I'm growing in suburban Ohio, Zone 6b. I first planted Paul Robeson in 2023, and it quickly became my favorite heirloom slicing tomato. The flavor is complex and not quite like any other tomato I've tried. (My son, who generally does not like tomatoes at all, says these are OK.) The plants are also very productive for a larger heirloom variety. I have tried Cherokee Purple and Black Krim in the past, and this variety beats them hands-down for flavor and production.
For 2024, I planted saved seeds, starting indoors on March 27, then transplanting two into the garden on April 30. I harvested the first tomato on July 4. In all, I harvested 84 tomatoes off those two plants, despite some pest and disease pressure and a very dry summer. Most tomatoes. Most of the fruits ranged from 8 to 10 ounces, though I have gotten them as large as 1 pound (see photos). Late in the season, some were scarcely larger than a cherry tomato.

Seeds were good quality. Might be user error (I tried out Luke’s core gardening deep watering method that season) but these cracked on me relentlessly. Very thin skin. A bit sad because they looked gorgeous on the vine. Zone 9B.

Just thinking about this tomato makes me salivate. This tomato will impress your guests and give you so many flavor sensations that its hard to describe. So here's the best I can do... Take a Black Krim and add the smallest amount of salt and vinegar to the flavor profile and that's what Paul Robison tastes like to me. It definitely has a wow factor.

Grew this beside an All American Selection Chef's Brown, and the Robeson was producing a month earlier and still is. And the sweet, rich, smoky taste is one of the best--marvelous. The rats and mice give it 5 squeaks and a big paws up.

Wanted to grow this one for a long time to compare to Black Krim, Cherokee Purple to determine which is the best tasting. The seeds had high germination rate, so will have to wait for tomatoes. These will be growing in the greenhouse so I'll get to taste them this season.