Randy,
We've been growing quite a few heirlooms the past few years. Like HPD said, at least give Brandywine and Cherokee Purple a try. We also liked Black from Tula and Black Krim. I prefer the taste of Cherokee Purple over all others, but it is one UGLY tomato. This year I don't plan to grow quite so many heirlooms as last year because their yield was considerably lower for us than the hybrids, and I can a lot of tomatoes in salsa.

For cherry tomatoes, try SunGold. I love it and will never be without it.

I've grown alot of tomatoes but just got into heirlooms the last couple of years. My favorite tomato of all time is the hybrid Early Girl. Of the heirlooms I've tried the ones I will NOT try again because they produced very few tomatoes are Rose, Moskvich, Federle, Wisconsin 55. One that did fairly well for me was Cherokee Red. Two that I really liked last year were two cherry tomatoes Risentraube and a yellow cherry Galina. Both produced tons of tomatoes. My "quest" for a good producing medium size heirloom tomato still continues........
This year I will grow Porter, Sioux, Arkansas Traveler, BoxCar Willie, Mule Team, Mortgage Lifter and Amish paste. And I'm sure the first thing I will put in the ground, as usual, will be those 2 or 3 hybrid Early Girls.

WindsurfGirl

Last Summer (04) was my first real venture in Hierloom, I'll never go back to Hybrids! The disease resistance, growth and flavor can not be matched by ANY of the newer Hybrids!

As has been said in nearly all other replies, BRANDYWINE is truley the "fruit of the gods". The taste is amazing! The do all mature with a week or two, which makes them wonderful for canning!

If anyone has a specific suggestion for a "Roma" type heirloom, I would really like to hear your opinion for this season!

25 DAYS TILL SPRING! (by the calander anyways!)

Mekales

All of you who were disappointed in heirloom tomatoes, please don't give up! Last year's abnormally high rainfall (here in southern OK we received 13" alone in June) made it a really hard year for ALL tomatoes, and I think heirlooms suffered the most. I grow between 50 and 70 kinds of tomatoes every year, about 60% heirlooms and 40% modern-day hybrids.

In an average year, the best heirlooms in my soil/climate include Mortgage Lifter OTV, Black Krim, Black From Tula, Black Sea Man, Cherokee Purple, Yellow Pear, Brandywine, Riesentraube, Porter (I remember when Mr. Porter was still alive and you could get your seed from him at Porter Seed.), and Nebraska Wedding. With most of these, the hotter and drier it gets, the better they taste.

New (to me) heirlooms I'm trying this year are: Paul Robeson, Carbon, Southern Night, Lime Green, Green Grape, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Dr. Wyche (an old Oklahoman heirloom from the Hugo area), Azoychka, Mirabelle, Ildi (oops! can't remember off the top of my head if it is an heirloom), Brown Cherry, Snow White, Russian Persimmon, Ceylon, Mexico, Oxacan Pink, Zapotec Pleated, and Sioux.

I also grow quite a few modern hybrids so we'll have enough to eat, can, and share with our friends and family. (We share a lot of tomatoes every summer!) The hybrids I am happiest with are Early Girl and Bush Early Girl, Big Boy and Bush Big Boy, Celebrity and Bush Celebrity, Beefmaster and Better Boy (I've never had any other hyrbid plant outproduce healthy Better Boys).

New (to me) hybrids I've added this year include: Rosalita, Sweet Chelsea, Sugary (2005 AAS), Super Boy VFNST, Super Sioux (an improved version of the heirloom Sioux), Ugly and Sun Sugar FT (an improved version of one of my favorits--Sun Gold).

For canning/salsa, I have several favorites--all of which I think are better than plain old Romas: San Marzano, San Marzano Redorta, Viva Italia and Principe Borghese (great for sun-dried tomatoes).

As for all those hybrids like SunMaster, SunLeaper, and such that are supposed to produce in the heat of the summer....well, they produce all right but I've yet to have one of them taste the way a tomato is SUPPOSED to taste, though anything is better than grocery store tomatoes.

Sorry this is so long, but I love tomatoes, especially heirlooms. And now I will confess my biggest tomato sin:

One year we had a drought but (with some faithful watering, though not too much) the tomatoes and peppers were the BEST EVER. Everyone said so. So, the following year, which was pretty dry I thought I'd water and water so everything would be better than ever...and it wasn't! And THAT is how I learned for myself that too much water ruins the taste of tomatoes (and also melons, but that's a whole other story).

Happy tomato growing, y'all!

Wow OkieDawn, I guess I'll have to check with you later this year to see what heirlooms I'll be planting next spring. I don't have nearly enough space to plant but 1 or 2 new varieties each season.

Please let us know what your recommendations are later in the year!

-HPD

HotPepper Dad,

Of course I will glady share recommendations and seeds with you and with anyone else who wants them. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM EITHER! So I break all the rules...by planting my plants too close together and not following proper crop rotation, etc., etc.

But because I'm organic and scrupulous about mulching and stuff, I seem to get away with it and always have tomatoes to share.

I think growing heirloom tomatoes has become an obsession or an addiction. And guess what? We finally bought a tiller last year so now I can just keep on turning "lawn" into new gardens. HA! No bermuda grass is safe now.

Gotta go. My baby tomato plants are on the front porch screaming at me...."you left us out on the porch last night and it was 40 degrees!" I'm going to explain to them once again the concept of "hardening" off, and tonight I will bring them into the house or the screened-in porch 'cause we're headed for the lower 30s.

Oh, and guess what, since I raise my own tomato plants from seed, I always have lots extra to give away. More about that another day...cause they're just babies now

Dawn

I know what you mean about the "extras".
Just did my first thinning of tomato seedslings-its amazing to me how much better the germination rate is for seeds I myself have collected versus store bought.
If I didn't get 100% germination rate on my Cherokee Purples and Brandywines, it wasn't far from it!
-HPD

P.S. Keep a few of those "extras" just in case the OKC seed swap gets organized.

I ALWAYS grow too many on purpose, even after thinning them out. Why? A late freeze. Say I want to plant 75 plants...I'll start out with 2 or 3 times that many....as many as I can cram into my into light shelves, and screened-in back porch and front porch.

I'll do my regular planting somewhere around our average last frost date, and I'll keep the others as insurance for a couple of weeks in case a late, late frost or freak snowstorm wipes out my crop.

Then, once I'm sure (as sure as you can be in this state with its crazy weather) that my in-ground plants are "safe", I try to give away the others. This usually is not too difficult.

Normally I give my extras to local farmers and gardeners around here or to some of my husband's co-workers down in the D-FW metroplex but I always have plenty. I will be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY to share them with any of you who want some.

Transportation could be a problem...I've never shipped plants through the mail. BUT, I would be willing to drive somewhere---say to OKC---and give my precious tomato plants to anyone who could use them.

Sometimes we spend the weekend in OKC for the OKC Memorial Marathon, which is usually the last weekend in April. (My husband is a runner.) If we do that this year, it would be easy to bring along some plants if some of y'all were going to be in the same area that weekend.

BTW, great germination rate on your Cherokee Purples and Brandywines. I ALWAYS have a tremendous disease problem with CPs...more so than any other. Don't know why. (Except I break all the rules, like proper spacing and crop rotation, but the other tomatoes forgive me for that. CPs don't.)

*shakes head* I don't know how you guys do it. My tom seedlings never survive. I have ordered numerous packets of heirloom tomato seed. I have a sunroom where I try to start seedlings, but to no avail. They come up an inch or two.....and then that's it. Maybe one needs a red thumb for growing tomatoes? :-P
~Heidi

I'll throw my extra tomatoes into the pot for anyone that needs them, too. I always start twice as many as I need and they almost all survive. I'll probably have a couple hundred extra plants (various heirlooms) this year. If anyone happens to be in my area and wants them, just holler. :-)

Heidi--

Do you know why they die? Is is damping off? If so, your only problem is that you are keeping them too damp. I know because when I was younger and less experienced that's how I killed my transplants. Don't feel too bad--Mike McGrath says in his wonderfully silly book YOU BET YOUR TOMATOES that more tomato plant seedlings are killed "lovingly, through over-watering" than by any other cause. At least we all know you love your tom plants.

I'll share some heirloom plants with you if we can manage to get together sometime around planting time!

Owiebrain,

Glad to know I'm not the only "tomato fool" who grows transplants by the hundreds!!!! There should be a self-help group for people who have Obsessive-Compulsive Tomato Growing Disorder! (JUST KIDDING! If anyone out there has OCD, I know it is nothing to kid about.)

Dawn

OK, ok, that wouldn't be the first time I have been accused of loving plants to death. *LOL* For some reason cactus always look so thirsty to me too. :-P
I don't think it was damping off. I guess it could be, but, because I had read of the dreaded DO, I used new soil, new pots, and didn't see the constricted stems. My lil guys just sat there..and sat..and sat...and then...died. Maybe they didn't like the idea of one day being transplanted to my garden, knowing that "mom" doesn't have a compost pile to feed them from yet. I know...bad Heidi..no compost. :-(
Do you all use special lighting or heat mats? My sunroom has windows on the north, south, and east sides and the temperature is always pleasant in there. Maybe it's the idea that it's inside. If you check my house, you will see I have no indoor plants..well, not real ones anyway. Seems I do much better growing things outdoors. :-)

~Heidi

I have the simplest (i.e. cheapest) light shelf you can make. We went to Wal-Mart and bought some cheap plastic shelves. It cost something like $11.00 for a 4-shelf unit. Then we went to Lowe's and bought 3 light fluorescent light fixtures and the fluorescent light tubes to go in them. I don't remember how much this cost...maybe quite a little bit, but still much cheaper than buying a "real" seed-starting light shelf set-up from one of those gardening supply catalogs.

My sweet husband, who is NOT a gardener but puts up with me anyway, attached the lights to the shelves using little chains that came with the light fixtures. There is no light for the top shelf, although there could be if we wanted to hang one from hooks in the ceiling.

It is simple, lightweight so I can move it around if I want to, and it "resides" in my guest bedroom.

The most important thing about starting seeds under grow lights is to keep the newly sprouted plants RIGHT under the lights, like maybe an inch away. Since the lights are not as strong as sunlight, the plants need to be as close to them as possible. I usually put bricks or boards or something under the flats to put them as close to the lights as possible. As they grow, I remove the "booster seat" and then, as they keep growing, I adjust the chain to raise the lights as needed.

As for starting seeds, I use a surefire method that I think I originally read about in Organic Gardening magazine.

1. I mix up a little compost tea (but you could use plain water or liquid seaweed diluted to about half strength). I use a muffin tin. Put different seeds in different sections of the muffin tin. Soak the seeds overnight or up to 24 hours. THIS IS IMPORANT- Make a chart of which seeds are in which section of the muffin tin as you go along, because if you wait till after you're done...you might not remember what went where.

2. Remove the seeds from the water. Wrap up in a paper napkin or towel which is slightly damp. Seal inside a zip-lock bag. Label the outside of the bag with the name of the plant. Wait a day or two or three, checking daily to see if the seeds are sprouting. They usually sprout VERY quickly.

3. Once the seeds have sprouted, place this in sterilized seed-starting soil or in Jiffy peat pellets, whatever you prefer to use. Cover them with soil. Handle gently so you don't break off their tiny emerging sprouts. Water. Be sure to label the rows of plants. (I use 'plant labels' made by cutting up old mini-blind slats. I also draw a chart showing what is where in the flats in case my cats decide to pull up the plant labels and run around with them in their mouths. Obviously this has occurred or I wouldn't be mentioning it).

4. From this point on, just keep 'em under the lights at least 16 hours a day (some people leave their lights on 24 hours a day, but I don't know if that is necessary). Water them only when the soil is dry beneath the surface. If you have a fan in the room and can give them a little air circulation, that's good too--esp. as they grow 'cause it will help them form thicker stems.

It is so easy and it works! It takes longer to describe it than it takes to to it. And I usually have 95% to 100% germination in just a couple of days with pre-soaked seeds. I start all kinds of seeds this way.

It doesn't seem to work as well for legumes, although they do OK if you soak them for only a couple of hours.

You CAN successfully grow tomatoes from seed. If I can do it, anyone can.

I still have not mastered the art of "How To Deep-Fry A Driveway Alarm", so maybe Dawna can give us cooking lessons.
(Smile, Dawna, just teasing you 'cause I know you can take it!) And, BTW, have yall noticed that EVERYONE on the OK Forum is extremely nice and friendly and helpful. Not all forums are so lucky---I have seen some very heated exchanges, including namecalling and such, on many other forums. Aren't we all lucky to have each other?

Happy Gardening!

Being a tomato freak is a sign of genius, didn't ya know? ;-)

My seed starting routine is a bit simpler. I use the soil-less seed starting mix, moistened, of course. Toss into cups or pots or inserts. Throw in a seed or two, cover with more mix. Then cover the whole thing with plastic (sheeting, wrap, or dome). Sit and patiently wait for sprouts. By patiently, I mean looking every 1/2 hour. LOL

Before this year, I would move the sprouted seedlings onto a shelf hubby made me, each shelf with 2 hanging cheapo shoplights with cheapo florescent bulbs. (Fixtures were about $5 each and bulbs cheaper.) Kept 'em close to the seedlings like OkieDawn and labels with mini-blinds like OkieDawn.

This year, however, I have my new greenhouse to use. Yay! Hubby's supposed to have it completed tonight. I'll be moving the sprouted seedlings directly into the greenhouse instead of taking up half of the house with them. (6 1/2 people in small one-bedroom house and I start about 500 seedlings inside each year--tends to get a wee bit crowded. ROFL!)

Oh, I keep a fan blowing on the seedlings at all times after they germinate until they're planted in the garden. I also only bottom water. I've never lost a single plant to damp-off, even though I don't sterilize anything. The plants are lucky if I knock the big chunks of last year's cobwebs off of the pots first.

Besides having a bunch of extra tomato plants for giving away, I'll also have gobs of chile plants to give away. Maybe some eggplant, too, but this is my first year growing eggplant so I didn't go as nuts with them. Tomatoes, chiles, and eggplants are the only things I'll be starting inside. Everything else will be direct-seeded into the garden.

One last bit of tomato advice: Neglect and abuse the heck out of them--they love it! Tomatoes are masochists. :-D

My, this turned into a bit of a ramble, didn't it? LOL

Okay, I get on here to read about heirloom tomatoes and find y'all making fun of my cooking skills on a second thread! ROFLMBO! I'm gonna be honest with you girls. That driveway alarm isn't the first thing I've accidentally fried. Before that happened, I dropped my cordless phone in a skillet of fish oil. You can just imagine what that did to it, LOL . . . That's what I meant about being really clumsy. Needless to say, I had to get a new phone and I need a new armadillo alarm.

Owiebrain--

Glad to hear we are all geniuses! I just thought we were tomato-obsessed freaks! Jealous, jealous, jealous of your greenhouse. Someday I will have one too. Last year we spent every spare penny we had building a HUGE garage/barn (it is 40' x 30') and we had waited years to be able to afford it. So, if I am patient and say my prayers and wait for the savings account to rebuild itself and someday my son finishes college and we have money again, I WILL have a greenhouse.

Wolflover,

You're definitely a woman who knows how to get something new when she wants it....just destroy the old one! Hmmm, I need a new cordless phone--maybe it is time for me to plug in the deep fryer! Seriously, isn't such clumsiness also a sign of genius... you know, your mind is so preoccupied with IMPORTANT MATTERS that little accidents just happen.

And, Heidi, with all the advice we are throwing your way about starting tomato seeds, you should feel very confident that you CAN do this and WILL NOT FAIL. However, if your seedlings die, just use the excuse "I dropped them into the deep fryer accidentally...." and we'll understand.

My, my, we have so much fun being silly some times that it is hard to remember we are all mature, responsible adults.
Well we are! (Aren't we?)

Been reading the posts, and wondering when everyone started their seeds. For the record, I started most of my around Feb 15th. I started:
Kellog's Breakfast,
Black Krim,
Beefsteak,
San Marzano,
Sweet Million,
Sun Sugar,
Walter, and
Green Zebra.
Any suggestions?

Chipotle,

Welcome! Now there's someone on the OK web who's "newer" than me -- I registered last week I think.

What kind of suggestions are you looking for, cause I'm here to tell you we will take a topic and run with it...wildly!

Good luck with your tomatoes---are you an experienced tomato grower or a relative newbie? I've been growing them about 20 years on my own, but always helped my dad with his when I was a kid, too. Keep us posted on how your baby seedlings are doing.

*wondering how big a pot I need to drop the van into*

*raising eyebrow at OkieDawn* Mature? responsible? adults? Us?? *LOL*

~Heidi (who finds her inner child much more fun)

Heidi,

It depends...how large is the van?

The problem, as I see it, is that we can't seem to keep our INNER child inside of us....it just keeps bubbling up and oozing out and turning us into silly, silly people. (smile)

We owe Randy an apology because we took a very serious and important topic (HEIRLOOM TOMATOES--what could matter more?) and have turned it into a comedy routine. But, aren't we fun? And we grow wonderful, yummy heirloom tomatoes too! What more does anyone need. Oh, a greenhouse. Some of us are not as lucky as others and we are greenhouseless. LOL

Sorry, Randy, I promise the next time I post anything to this thread it will be serious and important and will relate strictly to heirloom tomatoes. (giggle)

Speaking of which, on another thread there has been quite a bit of discussion about tomato seed purchased in 2005 from Tomato Growers Supply Company. A lot of people are having germination problems. All the seed I purchased from TGSC has germinated just fine. In one batch, they did warn that it had low germination rates, so they sent 100 seeds instead of 30. Mine germinated just fine. If any of you purchased seed from TGSC, have you oberved germination problems? There. I have restored the thread to the serious business of heirloom tomatoes!

Been growing heirloom 'maters since 1994, and I have never met one that didn't do at least pretty well in my Midwest City garden. Some ara a little stingier than others,( Brandywine Sudduth, Lillian's Yellow, and Watermelon Beefsteak all come to mind). Yet some yield better than your Big, and Better boys, (Box Car Willie, Heidi, Bulgarian #7, and Red Brandywine come to mind). Year before last I had 170 plants, (had to cut down last year, because we bought a new place, I didn't have time to get the beds ready... Only managed to tuck in about 60 or so). This year I plan on shattering the 200 mark. A list of what I am growing, is in the thread about tomatoes and peppers. As for what will do well for you, Randy, in your area... I say try whatever tickles your fancy... If your trading with Deerpark in Texas (that's the only Texan that I know of with that many tomato varieties!) he's a very reputable trader, and an all right guy... for a Texan, that is! Enjoy your heirloom experience. Oh, and if there's anything that you're looking for that Deerpark doesn't have, e-mail me, and let me know, as I have about 380 different varities of heirloom 'maters in my collection right now.I've got green when ripe, white when ripe, bicolors, I've even got several different 'maters with fuzzy skins like a peach. They've all done well in Oklahoma for me! Happy gardening 2005!-Brian

Randy, I see from another post that you got your 'mater seeds from Dogdaddy5... Pardon the assumption that they were from Deerpark... Deerpark does have a very nice collection, and when you said hundreds, I just automatically thought of him, as they are both from south Texas. Enjoy your tomatoes, friend!-Bri

Hi Brian

Nothing to worry about, it was an educated assumption :-). DD was nice enough to put in comments about each. Im looking forward to getting a few of each started.

And Im always looking for something, just dont know what it is :-). I know I would like to get some chilies and peppers. What would to recommend for eating and salsa?

randy

Oh, and you girls can come out of the corner now :-).

randy

Ok, last year I grew

Cherokee Purple
Box Car Willie
Black from Tula
Black Krim
Red and Pink Brandywine
Prudens Purple
and a few others..

of these, the best luck I had was out of black krim, cherokee purple and box car willie.
The brandywines seemed they took way too long to start both blooming and setting.
I was dissapointed in them.
The cherokee purple did best for me in my area

This year I am adding amish paste, I've grown this one before and it did well for me.

Randy,

Maybe we girls don't want to come out of the corner now! We might enjoy sitting in the corner if that is the price we have to pay for being off topic on this thread! LOL
Thanks for letting us out of the corner. Guess we have been forgiven.

Pokesalad:

The only tomato I grow that is SO GOOD that I won't give them away to anyone else is Black Krim!

I agree with you on Brandywines, but hubby is originally from Pennsyvania so we MUST have them. Even if the plant only produces 6 tomatoes and takes 105 days to do so. Even if the plant looks like crap once it gets hot. Even if... I know you get the picture. I have had more luck with Brandy Boy, but am not growing it this year. LOL

The last time I grew Amish Paste, they produced so well that we were simply swimming in tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and salsa. It was a long, hot summer in the kitchen!

Dawn (who has been accused by certain persons of putting tomatoes into everything cooked during the summer months. I plead not guilty -- I have, for example, never put tomatoes in brownies or cakes!)

Randy, my favorite tomatoes for salsa are Italian Giant Paste, Opalka, Howard German, and Heidi. For fresh eating (slicers) German Red Strawberry, Aunt Ginny's Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, Cherokee Green, Kelloggs Breakfast... Geez, cum to think of it there all pretty good for fresh eating!Never met a 'mater that I didn't like! Well, at least not too many!-Brian

What's the deal Brian?

All of your favorite salsa tomatoes are ones I don't have :-).

What is it about those 4 that gets them there? Taste, color, texture, two of the above, all of the above, or that's all you had ripe when you needed salsa :-)?

randy

I am a total newbie when it comes to heirloom tomatoes. Is it too late in Central OK to start some plants from seeds if I start them indoors? Or, are plants available for purchase in Oklahoma? I'd like a red variety that would be good for slicing/salads and I'll be planting them in a raised bed. I've had excellent crops using Early Girl and Better Boy plants in the past but I think the heirloom plants might offer a better tasting tomato.

Randy,
It's the lack of juice that makes me favor these for salsa! Italian Giant Paste is the particular standout of these! On top of being non-juicy, it has excellent flavor, and makes a nice salad tomato. Lots of bite! E-mail me your address, and I will send you some IGP seed... along with a few others that do well for me overall! IGP is kind of late, but if your like me, you don't start canning until late in the season anyway. Thought of another one that is good for salsa/sauce; Martina's Roma.-Brian

1guild

I'm still sowing seed. I can't offer any more info myself on good slicing tomatoes. Maybe someone will jump in and name a few.

Brian

I might take you up on that. Thanks!

randy

1guild,

There's thousands of varieties and every heirloom tomato gardener has their own favorite. For taste, you might want to try one of the following: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Boxcar Willie, Black Krim, Arkansas Traveler, Nebraska Wedding, Yellow Pear, Black from Tula or Riesentraube. Black Krim and Black from Tula are actually sort of maroonish/greenish/brownish and do well in our climate because they are from an area of Russia that has a climate surprisingly similar to ours.

Hopefully someone from Central Oklahoma can recommend a place in your part of the state that has seeds/plants as I'm way down in Southern Oklahoma and can't help with that question. However, down here it is easy to find some of the more common heirlooms at Wal-Mart--yes, Wal-Mart. Last year the Wal-Mart near us had Box Car Willie, Bradley, Arkansas Traveler, Black Krim, Porter, and Brandywine, and Yellow Pear. Also, some of the seed companies that have seed racks in places like Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowe's will offer a few heirlooms. Burpee's heirlooms are in a slightly different packet from the regular seeds, I think is is light purple and may say heirloom at the top of the packet.

Good luck,
Dawn

1guild, I'm not in the central part of the state, either, but our favorite heirlooms from last year for slicing were Pruden's Purple, Arkansas Traveler, and a mystery "Mountain" variety.

If you get down to my area this spring, you're welcome to stop by and swipe whatever seedlings you'd like. I'll have plenty of extra maters (among other things) to share.

Diane (who is trying to line up suckers, err, gardeners to unload my excess seedlings on ;-) )

1guild,
If you don't get any heirlooms started, be sure to come to the spring plant swap (it's not been set up yet, but I'm sure we will have one, somewhere around the City) and there will be people there with heirloom tomato plants to share.
Dawna

I've been registered at this site for some time but just discovered this area; I agree about Brandywine's taking too long to mature, and for that reason also take issue with Farmer's Monster and similar. I've taken to initially ordering seeds from a company called Totally Tomatoes and have discovered other heirlooms that do well, even during last summer's conditions:

Silvery Fir Tree (earlier than Early Girl)
Bloody Butcher
Arkansas Traveller (tho had a bit of blossom-rot on that one)

...and I'm totally in love with their roma hybrid, Qumbaya, which outproduced EVERYTHING last summer.

This year, I'm sticking with more short-season tomatoes; just ordered (a standard-season) Bonnie Best, and short-season Manitoba, Oregon Spring, and others. If it's less than an 80-day tomato, I'm all for it.

1guild,
Well, as stated earlier, I am kind of fond of Brandywine.
Late setting? Yes
low producing? Yes
Taste? Awesome. Much better than Ch. Purple IMHO.
But thats me, and I don't (o.k my wife doesn't) can that much so the low production I can live with.
I live in Edmond, and assuming we have a spring plant swap should have extra Brandywine and Cherokee purple plants, though not all that many as friends and family have claimed more than I had expected ;-(
email me if you are close by and I may be able to provide some plants by planting time (early April for me).
-HPD

I am pretty far from OKC. I am in northeastern okla, maybe this has been covered before but I will ask anyway, is there a plant swap for those in the eastern part of okla? If there were, I would show up with my van packed with plants lol.

Dawn:

Those black krim are SO good, I agree. The amish paste produced for us just like you report. LOTS of them. Didn't know what to do with them..gave pounds of them away.

Years ago I planted Jet Star and had a bumper crop. Tried that again and darn it, the plants *had bought those from Wal mart, didn't produce for me at all!

Seems like what I buy from wal mart doesn't do too well for me.

lguild,
It's not too late to start your maters. Just start them indoors now. I always get a head start and put mine in a heated greenhouse. We don't usually need the heater any during the day, only at night.
In addition to the heirlooms, i have maybe 50 better boys and 50 big boys planted in the ghouse now. Some are already up and I planted more seed 5 days ago. They're pretty good producers and pretty good slicing toms imo. Can just picture myself with the salt shaker in one hand and a big ripe cher purple in the other. lol

Not sure if i will have anything to swap, but i would love to have heirloom tomatoes that anyone wanted to share. i live in the oklahoma city area, this is only my second year for this garden spot. i'm learning what will grow in okc. it has been different from my beaver garden.
willing to drive. i use to do home nursing which took me all over the state. You'd be surprised how many different types of tomatoes you can find to grow. my only problem is that i never remember what i planned. need a book. lol.

Messyme,

Several of us will have extra tomatoe plants to share. I know that I am coming to OKC on the last weekend in April for the Oklahoma Menorial Marathon, and probably will be in OKC two weeks before that for the Redbud Classic race. I will bring you some heirloom tomato plants when I come up as I always have extras.

Dawn

I'd love to see a swap set up for the eastern side of the state! We're down about an hour south of Ft. Smith, AR and I have a baby due April-May. Somehow, I don't think I'm going to be able to make the OKC one in May. LOL

Is anyone up for an April one out this way? Maybe we could get some western Arkansas folks over, too? Heck, I'd be willing to host it if folks were interested in this area. Of course, I'd be more than happy to travel elsewhere if someone else hosted, too.

I think I have swap envy. :-D

Diane,

Would love to come your way for any kind of plant or seed swap! I've never been that far east in Oklahoma. I need to bring you melon/winter squash transplants or seeds when we do this 'cause you love heirlooms as much as I do, and I'm trying so many new ones this year after reading both of Amy Goldman's books.

I just hope you take it easy these next few weeks--your final months of pregnancy are coming right at the time when there is so much to do in the garden! Do be careful! (Can you tell I am a mom -- nag, nag, worry, nag, nag, worry!)LOL

And as hard as it is to stay close to home for the next few weeks, you know that its so much wiser to stay close to the hospital and doctor just in case this child decides to make an early appearance--you wouldn't want to be halfway across the state and in labor, you know!

I will go any where, any time for a plant or seed swap. I've never been to an actual swap, but do informally swap plants, seeds and even "finished" produce with my gardening neighbors around here. I even have a neighbor who gives us freshly-butchered pork bacon in the fall when I give him tomatoes. Now, if only we had two-more like-minded neighbors: one to supply home-made bread and the other who could (miraculously) grow lettuce in our extreme summer heat. Then we could have truely homemade BLTs. LOL

Dawn

Well, Dawn, even if a swap doesn't happen, you're more than welcome to stop on by and take some of these seedlings off of my hands. I think you need some more, don't you? LOL!

Are you trying to torture me? If I keep adding tomato plants (and removing lawn grass in order to do so) someone in my family is going to notice that the tomato plants are taking over!

Well, even if a real swap doesn't happen, you and I will have to swap some things. I'm thinking that with that new greenhouse of yours, you can either swap plants with everyone in Oklahoma, or open a little stand out by the road and start selling the extra plants! (in your spare time, LOL)

I wish we lived in a place where that would work. Maybe I could sell off enough extra plants each year to support my gardening habit. LOL We live way out in the boonies at the almost-end of a little dirt road (only two houses further past us). No one ever drives by unless it's the neighbors and they already get my plants for free. We're so far out, we don't even get lost people back here. LOL

I can relate. No one ever "accidentally" happens to come by our place, because you have to intentionally drive way out of your way to come here too!

For the first year we were here, they were rebuilding a bridge at the north end of our road and we had absolutely no traffic. None. Ever. My eighty-four year old neighbor who lived north of us and who was still driving at the time, could back up (quickly and recklessly) the whole 8/10s of a mile from our house to his house and not even worry about hitting anyone, because there wasn't anyone else!

When the bridge re-opened, I was shocked to see cars coming down the road. The people in those cars were equally shocked to see we had bought the land, built a house, and moved in, and they'd known nothing of it. LOL

I'm game let get started!

farmerted361:)

I see all these posts about these great tomatoes and wondering, has anyone done a tomato tasting festival? I think something like that would be great, getting to sample different varities. I would pay a fee to be able to sample the tomatoes so I would know what to grow the next year.

What do you'all think?

To anyone in the OKC area-
I have about a dozen each Cherokee Purple and Brandywine plants I need to give/throw away.
PLMK-they go this week one way or the other.

Chilpolte, we are discussing having a tomato tasting at the Fall Swap in September. Keep your eyes open for futher discussion when it gets closer.

WindsurfGirl

Found a taker for my Toms.