I'm going to start my tomatoe seeds soon and these are a couple of new varieties I'm trying for sauce this year. Anyone try these vaieties before and were you happy with them?

Every year I grow 6-8 plants, and I'm always trying a couple new varieties until I get what works right for me. These are my keepers Celebrity, Early Girl, Momotoro, Virginia Sweet, German Johnson(this one might get the year off though).

Rejects/Non standards=
Todd County Amish
San Marzano(too many small ones, spend all day skinning and seeding)
Roma(same as above)
Super San Marzano (great, but too few fruits)
Carbon(may try again some year)
Big Boy
Better Boy
Champion
Brandywine
Sainte Lucie(I do think the one plant I grew was either the wrong seed or pollinated errantly)
Stupice(Nice little ping pong tomatoe but once the real ones start I just give them away)

Some at the top of your REJECT list are some of my successful ones, so hard to give advice here. I grow Amish paste each year and am happy with it. 

try this for de seeding and de skinning, many similar ones, but they make short work of it.

http://www.growitalian.com/rigamonti-velox-tomato-press-with-square-bowl-r-67/

My favorite paste one is Oxheart, many variants, but here's one:

http://www.growitalian.com/products/Tomato-Cuor-di-Bue-%252d-Oxheart.html

Thanks for the links Jack,
I have always wondered about these machines. I don't know anyone else who makes sauce for the year from their garden tomatoes. Last thing I need is another gadget in the cupboard taking up space, but if these are for real it'll save me a couple of days a year and that is worth it.  I would probably still do some by hand so my sauce has texture.
 
Do you still blanch them or just cut them up a bit and throw them into the press as is?

I really liked regular San Marzano, it is very productive, but peeling/seeding by hand...sheesh!

I have grown both and found both to be good, large and meaty paste tomatoes. Roma and San Marzano rejects!?! I can tell you aren't Italian!

Calvin, I've also had good luck with Amish Paste here in Maryland and am growing it again this year. 

Steve

I have both the stainless and the red plastic de seeder/de skinner. I use the plastic one each year and if I find out that they are about to go out of production, I will search for the last one endlessly!  They save me countless hours, You slow boil the tomatoes for 8-10 mins to kill off surface bacteria and blanch the skins, rinse in cold to cool them to feed into the machine, run the fruit mass through twice, and you have pot ready juice and pulp in one pot and dry skins and seeds in the other hopper.  I am NOT a kitchen gadget guy, but this one a swear by one.

I grow many types of paste tomatoes for freezing up a fall/winter supply of sauce so its priceless for me.  San Marzano is a good grower for me, the blight is the big challenge we have here.

This is terrific info Jack. I'm getting excited about the machine. I'm glad you added the the recomendation about the plastic one. I would buy stainless over plastic 100% of the time, but if the preformance is better then there you go. Have you ever had a plastic one break?

The starts are looking good!

For sauce no need to skin or seed.....boil lightly and use a food mill, just do a google search.  Drop toms in turn handle and ouree comes out seeds and skin stay in the mill. 

I never have had it break, had it 6 years so far. The metal strainer types work fine but also tend to shred the seeds, and this plastic one had rubber flappers that push the material into a seive so its more gentle. I like to save the seed, and also the skins and seeds if shredded can add flavors I do not like into the sauce.

Coastal SoCal, Italian descent. :)

Early girls are year in, year out, the best.
A French tomato was also very good - Carmello - but it's more difficult to find.

Better boys did well at our other house but not here - warmer and drier here.

Amish paste did not do well.
San Marzano's (redute? - the big one) produced spindly bushes in a prime location and didn't bear well at all. Just a few very large, not very tasty fruits.

Grew the pretty brown ones from Trader Joe's (Kumato) and they are apparently open-pollinated so they bred true. But they proved to be just average.

Have tried many others, but the only way to really know what works the best is to try them yourself.


As for preserving tomatoes, I no longer can any, but do freeze, and sometimes dehydrate them.

p.s. The early plants are already blooming and a few have 1 inch fruits. :)

Another tip for preserving........we take roma tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  I have a large brick propane smoker I built and put them in with no smoke for about 10 hours at 200 degrees.  They get reduced in weight by 2/3 and the flavors concentrate and are just wonderful.  Because they have much less water they freeze well and when thawed can be used for most anything including on sandwiches.  My smoker holds 4 of these racks.  



finished product

Gina,

That is why I use the outside smoker...all the heat stays outside:)

I grow some Amish Pastes every year and save the seed from them.  They are big and bountiful, but don't do as well in our hoop house in the city as they used to do outside on the farm (where we used to live) in the garden.  This year I will try them outside and see how they do in the poorer soil we deal with here.  Opalkas were good, too, but I liked the AP better.  
As for tomato preserving equipment, I wouldn't be without my Victorio Strainer http://victorio.info/food-strainer.html .  I make ketchup, tomato soup, and pizza sauce using it.  It's also good for applesauce (in conjunction with my steamer/juicer which softens the unpeeled/uncored apples).

Calvin, give Goldman's Italian American a try. It is hands down my favorite sauce type. The fruit are huge and it has been very productive for me in CO.
It has been a seed savers only tomato, but Dale at Giant Tomato has the seed for sale: http://gianttomatoseeds.com/tomato_seeds.html

Wow, what a great reply! Thanks everyone for your input.

Gina- I agree year in and year out Early Girl is my favorite tomato. I think anyone who is a fan of Early Girl should give Momotoro a try. The SanMarzano Giagante I believe is the same one you spoke of. Huge plant, really big tomatoes, just not many of them; for me the quality was good though so last year I finally used up the package of seeds.  I don't can either, I don't like to add any more acid than the tomato has naturally, so I freeze a years supply of spaghetti sauce.

Wills- Man your making me reeaaaallly want some summertime tomatoes. Those Roma look fantastic, both ways. Drying tomatoes is one of those things that I someday hope to do, just not enough time. I think I need a clone.  Does the smoker impart a bit of smokiness to the tomatoes even though you don't have smoke going when drying? I think mine would, so many years of smoke seasoning on all of the inside surfaces. Not that it's a bad thing.

Andy- Thanks for the Goldman's Italian American tip. I checked out that web site but can't order directly, so I guess I'll be sending him an email later tonight.

I am trying Opalka again this year - had terrible germination in the past and the plant was best described as whispy.

My wife's absolute favorite tomato from our garden is Sudduth Brandywine (seeds from Mariseeds.com). When we package up tomatoes for the neighbors these never make it out of the house. The Burpee version is 'meh'.

Try an Oxheart tomato. Several to choose from. A good source is Tomato Growers Supply (tomatogrowers.com or 888-478-7333). My favorites from them are Kosova and Orange Russian. The Amish Paste is also listed under 'Oxhearts' in their catalog, but the other 2 I listed are much larger, all meat and very very few seeds.

Seems like our best tomatoes in Nor Cal are usually late August/early September. If anyone likes cherry tomatoes the hybrid "sungold" is really good. I would love a dead ripe tomato soon! Bah!