Nearing end of tomatoes

The last several days has seen an abundance of tomato hornworms getting fat on my tomato plants. I have mixed feelings about them. I think sphinx moths are neato, but I hate the hornworms.

The weather here is cold enough at night that no more tomatoes are setting, but those already on the plants are still ripening.

I picked my first Sioux tomato last week. I grew it because it was introduced in 1944, the year I was hatched. Some heirloom Old Germans are turning red and I'm crossing my fingers they succeed before the first frost.

So...if you had your druthers, what variety of tomato would be your fave?

[Robin Garr]

Larry, I was proud of our rare early ripe tomato here and posted a gloating photo sometime around June 20. We had a great tomato season thereafter, but our first frost hit some regions last night - it was only 39 at the weather station, but we could see frost on the grass this morning, so it's about the end of the season for us.

The "Mortgage Lifter" heirloom beefsteak variety that we planted a lot of this year was unbelievable - giant, meaty tomatoes, many of them close to two pounds, and absolutely delicious. I'm just hoping the farmer who sold us the plants at a local produce market is back next spring. We also love Brandywines, German Johnsons, Boxcar Willies, Mr. Stripeys, and the old basic Rutgers; and for sauce, good old Romas in the plum tomato category. Get me some combination of the above and I'm a happy camper, but no modern Big Boy hybrids, please.

I love beefsteaks. I'm also fond of Mr. Stripey (aka Tigerella), which has a thin, striped skin and a wonderful taste.