What is the largest number of varieties you have grown? - Page 2

Worth1 · December 29, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Before joining Tville this year, I had never bought a tomato seed pack because I had been told that growing from seed was too difficult and needed special equipment. After the volunteers started coming up, I realized that I had gotten bad info in the past about growing tomatoes from seed.

This comes from a society of instant gratification.
It seems as though a little work and a lot of waiting has become difficult.
On occasion I used to rust blue rifles and shotguns with nitric acid.
People said it was a lost art, took too long and too difficult.
I was the only person in the area that did it.
The amount of time and work to do it is about as much as it is to start and grow tomato seeds.

I think around 70 different verities is my limit.
I will never do it again, it encroached on the pleasure of gardening.
The only way I would do it again is if I sold the plants.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · December 29, 2014

I'll start between 100 and 200 each year to sell plants at market. About 30-50 will make it into the garden to be grown out. I try to keep one of each variety for myself, but it's hard to time a planting just right with unpredictable spring weather. Plus, I have a hard time telling greenhouse customers 'no' when they see a plant and fall in love with the name.

jmsieglaff · December 29, 2014

2015 will be my most varieties and plants ever--14 plants, 11 varieties. 2014 was 13 plants, 10 varieties. I start a few extra plants of varieties I grow or varieties family members request as well.

AlittleSalt · December 29, 2014

I agree Worth.

I play video games when the nerve pain is too high to do anything else. Playing a game keeps my attention and keeps me sitting down which does help control the pain. For that reason, I like open-ended games that last for hundreds of hours if you want them to. Going to Gamestop, I've heard younger people complaining that games are just too long. Guess I'm getting old

But then again, there are a lot of younger gardeners out there who do understand it takes time for the flower to grow.

Sorry for going off topic.

Worth1 · December 29, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I agree Worth.

I play video games when the nerve pain is too high to do anything else. Playing a game keeps my attention and keeps me sitting down which does help control the pain. For that reason, I like open-ended games that last for hundreds of hours if you want them to. Going to Gamestop, I've heard younger people complaining that games are just too long. Guess I'm getting old

But then again, there are a lot of younger gardeners out there who do understand it takes time for the flower to grow.

Sorry for going off topic.

Salt I will say one more thing on the subject and be done with it.
The age of instant gratification started at the end of the 2nd world war.
You cant blame it on the kids we raised them to be that way by our own actions.

Worth

NarnianGarden · December 29, 2014

This past summer, I grew about 50 different varieties, can't remember the exact amount as some were 'late experiments'. Enjoyable, but too much work at the end of the season - and too little space left for other stuff.
Next year, I'll try to keep the amount down to 20... (it will be tough to make the elimination rounds) so my balcony won't resemble a total jungle.

Tormato · December 29, 2014

After I win the lottery

, I plan on buying a piece of land one mile long. I'll then plant one tomato every 5.28 feet, in one looooooooooooooooong row. I'll let you do the math.

For now, I settle for 125 plants a year, max.

Tormato

Worth1 · December 29, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tormato

After I win the lottery

, I plan on buying a piece of land one mile long. I'll then plant one tomato every 5.28 feet, in one looooooooooooooooong row. I'll let you do the math.

For now, I settle for 125 plants a year, max.

Tormato

1000 plants.

Worth

Sun City Linda · December 29, 2014

I have posted this before but after I jointed TomatoVille and found out there were many thousands of varieties I set out to try them, all.

I already knew I could start seeds as I had done it years previous. Long story short, I ended up with upwards of 300 plants, all over my fairly small house, under various indoor lamps and lights during the evening. I carried them all (lovingly)

out to the SoCal winter sunshine each morning.

Being a quick study, I eventually figured out that the work load was quickly becoming insurmountable

and could only get worse so I began giving my babies away to everyone who would have one. The HVAC guy who came to do a repair that year scored big time!

Now I try to keep it under 50, or maybe 70, or....

Fusion_power · December 29, 2014

Hey Tormato, what you gonna do with a spaghetti field? 1/4 inch wide by 1 mile long? You can plant spaghetti in that field, but I don't think tomatoes are gonna like being that compressed!

joseph · December 30, 2014

I don't keep those kinds of records... I plant about 300 tomato plants into my fields per year plus or minus 100, but the number of varieties is a mystery. I grow a lot of segregating hybrids, and I trial new things, and I encourage natural hybrids, and I make manual crosses, so in theory, every plant I grow might be it's own variety, or there might be some that are still inbred enough to be considered the same variety. I suppose that I plant about 30 varieties per year that are listed in tatiana's database.

nickbolk · December 30, 2014

2012 I bought 5 hybrid plants for myself
2013 I started 1400 plants, 112 open pollinated varieties. About 70 of them for me
2014 I started 2300 plants, 90 open pollinated varieties. About 75 of them for me
This season should be same volume as last, but about 100 varieties I will grow for myself

Lindalana · December 30, 2014

About 80 varieties last year, one plant of each mostly, few two plants of each. Would love to cut down as I really do not need that many but I want to try more and more new varieties... might be up to 100 this year, some for relatives with a tomato taken for seed saving...

taboule · January 2, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Did anybody else catch this?

Worth

Worth, this is what they call "new math."

b54red · January 3, 2015

Like Worth I used to plant way too many plants to keep up with them. One year I tried around 150 different varieties with many having multiple plantings. It was a nightmare. Now I try to keep the number of varieties down to around 30 but with spring, summer and fall plantings I sometimes get over that number. I started my first batch of seed for the spring on the first and used 29 varieties so I will probably end up with around 40 to 50 this year by the time fall planting is over.

Bill

December 29, 2014	#22
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	After I win the lottery, I plan on buying a piece of land one mile long. I'll then plant one tomato every 5.28 feet, in one looooooooooooooooong row. I'll let you do the math. For now, I settle for 125 plants a year, max. Tormato

December 30, 2014	#27
nickbolk Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Squamish, BC Canada Posts: 33	2012 I bought 5 hybrid plants for myself 2013 I started 1400 plants, 112 open pollinated varieties. About 70 of them for me 2014 I started 2300 plants, 90 open pollinated varieties. About 75 of them for me This season should be same volume as last, but about 100 varieties I will grow for myself __________________ Nick A young buck, hungry for tomatoes

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December 29, 2014	#17
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I'll start between 100 and 200 each year to sell plants at market. About 30-50 will make it into the garden to be grown out. I try to keep one of each variety for myself, but it's hard to time a planting just right with unpredictable spring weather. Plus, I have a hard time telling greenhouse customers 'no' when they see a plant and fall in love with the name.

December 29, 2014	#18
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	2015 will be my most varieties and plants ever--14 plants, 11 varieties. 2014 was 13 plants, 10 varieties. I start a few extra plants of varieties I grow or varieties family members request as well.

December 29, 2014	#19
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I agree Worth. I play video games when the nerve pain is too high to do anything else. Playing a game keeps my attention and keeps me sitting down which does help control the pain. For that reason, I like open-ended games that last for hundreds of hours if you want them to. Going to Gamestop, I've heard younger people complaining that games are just too long. Guess I'm getting old But then again, there are a lot of younger gardeners out there who do understand it takes time for the flower to grow. Sorry for going off topic.

December 29, 2014	#21
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	This past summer, I grew about 50 different varieties, can't remember the exact amount as some were 'late experiments'. Enjoyable, but too much work at the end of the season - and too little space left for other stuff. Next year, I'll try to keep the amount down to 20... (it will be tough to make the elimination rounds) so my balcony won't resemble a total jungle.

December 29, 2014	#24
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	I have posted this before but after I jointed TomatoVille and found out there were many thousands of varieties I set out to try them, all. I already knew I could start seeds as I had done it years previous. Long story short, I ended up with upwards of 300 plants, all over my fairly small house, under various indoor lamps and lights during the evening. I carried them all (lovingly) out to the SoCal winter sunshine each morning. Being a quick study, I eventually figured out that the work load was quickly becoming insurmountable and could only get worse so I began giving my babies away to everyone who would have one. The HVAC guy who came to do a repair that year scored big time! Now I try to keep it under 50, or maybe 70, or....

December 29, 2014	#25
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	Hey Tormato, what you gonna do with a spaghetti field? 1/4 inch wide by 1 mile long? You can plant spaghetti in that field, but I don't think tomatoes are gonna like being that compressed!

December 30, 2014	#26
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	I don't keep those kinds of records... I plant about 300 tomato plants into my fields per year plus or minus 100, but the number of varieties is a mystery. I grow a lot of segregating hybrids, and I trial new things, and I encourage natural hybrids, and I make manual crosses, so in theory, every plant I grow might be it's own variety, or there might be some that are still inbred enough to be considered the same variety. I suppose that I plant about 30 varieties per year that are listed in tatiana's database.

December 30, 2014	#28
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	About 80 varieties last year, one plant of each mostly, few two plants of each. Would love to cut down as I really do not need that many but I want to try more and more new varieties... might be up to 100 this year, some for relatives with a tomato taken for seed saving...

January 3, 2015	#30
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Like Worth I used to plant way too many plants to keep up with them. One year I tried around 150 different varieties with many having multiple plantings. It was a nightmare. Now I try to keep the number of varieties down to around 30 but with spring, summer and fall plantings I sometimes get over that number. I started my first batch of seed for the spring on the first and used 29 varieties so I will probably end up with around 40 to 50 this year by the time fall planting is over. Bill