Which ones are you REALLY looking forward to this year?? - Page 3

Goldie321 · February 23, 2014

If you're looking to can your own tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce) try Amish Paste. They are a larger size Roma and very meaty - also heavier so you'll need to stake them well.

madddawg · February 23, 2014

I am looking forward to all of my selection this year. Almost all new varieties for me. Eva Purple, Big Beef, Rutgers, Jetstar, Ace, Paul Robeson, First Prize, Homestead, Red Rocket, BNH 640, BNH 549. (BHN suggested by a local commercial operation) Heidi, Chocolate Cherry and Big Cherry. I am ready to get at it!

NarnianGarden · February 23, 2014

Oh, and to add to the ones mentioned before: Really looking forward to growing and tasting several different cherries, it will be very interesting to see them grow side by side and to compare them. Most of them will be OP, but I succumbed to the pressure of the overwhelming praise heaped at SunGold, so I am curious to see how it will do here. Many hobby gardeners in Finland have had success with it, so it will have one season to prove it is worth its ridiculous seed price.

kath · February 23, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by madddawg

I am looking forward to all of my selection this year. Almost all new varieties for me...I am ready to get at it!

Me, too, on all three counts! They wouldn't be on my list if I wasn't looking forward to trying them.

kath

Worth1 · February 23, 2014

I'm really really REALLY looking forward to the first one, I dont care what it is.
You can rest assured the first tomato in the neighborhood will be grown in my garden.

The rest of the people around here are just coming out of hibernation.

They are like zombies.
The first few days it gets to these nice temps you can see them wondering around listlessly at the garden sections.
They normally buy stuff that says keep moist and well watered and then put it out in the blazing sun.
Then when the temps get to 90 they go back into what they call estivation the reverse of hibernation for hot weather.

Worth

jmsieglaff · February 23, 2014

And I have to now add my two varieties from the Dwarf project, I'm excited to be a part of it!

newatthiskat · February 24, 2014

Well I am really not sure which plants I will keep yet. I am just excited to grow anything this year! The more I can fit it eh happier I will be. Can not wait to try Piedmont Pear, Looks so beautiful. Husband is looking forward to all the reds and cherries. I am looking forward to all the canners, saucers and cookers. SALSA here I come!

debles · February 24, 2014

I'm starting varieties that are new to me this year. The only repeat is Glacier because last year it provided my first tomatoes and was still covered with green ones when a freeze was coming. Nearly all of the full size green tomatoes I pulled from the two plants ripened gradually inside.

I'm trying several of the dwarf tomato project varieties and 3 varieties from Iraq.
Our long, hot summers in OK really stress most indeterminate plants. Last year I grew a couple of Quarter Century plants and they held up much better than the indeterminate plants, so I'm planning to focus on dwarf, determinate and semi-determinate plants going forward.
Seedling list:
Fantome Du Laos
Palestinian Pink Heart
Rebel Yell
Dwarf Kelly Green
Tsarskiy Podarok
Purple Dog Creek
Kewalo
Dakota Gold
Sheyenne
Cherokee Purple Heart
Dwarf Sweet Sue
Dwarf Summer Sunrise
Cherokee Tiger Black Dwarf
Dwarf Mr. Snow
Cherokee Tiger Large Red Dwarf
Dwarf Wild Fred
Rainbow Dwarf
Haley’s Purple Comet
Tropic VFN
Argentina
Burpee’s Dwarf Giant
Rosella Purple
Maglia Rosa
Ozark Pink VF
RAF
Gill’s All Purpose
Golden King of Siberia
Blush
Nineveh
Abu Rawan
Basrawya
Dwarf Arctic Rose
Czech Bush
Alpatieva 905A
Katja
Kimberly
Glacier

So many open pollinated and heirloom varieties to choose from that it's hard to be loyal unless they really perform well and taste great.
I even left my beloved Cherokee Purple off the list this year. Hope I don't regret that decision.

ScottinAtlanta · February 24, 2014

Deb, Are the three Iraq ones Nineveh, Abu Rawan, and Basrawya? Can I ask how you got them? I am in Baghdad, and the only seeds my friends can find are generic Iraq tomatoes that I call Babylon for circulation in the US.

debles · February 24, 2014

Scott, I got them from Baker Seeds (rareseeds.com)
The descriptions say they were provided by someone in Iraq. I think a couple of other sellers have Iraq seeds too.

ScottinAtlanta · February 24, 2014

Thanks, very interesting. None of those tomatoes are in the local markets in Baghdad - which are dominated by greenhouse Turkish tomatoes that don't look very nice.

I smiled a little at the description of Basrawya : "These come from the southern town of Basra and seem to be adapted well to hot weather as Basra is in the hot, southern part of Iraq." Pretty much all of Iraq is hot. Baghdad, in the center, is one of the hottest cities on earth. In the summer from June to August, the average maximum temperature is as high as 44 °C (111 °F).

debles · February 24, 2014

Scott - When I told my brother that I had high hopes for the Iraq tomatoes producing through our hot weather, he mentioned that although Iraq is hot, they probably have cooler night temps than we do in OK. Does it get cool at night during the growing season?

ScottinAtlanta · February 24, 2014

Not really. The heat is pretty intense, falling to probably 85-90 at night, at least in Baghdad. I don't know about outside the city.

debles · February 24, 2014

That's encouraging. Often our night temps during the summer are in the 80 to 90 degree range. Those tomatoes may be keepers for me in OK. We're originally from WI, but have been in OK for a long time. Even though the gardening season is much longer here, the heat presents problems I never experienced in WI.

BucksCountyGirl · February 24, 2014

I am REALLY excited for the up coming season. I am hoping to add to my current list of favorites as well as enjoy some of my old standbys...

Our must grows each year are: Eva Purple Ball (best tomato of 2013) and Jaune Flamme (replaced Stupice as our early).

We are trialing:

Big Beef: Just have to see what all the hype is about! I don't judge on hybrid vs heirloom. I am just worried about taste, productivity and ease of care

KBX for Kellogg's Bkfast: We adored KB last year but it was a very sickly seedling and barely gave us 4 tomatoes before it bit the dust.

Rosella Purple for Cherokee Purple: We only have room for 12 in ground plants so the rest are relegated to containers. CP was delicious last year, but quickly out grew its container.

For the above reason I am trailing a few other dwarf varieties this season including, Lime Green Salad, New Big Dwarf and Dwarf Sweet Sue.

I am also looking to add a few new varieties to our must grow cherries (Sungold and Black Cherry), so we are trailing Blush and Sweet Linda this season. We love to cook with and eat cherries so we never have enough!

Aside from the tomatoes, we are also trying our hand at garlic (Killarney Red and Aglio Russo) this year. Despite this seemingly endless winter the plants look green and healthy (on those rare days when the snow melts enough to see them

)

Here's hoping that everyone has a great season and that the warm weather gets here soon!

February 23, 2014	#32
madddawg Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Missouri Posts: 407	I am looking forward to all of my selection this year. Almost all new varieties for me. Eva Purple, Big Beef, Rutgers, Jetstar, Ace, Paul Robeson, First Prize, Homestead, Red Rocket, BNH 640, BNH 549. (BHN suggested by a local commercial operation) Heidi, Chocolate Cherry and Big Cherry. I am ready to get at it! __________________ I grow a garden not just for the food I harvest, but for the creation of life itself. Johnny Cash

February 24, 2014	#45
BucksCountyGirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Holland, PA/Zone 7A Posts: 692	I am REALLY excited for the up coming season. I am hoping to add to my current list of favorites as well as enjoy some of my old standbys... Our must grows each year are: Eva Purple Ball (best tomato of 2013) and Jaune Flamme (replaced Stupice as our early). We are trialing: Big Beef: Just have to see what all the hype is about! I don't judge on hybrid vs heirloom. I am just worried about taste, productivity and ease of care KBX for Kellogg's Bkfast: We adored KB last year but it was a very sickly seedling and barely gave us 4 tomatoes before it bit the dust. Rosella Purple for Cherokee Purple: We only have room for 12 in ground plants so the rest are relegated to containers. CP was delicious last year, but quickly out grew its container. For the above reason I am trailing a few other dwarf varieties this season including, Lime Green Salad, New Big Dwarf and Dwarf Sweet Sue. I am also looking to add a few new varieties to our must grow cherries (Sungold and Black Cherry), so we are trailing Blush and Sweet Linda this season. We love to cook with and eat cherries so we never have enough! Aside from the tomatoes, we are also trying our hand at garlic (Killarney Red and Aglio Russo) this year. Despite this seemingly endless winter the plants look green and healthy (on those rare days when the snow melts enough to see them ) Here's hoping that everyone has a great season and that the warm weather gets here soon! __________________ - Kelli Life's a climb...but the view is fantastic Last edited by BucksCountyGirl; February 24, 2014 at 10:29 AM.

February 23, 2014	#31
Goldie321 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Florida USA Posts: 116	If you're looking to can your own tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce) try Amish Paste. They are a larger size Roma and very meaty - also heavier so you'll need to stake them well.

February 23, 2014	#33
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Oh, and to add to the ones mentioned before: Really looking forward to growing and tasting several different cherries, it will be very interesting to see them grow side by side and to compare them. Most of them will be OP, but I succumbed to the pressure of the overwhelming praise heaped at SunGold, so I am curious to see how it will do here. Many hobby gardeners in Finland have had success with it, so it will have one season to prove it is worth its ridiculous seed price.

February 23, 2014	#35
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I'm really really REALLY looking forward to the first one, I dont care what it is. You can rest assured the first tomato in the neighborhood will be grown in my garden. The rest of the people around here are just coming out of hibernation. They are like zombies. The first few days it gets to these nice temps you can see them wondering around listlessly at the garden sections. They normally buy stuff that says keep moist and well watered and then put it out in the blazing sun. Then when the temps get to 90 they go back into what they call estivation the reverse of hibernation for hot weather. Worth

February 23, 2014	#36
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	And I have to now add my two varieties from the Dwarf project, I'm excited to be a part of it!

February 24, 2014	#37
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	Well I am really not sure which plants I will keep yet. I am just excited to grow anything this year! The more I can fit it eh happier I will be. Can not wait to try Piedmont Pear, Looks so beautiful. Husband is looking forward to all the reds and cherries. I am looking forward to all the canners, saucers and cookers. SALSA here I come!

February 24, 2014	#38
debles Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 40	I'm starting varieties that are new to me this year. The only repeat is Glacier because last year it provided my first tomatoes and was still covered with green ones when a freeze was coming. Nearly all of the full size green tomatoes I pulled from the two plants ripened gradually inside. I'm trying several of the dwarf tomato project varieties and 3 varieties from Iraq. Our long, hot summers in OK really stress most indeterminate plants. Last year I grew a couple of Quarter Century plants and they held up much better than the indeterminate plants, so I'm planning to focus on dwarf, determinate and semi-determinate plants going forward. Seedling list: Fantome Du Laos Palestinian Pink Heart Rebel Yell Dwarf Kelly Green Tsarskiy Podarok Purple Dog Creek Kewalo Dakota Gold Sheyenne Cherokee Purple Heart Dwarf Sweet Sue Dwarf Summer Sunrise Cherokee Tiger Black Dwarf Dwarf Mr. Snow Cherokee Tiger Large Red Dwarf Dwarf Wild Fred Rainbow Dwarf Haley’s Purple Comet Tropic VFN Argentina Burpee’s Dwarf Giant Rosella Purple Maglia Rosa Ozark Pink VF RAF Gill’s All Purpose Golden King of Siberia Blush Nineveh Abu Rawan Basrawya Dwarf Arctic Rose Czech Bush Alpatieva 905A Katja Kimberly Glacier So many open pollinated and heirloom varieties to choose from that it's hard to be loyal unless they really perform well and taste great. I even left my beloved Cherokee Purple off the list this year. Hope I don't regret that decision.

February 24, 2014	#39
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Deb, Are the three Iraq ones Nineveh, Abu Rawan, and Basrawya? Can I ask how you got them? I am in Baghdad, and the only seeds my friends can find are generic Iraq tomatoes that I call Babylon for circulation in the US.