked like they came from a magazine cover. They were firm, red, and had zero cracking or rot. I grilled them with some olive oil and salt and they were better than anything I grew that year. Now I plant two hybrids next to my heirlooms every year just as insurance.