Review: Oregon Spring Tomato

Review of this early-maturing, red, slicing tomato.

Oregon Spring is an extra early tomato variety developed at Oregon State University.  The plant yields good quantities of 4-5 oz (4 inch diameter) red tomatoes in about 65 days, versus maturities of 75 to 100 days for most other tomato varieties. 

This year, I'm growing several containers of this variety and found it to be a reliable, early producer and I was grateful to have some tomatoes in June that we could use for tacos, burger toppings and other uses.  It's a pretty tomato, well formed with classic red tomato looks.  But what this variety provides in terms of early maturity and aesthetics, it takes away in taste.  In my opinion, Oregon Spring tastes only marginally better than a tomato that you can buy at the grocery store. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 the best rating, here's how I'd rank Oregon Spring:

Flavor                5

Texture              7

Appearance      9

Yield                 7

If you're growing lots of tomatoes, I think having an Oregon Spring plant in the mix is a good idea.  But I could never recommend that someone growing just one or two plants devote that precious space to this variety.  The reason to grow tomatoes at home is that you can get results that are far superior to ones you buy at the grocery store or even the farmers market.  If you can only grow a few plants, I strongly encourage you to be patient and grow ones that provide intense tomato flavor and sweetness.

In the coming weeks, I'll tell you about some varieties that I'm growing this year that beat the pants of Oregon Spring from the perspective of flavor. 

If you have a favorite tomato variety, please let me know about it by commenting to this posting and please rate your favorite on flavor, texture, appearance and yield using the same the same 1-10 scale.

Comments

[Julianne Idleman]

My new favorite tomato is the Blondkopfchen. It's an heirloom yellow cherry tomato. You can find it at Seed Savers Exchange. It's a gorgeous, bright, sunny yellow and the burst of sweet flavor in your mouth makes all that watering, weeding and mulching fly right out of your mind. A sure cure for lost gardening energy. ;-) Unfortunately, I can't tell you how they dry yet, as I have yet to make it into the house without eating them all on my way in.

Flavor 10
Texture 9
Appearance 10 (I also like the way it looks growing with it's huge spread out flower clusters)
Yield 8 (Looks healthy so far, even in this weird weather, but the Principe Borghese still has it all over them for yield.)

[H. Mark Delman]

Thanks Julianne. Im going to add Blondkopfchen to the list of things to try next year. I have a couple of cherry tomatoes this year -- Snowberry, a yellow white tomato, Risentraube, a red heirloom cherry, and Black Cherry, a blackish/purple cherry. They are all pretty good but Ive only tasted a few of each so far this year, so I havent made any decisions. Ill keep you posted. Thanks for the rating the Blondkopfchen.

[caglar keskin]

Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetables all over the world. They are quickly growing plants and are favorite among most amateur gardeners so as me.
I will start to grow tomatoes in my farm and now learning watever i can about them, thanks for information. I also
found another good site about tomatoes and so many other methods of agriculturing, i recommend you to take a look.

http://agricultureguide.org/

[Nick Chenhall]

Oregon Spring is great for growing larger size tomatoes in short season areas. I agree that the taste isn't as intense as Brandywine or Caspian Pink, but it's still a great variety for large pots on the patio.
One variety that I always grow is Red Alert for earliness and taste. It is a bush/cherry variety that I believe would score 9 out of 10 for each of the above qualities.

[L Flanders]

I will try Red Alert next year. Thanks! My Oregon springs are the only tomato plants that are producing in my garden at the moment. I have a total of 16 tomato plants. I also have brandywines and one beefsteak which have only a few green tomatoes so far. I totally agree that the Oregon Spring isn't the tastiest. I like Momotaro tomatoes (70 days) but all of those seedlings died on me this year. One surprising thing this year is two of my plants are volunteers and are just as big as the ones I babied under the lights.

[H. Mark Delman]

You might also want to consider givingStupice (pronounced Stew-Peach-eh) a try. Its a small, red heirloom from Czechoslovakia.
Thanks for your comments!

[Kathryn]

i will never grow Oregon Spring again. they are tasteless and small, misshapen - not worth the effort. My vote is for the Brandywine - superb flavor, and Amish paste for a fabulous paste tomato.