Variety/companion garden question

[nnjjohn]

I am wondering now if I should grow a variety of tomatoes instead a dozen of "burpee" big boys and a dozen of "burpee" super beef steaks? I am going to home depot today to see about getting Sungolds cherry seedlings and potting mixes for my pots.. is there a forum here how to get the most variety of tomatoes in small residential around the house gardens? I usually grow in total about fourty plants.. should I consider planting more varirty ? Like perhaps half a dozen of each kind? Are all tomatoes good companions..also, are cucumbers and swisschard and basil okay for companion in a tomato garden? tia , John

[baileyj]

nnjjohn,
The variety question is really based on what you want to do with them. I always plant at least 12 varieties...ranging from cherry to slicers, yellow to black, and early to late season to spread the harvest.

The tomatos I thought were always my favorite have now been replaced with varieties I would have never considered before I tried a few new ones. Bloody Butcher is now my favorite.....who would name a tomato this??? I can't believe I tried it but it is my best now!

I do all my growing in 40 earthboxes about 15 will be tomatoes this year and a few dwarfs in 5 gallon buckets. All but 4 will be single plants of those varieties.....the 4 I am planting 2 plants of each.
Good luck,
Judi

[Farmette]

I plant 40 tomatoes in my main garden. When I started the garden, my intention was to find a few of the best varieties for me and stick with them. I do have some favorites, but each year I find new ones to try and so I am still planting 40 different varieties. I started with a few store bought plants and as my interest grew, I started germinating my own seeds. This forum has spurred my interest in growing different varieties. Right now I grow a mix of all types, with the majority being hearts, beefsteaks, plums and a few cherry tomatoes. I grow red, pink, black, yellow/orange, green and bi color. What type you grow depends on what you want to do with them. We eat the sliced fresh, but I also make sauce and can them whole as well as make bloody mary mix. And then I make pickled relish out of the green ones at the end of the season. I grow basil with my tomatoes and swiss chard, cucumbers in their own beds as I have the room. I have 8 raised beds and a 20 by 20 in ground space. My guess is that this is just the beginning and that it won't be long before you are germinating your own tomatoes....it is a lot of fun!

[PaulF]

There are several reasons why folks plant tomatoes, each as individual as the person planting them.

I have room for between 28 and 32 plants, depending on what else is going into the garden that year...meaning what besides tomatoes my wife wants to plant. I make room for up to four dwarf varieties (this year three). From past years favorite varieties there is room for ten to twelve plants. The rest of the space is for new to me varieties. I allow only one cherry tomato plant in deference to my spouse who likes them for her salads. I like hearts so several new and favorites get the nod. The rest are mixture of colors and shapes, mostly in the larger sized fruit.

After several years of trying, I plant no green when ripes or white tomatoes. Our taste does not go in that direction.

If I were a seller of tomatoes and my clientele demanded only one or two varieties, those I would grow for them and several others to experiment with for something better or at least different. You may happen across a wowzer (there also may be a spitter in there, too.)

We have canned tomatoes of all varieties, made salsa using a mixture, the same with sauces and pastes and have not been disappointed with results by using all types of tomato. I will not give up growing as many different varieties as possible in the few years I have left. So many untasted, so little time; don't waste it on a couple of boring tomato varieties.

[buckhunter]

where can I get "Bloody Butcher" seeds ? I've never heard of them but would like to try .

[livinonfaith]

If those tomatoes do well for you, then it makes sense to continue devoting a large portion of your garden to them. But maybe you could try four or five new types each year, maybe a couple of plants each, just for fun.

Some years the varieties might not end up being better than your originals and some years you might end up with a "keeper" or two that earns a permanent spot. Hopefully, you will eventually end up with a garden full of "keepers".

That's my plan, anyway. So far, I have a few really good ones that have been repeats, but am still searching for ones that are really exceptional. If I could beef up the yield, there are a few that would be keepers right now.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by nnjjohn

are cucumbers and swisschard and basil okay for companion in a tomato garden? tia , John

Basil is beneficial, Swiss chard is neutral but can be used to scavenge trace minerals and nutrients from deep in the soil and bring them to the surface especially magnesium, Cucumbers are bad. I would drop the cukes and add French dwarf marigolds, and grow your cukes in another bed.

[nnjjohn]

Originally Posted by baileyj

nnjjohn,
The variety question is really based on what you want to do with them. I always plant at least 12 varieties...ranging from cherry to slicers, yellow to black, and early to late season to spread the harvest.

The tomatos I thought were always my favorite have now been replaced with varieties I would have never considered before I tried a few new ones. Bloody Butcher is now my favorite.....who would name a tomato this??? I can't believe I tried it but it is my best now!

I do all my growing in 40 earthboxes about 15 will be tomatoes this year and a few dwarfs in 5 gallon buckets. All but 4 will be single plants of those varieties.....the 4 I am planting 2 plants of each.
Good luck,
Judi

I tried two high rated for this region past two season "ramapo and rutgers " for my main gardens.. I honestly wasn't impressed with the size quanity or taste.. this season i'm going to try super beef steaks and big boys and likely buy some hybrids for the containers (Sungold cherry tomatoes) other than that swiss chard because I never tried them ,, cucumbers on the borders behind my gardens.. anyway, that is my plan

[TightenUp]

nnjjohn

i'm still pretty new to heirloom tomato gardening but i can tell you a few varieties i've enjoyed over the last few years which tasted great and had what i would call good production.

kelloggs breakfast
cherokee purple
black cherry(wasnt my fav taste but huge productivity)
sungold f1

last year i had brandywine pink and brandywine from croatia and neither did well. also mr stripey from home depot wasnt anything special. it was a late tomato with average flavor and below average production.

here is my seed starting list for this season. i am starting seeds for 2 relatives and also 3 gardens i maintain. i will have most if not all of these varieties in my 3 gardens

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=26824

i will most likely have spare sungold f1 plants i will give you but i can't guarantee anything yet. its one variety everyone loves so i started a bunch. if you plan on buying seeds check out the sample shop owned by Remy, a member here. i doubt home depot will have this variety.

[nnjjohn]

Originally Posted by TightenUp

nnjjohn

i'm still pretty new to heirloom tomato gardening but i can tell you a few varieties i've enjoyed over the last few years which tasted great and had what i would call good production.

kelloggs breakfast
cherokee purple
black cherry(wasnt my fav taste but huge productivity)
sungold f1

last year i had brandywine pink and brandywine from croatia and neither did well. also mr stripey from home depot wasnt anything special. it was a late tomato with average flavor and below average production.

here is my seed starting list for this season. i am starting seeds for 2 relatives and also 3 gardens i maintain. i will have most if not all of these varieties in my 3 gardens

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=26824

i will most likely have spare sungold f1 plants i will give you but i can't guarantee anything yet. its one variety everyone loves so i started a bunch. if you plan on buying seeds check out the sample shop owned by Remy, a member here. i doubt home depot will have this variety.

no home depot had only those yellow pear cherries and regular cherries.. went to sears and the assortment was worse.. I have nurseries all around that will have them and many of the hybrids i have yet to try.. I want a early tomato because most of my seedlings are the 78 -80 day tomato.. (big boy/super beef steak, I'm only going to want a few cherry plants for pots maybe try those dwarfs.. thank you so much anyway

[TightenUp]

my local HD had black krim, mr stripey, brandywine and a few other heirlooms i cant remember last year. i was there today and the shelves were empty. i think it will be another few weeks before they get their seedlings in.

i also wind up buying a plant or 2 even though i start plenty of my own seeds. just impulse shopping. one variety i will never buy(again) is yellow pear. talk about a bad bland tomato with a nasty thick skin.

[nnjjohn]

Originally Posted by TightenUp

my local HD had black krim, mr stripey, brandywine and a few other heirlooms i cant remember last year. i was there today and the shelves were empty. i think it will be another few weeks before they get their seedlings in.

i also wind up buying a plant or 2 even though i start plenty of my own seeds. just impulse shopping. one variety i will never buy(again) is yellow pear. talk about a bad bland tomato with a nasty thick skin.

lol, i am glad I walked out of hd today with nothing.. I'm waiting to see how my seedlings do and will decide where to go from there. One position is knowing there will be plenty to buy should the seedling lurn out like they always did in the past for me..I got to show pics soon of my seedlings.. about a week so far.. got them under light in my basmt. want to start getting them sessions of sunlight..after this snow storm

[dice]

You can look up descriptions of heirloom and open-pollinated
(not hybrid) tomatoes like Bloody Butcher at Tania's TOMATObase:
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page

You click on "Informational Database" in the menu on the left,
and a drop down menu lists different types of plants that she
has descriptions of. Click on "Tomatoes". That takes you to
the first page of the tomato listings, with an alphabetical
index across the top of the page. Clicking on "B" takes you
to the descriptions of cultivars whose names begin with B.

Here is the page for Bloody Butcher, for example:
http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Bloody_Butcher
If you click on the center tab, "Seed Availability", it will
list vendors that have seeds for sale. If the page has
a "Buy Seeds from Tatiana's" tab, then Tania has seeds
of that one available herself.

This page describes the process of buying seeds directly
from the TOMATObase:
http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/w...ory:Seed_Order

[Got Worms?]

Originally Posted by buckhunter

where can I get "Bloody Butcher" seeds ? I've never heard of them but would like to try .

I got mine at Home Depot this year.
Charlie

[nnjjohn]

Anybody ever try super beef steak and big boy? these seeds I bought at my local HD. I'm only probably going to plant a half dozen my seedlings and use the others for backup.. or give them away if I do not need them.. I may try a dozen heirlooms from a local nursery.