My favourite heirloom tomato that I have grown is Hillbilly. It is a great combination of sweetness and juiciness. We didn't sell any since we ate them all ourselves. The red pear are tasty and prolific. I did not like Polish, nor Cherokee Purple. There was also a white fuzzy one that I grew that I didn't like - can't remember the name.

I had near to 100% germination on 4 year old seeds last year. As long as you have kept them well.

It will depend on whether you like small fruit or paste tomatoes or large slicing tomatoes. We plant several heirlooms and open pollinated varieties. Always plant the Yellow Pear, grandkids love to pick and snack on them. Roma types, usually San Marzano or Roma. Our BIG tomato heirloom is Delicious, the grand prize winner for largest tomato, 7#s. I've not have a 7# tomato, but then again, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I have had a 3#, and it was hard to sell.

3-4 year old seed, should work just fine. I've used 7-8 year old seed without problems. I regularly buy more than I can use in 1-2 years, paying a cheaper price for larger quantities, due to this reason.

Marla

Thank you both for your fast responses! I actually have one packet of the Hillbilly seeds. Yay!

The local grower who gave me the seeds gave me individually labeled packets, all 40 of them, with a few seeds of each variety inside. Too bad I don't have acreage to play with.

Thanks for the reassurance about the older seeds. Alas, they've had marginally optimal care, but some from that batch grew last year, so have fingers crossed for the ones this year.

Since I rarely use Roma-type tomatoes myself, I hadn't thought of growing them. I usually like the slicing tomatoes.

I'm out of time today-tonight to do any sowing, but hopefully will get the first tray done tomorrow. It will be 2 or 3 or 4 types of tomatoes in little 6-packs, the rest some combo of herbs or flowers.

Would love any more suggestions.

Susi.

The tomatoes that would do well for you in Arizona may not be my favorites in MN. I find customers prefer a medium sized tomato- slicer but not too big. They like perfect red tomatoes of course, but I have a few customers that realize what heirlooms taste like. They want them fully ripe at purchase, but fully ripe heirlooms are very delicate. If someone knocks one over or pokes it I cut it and let people sample. That always goes over well.

Minnie, AR is not Arizona, but Arkansas. Still Arkansas is a ways away from you. I'm in Zone 5b, closer to AR, but still closer.

I keep my seeds in baby-food jars (for tomatoes/peppers), otherwise in other canning jars that I don't want to use for canning, usually the blue ones.

Marla

Susi, I sell lots of heirlooms and increase plantings of them every year. I can never keep Cherokee Purple in stock. There's always a waiting list for them. Probably my personal favorite is Bohemian Giant. They are a large, meaty, really sweet, pink tomato. Surprisingly, white tomatoes were really popular last year. Once people tried them, they came back week after week for them. The smaller heirlooms liked Red and Green Striped Zebras did well as did the yellow Topaz. Violet Jasper did well altho' its texture and smoky flavor wasn't appreciated by all. Pineapple is beautiful, but it tastes terrible, has awful texture, and doesn't keep at all. Various Brandywines are popular, but I can't, for the life of me, raise a decent Mr. Stripey. Roma types are hit or miss. Overall, unless you have specific customers wanting them, you're better off dedicating the space to something else.

The only heirloom I am growing this year is Cherokee Purple. I am growing and selling many other varieties, but I am not growing them out. People can see the difference with the Cherokee Purple, a red heirloom is just another red tomato to people at my markets. They don't realize the difference. I am tired of planting some of the red heirlooms and only getting a few tomato to sell. I am planting more Red tomatoes to replace them. Selling 3 to 5 pounds from a plant as compared to selling 20-30 pounds per plant, it doesn't make financial sense. Also most won't pay a premium for them.

I am told I have the best tomatoes at market, so I am going to stick with a winner!

Jay

Indian Stripe and Spudakee are more productive versions of Cherokee Purple in my garden. As Jay says, a red tomato is a red tomato. For a yellow/orange tomato try Kellogg's Breakfast or KBX, they are late and just average producers but are large, pretty and taste fabulous. YOu might also try a large pink like Giant Belgium Pink. I could send you some Spudakee seeds.

Pete

i grew a big variety of heirloom tomatoes last year in a hoop house. They all sold very well. I would grow cherokee purple, black krim, and carbon again. slightly different maturities but other wise very similar. kelloggs breakfast was a good one. also giant belgiums. also green zebra. but i agree with Jay that if you want yield hybrids are the way to go.
for reds i like non-heirlooms like ramapo and oregon spring. trying bhn's this year.
another alternative that i thought about doing is grafting heirlooms on more vigorous root stock but that would require time i don't think i have.

Thank you all for your great messages, and I apologize for my late responding. Now you get my super long response!

I'm learning so much from you. I had no idea that Heirlooms are fragile or poor producers. I was "buying into" their presumed panache of "being better". My history trying to grow them would make a good SNL skit, or Keystone Cops story!

I bought some Early Girl & Better Boy seeds, because we grew them as plants at the nursery I worked at in TX.

I'll go ahead and list the Heirlooms I have, alas, no Cherokee Purple, but I do have Hillbilly.

Abe Lincoln, Arkansas Traveler, Banana Legs, Best of All, Black From Tula, Black Krim, Black Prince, Blond Kopfchen, Bloody Butcher, Brandywine Black, Caspian Pink, Green Zebra, Dinner Plate, Dutchman, Ethel Watkin's Best, German Head, German Johnson, German Queen, German Red Strawberry, Giant Belgium, Granny Smith, Hawaiian Pineapple, Hillbilly, Holy Land, Homestead, Mayan Indian, Market Wonder, Mexico, Mtg Lifter-Radiator Charlie, Mr. Stripey, New Yorker, Peron, Pink Girl, Rosa de Berne, St. Pierre, Tommy Toe, Yellow Brandywine, Wins All.

I also have some "Jellybean" grape tomato seeds, and probably various other newer varieties in my seed boxes.

Being in that Catch 22 cycle of not having land prepared, not having much growing space, and not trusting future sales, and not having much greenhouse space, I'm in a self-limiting cycle.
I do have a 20' x 40' space next to my driveway that I can (SLOWLY--I'm the only worker) turn into a vegie/flower garden, but it's not even started!

My kids told me my knitting was wonderful so I should sell those items at our Mkt. I tried, but few takers, prices were moderate. Other vendors were making tons of money selling breads and/or granola. I've never made either, and didn't want to directly compete w/ them, so I tried making cookies to supplement the knitting. My cookies were wonderful, and I did fair on them, but also had a LOT of ppl say, "Ooooh, I'm on a diet/gluten free/celiac/diabetic/just ate...." etc, and lost sales that way. And yet, vendors w/ fully iced cakes at the next table sold out! Go figure!

All in all, a discouraging learning experience last year, ergo, the current fear of growing/knitting/baking the "wrong" thing(s) again this year. I guess that's just part of the farmer/grower/vendor's life!

Anyway, from the list of tomatoes above, which varieties do you think I should try? I also have a Squash variety, a cauliflower, and maybe a couple of bell peppers, a few green beans & lettuces.

I've grown & harvested many of these vegies---for my work at a nursery. Have RARELY grown any vegies on my own, maybe a few tomato plants over the years.

Thanks again, all of you.

You have to have market experience, otherwise, the customers need to learn to know you. The first year or so is difficult to have lots of sales. Most vendors don't break even, let alone make a profit.

Choose your 'thing' and stick with it, the more times, you change things, the longer it will take for the customers to 'know' what to expect from you.

Just remember, no matter what you grow or make, it will take awhile for customers for "that" thing to find you. This business takes patience and alot of it.

Marla

Marla, thanks. I DO have a wee bit of "Shiny Object Syndrome" coupled w/ a large dose of panic! ; )

I'm very envious of my friends who JUST made bread, or JUST made granola. Very lucrative niches they created for themselves.

Still trying to figure out what MY "Pet Rock" is going to be!

Again, thanks for your wise words.

It is tough when you just have a few items to offer. I sell produce. I watched one year a gal across from me try to sell the the apples and plums from a tree in her yard. Beautiful produce but it was mixed in with craft items. I know if it had been with my produce it would have sold. It may be that some customers are more comfortable with vendors that specialize - Either produce, crafts, homemade foods ect.

If you sell both produce and crafts, be sure to divide them onto different tables or at least different areas of the table.

I'm known as produce, not flowers or crafts. I can add some flowers, I set a special table apart from the others, for the special 'thing' of the week. It could be flowers, or pumpkins, or anything else that is not the 'normal' everyday items.

Again, it takes time. Ask your friends, how long they have been at that market doing what they are doing now. For me, it took about 3 years before I felt that I had regular customers.

The panic part, for me, never wears off. You're either worried about the quantity or price of the items. I never worry about the quality, since I'm SO picky about that. I'm TOO picky for most people, any imperfection and the product does not make it to the table. But then again, my customers don't have to search thru everything looking for something is perfect.

Marketgal, you're right, if you only have a few items, it's hard to make those sales. I discovered that in year 1 and 2, after that I started to supplement what I could grow with other farmers produce that I couldn't grow.

Marla

susiq,

From your list, this year I will be growing mortgage lifter and yellow brandywine to sell as plants and maybe a few to grow out. I am also going to grow a bunch if Riesentraube/red pear to sell as plants.