casey0476,

I am not a tomato expert but this year I did not grow Roma. In 2007 I was very disappointed with the Roma. Years ago I grew San Marzano but had used Burpee seeds. Two years in a row the Burpee San Marzano plants did not do well so I switched to Roma.

This year 2008 - I went back to San Marzano and am very pleased with the results. The San Marzano Redorta seeds were from "Seeds of Italy". The tomatoes are huge!! I will not grow Roma again. The seeds are actually from Italy and they send large amount of seed in large packets.

DL

Here is a link that might be useful: Seeds of Italy - USA distributor

Let's swap tomatoes, lol! I like the smaller juicy ones. :)

This year I grew Sunstart and Applause. Both have masses of large tomatoes on them (I tried counting one plant this morning and got lost at about 20). I've picked two red toms off the Sunstart, but the rest are still green yet. None ripe on the Applause yet. (Keep in mind I'm in a very short season zone.) When I cut open the Sunstart (wish I had taken a pic), it looked like a beefsteak tomato - LOTS of flesh and few juicy seed bits. I can't comment on processing value yet. Absolutely no pest or disease issues at all, but I find the flavour not quite up to snuff (I like strong and tangy, not sweet and mild). It sounds like, though, you're more interested in processing than fresh eating, so as long as it has average flavour, I'm sure that's fine.

Here it is sitting on my scale before we ate it. :)
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See the link below; I bought the seeds from Veseys. The description says they bear 6- to 7-ounce fruit, but the one I picked was 10.5 ounces. I've also grown Scotia from Veseys. It had much better flavour if I remember correctly, but still not what I was looking for.

You might like Speckled Roman if you have a longer season. The few I got (my season was far too short) were very large. It's an heirloom paste tomato. That would be one of my standbys if my season were longer!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunstart Tomato

Hi,

I have great luck with a plum tomato called Milano. Great yield, firm and meaty and no health issues, like I used to get with Roma and San Marzano.
I also love Brandywine tomatoes, the meatiest and sweetest slicer I've seen and huge tomatoes! I got the seeds from www.kitchengardenseeds.com (John Scheepers). Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: www.kitchengardenseeds.com

I think this is a new recent record for a post asking about a good paste tomato and Opalka not being mentioned.

Wait...I just screwed that up.

Search for "Opalka" and enjoy this board's love of the plant.

I can't speak for it because I've never grown it, but it comes highly recommended for taste.

For sauce, you must have a paste tomato. Celebrity is too juicy, but is good for canning whole for cooking. This year, for the first time I grew Amish, and what a great sauce/paste tomato it is. It is prolific and the tomatoes grow in bunches. They are about the size of large golf balls. Here's a pic:

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