The “Dallas Tomato Trials” started as a way to justify an overzealous heirloom seed shopping spree. Six months and one pandemic later, the success of the trial can be measured in both newfound knowledge and newfound community. The trial started conversations, created shared experiences, and delivered a sense of purpose during uncertain, stressful times.
Dallas Tomato Trials Goal and Vision
The goal of the Dallas Tomato Trials is to determine the best heirloom tomatoes for growing in North Texas through real-world testing.
Our longterm vision is a large annual event with hundreds of participants.
The Evolution of the Tomato Trials
In January, I started 24 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes by seed. Seeds were purchased from TomatoFest and Baker Creek. From TomatoFest, I selected two curated collections: the “Top 10” seed collection (the most popular tomatoes among the TomatoFest customer base of gardeners and farmers) and the Patio/Container collection. I then hand-picked seven additional varieties from Baker Creek.
2020 Heirloom Tomato Variety Selections
Tomatofest Seeds
Patio/Container Collection:
Amber Colored (2-inch amber-colored globes)
Angora Super Sweet (1-inch, super-sweet cherry)
Black Ethopian (brown-red-bronze, 5-oz., plum-shaped
Burbank Slicing (10 oz., red, round fruit
Dona (almost seedless, round tomato 6 oz)
Sophie’s Choice (10 oz. red-orange outside and deep red inside)
White Bush (2-inch, white fruit with yellow tinge)
Zhefen Short (pink, slightly oval 3-inch fruit)
“Top 10” Collection:
Black Cherry (purple/black)
Brandywine, Sudduth Strain (pink beefsteak)
Chocolate Stripes (red/green striped)
Blondkopfchen (yellow cherry)
Black Krim (purple/black beefsteak)
Brandywine, OTV (red beefsteak)
Amana Orange (orange beefsteak)
Azoychka (yellow/orange beefsteak, 10-16 oz.)
Cherokee Chocolate (mahogany beefsteak)
Sunset’s Red Horizon (red beefsteak)
Baker Creek Seeds
Reisetomate (one of the most unusual tomatoes in the world)
Green Zebra (lime green striped, 6 oz globes)
Cream Sausage (3 oz creamy white to light yellow sausage shaped)
Paul Robeson (black beefsteak)
Orange Hat Micro Tomato (extra-dwarf bush, orange)
The Seedling Growing Process
Seeds were started indoors on January 20. Using two 72-cell trays, I planted 6 cells of each variety for a total of 144 seedlings. Once each seedling had two sets of true leaves, I potted seedlings up into 2.5″ nursery pots and then again into gallon-sized containers before final transplanting.
This all-in-one seed tray system delivers professional results for the home gardener. Plastic cell trays are easy to sterilize in between crops, and the humidity dome keeps seeds moist during germination.
The Testers
I kept one of each variety to test in my community garden plots and on my townhome patio. Remaining seedlings were sold online. Unsold seedling inventory was donated to members of my community garden.
How The Results Were Calculated
A survey was sent to all seedling recipients on July 3. The survey asked growers to rate each variety’s performance as strong, neutral, or poor for the following factors:
- Earliness of fruiting
- Heaviness of fruiting
- Flavor
- Disease Resistance
- Pest Resistance
- Suitability for container growing (if a “patio” variety)
Important Disclaimer
We do not claim survey results to be statistically significant due to the variation among growing conditions and the absence of control variables. With that said, we found survey responses to be generally consistent. Keep in mind that results are the opinion of those surveyed and the editors of TheDallasGarden.com, not a scientific study. (Yet.)
The Results
The results of the trial are presented below. Each section presents a valuable tomato plant characteristic and the varieties that were strongest for that characteristic/factor. Survey data was a large factor in winner selection, however the final “winners” were personally selected.
As coordinator of the trial, I maintained highly controlled growing conditions: 8-12 hours of direct sun, consistent fertilization, amended soil, and commercial-style support systems. Additionally, I took notes and made observations on a weekly basis (much like I did when I was an intern for the Plant Trials program at the Dallas Arboretum).
Earliest to set fruit
Orange Hat
Cream Sausage
Amber Colored
Earliness to fruit is an important tomato characteristic for North Texas gardeners. The earlier a tomato plant sets fruit, the larger the overall harvest before the heat arrives in July.
Extra-dwarf tomato Orange Hat started flowering while still indoors under
Orange Hat Tomato 
Cream Sausage Tomato 
Amber Colored Tomato
Other notable early fruiters include Angora Super Sweet, Black Cherry, Flamme, and Blondkopfchen.
Heaviest fruiting
Cream Sausage
Black Cherry
Azoychka
Heaviness of fruiting measures the quantity of fruit that an individual plant produces. It is typically relative to fruit type. Cherry, pear, and smaller-fruiting types will always produce more than a beefsteak.
Cream Sausage produced heavily and consistently from early spring until removed in June in anticipation of the heat. Black Cherry was a tester favorite. Azoychka was the largest of the heavy producers (fruits averaged one pound), and the generous bounty covered my countertop all season long. Typical for yellow fruits, Azoychka’s flavor is mild.
Cream Sausage Tomato 
Black Cherry Tomato 
Azoychka Tomato
Other notable fruiters include Reisetomate, Brandywine OTV, and Flamme.
Best flavor
Black Cherry
Chocolate Stripes
Cherokee Chocolate
Paul Robeson
Green Zebra
Brandywine Suddath’s Strain
Though flavor preferences will differ, heirloom tomato growers all pursue the distinctly deep, complex, “tomatoey” flavor of a homegrown tomato. Chocolate and black tomatoes possess many of these old-fashioned characteristics with a hint of saltiness. This might explain why most of the winning tomatoes for flavor were either brown/chocolate or black varieties.
This category helped me to realize that the performance scale should be larger next year in order to better determine a single winner.
Black Cherry Tomato 
Chocolate Stripes Tomato 
Cherokee Chocolate Tomato 
Paul Robeson Tomato 
Green Zebra Tomato 
Brandywine Suddath’s Strain Tomato
Susceptibility to Disease
The majority of the tomatoes tested displayed good disease resistance. For this category, we are listing the varieties that struggled with disease.
Note: Testing ended in early July. As summer months progress, disease becomes more prevalent regardless of variety. The tomatoes listed below exhibited disease symptoms far earlier in the season than typical for open-pollinated varieties.
The varieties that struggled the most with disease:
Brandywine OTV
Blondkopfchen
In my garden, Brandywine OTV and Brandywine Suddath’s Strain were planted next to each other. OTV struggled with disease from the start, while Suddath’s did not show any concurrent disease issues. Blondkopfchen had bad disease that disabled the plant quite early in the season, dramatically reducing the harvest.
Pest Resistance
Orange Hat
Angora Super Sweet
Cream Sausage
Data was sparse for this factor, and we might consider removing it for the next round. We didn’t find much correlation between variety and pest problems, although smaller fruited varieties seemed to be less prone to worm damage.
Orange Hat Tomato Cream Sausage Tomato 
Angora Super Sweet Tomato
Bt is a natural occurring, soil-borne bacteria that has been used since the 1950s for natural insect control. It is particularly effective against caterpillars and fruit worms.
Suitability For Container Growing
Orange Hat
Sophie’s Choice
Amber Colored
Of the nine tomatoes tested for patio/container growing, only three remained compact and produced a solid crop. Oddly, a large number of the tomatoes from the Tomatofest Patio Collection grew large and unruly or never produced much fruit at all.
Orange Hat Tomato 
Sophie’s Choice Tomato Amber Colored Tomato
Editor’s Choice: Top 5 Tomatoes, Spring 2020
Orange Hat
Chocolate Stripes
Amana Orange
Cream Sausage
Black Cherry
Editor’s Choice: The Conversation Starter
Reisetomate
This tomato received a lot of attention from community garden members and on social media. People especially loved the story behind Reisetomate: “Reise” is German for journey or travel. Originating from Central America, Reisetomate tomatoes were a popular food for travels or journeys because pieces of the tomato could be pulled off and eaten along the way.
Editor’s Choice: Biggest Tomatoes
Amana Orange
Amana Orange was discovered by gardener Gary Haley in 1984. Gary worked for the Amana Refrigeration company, and regularly visited the Amana Colonies in Iowa. In the trials, Amana Orange regularly produced 2 pound tomatoes.
Editor’s Choice: Will Grow Again
Of the 24 tomatoes, these are the ones that I plan to grow again and why:
Cream Sausage: Super productive, a great tomato for salads. Strongly disease resistant.
Paul Robeson: Great flavor.
Brandywine OTV: Great flavor and large size.
Chocolate Stripes: Great old-fashioned flavor and large size.
Cherokee Chocolate: Great old-fashioned flavor.
Green Zebra: Lemon-lime flavor, resistant to cracking. Easy to grow.
Orange Hat: A wonderful tomato for kids. From seed to fruiting in 48 days. Can be grown in a 6-inch container.
Black Cherry: I tried to grow mine on my patio but it quickly outgrew its container. Based on tester enthusiasm, will grow again next year.
Editor’s Choice: Biggest Losers
The following tomatoes either failed to perform as promised, were too late to fruit, or were plagued by growing problems:
Dona
White Bush
Zhefen Short
Burbank Slicing
Black Ethiopian
Sunset’s Red Horizon
Survey Results: Total Average
Fall Testing
Many North Texas gardeners swear that growing tomatoes in fall delivers much better results than spring growing. To really put the 2020 varieties to the test, several varieties were selected for fall growing.
The goals of the fall test are to determine which varieties can:
- Handle the peak summer heat before fall production
- Be started successfully by seed in warmer and more humid indoor conditions
- Grow to full size before frost (this applies to the beefsteak varieties)
- Resist the unique disease and pest pressures of mid-summer
Another test: I added Cherokee Purple into the fall variety line-up. Cherokee Chocolate (a winner) is a mutation of Cherokee Purple, and I want to compare them side by side for performance and flavor.
Fall Tomato Variety Selections
Cherokee Chocolate
Cherokee Purple
Chocolate Stripes
Cream Sausage
Orange Hat
Sophie’s Choice
Amana Orange
Flamme
Brandywine OTV
Green Zebra
Amber Colored
Azoychka
Blondkopfchen
For updates on the fall trial, the 2021 variety survey, and the 2021 heirloom seedling sale, sign up for The Dallas Garden newsletter.
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