I've seen so many varieties in the tomato and pepper threads that I've never heard of. So I'm thinking of trying some new varieties next year. I'm zone 5 but start seeds inside in March and plant outside in may. What are some you'd suggest that fit these parameters?

Tomatoes: the meatier the better, we don't eat tomatoes but I make them all into sauce that I can, I don't like my sauce to be really sweet, right now I typically mix roma with black krim

Peppers: no heat or very little heat please, I love different colors, rarely eaten raw but I chop and mix with a ton of different things (stir fry, spaghetti sauce, pizza, chili, tacos, etc.)

I'll research any suggestions more since they're for next year's garden.

As for tomato I suggest you try Dunne, if you can find the seeds or the plants. I am extremely impressed by its ability to perform well where everything else struggles and since it has San Marzano in its pedigree it should perform very well in sauce. It's not a sweet tomato so it fits the bill rather nicely.It seems to be extremely disease-resistant as well, no need to pinch the lower leaves to prevent disease. The only issue: it's a huge, very vigorous plant.

As for bell peppers... in Zone 5 you'll need to start them earlier than March since you need to "steal a march" and to have as many as possible, otherwise you'll start harvesting at the end of the season. Generally speaking Eastern European light green cultivars such as Zlutasek and Italian "cigarette" cultivars like Friggitello perform very well on a short cycle in the field but in the past couple of years seeds and plants have become hard to get by.
I am not a fan of those huge red and yellow cultivars because it's pretty hard to get them to produce nicely without a greenhouse or very favorable weather all year around.

I started all my seeds over spring break this year and I've already got a bell pepper that's away least an inch. Should have decent weather into October, maybe November (in Nebraska you never know). I'm planning on starting peppers in February next year. I'm looking for things that are faster growing than bells. I'll definitely do snack peppers again, maybe mini bells if I like them. Maybe I'll do a banana pepper. I'm thinking of growing some to dehydrate and turn into a powder.

Anyone tried growing any of these tomato varieties?

German Johnson
Constoluto Genovese
Bonny Best
Black Russian

Ceckery said:Anyone tried growing any of these tomato varieties?

German Johnson
Constoluto Genovese
Bonny Best
Black Russian

Costoluto genovese -> Does very well in the scorching heat, not so much if the Summer is wet and mild. If weather conditions are favorable yields can be huge.
Black Russian -> Did not do well. I had a lot of stunted plants I ended up pulling from the ground: like with other unimproved Russian/Ukrainian cultivars I suspect either some genetic issue or not so good quality control on the seed company's side.

Ceckery said:Anyone tried growing any of these tomato varieties?

German Johnson
Constoluto Genovese
Bonny Best
Black Russian

German Johnson. An ok beefsteak but no improvement over Henderson's Ponderosa. Does not fare well when diseases are prevalent. Been 40 years since I grew it.

Bonnie Best: medium size (6- 8 ounce) round red. Similar to Stone , Burpee Matchless

Thanks for the tomato info. Anyone grown any of these peppers and suggest I grow them (or avoid them)?

Habanada
Shishito
Lipstick
Violet Sparkle
Arroz con Pollo
Jimmy Nardello Italian
Sheepnose Pimento
Mira Sweet
Lesya

Ceckery said:Thanks for the tomato info. Anyone grown any of these peppers and suggest I grow them (or avoid them)?

Habanada
Shishito
Lipstick
Violet Sparkle
Arroz con Pollo
Jimmy Nardello Italian
Sheepnose Pimento
Mira Sweet
Lesya

I only grew Sheepnose. Definetely not impressed: while it was more or less disease-free it only started production very late in the season (early September) and yields were nothing to write home about. I suspect it must be either started indoors very early (January?) or that it's one of those cultivars that should be grown in a greenhouse since they really get into high gear during their second year.

Ceckery said:Thanks for the tomato info. Anyone grown any of these peppers and suggest I grow them (or avoid them)?

Habanada
Shishito
Lipstick
Violet Sparkle
Arroz con Pollo
Jimmy Nardello Italian
Sheepnose Pimento
Mira Sweet
Lesya

I am a big fan of Shishito. Easy to grow and sets peppers like crazy. This pepper is meant to be cooked. Raw not so tasty. Charry or grilled it is divine.

Trying Jimmy Nardello this season. Seems tasty.

Costoluto Genovese (also called Costoluto di Fiorentina)...glad to see others recommending it as it is my favorite tomato for eating fresh and sauce making. Good production, very meaty, thin skinned, cooks down to a very good sauce. And makes a superb tomato tart.