What is your Criteria for Growing What you Do??

[kimpossible]

I always find picking what I will grow each year very complicated. I mull over my choices for weeks. I have a bunch of criteria, and several " categories ".

This year, being part of the Dwarf Project, I am making room for about 9 varieties, 5 plants-each minimum.

I also want to grow a rainbow of cherries - I have about 20 varieties there.

I want to grow unique shapes and colours - extremely ribbed, beautifully speckled or striped.

I want to grow "odd", unique colours.

I want to grow varieties from my seed collection that are dwindling or older, and need to be grown out for new seed stock.

I want to grow varieties that SSE do not have many listings for, or varieties that are virtually "seedless", and therefore, seed is in short supply.

I want to grow the varieties from Carolyn's book.

I want to grow the varieties from the "Top 10 Lists", etc. at Tomatoville.

I want to grow the "Early" varieties - so I can get tomatoes before August!

It all gets to be a complicated puzzle. My husband just does not get the time I spend on this!

What is your logic and criteria for picking your list?

[dice]

I want to not be looking at a plant full of green
tomatoes in a pouring rain on the first of September
that I have not tasted a single one of yet, because
none of them have ripened.

After that, they should taste as good as Earl's Faux,
produce like Eva Purple Ball, not get the blight,
look good enough to impress the neighbors, etc.

[gardengalrn]

I also mull over my choices in a delightfully agonizing way. I have changed or added to my list several times since I decided with firm determination what to plant. I have some that I will always plant as favorites. I, too, want some colorful cherries this year but have only picked 8 or so. I pick some that are known to me to be very productive and the rest are exactly as you describe; I want taste first and foremost but having a variety of shapes, colors, etc., is also very appealing. I find now after growing tomatoes a while that there are some people who will never be happy unless it is perfectly round and red. No matter the taste. They even claim to be tomato addicts or lovers. As much as I hate to admit it, there are some that I plant to please these people and the rest are for ME.

[matereater]

Flavor, production & curiosity.

[caascher2]

I grow a few varieties that grew well for me last year, and had great taste. I also select a few people brag about on this forum, and finally a few that I want to try. I only have enough room for planting 20 tomatoes so my choices are limited.
Carol

[DonnaK-NC]

Originally Posted by caascher2

I grow a few varieties that grew well for me last year, and had great taste. I also select a few people brag about on this forum, and finally a few that I want to try. I only have enough room for planting 20 tomatoes so my choices are limited.
Carol

I pretty much do the same as Carol. I'm small time compared to a lot of you folks but absolutely love learning about the different varieties and learning from all the posts. None of it is boring to me for sure!

[tomatoguy]

I, too, have limited space. If I really go overboard (like I do every year), I can fit in about 25 plants. I always try to grow at least one black, one yellow, one bi-color and a few earlies. I have little interest in cherries, whites, greens or paste tomatoes. I also try to grow 3 or 4 varieties that have done well for me in the past. The rest of my space is then filled with new varieties. My bias is toward beefsteaks of the pink or red persuasion. I decide on those varieties from input from Tomatovillians, input from other gardeners and sometimes just because the name or history is interesting.

mater

[Dukerdawg]

I have to be careful, or I have a tendency to get sucked into the hype of seed catalogues. The longer the winter the more apt this seems to happen. I have about 15 never-grown before varieties on a Sandhill order sheet....debating about mailing it in. The money is part of it, but not most of it.

I too have a limited area. Last year I cut back to 55 from my usual 135. This year I ordered grow bags to add to the lunacy and might have 150 or so. I have my favorites of course and plan to grow a few new ones I got from Carolyn and JD's Special C-Tex from Jay (thanks again!), some earlies and a few cherries.

No paste, green when ripe or white for me either. They just don't ring my bell and why grow them if they aren't gree--aaaa----tttttt (tony the tiger impression)


Duane

[gssgarden]

First, the same program every year. Always try for:
one cherry, and only one as we can't keep up with the production.
one bicolored,
two of my own family heirloom, Shannon's
two or three of the 'hot' varieties offered by people in trades,
three yellows/orange,
five to six blacks,
six of my 'can't be without reds'/pinks,
and the rest being 'new to me' reds with a total of around 24 or so.

oh, and one or two for containers. Usually the earliest.

Production is not a huge factor for me though. I do it more for taste. But of course I have my limits. I don't grow anymore Brandywines because the friut production was so light.

Greg

[jwr6404]

I started gardening late in life/after retirement so wanting something different was always a contributing factor. In fact this year will be the first time I will have planted a variety a second time,NAR and Rostova were just to good not to plant again. My big interest this year are Ed's Millennium and John's Big Orange.

[shelleybean]

I have limited space as well. I usually choose one cherry to cover three different bases--ripens earlier in the season than my others, produces well in heat and dries well for later use. I don't experiment as much as I used to because I have less space than I did before and I'm a little afraid to give up varieties that have proven reliable in the past and have the flavor I want. If it aint broke, don't fix it kind of thing, I guess. So anything else I choose is sort of an "all purpose" variety--salads, sandwiches, cooking, salsa, etc.

I, too, give this great consideration all year long. I change my mind about a thousand times and then once the seeds are sown, it's a done deal. I try to take a lot of notes during the growing season to keep me on track when seed catalogs come out. It's easy to get carried away in January when you're looking at all those tomato pictures.

[robin303]

I like to do everything just plane simple. All I want is 8 to 10 tomato plants. I do it for fun and I’m not going to waste my time canning. What ever I don’t eat I will give away. My choices this year is 3 types of Cherries the Juliet and the Sweet 100 then the TX Wild Cherry, and what I’m really looking forward to is the Campbell's 1327. I just don’t really have the room for more when I have all my other favorite stuff out there. Bell Peppers, Japs, Okra, Broccoli, Carrots, Lettuce, Collards and over 400 onions. Soon as the Brocs and Collards go they will be replaced by tomatoes.

[PaulF]

I "discovered" heirlooms (they were called that then without much argument) eleven years ago and I planted according to the cool names without thought to much else.

Then came the tomato forums and contact with many of the familiar names of growers frequenting GW and now Tomatoville, so I widened out my growing to include the popular varieties everyone seemed to be touting.

Then there were several years spent growing the largest tomato varieties I could find.

Then came the phase of growing as many different colors, sizes and flavors as I could fit into my small area.

Then came the "theme" growing. This year it is "hearts and Blacks" and next year it will be tomatoes with the names of countries in the variety and the year after that who knows.

Despite the theme, I still have a few I feel I must grow every year and those my "peeps" insist I have available.

[Ruth_10]

I am not a theme grower. I have my A list list of "very favorite must grows" (EF, BWS, MP, Prue, and Sungold) and then the A- list of ones I will probably grow at least one plant of every year (e.g. AT, Black Cherry, German Head, Picardy, Sioux, Zogola). Then I go to the ones that are either new to me or ones I'm giving a second or third try before making up my mind about them. That group will make up the bulk of the varieties I plant and will include at least one green, one yellow or orange, one bicolor, and a black. All told, I'll have about 30 different varieties. This year I am taking part in the Dwarf project, so I'll reserve some space for them. I also got seeds from a co-worker who got seeds from his great-aunt for a "German heirloom" so I will be planting a few of those.

I am fortunate to have enough space to try different varieties and still grow several plants each of my favorites. I grow a certain number of varieties that might fall into the "fad" category (and why not? It's fun!) but for the most part I'm trying to get to know the "classics." There are a lot of them out there and I've only been growing heirlooms since the late nineties (hybrids before that).

Bottom line criteria: space and time. Tilled, amended garden space and the time to plant, tend, and harvest. I will plant until I've filled up the amount of space and time I have available. 'Tis a sickness.

[remy]

I have the few I grow every year. I want to be sure I have a few tomatoes that I know will taste wonderful to me.
I grow a cherry or two. I switch up the variety every year.
I am trying to grow at least one variety for seed distribution every year. Sometimes it that may be hard to acquire variety like 2 years ago it was Red Penna(I have to grow it again because I ran out of extra seed!), or like this year, it was Box Car Willie because Carolyn gave me pretty much then end of her supply, and I wanted to make sure others could get it since the seed purchased is often incorrect.
I try to grow different colors and shapes so I don't end up with all big pink beefsteaks.
Sometimes I grow one because of the name. One year I did have a Polish/German theme.
I do have a difficult time deciding on the final list. Pretty much up until seed starting day it is up in the air.
Remy