Most informative tomato websites-2013

livinonfaith · January 5, 2013

Okay, a lot of us are at the garden planning stage. Many of us are getting ready to start our seeds. (Some already have) But I'm sure there are some who are still trying to make sense of all of these strange and new (to us) tomato varieties and growing tips that we keep hearing about.

So where are your go-to websites for real reviews and information from real people in your area of the world? Tomatoville is tops, but sometimes it's good to browse around other places as well.

Here are some of my favorites

Tatiana's Tomatobase - http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/w...itage_Tomatoes
Real information and personal reviews on more tomato varieties than you can shake a stick at. I especially like the way they are separated into so many categories. I've spent days on this site.

Dave's Garden - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/
Love the plant files with the reviews. Also enjoy being able to search suppliers on the Garden Watchdog to see if they have good ratings or not.

Youtube- Maybe it goes without saying, but how incredible is it to live in a time when you can type "tomato Grafting" into a search box and end up with several video tutorials that show you exactly how to do that? (Granted, you have to be careful about misleading and false info., but that's true anywhere on the internet.)

Baker Creek - http://rareseeds.com/shop/ They have more customer reviews on their varieties than most seed companies and I've found those to be very helpful sometimes when trying to choose between one variety or the other.

There are probably a few more, but what are your favs and why?

Father'sDaughter · January 5, 2013

I love Tania's site! The fact that you can use the search box to quickly come up with info on a particular variety saves so much time. And, you can even search by certain characteristics. For example, I was recently curious about what other elongated tomatoes were out there, so I typed "elongated" into the search box, and up came the list!

frdlturner · January 5, 2013

I love Tania's site too I have the tomatobase loaded on my phone so when Im out and about I can still read it

noinwi · January 5, 2013

I also love Tania's site! This season is my first time ordering from her(and seeds came promptly...Thank you Tania!), but I've spent many hours perusing the lists and reading descriptions(when I was supposed to be doing other things, of course, ha-ha).

**carolyn137** · January 5, 2013

Many here ask for input on varieties they're thinking of growing and that way one gets hopefully lots of personal reports back. I really don't like it when someone has already bought or traded for seeds and then wants input. I hate to criticze something already purchased or traded and usually won't answer b/c I hate after the fact negativity.

Of course I think Tania's site is THE best and she does have some reports from others at most variety pages, so true.

But I'm one who wants all the info I can get so if someone PM's me here or elsewhere I suggest that they post the varieties b'c I feel strongly that all questions and all answers should be public so that anyone can answer if they want to.

Carolyn

**tomatoaddict** · January 5, 2013

Tatiana's site is the best. Sometimes I use the search Engine on Tomodori...it's in French but you can use a translator.

**carolyn137** · January 5, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomatoaddict

Tatiana's site is the best. Sometimes I use the search Engine on Tomodori...it's in French but you can use a translator.

Terry, I gave up on Tomodori several years ago b'c it just shunted me to Ventmarin for what I wanted to know, and for the interactive personal comments I just don't have the patience or enough knowledge of French to get by.

I've lost contact with her now, but there's a woman I know from another message site who is an artist and she and her DH spent several summers in France and she's fluent. She reads atTomodori and said that things were a mess there now, but I don't know who she's speaking about,It wasn't about the tomatoes, but she's one who only wants to grow varieteis with a French origin.

Carolyn

remy · January 5, 2013

Tatiana's definitely the best!

mecktom · January 5, 2013

Tanis's site is excellent. Just the facts...no fluff!

ScottinAtlanta · January 5, 2013

Tania's is the best and I have used it hundreds of times - thank you! If I could improve on greatness, since most of the reviews are from the PNW, I wonder if it is possible to have more information on regional experiences - particularly in the hot and humid South.

Tania · January 5, 2013

wow, thank you folks! <blush>

It could get much better if folks from southern states contribute their growout notes.

Actually, no matter where you garden - your contribution would be so valuable for everybody, because most of us appreciate seeing someone's unbiased personal experience with a variety, and not a marketing 'hype'.

I am still working on updating seeds availability sections for 1500+ tomato varieties. Just finished with lettuces (huge thank you goes to Jeff Flemming to sent me his spreadsheet with lettuce varieties and vendors who carry them). The job is not small - I wish I could have an alphabetical list from each participating vendor by now, so I can import all of them at once, without editing each page many times (once per vendor).

Unfortunately the job is still very manual, as there is no good tool to update the pages automatically - at least not yet, we'll have to work on this.

If anyone has a full list of tomato varieties offered by a reputable seed vendor (only names), please send them to me via email. I still need the lists for the following vendors:

Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes of Airdrie
Gleckler Seedmen - website not updated for 2013
Knapp's - waiting for a list from Carol
Marianna's - website is not available
New World Seeds & Tubers
Pinetree Seeds
Reimer Seeds
Salt Spring Seeds
Sand Hill Preservation Center - website not updated for 2013
Seed Savers Exchange
Seeds of Change
Skyfire Garden Seeds
Snow Seed
Solana Seeds
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Territorial Seed Company
Terroir Seeds
Tomato Growers Supply
Tomatofest
Trade Winds Fruit
Twining Vine Garden
Two Wings Farm
Veseys Seeds
Victory Seed Company
West Coast Seeds
Wild Boar Farms

I have already compiled the lists for the following vendors:
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Blue Ribbon Tomatoes
Double Helix Farms
Fedco Seeds
Full Circle Seeds
Gourmet Seed International
Hazzard's Wholesale Seeds
Heirloom Seeds
Heirloom Tomatoes
Heritage Harvest Seed
Heritage Tomato Seed (thank you Steve!!)
J.W. Jung Seed Company
The Sample Seed Shop (thank you Remy!!)

Sorry for getting off-topic...

EDITED TO ADD: I will open a new thread about updating TOMATObase, so we do not get derailed here.

Tania · January 5, 2013

My favorite tomato websites are

- Tatiana's TOMATObase (where I spend most of my time)
- Reinhard Kraft's (http://www.reinhard-kraft.de/)
- Tomaten Garten (http://www.tomatengarten.de)
- Tomaten Atlas (http://www.tomaten-atlas.de)
- Ventmarin

Redbaron · January 5, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tania

My favorite tomato websites are

- Tatiana's TOMATObase (where I spend most of my time)
- Reinhard Kraft's (http://www.reinhard-kraft.de/)
- Tomaten Garten (http://www.tomatengarten.de)
- Tomaten Atlas (http://www.tomaten-atlas.de)
- Ventmarin

Sorry Tania. I have to disagree.

This site is the best by far hands down bar none. As good as all those other sites are, tomatoville beats them all combined.

(I know you meant besides here

)

But I am serious. I never saw a gardening site like this before. Every technique discussed from every point of view from all over the world. And very few flame wars too. Who has time to flame when there is so much to learn?

Tania · January 5, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redbaron

Sorry Tania. I have to disagree.

This site is the best by far hands down bar none. As good as all those other sites are, tomatoville beats them all combined.

(I know you meant besides here

)

But I am serious. I never saw a gardening site like this before. Every technique discussed from every point of view from all over the world. And very few flame wars too. Who has time to flame when there is so much to learn?

Scott, I agree with you on Tomatoville! That goes without saying.
Just thought we are not talking about best tomato forums here - silly me

loulac · July 29, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carolyn137:
I've had bad luck at Tomodori and almost all the time I'm shunted to Ventmarin

The judgment is a bit severe, though I can perfectly understand Carolyn’s opinion. Tomodori is a meeting place intended for amateur growers only and the administrator grumbles when he thinks professionals are too vocal. We have to pull his ears from time to time and remind him that new and reliable information mostly comes from highly qualified people.
When I post on Tomodori my technical information comes from Tomatoville, where members clearly indicate their sources : universities, qualified professionals in various fields (botany, chemistry, electricity, optics etc.), the best seed growers ... Very few people, if any, posting on Tomodori play in the same league!

January 5, 2013	#1
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	Most informative tomato websites-2013 Okay, a lot of us are at the garden planning stage. Many of us are getting ready to start our seeds. (Some already have) But I'm sure there are some who are still trying to make sense of all of these strange and new (to us) tomato varieties and growing tips that we keep hearing about. So where are your go-to websites for real reviews and information from real people in your area of the world? Tomatoville is tops, but sometimes it's good to browse around other places as well. Here are some of my favorites Tatiana's Tomatobase - http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/w...itage_Tomatoes Real information and personal reviews on more tomato varieties than you can shake a stick at. I especially like the way they are separated into so many categories. I've spent days on this site. Dave's Garden - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/ Love the plant files with the reviews. Also enjoy being able to search suppliers on the Garden Watchdog to see if they have good ratings or not. Youtube- Maybe it goes without saying, but how incredible is it to live in a time when you can type "tomato Grafting" into a search box and end up with several video tutorials that show you exactly how to do that? (Granted, you have to be careful about misleading and false info., but that's true anywhere on the internet.) Baker Creek - http://rareseeds.com/shop/ They have more customer reviews on their varieties than most seed companies and I've found those to be very helpful sometimes when trying to choose between one variety or the other. There are probably a few more, but what are your favs and why?

January 5, 2013	#5
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Many here ask for input on varieties they're thinking of growing and that way one gets hopefully lots of personal reports back. I really don't like it when someone has already bought or traded for seeds and then wants input. I hate to criticze something already purchased or traded and usually won't answer b/c I hate after the fact negativity. Of course I think Tania's site is THE best and she does have some reports from others at most variety pages, so true. But I'm one who wants all the info I can get so if someone PM's me here or elsewhere I suggest that they post the varieties b'c I feel strongly that all questions and all answers should be public so that anyone can answer if they want to. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

January 5, 2013	#6
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Tatiana's site is the best. Sometimes I use the search Engine on Tomodori...it's in French but you can use a translator. __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

January 5, 2013	#8
remy Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Coordinator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Z6 WNY Posts: 2,354	Tatiana's definitely the best! __________________ "I wake to sleep and take my waking slow" -Theodore Roethke Yes, we have a great party for WNY/Ontario tomato growers every year on Grand Island! Owner of The Sample Seed Shop

January 5, 2013	#11
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	wow, thank you folks! <blush> It could get much better if folks from southern states contribute their growout notes. Actually, no matter where you garden - your contribution would be so valuable for everybody, because most of us appreciate seeing someone's unbiased personal experience with a variety, and not a marketing 'hype'. I am still working on updating seeds availability sections for 1500+ tomato varieties. Just finished with lettuces (huge thank you goes to Jeff Flemming to sent me his spreadsheet with lettuce varieties and vendors who carry them). The job is not small - I wish I could have an alphabetical list from each participating vendor by now, so I can import all of them at once, without editing each page many times (once per vendor). Unfortunately the job is still very manual, as there is no good tool to update the pages automatically - at least not yet, we'll have to work on this. If anyone has a full list of tomato varieties offered by a reputable seed vendor (only names), please send them to me via email. I still need the lists for the following vendors: Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes of Airdrie Gleckler Seedmen - website not updated for 2013 Knapp's - waiting for a list from Carol Marianna's - website is not available New World Seeds & Tubers Pinetree Seeds Reimer Seeds Salt Spring Seeds Sand Hill Preservation Center - website not updated for 2013 Seed Savers Exchange Seeds of Change Skyfire Garden Seeds Snow Seed Solana Seeds Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Territorial Seed Company Terroir Seeds Tomato Growers Supply Tomatofest Trade Winds Fruit Twining Vine Garden Two Wings Farm Veseys Seeds Victory Seed Company West Coast Seeds Wild Boar Farms I have already compiled the lists for the following vendors: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Blue Ribbon Tomatoes Double Helix Farms Fedco Seeds Full Circle Seeds Gourmet Seed International Hazzard's Wholesale Seeds Heirloom Seeds Heirloom Tomatoes Heritage Harvest Seed Heritage Tomato Seed (thank you Steve!!) J.W. Jung Seed Company The Sample Seed Shop (thank you Remy!!) Sorry for getting off-topic... EDITED TO ADD: I will open a new thread about updating TOMATObase, so we do not get derailed here. __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase Last edited by Tania; January 5, 2013 at 10:22 PM.

January 5, 2013	#2
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	I love Tania's site! The fact that you can use the search box to quickly come up with info on a particular variety saves so much time. And, you can even search by certain characteristics. For example, I was recently curious about what other elongated tomatoes were out there, so I typed "elongated" into the search box, and up came the list!

January 5, 2013	#3
frdlturner Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Galena, MO Posts: 215	I love Tania's site too I have the tomatobase loaded on my phone so when Im out and about I can still read it

January 5, 2013	#4
noinwi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: PNW Posts: 486	I also love Tania's site! This season is my first time ordering from her(and seeds came promptly...Thank you Tania!), but I've spent many hours perusing the lists and reading descriptions(when I was supposed to be doing other things, of course, ha-ha).

January 5, 2013	#9
mecktom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Southern Virginia Posts: 342	Tanis's site is excellent. Just the facts...no fluff!

January 5, 2013	#10
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Tania's is the best and I have used it hundreds of times - thank you! If I could improve on greatness, since most of the reviews are from the PNW, I wonder if it is possible to have more information on regional experiences - particularly in the hot and humid South.