PlantFiles: Tomato
Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Mortgage Lifter'

I planted 15 varieties of tomato this year, mostly heirlooms and Mortgage Lifter was one of the best. Will definitely grow it again. It has an excellent flavor, a sweet pink. Very huge and juicy and lots of tomatoes per plant. Still producing. Held up better in the heat than most of the others. I also have to say, these were the most picture perfect-looking, beautiful tomatoes I grew, a bright red-pink color, no cracks or pests or anything. These were the ones I gave away to friends.

I grew this variety in 2011 but I did not have much success. This variety does not really do well in my Northern Utah climate in my loamy sandy soil. I had problems with cracking, my yeild was not very high, and fruit quality was average. I think this would be a good tomato in a southern climate in more loam to clay soils.

I have grown this with good success about a dozen times in central Missouri. It’s a very tall upright indeterminate best suited to staking. I train this variety to two leaders, never more than three. A warm weather tomato, I don’t try to get them out super early or the lower flowers will abort. Somewhat of a mild but well balanced Pink Ponderosa type flavor. Flavors up well in the summer heat. The heat and humidity don’t seem to stop them from setting until it gets ridiculously hot. Watch your blossoms for deformities, I often pick those off.

It is very thin skinned and has a low shelf life. German Johnson is similar but less thin skinned, and is a better candidate for roadside sales. Not a good candidate for high tunnels as it tends to lose its flavor indoors and in cool weather.

This was my first tomato to ripen this year. I had large, tasty tomatoes all summer. I will grow this one again next year. My neighbors have asked me for seeds so that they can grow it also.

This is my first year growing heirlooms, and from descriptions I'd read, this was one of the varieties I was most excited about. However, there's something missing in the flavor (or something that is there that I don't like but can't put my finger on). After slicing my second one this evening, I'm pretty sure whatever else comes off that vine is going into sauce and that Mortgage Lifter won't be making an encore performance in my garden next year.

I noted that on several pages about the Mortgage Lifter tomato West Virginia wasn't listed as a state where it had been grown. The Mortgage Lifter was developed by a West Virginian and the state cultural magazine had a story with original pictures of his crop included. I grow them every year as a large percentage of West Virginians do. They grow from 8' to 10' in my garden and are loaded with great tasting large tomatoes. Best of all, since they are open pollinated and not hybrid you can save the seeds from a couple of your season's best tomatoes for next year's crop. The "Radiator Charlie" name used in many catalogs and articles is almost never heard in the very county where the tomato was bred. We just call it the Mortgage Lifter.

I grew this for the first time in 2009 and had great success! I had a problem with BER for a while, then after I gave them a dose of calcium, they were fine! I stuck a plant in the compost heap and from that plant I got my biggest tomato--- over 1 1/2 pounds! These are yummy! Remember that they don't get brilliant red, but have a pink tinge to them when ripe. If you wait too long, they will get mushy. They are on my must grow list for 2010!!!

A must in everyone's tomato garden

Last summer I tried the mortgage lifter with zero results. I tried again this summer but once again no tomatoes. All my other varieties produced great results, but not one piece of fruit from the m.l.

Excellent tomato! Produced a lot of large, delicious tomatoes! Will grow more plants next year.

I finally gave in and tried Mortgage Lifter this year. While it is a great looking, smooth Tomato the flavor was not all that I had hoped.
I prefer a darker fruit with a stronger flavor but this would probably appeal to anyone who prefers the lighter flavored maters

This is my 1st yr growing this tomato. It has very vigorous plants and the toms are huge and very pretty and blemish-free. Yields so far ar good and the plants are presently loaded down. I like the flavor a lot- not too tart and it sure makes a great 'mater sandwich. Plants/fruits seem to not be fazed by our heat but with our drought I have had to supplemental water.

I def will grow these again!

This is a great tomato on a great plant. The vines are more vigorous than a sugar filled 2 year old. The vines also have plenty of "mutations", e.g. : conjoined branches, double and even triple flowers, blooms ocassionally form ladders like a cherry tomato, ect.

The tomatoes themselves are huge, delicious and plentiful. Last year I did many blind taste tests - using my family and friends like guinea pigs. Mortgage lifter won every blind taste test - beating brandywine and a few other old "champs". But in taste tests without a blind fold it didnt do as well - I think the size of the fruits made people think that they were bland, I dont really know.

Yield is also just off the charts. We grow for our sole source of income so yield is very important to us. We wont be without it - a true beast.

does well here in manvel tx.upper gulf coast but i find it a little weak on old time flavor.prolific and large.

If I had to choose only one tomato to grow, it would be Mortagage Lifter. The production is always very good. The taste is fantastic. It is so meaty for a big tomato. It has very few seeds for its size. You can use it as a juicey slicer or for salsas. It is simply the best and most universal tomato that I have discovered so far.

Overrated!! Compared to the German Johnson that it came from I thought it lacked flavor. So many other reds that are better. It is a great story but apparently too many other tomatoes are around that taste better.

What a waste of two dollars. The four pack I got produced nothing! Granted they were a hair late because of a health issue I had but my other late comers did fine.

I have grown this species hydroponically in Melbourne, Australia in a small backyard hothouse, with quite spectacular results. Photos supplied by me speak for themselves, and this variety is in my opinion a lovely good tasting beefsteak type and I would not hesitate to grow them again next season.

One of the best of the large pink beefsteaks. In my experience second only to the Giant Belgium. Taste is matched only by the Giant Belgium and the ancient Purple Ponderosa. It does not grow misshapen cat-faced fruit like the Ponderosa. It is a relatively smooth tomato. It is a good yielding plant and tolerates nematodes and foliar diseases as well any of this type. There are many pink beefsteaks that I simly cannot grow here, but this one does well. And for those who ask, Yes I have grown the pink Brandywine and still prefer the Mortgage Lifter.

Have had good sucess with this variety even in dry years it is very productive. The fruit is meaty with a very good flavor. Because of it's productivity, and the quality of the fruit, this varity is sugested for market growers

This is the first year I have grown this variety but I had so many people talk about how well this tomato grows in our area and that it has a great taste for huge tomato that I had to find it for this year.

I grew these for the first time lasy year and they were huge and tasty. The standard variety is actually pinkish-red and are borne on a huge sturdy plant. These averaged about 21 ounces for me last year with several around 2 pounds. The tomatoes were very tasty with a good sharp bite. This year I am growing them again along with Mortgage Lifter Red.