Help me succeed

[Craigaria]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Craig, I will have about 200 excess tomato seedlings that you can pick from. There will be some Cherokee Purple available, and lots of others. They should be ready to roll in March. Let's stay in touch. If you want to do some research beforehand, here is my list of seedlings:

Red Tomatoes

Marmande
70 days, semi-det., regular leaf, heavy yields of medium to large red fruit, slightly ribbed, very good flavor,
Old Virginia (2005)
Indet., regular leaf, medium-small round red fruits with firm flesh and little juice. Perfect canner, and very good for sauce.
Mule Team
75-85 days, large indet. plant, regular leaf, large meaty red beefsteaks, some fruits were up to 1 lb., productive, great taste.
Abraham Lincoln
Large vines need caging or staking, 85 days, mostly 6-8 oz for me with an occasional larger fruit, slightly oblate dark-red meaty and juicy fruits, very good flavor.
Aker's West Virginia
85-90 days, indet., large regular leaf plant, large red beefsteak tomatoes up to 1 lb, excellent well balanced flavor, no cracking; a must grow for everyone who likes old-fashioned tomato flavor.
Better Boy
Hybrid
Chanoka
Collected in Vietnam
Costoluto fiorentino
indet., regular foliage, high yield of light red medium size beefsteaks that are oblate and not ribbed as advertised, despite the fact that my original seed came from CV Seeds of Italy. Excellent old fashioned tomato flavor, juicy, great in salads.
Iditarod Red
Early to mid season. Indet., dwarf (tree-type) plants with dark green regular rugose foliage, grow to 4' tall, perfect for a large pot. Small round red fruits, some showing a nippled blossom end, 1-4 oz. Balanced and pleasant flavor
Red Zebra
Variant of Green Zebra
Whopper – Park Seed
65 days from setting out transplants. Indeterminate. The original Whopper was an American classic, and its successor is simply the home gardener's dream tomato: greater disease resistance, higher yields, a longer season, and better taste! These big, juicy, crack-resistant tomatoes, 4 inches or more across, ripen uniformly
Super Sioux
70-80 days, indet., regular leaf plant with a good yield of medium to large red round fruits, blemish-free, excellent flavor on the tart side, very reliable producer

Black Tomatoes
Japanese Trifele Black
indet., potato leaf, brick red/brown pear-shaped fruits up to 2-6 oz, very prolific.
Dwarf Wild Fred
Indet. dwarf (tree-type) plants with rugose regular leaf produce loads of large black/purple fruits that are shaped like beefsteaks. 6-12 oz. Very good to excellent flavor, rich and smoky, with some sweetness.
Bear Creek
84 days, but was one of the first large fruit to ripen for me in this very cool, wet, blight-filled season. Produces 10-14 oz oblate, purple fruit (clear skin). Very meaty. Originally crossed and selected for flavor by Keith Partridge from plants grown at Bear Creek Farms. Variety continued to be grown out stabilized at Bear Creek Farms by Robbins Hail and was introduced in 2009.
Amazon Chocolate
85 days, indet., regular leaf, good yield of 2-5 oz brown-red fruit, good flavor.
Black from Tula
80 days, indet., regular leaf, good yield of 8-12 oz purple-black fruits with irregular shape, green shoulders, very good flavor.
Cherokee Purple
Indet., regular leaf plant with dark purple beefsteak fruit, 6-16 oz, outstanding producer in summer 2004, excellent taste, no core. Clear skin and some green shoulders that do not affect texture or taste.
Pink Tomatoes
Eva Purple Ball
indet., regular leaf, medium size perfect round pink fruits, 4-8 oz, very good to excellent flavor, nice texture, no core. Not a good keeper.
Marianna’s Peace
indet., potato leaf plants, medium yield of pink beefsteak fruit, 8-16 oz, very good to excellent sweet flavor, nice texture
Kosovo
75-80 days, indet., regular leaf, 8-12 oz pink heart-shaped fruit, good yield, very good flavor.
Dester
Seed Savers Exchange ‘Dester’ tomato was the second favorite at this year’s tasting.The ‘Dester’ is a large, full-flavored, pink beefsteak tomato,
Purple Dog Creek
indet., regular leaf, large pink beefsteaks with excellent flavor.
Brandywine, Sudduth's
85 days, large indet., potato leaf, 10-22 oz pink fruit, outstanding flavor, very good yield in my PNW garden.
Barlow Jap
Pink beefsteak
Bradley
Mid-season. Det. or semi-det. bushy vigorous plants with heavy regular leaf cover, moderate yield of medium sized pink oblate fruits, with excellent sweet flavor and solid meaty interior. Perfect for fresh eating or canning
Pruden's Purple
indet. plants with potato leaf foliage produce dark pink beefsteaks with excellent sweet flavor, 8-14 oz, meaty and smooth texture, medium to high yields.
Charles Herring - Porter (Reed Baize)

Yellow Tomatoes
Yellow beefsteaks from Atlanta farmers market – unknown variety

Orange Tomatoes
Kelloggs Breakfast
85-90 days, indet., regular leaf, very large (1+ lb) orange fruits, excellent flavor, one of my favorite orange tomatoes.
Dana’s Dusky Rose
80 days. Indeterminate. Into the third year of growing this wonderful tomato, we have concluded that it is indeed a great flavored tomato. Medium size with a good acid / sugar balance.
KBX
Late maturing, indet., potato leaf, bright orange medium-large beefsteaks with some ribbing, 8-16 oz, outstanding flavor, medium to low yield.
Jaune Flamme
55 days, indet., regular leaf, 2 oz bright orange fruit, borne in clusters of 6-8, 2 seed cavities, reddish interior when fully ripe, excellent sharp taste.
Tangerine Ailsa Craig from Chris Kafer

Green When Ripe Tomatoes
Lime Green Salad
det. dwarf plant, rugose foliage, compact 2' high bush, multiple blooms, 1-3 oz olive colored round fruit, excellent flavor when fully ripe, very productive
Aunt Ruby's German Green
midseason, indet., regular leaf plants with a good yield of green-when-ripe beefsteaks, often irregular shapes, 8-18 oz, sometimes with pinkish stripes radiating from the bottom, it did not show amber color for me in 2009 until the end of the season. Excellent rich sweet flavor, meaty flesh with small seed cavities. Flesh has a beautiful greenish yellow color, and it is almost 'buttery' in texture.
Dwarf Beryl Beauty
indet. dwarf (tree-type) plants with rugose potato leaf, fruits from 2 oz to 7 oz, 1st fruit was 10 oz, with the majority being 3-4 oz. Fruits are pale green on the outside, with some very faint yellowish blush. It is not easy to tell when the fruit is ripe, and a 'squeeze' test is required. Most of the fruits are round, and some oblate. Very nice flavor.
Cherokee Green
80 days, indet., regular leaf, 5-16 oz green-when-ripe fruit, beefsteak type, outstanding flavor.
Green Zebra
80 days, indet., regular leaf, 2-5 oz, green round fruits with dark green/yellow stripes, green flesh and gel, very productive, very good tangy flavor.

White Tomatoes
White Queen
Late season, indet., regular foliage, large white beefsteaks, 10-16 oz, but some fruits were 2 lbs., excellent taste and texture, medium to high yields.

Cherry Tomatoes
Black Cherry
47 days, indet., regular leaf plant, 7' high, loads of large dusky purple black cherry fruits, sweet, excellent flavor.
Riesentraube
Indet., regular leaf, beautiful large multi-flower trusses, very tough and healthy plants that survive heavy rains and long spells of cold weather and still thrive and bloom, showing remarkable difference compared to other tomato varieties grown under the same conditions, small round red fruits with a little tip on the blossom end, 0.5-1 oz, firm, very good flavor.
Sungold Select
Indet., but more compact than its parent Sungold F1, regular leaf, small 0.75" orange cherry tomatoes with very good taste

Ground Cherries
Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry
Cape Gooseberry

Holy Crap! You are not playing around, lol. That sounds awesome, and thanks. I'd love to buy some plants from you. I was worried I was going to have to order online and have them shipped...

[ScottinAtlanta]

No buying needed. However, I might take some manure!

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Craigaria

One more question, how deep should my topsoil layer be? Right now it is about 8" deep before it hits red clay.


Just thought of this too... What kind of bean should I use for testing, and is there one that I can plant now while it is still cold?

Thanks

8" is more topsoil than I have.

Any bean will do. We are just testing for herbicides or other things in the manure that might harm the seedlings. Just use Dixie cups for your test and put them inside where it is warm. Beans sprout fast.

[Craigaria]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

No buying needed. However, I might take some manure!

Sounds good, pm'd you

[Craigaria]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

8" is more topsoil than I have.

Any bean will do. We are just testing for herbicides or other things in the manure that might harm the seedlings. Just use Dixie cups for your test and put them inside where it is warm. Beans sprout fast.

Cool, going to do that today

[Craigaria]

[IMG][/IMG]Beans planted, changed my avatar to pic of my daughter with one of my plants last season

[pdxwindjammer]

Craig, it all starts with 2 to 3 plants. Then the next year a couple more. Before you even realize it has taken ahold of you, you get tomato fever like the rest of us and end up with a grow/wish list so long you start giving plants to everyone you know and even strangers! And I am sorry to say there is no cure!

Best of luck and we look forward to hearing about your successes.

[Craigaria]

Originally Posted by pdxwindjammer

Craig, it all starts with 2 to 3 plants. Then the next year a couple more. Before you even realize it has taken ahold of you, you get tomato fever like the rest of us and end up with a grow/wish list so long you start giving plants to everyone you know and even strangers! And I am sorry to say there is no cure!

Best of luck and we look forward to hearing about your successes.

Actually, I would probably be planting more plants, but I have a very limited space...

Also, my wife would kill me if I started tilling up the sod in the back yard

Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind if I start turning up the front yard. HOA may not like that either, lol

[Doug9345]

Originally Posted by pdxwindjammer

Craig, it all starts with 2 to 3 plants. Then the next year a couple more. Before you even realize it has taken ahold of you, you get tomato fever like the rest of us and end up with a grow/wish list so long you start giving plants to everyone you know and even strangers! And I am sorry to say there is no cure!

Best of luck and we look forward to hearing about your successes.

Then you learn to recognize the word tomatoe in half a dozen languages and a couple of alphabets.

[zeroma]

learning to recognize tomato in different languages.....oh no. I knew I was addicted, but that is sure proof.

Wish I was a song writer, "Tomato Fever" is the name of the song.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Craigaria

Actually, I would probably be planting more plants, but I have a very limited space...

Also, my wife would kill me if I started tilling up the sod in the back yard

Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind if I start turning up the front yard. HOA may not like that either, lol

That's where you need to be tricky. Wives are very smart. Not easy to trick. But lets say your cute daughter wanted to grow her very own special tomato plant.....Then of course you would be FORCED to expand the garden just a little. And of course there is the old "buy her flowers" ploy. No woman can refuse flowers. You simply make sure the flowers are potted instead of cut. So of course you would be forced to expand the garden just a little bit more to plant the flowers you gave her. You love her so much you want to grow the plants for sentimentality sake!

Keep expanding this way and soon you'll have control of the yard again!

[Craigaria]

^^^. Bad influence ^^^

[pdxwindjammer]

And then, of course, there are always neighbors who may have space and you can ask them to grow out a few plants for you so you can save the seeds from them for next year. Oh, and then you will have the dilemma of needing to grow out (or trade or give away) all the seeds you have saved.

You could also do what I did and find a couple of plots in a community garden.

Yes, it is a disease. Starts of slowly but spreads like wild fire once it sets in. Once you start saving seeds, you know you are done for. Then the difficulty lies in choosing the ones you will grow this year and which ones you will save for another year. We liken it to choosing a favorite child.

[Craigaria]

My neighbor has a big garden that me and a few other pitch in on. Last year we had 48 better boy plants down there, 24 okra plants, bell and sweet peppers, string beans, cucumbers, and squash.

This year he said he only wants 10 tomato plants. They were rotting faster than we could eat them. I tried to talk him into heirlooms but he wants low maintenance plants there. Probably hybrids....

[pdxwindjammer]

I grow 90% heirlooms and don't find them to be any more trouble. And once you sink your teeth into an heirloom, you will never go back.

My boyfriend used to ask me why I didn't just buy tomatoes in the store because I spend so much time choosing seeds, sprouting them, potting them up and planting them. Once he bit into one of my heirlooms, he understood why I do it.

Rather than letting them rot, can them and use them throughout the winter!