BW_AustinTX ..........I am in Central Texas (Hutto, Tx) not far from you with the same black gumbo soil. I raised all of my beds three years ago, and it made all of the difference. I mixed lots of compost, and Hill Country garden soil from The Natural Gardener off of Old Bee Caves Road in with my rich black gumbo. This year was the best year I have ever had as far as production, and taste . I have much success with Cherokee Purple, Rutgers, Big Beef, Early Girl Bush, Sungold, and Black Krim. I plant my spring tomato plants in late Feb, or early March. Getting your plants in early makes all of the difference in my opinion. I do a few other things to my soil when I plant my seedlings such as adding alfalfa pellets, green sand ect. Here a few pics of my harvest this year.
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