Howdy!
Congratulations on the successful gardening season! Those are good sites that you mentioned. Also, you might look into Sandhill Preservation Center and Baker Creek Heirlooms, though there are A LOT of other good companies as well. I take it that you have HOT summers? Here in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, we have HOT summers. I have found that many of the large old beef steak varieties don't really like our mid-summer's heat. Drop in on the Oklahoma Gardening forum and ask about tomatoes. One of the folks there, named Dawn, is a walking encyclopedia on tomatoes for hot climates. She lives just north of Dallas, TX. I have grown Sioux for two seasons and found it quite good for our conditions. My favorite tomato, still, is an heirloom I received from an older gentleman in Illinois. It's called Baker Family Heirloom. Unfortunately, it is not commercially available. I'd have to send you seed. Actually, the Oklahoma Gardening forum would probably be a good place for most of your questions. The "growing tomatoes" forum will tell you quite a bit as well.
Heirlooms are not generally harder to grow. But some are very specially adapted for certain conditions and therefore don't do well in a wide range of conditions. I grow an heirloom winter squash called Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin. It's good, and it does well in a wide variety of conditions. The only squash varieties I'd stay away from, if you live live in the eastern half of the country, are the c. maxima varieties, such as Hubbard, Turk's Turban or Big Max. C. Maximas (this is a family of squash) tend to succumb to squash vine borers. C. Mixtas, such as butternut, Tahitian Melon Squash and my own Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin are much more resistant. If I recall, Baker Creek Heirlooms actually lists their squash by the scientific family. Hope this helps! George
Tahlequah, OK |
