Spring 2007 Grow list for newbie ?

[daylilydude]

As most of you know 2007 will be my very first try at heirloom tomatoes! Well i got bored on this lazy day after church so i went thru my list and these are the ones i have picked to try first any nays or yeahs will be helpful as it is early enough that i can change them if need be. And i want to THANK EVERYONE for their help and for sharing their seeds with me !!

Earl's Faux
Black Cherry
White Beauty
Great White
Kellogg's Breakfast
Orange-1
Nebraska Wedding
Green Giant
Cherokee Green
Caspian Pink
Heatherington Pink
Yellow Giant Belgium (aka Goldie)
Hugh's Yellow
Yellow Brandywine
Aunt Gerties Gold
Purple Hillbilly
Ananas Noire
Hawaiian Pineapple
Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Chocolate
Indian Stripe
Brad's Black Heart
Chris Ukrainian
Neves Azoreian Red
Druzba
Eva Purple Ball
Aker's West Virginia
Silvery Fir Tree
Balkans Bloke ( For skipperoo )
Burgundy Traveler

(IN 5 GALLON POTS)

New Big Dwarf
Sungold
Black plum

AS GROW-OUTS (Special Bed and room for more grow-outs)

Tom's Yellow Wonder (working name)
Ramapo f-5

[cecilsgarden1958]

I have only truely been 100% disappointed when growing a tomato. That was when I grew a white one. It was truly the most disappointing growing experiance I have ever had, even including this bizarre growing season.
If you are into super mild to non existant flavor then try them, but for me and maybe my experience was unique, they weren't worth the space.
BTW: I grew White Wonder, not the two you have listed.

CECIL

[MikeInCypress]

I really think you should grow a couple hybrids so you can compare. I'd grow Big Beef and Lemon Boy or Brandy Boy.
Also you have a number of large fruited plants that require an early start. Some years it gets hot before you know it and thus few of the large heirlooms produce well.

Michael

[honu]

Richard,
New Big Dwarf should be ok in 5 gal, but I wouldn't put Black Cherry in a 5 gal pot. It can get really huge and that might cause problems w/ toppling and keeping it watered enough. Here's my Black Cherry in a 15 gal, which seems barely big enough.

[daylilydude]

Thanks Ya'll !
This is why i posted it early so if i need to i can change it.

Cecil , I'm really new to heirlooms so i really don't know what my family will like ? As for me some of you know i don't eat tomatoes well untill i tried sungold and now its on for me to see if theres any that i will like ? So i figured to start with something mild (whites) and go from there.

Michael , My brother-in-law grows alot of the hybrids . He goes to the local hardware store and buys what he calls a ready-made garden. He says he does'nt have the patience to grow from seeds.

Honu , I was gonna use them with no bottom in them along the driveway but i think i had better change that from the looks of your black cherry i will put the New Big Dwarf in the bottomless bucket and thanks for the picture it helped out alot.

Are there any other suggestions ?

[feldon30]

That sure looks like a great palette to choos from, based on everything I've read. I have only grown a few varieties so can't really give first-hand experience.

Being in Zone 7, you should have the freedom to grow some varieties that do well in the south without having to worry quite so much about a completel plant shutdown in the Summer like we do.

I can't imagine having a garden without Cherokee Purple, Brandy Boy, and at least one tomato bearing the Brandywine name, whether it's the official Brandywine (Sudduth's) pink, or the Platfoot strain of Yellow Brandywine, or the Craig/Carolyn production: OTV Brandywine.

It's easy to grow a bicolor. Not so easy to grow one that's particularly tasty one, but do try. I've had several from farmer's markets and the complex flavor is really interesting and worth it.

I'm trying to grow at least one orange, one yellow, one bicolor, one heart-shaped, and then mix up the rest.

You also need to decide if you want some "sure thing" varieties like Arkansas Traveler and Rutgers, or some earlies like Stupice and Silvery Fir Tree.

[Grub]

Ones I wouldn't bother with purely from my experience:

Chris Ukrainian (good but plenty of much tastier big pink ones)
Druzba (bland for me)
Silvery Fir Tree (one dimensional tate. Kimberly and Sophie's Choice are better earlies)

(IN 5 GALLON POTS)

New Big Dwarf (yes, did well)
Also chuck in a Kimberly or two and a Sophie's Choice in a 5 galon pot, one per pot of course.

[daylilydude]

Thanks, feldon yeah as you can see i want to try a couple of each color/kind so as to get a good idea of the different taste . I'm getting older now and my memory is'nt so good so i probably would forget what one tasted like from one year to the next.

Grub dude ! You left me hangin here what other big pink tomatoes would you recomend ? And i do have some kimberly's on the way so i will add those to my potted ones.

[feldon30]

I've had New Big Dwarf and the non-Estler's Mortgage Lifter. I thought they were very nice.

You can't turn your head without seeing something positive about Neves Azorean Red and Earl's Faux so if you have the space, I'd try both.

For earlies, I should have mentioned Kimberly and Gregori's Altai which get frequent positive mentions.

Short of growing 100 varieties, I think it will take me many years to find what grows best, since I will probably be hesitant to give up too many spots to "experiments".