[john.infla]

I bought some "Ripe on the Vine" tomatoes from WalMart and saved the seeds.
a few months later, I put some seeds in the 3oz plastic bathroom cups on my back patio and they actually did grow.
I transplanted 4 of the most healthy plants into the ground and in a few weeks, I was getting tomatoes that were identical to the ones I bought in the store. (oh yeah, free seeds).
the 4 plants grew to about 5 feet tall and out-grew the "cage" and had to be staked with iron pipes for support.
I grew them just for funzies - I'm not really a tomato eater. but, anyway, it works, and here is my plant from last year.

 

[harrylee]

I've seen them in the store. Wonder what they are called? I will have to give that a try.
My sister in law sent me some tomato seeds that I am going to give a go this spring.

 

[john.infla]

here, the sticker just says "on the vine" tomatoes.
but, the trick for ALL tomatoes is they are picked green (and I mean GREEN-GREEN) and put in cold storage until the buyer places an order and then a special "gas" is pumped into a chamber to give them the fresh, red color.
Tomatoes that are allowed to ripen naturally "on the plant" until ripe develop a bacteria unique to tomatoes that give it that special "fresh tomato aroma". You won't get that same smell from a green tomato.
Large stores can't afford to buy "fresh, vine ripe" tomatoes because they bruise too easy in shipping and handling and then spoil too quickly after it hits the retail store.
grow you own - and try to remember the "aroma" of the plant leaves and the fruit - it is a very pleasant smell.
for more information, google it: Ethylene gas for ripening tomatoes.

 

[01-7700]

We have a company not too far from me that grows tomatoes in a 42 acre greenhouse year-round. They harvest vine-ripened tomatoes which are much better than the green cello-wrapped crap that we used to get.

They are very nice but not as good as a fresh tomato from your own garden. You can stretch out the harvest of fresh tomatoes for maybe 2 months here if you plant early indeterminant varieties and maintain the plant by pruning and have a good season and luck. They look great and have the right smell but you've got to eat them right away or they will spoil.

 

[OldGnome]

There is nothing better than eating a still-warm tomato fresh from the vine.

 

[01-7700]

I've seen them in the store. Wonder what they are called? I will have to give that a try.
My sister in law sent me some tomato seeds that I am going to give a go this spring.

If they are called Backyard Farms they might have come from Maine.

 

[ann91]

Been picking seeds too, mostly from Kumato (back when they were first on the market), not the worst result.

The tomatoes in the supermarkets are beautiful, but they don't taste good at all. But that doesn't mean you should give up on them. Grown in the countryside, they will gain a lot of sugar and will be sweet and fragrant. Therefore, tomatoes from supermarkets may well be selected for seeds.