Planning MAGTAG 2009
 

It's not to early to begin thinking about this year's Mid-Atlantic Gardeners' Tomato Appreciation Gathering, or MAGTAG.

The bad news is, I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in December and will be undergoing chemo and radiation for most of the seed-starting and growing season. The good news is that I've recruited some friends to help me till and compost my veggie garden; and in anticipation of MAGTAG, I've ordered plants of some unusual (at least for me) varieties, if I don't feel up to starting seeds under lights. I don't see any reason why I can't handle organizing the tomato festival (with a little help, of course) - after three successful tries, this shouldn't be difficult!

So, let's start thinking about a date - last year we held it earlier in August, thinking that we would have a normal growing season, but everything was late.

And please post the varieties you're planning to grow this year. I tried to choose some unusual ones, although the selection of plants (as opposed to seeds) is limited. Depending on how wiped out I feel from my treatments, I may grow from seed as well.

Hopefully, by August, I'll have both tomatoes and hair!

[quote=Cecilia_MD7a;119240] The bad news is, I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in December and will be undergoing chemo and radiation for most of the seed-starting and growing season.

Hopefully, by August, I'll have both tomatoes and hair![/quote]

I'm so sorry to hear this. :o Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery. If you'd like me to ship you some seedlings, please let me know. I can email you my 2009 grow list.

Reply
 

Cecilia_MD7a-I hope I do not offend, but I will be praying for you!
Kat

you will be in my prayers also. my sister was dx with breast ca in january. hopefully you and she will be doing great by august.
neva

Cecilia:

My thoughts and prayers are with you...I wish you a speedy recovery.

Just now looking at my seed lists...will post when I start making some decisions.

Oh, I do know one for sure...growing the Black From Tula I just got from Tom Trees! Last year, my BFT turned out to be Black Pear :(

I just glanced at the calendar...if we want to go later this year...Saturday, August 22nd looks like a good date.

Cecilia,

I really don't care if I offend ;-) but my kids and I will be praying for you!

If you need anything please let me know.

Also,

I am really sorry for the Bong thing. I won't be growing tomatoes for the next three months but I should be good for our event.

Greg

P.S. Let me know about cost associated with the pavillion. If its a problem I will reserve.

Thanks everybody here and at the "other" garden site who wished me well. BTW, since some of you mentioned it, prayers of all denominations are gratefully accepted, as are positive vibes of all kinds. I'm doing really well so far - no nausea or bone pain after the first chemo injection & neulasta shot, but I know that will probably change as the treatments continue. But enough about my ills ... now on to tomatoes!

The tomato plants I've ordered (just in case I'm not up to caring for my seedlings) are:

From Burpee (3 plants each): Sungold & Black Krim; from SSE (2 plants each): Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Stupice, Hungarian Heart, Trophy (the last two are new for me).

I plan to be a little more adventurous with my seedlings. These are the ones I'm thinking about starting under lights soon:

Paul Robeson, Russian Black, Slovenian Black, Nyagous, Black Cherry, Japanese Trifele Black (Can you tell I like black tomatoes?); Lemon Boy (my old standby yellow, and I can get plants anywhere if the seedlings die); Milka's Red Bulgarian, and Church (it flopped last year, but I think it deserves a second chance, since I've never seen it at MAGTAG.) My thanks to Manure Queen for a supplying many of these seeds.

If I don't kill 'em, I'll probably have WAY too many 'mater plants this year, but I plan on growing my peppers, eggplants, and some other veggie plants in containers to make room. Maybe some tomatoes as well - Stupice and Lemon Boy did fine in large pots for me one year.
And heck, if I don't feel well enough to water the seedlings, I'll force DH to go downstairs and do it! That's what spouses are for, after all.

So what's on your MAGTAG list?

BTW, August 22 sounds great to me - that's two weekends before Labor Day, I think. It's also the day before my Dad's 87th birthday, so we can sing him Happy Birthday again. This year, though, I might need to wear the MAGTAG cap (since I won't have mucy hair) and make HIM wear the headband! Just noticed that Ramadan starts on the 21st this year, so it would be bad day for our Muslim friends - but I can't think of anything else that might be a problem at this point.

Just got the lights set up downstairs and washed out the seedling trays ... a little too soon for 'maters, but I plan on seeding some peppers this week.

Cecilia - Sending good thoughts your way for your continued recovery. DH can certainly be dear husbands. Do any of your MAYTAG crew focus on growing local tomato varieties like Chesapeake, Del Mar, Djena Lee's Golden Girl, Greater Baltimore or Scarab?

Hi Cecilia,
sending out positive vibes for your health!

this is the first year that I'm winter sowing, but I will be starting black cherry and cherokee purple.

Jette


Jette

Stormy, I've actually considered growing some of the old Mid-Atlantic farmers' market maters in the past - Greater Baltimore and Chesapeake in particular. The reason I chose not to is because I have a limited amount of gardening space and other varieties just sounded more interesting. I don't remember seeing any of the varieties you've listed at any previous MAGTAG festival, except maybe Djena Lee.

I know heirloomtomatoes.net sells seeds for Del Mar, Chesapeake, and Djena Lee. Victory Seeds sells Greater Baltimore. Hmmm...if I'm gonna be laid up anyway, maybe I should order some seeds and start them. I have plenty of friends and relatives who will take free tomato seedlings.

I've never even heard of Scarab. What is it like? I think I'll ask about it on the General Discussion forum.

Any comments on these varieties from other Mid-Atlantic gardeners?

Scarab - per Chuck Wyatt's old site - heirloomseeds.com - From a seedling found growing in a manure pile at Timonium Fair Grounds in 1992. Offer in "96" if stable. Great producer of 2-3 oz. fruit with superb flavor. Great lunchbox or salad tomato.
I chuckled when I initially saw this because long ago in the dark ages, DH & I were trout fishing along the Clark Fork & came upon dried mounds of treated processed sewage (at the sewage treatment plant) growing gi-normous tomatoes & some other great green leafy plants - each were appreciated in its own way!

I gre Djena Lee last year...got the seed from Heirloom Seeds and here is their description:

[SIZE=4][B]DJENA LEE`S GOLDEN GIRL [/B][/SIZE][SIZE=3][B]80 days - This family heirloom dates back to 1929, when Djena Lee won 1st prize at the Chicago Fair 10 years in a row. The yellow/orange fruits have a richly balanced, sweet-tangy flavor. Delicious, old-time taste. Indeterminate vines. [/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]I thought it was an okay tomato...broght it to MAGTAG last summer and it did so-so in the ratings.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Cecilia--if you want some seed...I believe I still have some. Just let me know.[/SIZE]

Stormymater's post really piqued my interest in trying some "local" tomatoes. I've ordered Scarab, Chesapeake, and Del Mar from heirloomtomatioes.net, and Greater Baltimore from Victory Seeds. Based on Mark's experience, I'm skipping Djena Lee's.

I also ordered Sunray from Victory Seeds, since the description includes the following:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is a stabilized cross between 'Pan American' and 'Jubilee'. Developed by Dr. W. S. Porte at the [B]Beltsville, Maryland Station[/B] and released in 1950.[/FONT]

I have no idea where I'm gonna put all these plants...guess I'll have to grow all my peppers and eggplants in containers this year.

You go girl! I've got Chesapeake,Old Brooks & Hopkins (Poe's mom's estate yellow cherry in honor of his 200th b-day) for this year. Will want to get Greater Baltimore, Del Mar, Maryland Red & others next year. Need to go out rooting around here this summer to see what the old folks are growing locally.