Heirloom Tomato Seed Info Exchange.

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on February 20, 2009 at 7:39pm

Well Darcy, that's the kind of tomatoes I'm going to be planting this year. I have no idea what I'm gonna plant except for two kinds, Paul Robeson and Mandarin Cross. I'm going to plant 8 plants this year, and hope that I do well with the new techniques I've learned. I'll be getting the tomatoes from a woman who is truly a master tomato grower, so I'm crossing my fingers that the plants I get will be healthy and hearty. If you want to see the list of the choices, you can look here. This isn't going to be easy!!!!

I'm trying to think of my priorities, and what types of things I want. Since we don't get a lot of hours of sunlight in this mountain valley, I am going to focus on smaller tomatoes, even though I just love the big ones - those just don't get enough sun to really ripen well. I know I want at least two Sun Gold tomato plants, probably a yellow pear and there's a green cherry, I think called "Green Grape".

But as to the others, I really don't know. I will be staking the big ones with concrete reinforcing wire, which has holes that are 4-5 inches and are about 8 feet tall. I will also use rebar to stabilize the cages.

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on March 2, 2009 at 4:45pm

The ideas for the cages and the rebar is something I learned from Love Apple Farms.

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Permalink Reply by Darcy P. on February 22, 2009 at 2:33pm

Hello. I just transplanted my seedlings into larger containers today. Some success stories and others not so hot. I planted : Red Pear, Black Cherry, Arkansas Marvel, Big White Pink Stripe, Pineapple Tomatoe, Jenny Hybrid, Amana Orange, German Green, Ace 55, Aunt Rubys Yellow Cherry, Genovese and just received my Tomato Spoon seeds. Only one out of 3 Red Pears germinated along with the Big White Pink Stripe, Amana Orange,and German Green. It seems to me that the larger the fruit the less success rate with germination. I am going to do another run of seeds now that the temperature will be faily consistent within the house. Aside from the one hybrid tomato the success rate is about 66% Maybe another run will prove differently. Is it spring yet? I just used a new implement on my tractor to till up the garden. How did I ever do it before without it?

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Permalink Reply by Ruby Brown on February 23, 2009 at 1:50am

This sounds interesting. I just love the taste of heirloom tomatoes. I love the Pineapple Tomato. I see that is on your list. It has a mild, sweet, tomato taste. We saved the seed. They did well for about three years and then the plants got spindly and the tomatoes wanted to get mushy. I don't know if it was a bad season or that they got some kind of blight. I have planted Pink German. These are my favorite large main season crop for eating or canning. I tried the Russian Black. I didn't like the flavor of these and the color turned us off, especially the dark tomatoes in a can looked spoiled, as we are used to the nice red tomatoes. I had very good success canning the Pineapple tomatoes. They looked lovely in the can with the little pink stripe, and they tasted wonderful. I gave my daughter-in-law a can of these along with several other varieties. When she got the Pineapple Tomato Jar out, she thought it was peaches. She was disappointed as she was in the mood for a wonderful peach cobbler. I wonder what a tomato cobbler would taste like? I'm guessing it would be wonderful, as tomatoes are classified as a fruit. My husband doesn't like to bother with saving seeds, so he likes the hybrid tomatoes. I think all of us need to know how to save seeds and grow heirloom plants to save the plant diversity and to be ready in case of a national disaster. What do you think? Ruby Brown

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Permalink Reply by Rita S on February 24, 2009 at 8:58pm

Hi Ruby! This is the very reason why we are planting heirloom veggies this year. We intend to save the seeds and be ready for a disaster. My husband and I have been tracking a couple of things that give us cause to think we should be prepared. We have been doing this for about 20 years and so far we haven't changed our minds. The depression we are in right now is one such thing that we have been watching for and it is here and getting worse. No, I am not a nut job! Anyone out there remember hearing about "Planet X" 20 or so years ago? Then nothing more was said about seeing 2 suns, etc? It hasn't gone away. Not only are we going with heirloom but we are going with raised beds due to age creeping up on us. More like age is hurdling up on us! I love reading all these posts but right now I don't have a whole lot of advice or answers for anyone. Some of you are so knowledgeable that I may be yelling help if this snow and cold ever goes away!
Rita

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Permalink Reply by Lyndsay Monterroza on February 25, 2009 at 8:33pm

Thank you very much for the information I really appreciate it!!
I found this useful site for gardening seeds

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Permalink Reply by Darcy P. on March 8, 2009 at 9:21am

The larger the tomato the less success rate I have with seedlings. Ive been contemplating buying a set of heirloom plants already started from park seeds just for comparison. I also read somewhere to put calcium in the hole before you burry heirlooms. Anyone ever try this? Ive never read it anywhere except one article in southern living. Iam curious as to try it on one or two of my plants.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Becker on April 9, 2009 at 10:36am

Regarding calcium. Yes, it prevents early blossom end rot. We keep chickens and save the shells all year. At tomato planting time we pulverise the shells, mix them with some organic fertilizer and add a liberal handful to each hole. We water in the seedlings with a dilution of fish emulsion. The only blossom end rot we've ever had was with a plant given to us that we plopped in randomly and somewhat carelessly without the above described treatment. (We plant roughly 100 tomato plants each year...just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about).

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Permalink Reply by Darcy P. on April 10, 2009 at 3:20pm

Well, my signifigant other and I just attempted to peice together our first pvc drip system for the garden. Only a few small arguements occured. ANybody know any tricks for keeping my blossoms from falling off? Once I get this system in place I think that will help. We just had all that crazy flooding.

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Permalink Reply by Kitty on March 30, 2009 at 6:40pm

I've got Beefsteak, Red Brandywine & Amana Orange in their little 3" peat pots waiting for warmer nights. They are fairly hardened off now but I still bring 'em in at night, just in case. I've got a huge seed order due in from Baker Creek & Bountiful Gardens.

The toms love our native soil here, acidic & somewhat sandy. The local public works operates a composting facility for residents and all my beds are filled with that. Not real compost per se, that I add from my own pile out back. The boro ONLY takes leaves, limited size branches & some viney things curbside. So to the facility I bring grass, pineneedles, and other doodads. They don't "let" residents take the beautiful leaf mold (go figure) so I usually hide behind a pile and stuff it in my lined trunk.

I've also learned the toms, for me, do best on neglect. The only real work I do is pinching off the suckers & support. When I lived in southern California I had tomato plants that were 9 years old. Different world here. I also get fish trimmings from seafood purveyor (I'm a chef by trade) and I grind that up and mix it in the surrounding soil when planting. I underplant with carrots , marigolds, and annual clovers too. Hornworms go to the Robins and BlueJays. Then I try to forget them till I eat them.

In the past I've trellised with tripods of rebar with terracotta pots to hold them at the top. This year I'm doing raised beds with either cattle panels or copper piping, can't decide.

Only ever used heirlooms from reputable sources, only open pollinated too. The only real failures I've had with toms is when I paid them too much attention. No hybrids or newer, improved types, not in 13 years. When I get my seeds from Baker & Bountiful I will post again with regard to varieties.

Regards, Kitty

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Permalink Reply by Darcy P. on April 1, 2009 at 12:22pm

All of my plants are in the ground. I am in Fla. so the weather has become hospitable. my father is a fisherman and for next years garden I think I will bury, deeply that is, carcuses. I also, for the first time have chickens in a moveable arc. I am going to move them to my future garden sight as well. I read somwhere that heirlooms love calcium. Never read that anywhere else. I put a scoop of manure compost then soil then the plants for an experiment. Most seem to love it. I planted some carrots beneath but they were washed away by the flood we had. I do have tons of marigolds planted all around. I would like to add more odiferous herbs as well. Have one basil plant.
Later in the season I am going to experiment with compost tea. I've never used it. I
I've also planted some unusual squash and are looking forward to their success:)

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Permalink Reply by Kitty on April 1, 2009 at 7:46pm

Get the fish guts too! If your dad has any kind of grinder or pulverizer, buzz the whole mess up! I take that resulting concoction (& hold my nose) and put the mess through layers of cheesecloth for my fish emulsion foliar spray. Not sure if it's right to use raw (& fermented by the time I get to it, REALLY stinky) but plants seem to love the stuff. I find the ground up bones, innards & such breaks down a lot faster, easier for worms, microbes, bacteria, invertebrates, etc.

good luck!

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