PlantFiles: Tomato
Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Big Rainbow'

I was so looking forward to having Big Rainbow tomatoes! The plants did poorly, along with Thessalonika, while 8 other varieties thrived and produced heavily. I will try again next year, because I love these tomatoes, but am very disappointed they didn't make it this year.

This is one of my favorite tomatoes, pretty and delicious. Big rainbow does take a long growing season. I didn't get ripe fruit until until August from plants put out in mid-April. They yielded pretty well even after a brutal summer (the Central Valley is not that kind to most heirloom cultivars) and survived some light frost.

Big Rainbow produces lots of large, bi-colored tomatoes that look very attractive when sliced. The flavor is extremely subtle--sweet and fruity, with an almost perfume-like quality. For me BR was quite late to start producing, almost to the point where I thought that it wasn't going to do anything, but then it took off and started cranking out tons of tomatoes. I will grow again.

shoulders cracked badly, but fruits were large enough to cut off affected parts, and still have decent amount of fruit. very colourful (red,orange and yellow) and mild sweet taste.

definately invited back this year, see if the cracked shoulders are evironmental..

Attractive tomato, medium size, somewhat bland in flavor.

This plant did quite well in the hot, dry California high desert. The tomatoes weren't huge, but they were very tasty and there were lots of them.

I grew these for the first time this year and I will definitely be growing them again next year! The plant showed no sign of disease at all. It is still giving me nice ripe tomatoes even in my weird zone 5 fall weather. The tomatoes were all VERY large and had a nice golden/red bicolor appearance with minimal cracking. They had a mild, slightly sweet flavor. All in all, I was pretty pleased with them.

This is one of my favorite varieties! I have grown this for several seasons, obtaining seeds from various sources. Each slice is a work of art, deep golden yellow with dramatic splashes of bright red. It has few seeds, and has a rich, sweet flavor. The yields are not all that spectacular but the fruits are fairly large, beefsteak-type. I have never had any trouble with diseases.

The seeds were secured from Burpee's Heirlooms. The tomato is round to to oblate, large and mottled orange. According to Carolyn Male's book, Big Rainbow is supposed to be a beefsteak , but the tomatoes on this series were about the size and shape of Better Boys. It grew and produced better than any bicolor that I have tried here in Georgia. Taste is not on a par with Mortgage Lifters or Belgium Gold, but adequate.