Simone 2013 - Pure tomato addiction

[Simone]

Hello all together!

You must be very, very tough because I have opened a new thread for my own gardening success (hope so )...especially with my tomatoes. After 2012, which had been a year with a lot of fighting against russet mites this year MUST be better, much more better.

On the pics you can see some of my tomatoes from 2012... and as you can see some had a hard fight with the mites...

















To get over the last year I provided myself with a huge amount of new tomatoes. I bought a lot, and this is the perfect place to say thank you! Because most of the vendors I bought from had to give their very best to get the seeds to me.

BUT: My special thank goes to the new laws from the German Customs who make it harder and harder for German gardeners getting new stuff. ( I am a little sarcastic I know, but that´s how I am).

So it is a wonder that I almost got all letters with the first try.


The last days were horrible... I was shortly before throwing myself in the bed and never get up again.
After 2012 - and after losing hundreds and hundreds of plants - (my mites were so hungry) I put some extra seeds in the ground. Ok, it was much more than SOME extra seeds....much more. The floor from the kitchen to the living room is covered with boxes (filled with seedlings), which must be taken to my working/writing room upstairs, where the artificial light system is. And before there are coming up some questions: "Uh, are you selling them?" - I must answer you: NO! They are just for me. And I am greedy, especially after this last season losing one plant after another.

So the last days I spent with potting my seedlings, and I still do. At the moment I am "fighting" with the T. Wagners, with B. Gates and the Dwarfs. And the worst thing is: it is so hard to throw (even weak) seedlings away. But just when I do this I will survive the summer! And the worst think: I have forgotten the Blue Beauty from Gates! And this can´t be! Must search for the seeds in my seed-boxes...


Sometimes my curiosity is stronger than my reason. So I bought one variety on eba... I have never heard of it: Golden Peach Sultan, it should be a huge orange tomato with a apricot flavor. As the seeds arrived (from Australia) they looked black and not very healthy, so I put nearly 8 seeds in the ground.
So what do you think?
No seedling.
Sorry, no! I got 7 healthy looking seedlings , just one was a little bit smaller, but not really weak. I will tell you how they like me...I hope for them they do!
Perhaps someone of you have heard of this variety? Or tried it? Would be great to hear something about it.


@Remy (Sample seed shop): I have two seedling of Amazing Grace Cherry. I will plant out one in my greenhouse, and the other must stand my German summer without protection.

@Steve (Heritage): I had just space for one or two McClintock´s Big Pink, but I had luck, and got two perfect potato leaves. And a lot of others from your seeds...



I had no real problem from seeds I bought from the reputable vendors from tomatoville, but with one variety I was furious!
It was the Wes, from 10 seeds I just got 2 seedlings; but after weeks spending time looking in my box where nothing came up I am quite satisfied with my two good looking Wes seedlings.



At the moment it is much too cold in Germany. Last year, around this time, I started hardening my seedling in my unheated greenhouse. But this year it is impossible to do so. I must tell that I am (sometimes) no good tomato-mother. I had a mite attack on one dwarf and was so angry that I put the plant (after spraying it with some oil mixture) in my greenhouse, with just some protection; and it is still living. And we had still snow and hash winds...


I wanted to get some really huge tomatoes. I recognized gianttomatoseeds had some huge. But because I had not known the vendor I was unsure (especially because of the German Customs). But I got my seeds:
Big Zac (3.486 DT 2012)
MegaMarv (2.678 DT 2012)
Leadbeatter's Lunker (1.758 DT 2012)
And the germination was perfect!

Another try I wanted to give Mariannas seeds. I had never bought from her, and I like to make my own experience. I think I can remember that I have read that someone of you was not so pleased. But I tried and had some help from a member of tomatoville (don´t know if he will be named, so I will just thank you again for his help, without naming him!).
From Mariannas I bought:
Cherokee Tiger Black Dwarf
Cherokee Tiger
Milk Dud
Rainbow Dwarf
Yellow Dragon
Siberian Tiger

And there were some weird things. I can just tell you what happened with my seeds. The Cherokee Tiger seems to be NO dwarf. It is almost to huge for a dwarf, but it will be loved and will survive. But the Yellow Dragon seems weird. I have just two seedlings and they were yellow, with just a tough of light green. They seem to have less fertilizer, but they don´t.
Has someone experiences with this variety?


And here are some pics from this year. I have 8 of these green boxes...






Ufff, that´s all for today. After you have made it till here you must have recognized that I am a very quiet and not communicative person, who hates to write...

Simone