In a pinch she can probably narrow it down to ten....ten reds, ten pinks, ten blacks, ten beefsteaks, ten heirlooms, ten hybrids, ten cherries, etc. etc. etc. LOL

Hi Bella,

Only 10? Oh my. Are you trying to kill me? Trying to make me cry? The thought of only growing 10 varieties just makes me feel so sad.

I'll try to list 10 but it will be very hard. I have a lot of favorites, so if someone asked me this question 14 days in a row, I'd probably come up with 14 different lists. Furthermore, on the day I wrote any one of those 14 lists, I'd be convinced..."All right, these ten really are my faves...."

So, here's my top ten. And, just so you know, I adore the flavors of the Black Tomatoes (which really aren't black) so the list may skew heavily towards them.

1. Black Krim
2. True Black Brandywine
3. Indian Stripe--for fresh eating (or Cherokee Purple...they're almost identical in taste, but IS produces slightly better and slightly earlier in my garden)....and, oops, now the list is really 11
4. Black Cherry
5. Sun Gold Cherry (Sun Sugar is almost identical but has better crack resistance and I really can't tell them apart when I grow them side by side)....and, oops, now the list is really 12
6. Nebraska Wedding
7. Jet Star
8. Brandy Boy (if I lived in a cooler climate where Brandyine produced well, I'd replace this with Brandywine Sudduth).....and, oops, now the list is really 13
9. Dr. Wyche's Yellow
10. Supersonic

That's my basic top ten.

If I was growing only heirlooms, though, it would be...

1. True Black Brandywine
2. Black Krim
3. Cherokee Purple
4. Indian Stripe
5. Black Cherry
6. Ildi Cherry
7. Nebraska Wedding
8. Estler's Mortgage Lifter
9. Dr. Wyche's Yellow
10. Neve's Azorean Red

If I were growing only hybrids, this would be my list....

1. Sweet Million Cherry
2. Better Bush (because it is so early)
3. Lemon Boy
4. Sun Gold Cherry
5. Jet Star
6. Supersonic
7. Ramapo
8. Better Boy
9. Beefmaster
10. Big Beef

If I were growing only small bite-sized tomatoes for dehydrating for winter, and for summertime snacking in the garden, and for salads, this is the list....mixed hybrids and heirlooms.....

1. Black Cherry (black cherry type)
2. Sun Gold (golden-orange cherry type)
3. Tess's Land Race Currant (red currant type)
4. Ildi (yellow grape type)
5. Riesentraube (red cherry type)
6. Black Plum (black plum type)
7. Orange Santa (orange plum type but with a pointy end)
8. Rose Quartz (pink grape type)
9. Red Grape (red grape type)
10. Coyote (yellowish-ivory colored currant type)

And, if I was going to grow only paste-type tomatoes for canning, cooking, saucing, freezing as crushed tomatoes, or dehydrating, this would be my list...

1. Martino's Roma
2. San Marzano Redorta
3. Amish Paste
4. Viva Italia
5. Principe' Borghese (for dehydrating)
6. Super San Marzano
7. Grandman Mary's Paste
8. Rio Grande
9. Jersey Devil
10. Black Plum (for dehydrating)

So, it isn't quite a Top Ten list, but it is five top ten lists.

I can't wait to see what other avid growers list as their top ten.

But, if you asked me tomorrow or the next day, my ultimate top ten list might be different.

Dawn

Carol,

Ha! How well you know me. I worked on my list(s) for the longest time, so I didn't see your post because you wrote it while I was laboring over my own top ten list(s).

I did think of doing it by color, but I really, really, really was trying to cut it down to under 100 this time, and I managed with only 5 Top Ten lists.

I want to know your Top Ten, Carol! Or, Fave Five....and I can't wait to see Jay's and George's....and all the other folks' lists too.

Dawn

Dawn,
I was about to hit the hay when I saw this thread and your reply. Your lists was about like my first thoughts. Top Ten for production, top ten for taste, bi-colors, reds, pinks and ect. Then that made me think about the Amazon Chocolates sitting on the table in the kitchen begging to be sampled. So I went and made a BPT and now while the seeds are soaking in Oxiclean will add a few random thoughts.
For Taste Lucky Cross is the only tomato I've ever grown I will grow for just one tomato a year. The best I've ever ate. Production is poor.
Kellogg's Breakfast when it is good is very good. Coolness and water tend to ruin the taste. But a must grow and a top three for sure.
Chapman was very good for me two years ago. Hasn't done as well since. Hopefully will set some during this cool period. Had very good taste and a good producer that year.
Cherokee Purple has been more productive and better for me than Indian Stripe and I like IS. I'm growing the PL versions of CP this year but so far they aren't near as good.
Texas Star was a very good bicolor two years ago and growing it again this year. And also very productive.
Caspian Pink has usually done well for me.
Florida Pink, Hege's German Pink, NAR and Pineapple are all about equal for me.
I'm just tasting some of the new to me that I'm growing this year. Amazon Chocolate was good tonight. It is setting well and if it keeps up could move to my must grow list.
For hybrids Goliath is my must grow every year along with BrandyBoy. Others that do well and I like the taste off are Porterhouse and Heartland.
Carbon and Black from Tula are two more on my to grow every year llst.
So not a top ten list but some of my opinions. I'm sure after this season and tasting some of the new ones that my must grow list will grow and change. I always enjoy reading others lists and their impressions. And what does well in one area won't do well here. I was doing a search the other night and read a list by Dawn in 07 about tomatoes that didn't do well or impress her. At least along those lines. And was surprised how closely her results mirrored mine. So many of the popular ones have flopped here. One exception is she says she has got good flavor from Brandywine and I'm still searching for that elusive flavor. Will be waiting to see others comments. Jay

Ha - My DH wishes I could narrow it down to ten, but that would be so boring. HeeHee

I am not the gardener that you folks are (Dawn, George, Jay, Dorothy, Ilene, etc. etc etc.). I just experiment every year to see if I find a good one.

For years I wasn't interested in cherry tomatoes, but I can't imagine a year without Sungold and Black Cherry. For next year I have also bought Ildi to try for the first time.

I like Opalka a lot for a paste tomato, and I always plant a few of the common tomatoes you can easily find seed for like Rutgers, Arkansas Traveler, and Roma. Roma is only for my DH, because I can skip that one. When I lived in southern Oklahoma I had good luck with Big Bite, but the only year I have planted it here, it wasn't as productive. I still have seed and will probably give it another chance.

Sorry, I got so hungry writing this I had to go eat a tomato. Then I had to go look in my seed box and I only have about 24 packages of tomato seed. LOL

I have everything I have mentioned above and have bought more Sungold and Black Cherry along with Ildi and Tigerella Mr. Stripey (which are both new to me) for next years planting.

I would also like to try Black Krim, Nebraska Wedding, Carbon and Kelloggs Breakfast for next year, but I have not bought the seeds yet. I have a few others I will be trying for the first time.

My gardening for the past two years has been so hap-hazard that no one else would believe it. This spring I carefully marked everything but I planted so many flowers that I ran out of the mini blinds that I usually mark with and tried a few new things. None of them were very successful. I am still putting perrenial plants in the ground that I don't have a clue about. I am sure I will be moving a lot of plants in the spring.

Not knowing that I was only going to be growing in containers again, I started far too many tomatoes. I planted a few of Baker Family Heirloom that George gave to me and was glad that I had because I was able to share them with George when he lost his. I think I also shared a few Roma that I had planted for my husband. All of that was BEFORE the tags washed away. LOL

I knew which ones were Rutgers because they were in a certain size red cup. I knew the Sungold because I had sown them in a milk jug and later transplanted them to clear plastic cups. The others, it was anyones guess. Since I was limited to how many I could plant using containers, I planted about 6 Sungold, and did the grab bag approach for the others. I also grew one plant I got from Dawn at the swap. I had a lot of leftover transplants and the neighbor across the street is growing several of them.

I never knew how successful I would be at wintersowing and ended up with many more flowers than I expected to have. I shared many with my daughter (still with tags, LOL) but I still had far more than I could fit in exisitng flower beds. I built beds but had to keep watering my containers until I could plant. The tomato plants in cups got watered also. When I couldn't find transplants that I was happy with to put in my fall garden (which is really in the ground finally), I checked out my plants that had been sitting in those cups all summer. Several of them looked pretty good. I picked seven of the best, gave them a good spray of Daconil, tickled their roots loose that were circling in the bottom of the cup, and planted them deeply. They are all alive and are beginning to look really nice. I may go pick a few more since I think I will soon have tomato cages available. Some of my spring tomatoes just look used up. I am still getting tomatoes everyday, but the plants are bad. I have five or six Sungold that still look OK.

So what kind of tomatoes did I plant for Fall? I don't have a clue. I guess I could narrow it down to the 24 packs I have in my seed stash. LOL

I was anxious to try Baker Family Heirloom, but I don't know if I did or not. I am just a flake this year. I told my DH that I should have asked for a cloning machine for Christmas, because if there had been 3 of me I could have gotten everything done. So you see, I don't have 10 favorites and don't know if I ever will.

Having said all of that....my fall garden is looking really good. I am only getting Banana peppers, but my vines are covered with blooms and small bells. Lots of Bells about one or two inches. Squash is up and getting first real leaves. My one volunteer cucumber in the garden is about to cover the trellis and there are lots of newly planted ones to follow it up. I got my first cucumber today from the volunteer in the flower bed. I have a tub of cukes in my yard which are growing up a tomato cage and the big bees have been working it hard this week. I have a 16 foot cattle panel planted down both sides with Blue Lake pole beans that are about 4 inches tall, and one side of an arched panel that I planted George's (macmex) beans on and most of them are up now.

I mixed all of the old radishes packs I had with one new pack and planted them thickly in two rows. I guess the seeds were not as old as I thought....and I sure hope we are hungry for radishes in about a month.

I am still getting four kinds of squash from my spring plants, and still waiting for those melons to ripen.

I wish I was as programmed as Dawn and Jay, but it probably won't happen. We like almost all veggies, so we will eat them no matter what. I like the thrill of watching them grow. Could I be a better gardener than I am. Oh yeah, I think so. In fact, I am so concerned about the economy that I have extended my garden for next year and plan to do a really nice one. If my husband were awake, he would tell me that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. LOL I promise, I will do my best to do better next year.

I can't pick ten, because I haven't found them yet. Still looking. Never met a tomato I didn't like, but just like some a lot more than others. LOL

Well, I actually do tomatoes on a smaller scale than some might think. This year I believe I put out around 35 plants. I try to do a minimum of 4 per variety and plant in blocks with minimum isolation of 15' between standard varieties and 50-100' between small fruited kinds. This is for seed saving purposes.

Also, it should be mentioned that though we love fresh sliced tomatoes (Jerreth and I, that is) it is far more important to us, that we have them for canning. And, I don't tend to try a lot of new varieties in a given year. I grow what I've found to be to our liking, and try one or two, perhaps, in a given year. This year I'm trying a few more than usual, since we had an April 14 frost and some of you gave me plants to replace those which get frosted.

Some of our new varieties are running quite late. This is because, in the end, I couldn't get them in the ground until quite late. But most are looking good and should fruit in the next couple of weeks. Arkansas Traveler and Ace 55 are in this situation.

Sungold still needs a stake and the chickens have made sure that I don't get to taste even one. Most of our Black Cherry tomatoes are planted too close to a maple tree. They are struggling. But the few fruit we've gotten to taste from them assure them a permanent place in our garden. Both of us think that this is just how the ideal cherry tomato should taste. We are also trialing Guernsey Pink Blush this year. It is only just now flowering.

If I could only grow one tomato I'd be pressed to chose between Baker Family Heirloom and Sioux. BFH has larger vines and tends to produce larger tomatoes. Its production is probably a bit higher. But it usually has "a production hole" due to high temps in July. Then it continues producing up to frost. We find it to be an excellent, tasty slicer (red), easy to process and extremely productive. It's dependable. It seems always to come through for us, which we find important. This one has vines which reach over 10' and it absolutely needs support. We use 5' cages made from concrete reinforcing wire.

Sioux - This is only our third year growing it. I find the flavor to be about the same as BFH, which is a good thing. Tomatoes are a bit smaller on average. But Sioux is extremely dependable and productive. It doesn't seem to stop setting fruit, not even through the hottest weather. But I have yet to get on top of it and support the vines as they deserve. So I have lost a lot of fruit due to spoilage. Nevertheless, Sioux is a great "new" favorite for me. I intend to grow at least 6-8 of these every year, and of course, resolve to give them stakes or cages ;)

Roma VF REALLY doesn't excite us for fresh eating or slicing. It's bland. But the fruit is excellent for cooking and canning. Roma's main claim to fame, however is its extreme productivity and dependability. Roma is right up there with Sioux as what I'd call a "survival tomato." It would take something on the order of biblical magnitude to stop Roma from producing a good crop. Because we can quite a bit we've come to appreciate Roma very much. The fruit is also exceedingly easy to process. Another plus is that Roma doesn't require much staking. It is the only determinate I grow.

I grow two beef steaks. Prudence Purple a large pink/maroon fruited potato leaf variety which I received from an older gentleman in southern Illinois back in 1984. By 1985 I had sent a sample of this seed to a friend in Broken Arrow, OK, and he reported great success with it. Prudence is a wonderful slicer. I've seen it produce 2 lb tomatoes, and it's a real "bragger." It is also, probably, the most resistant to our Oklahoma heat of any old beefsteak I've grown. It sets fruit when others I've tried won't. I stopped offering this seed through the Seed Savers Exchange because they insisted on lumping it in with Pruden's Purple, and I'm not sure that's correct. Back in 2002 I grew out a strain of Pruden's Purple, which though similar, was not the same. Over the years I've sent seed to a numer of people who said they'd be doing a grow out comparison. But none have gotten back to me. To me, Prudence Purple is tastiest of all.

Tuxhorns Yellow and Red is a large bi-color beefsteak, which I received from Mrs. Ed Tuxhorn, of Warsaw, IN; back in 1984. Tuxhorn's Yellow & Red really handles the heat well (the plant that is). It absolutely refuses to set fruit when temps are high. So, for me, this is mainly a fall tomato. But it's a good "bragging tomato." It does have a large core, which is a disadvantage, and it is not a great one for canning. We have, however, discovered that this one is the absolute best for fried green tomatoes. It has much more flavor as sliced green tomatoes, than any other we've tried. I grow it almost every year, as it is extremely rare. Tuxhorn's plants grow huge.

Okay, we grow others. But these are the ones which stand out. I have to run. Time to milk!

George
Tahlequah, OK

Jay,

Now, look what you went and did to my brain. You mentioned Caspian Pink.....how could I not have it on my top ten list? And, thinking about it then made me think about Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter. Did I really like Estler's Mortgage Lifter better? What was I thinking? And then there's Porterhouse, which gave me some wonderful tomatoes this year. Why isn't it on the Top Ten list? Then there's Black From Tula....I've always loved it. Why did I drop it? Was it because of True Black Brandywine? Indian Stripe? Who edged it out. I am about to hyperventilate just thinking about some of the wonderful tomatoes that are NOT on the list....and it is because you reminded me of them. All right, I'm calm now. I had to narrow them down and I did. That doesn't mean I still don't love the others.

And then, I went on to Carol's list, and she reminded me of Rutgers, which tastes so good and is such a heavy producer. Why didn't I put it on a list? And Arkansas Traveler? Shouldn't it have made it onto my list of Top Ten Late Summer Producers? Oh, wait, I didn't make a list with that name.....but I could. LOL

Bella, see there....that is why the ultimate top ten list is so hard. As soon as I think I'm done, somebody mentions a tomato that almost made it onto the list and I start second-guessing myself.

A lot of us have experimented with many tomatoes, always looking for that perfect combination of flavor and productivity. Like Carol, I'm not sure I've ever met a tomato that I just didn't like. And, like Jay, I'm always adding or subtracting one or two from the list based on this year's results.

Weather influences it a lot. I love some of the big bi-colors like Pineapple, Big Rainbow, Hillbilly (Flame), Black Pineapple (the most bizarre mix of colors you'll ever see in one tomato), German Queen, German Head and Giant Belgium. They produce really well for me if I get them in the ground in March and we don't have any late cold weather and they set blooms before too much hot weather arrives. BUT, if we have a really wet spring, their flavor is bland and they are very watery and they split and they crack....so, I don't have them on my lists because they need to have conditions that are "just right", which is rare here in Oklahoma.

One thing I have noticed on the Tomato Forum is that some people will describe the flavor of a tomato variety in terrible, disparaging terms like it was the worst thing ever and they'll swear that they're never going to grow it again. Well, I've just never had that strong of a reaction to a tomato. My attitude is more like Carol's....I've never met a home-grown tomato I didn't like, but there are some I like more than others.

Part of the torture involved in coming up with a list for "next year" every year is that you can't predict the weather. For example, for next year's list, I'm going with NOAA's prediction that an El Nino (Southern Oscillation) period is returning this winter. For us, El Nino normally means a wet winter and spring, so that means I'll avoid any of the tomatoes that have much lower quality in a wet year. On the other hand, NOAA is saying it will be a mild El Nino and not a strong one like we had in 1996 or 1997 when (I lived in Texas then) it rained heavily and we had a lot of flooding. If they were saying a strong El Nino for 2010, I wouldn't grow many of the larger tomatoes because their flavor waters down. I'd go more with plants that produce smaller fruit like Jaune Flammee' and Little Lucky. If we were in the midst of a strong drought (which here in southern OK often seems related to a strong La Nina Southern Oscillation) that was expected to continue into the spring and summer of 2010, I'd plant the ones that do well in a drought, and that would include some of the big ones like Lucky Cross and German Queen as well as Arkansas Traveler and Bradley Pink. So, you see, not only do I take flavor into consideration, but also weather-based performance.

The tomatoes that performed well for me during the drought years of 2005 and 2006, when Love County had severe to moderate drought were almost completely different from the varieties that performed well in the very wet years of 2004 and 2007 (wet for us through July, at least). So, coming up with a list involves all kinds of factors, including what generally does well, what does best in the kind of weather I 'think' (or 'guess') we'll have, what I haven't grown in a while and have been missing, and whatever new ones I'm wanting to try.

The hardest gardening-related task I do the entire year is choose my tomato varieties. I'd rather spend a day digging out bermuda grass by hand from my rock-hard red clay soil than try to narrow a list down and then absolutely, positively stick with that list without making revisions to it. In fact, any 'grow list' I come up with is going to change numerous times before I plant my seeds inside on Super Bowl weekend.

I need to get outside and work in the garden before it heats up too much here, but later today when it is too hot to be out (which for me probably will come fairly early since the humidity is so high today and the heat index is likely to be miserable), maybe I'll make my top ten lists by color.

I'd grow tomatoes year-round if I could, but once temperatures reach a certain level and the days are short (in terms of hours of sunlight), the flavor just isn't there, so it really isn't worth trying to keep a couple producing in pots inside. I've tried it and just don't think it is worth the effort involved in dragging them outside into the sun during the day and then into the house at night.

Dawn

Thanks guys! I never realized there was a Tomato Cult! You all are hilarious, but I love it. I do have a couple of questions: 1. What do you do with all those tomatoes? There are just the two of us, so 20 plants seem to do it, and I though we ate/froze a lot of T's. 2. Where do you get all those different seeds? Do you save them from year to year? Order new packets each year? That could be expensive.
Thank you for all your responses; I'll put this info to good use. I do love this forum. I now go to it before I check my email.

Bella

Jay,

I was going back through my notes this morning and I found one from June 5 saying that of the tomatoes I picked that morning from 4 different varieties, Goliath Hybrid was the best tasting one. One I thought was tastless (Jet Star), two were fair (Better Boy and Rutgers), and the Goliath was good. Maybe I'll save a space for it again next year after all.

George,

Sioux performed for me this year exactly as you described. It has some new fruit on it so I may have to leave it there through the fall. It seems very fragile to me though.

If I could only grow 10 plants, my list would have to include a few standard hybrids to make sure I got plenty of tomatoes. Mine would include a Celebrity, Better Boy, Brandy Boy, Early Girl (mine tasted pretty good once I cut back the water), and Roma. Then I would go with Sioux, Cherokee Purple, Amelia, Juliet, and another from someone else list of favorites. This way I have Brandy Boy, Sioux, and Cherokee Purple for appearance and taste, but others for reliable numbers and lots of salsa. My list of tried varieties is only around 25, though, so I am not an expert by any stretch.

To the best of my memory, I have never grown Sioux but I think I will next year. I keep hoping that my mother will remember the tomato that she always grew when I was a child but she just can't remember what it was. I don't know why she can't remember, she is only 98. LOL I loved the high acid taste that it had. It was red and it was just an average size tomato, but that is all I remember. When she talks about gardening, I sit and name every tomato that I can think of, just hoping that she will remember. I have asked her about Sioux and she says that is not it.

Bella, when you asked the question, I knew you would get some long answers and I will try to tell you why.

(1) As I read through them I thought how we all grow tomatoes for different purposes. Some grow them to sell, George grows them to can, and I grow them to eat fresh. I am perfectly content with store bought canned tomatoes for cooking, so unless I just have a blow-out year, I don't can them although I do usually can a couple dozen jars of picante sauce.

Now Dawn is a tomato junkie and she eats them three meals a day, snacks (like I do), cans, freezes and dries them. She probably baths in the juice. I don't grow enough to do all of that.

(2) Eventhough we live in the same State, we all have very different growing conditions. Temps are different, humidity is different (except for Jay's house, and I'm not sure he has any), rainfall is very different, and certainly soil is different. All of those things effect taste. Because it is Oklahoma those things change from year to year, month to month, day to day, and sometimes hour to hour.

(3) We all just have different taste.

I grew up in the next county north of where Dawn lives and also lived there for 12 years again before moving here. I now live in Delaware County which borders Arkansas and Missouri and is not far south of Kansas. Gardening in southern Oklahoma is certainly not like growing where I live now.

So now you know....there may not be an answer to your question. And if there is you probably won't get it on this forum. LOL

Bella,

Just wait until winter time and we can't work in the garden because it is too wet or too cold or buried under sleet or snow....we'll talk about tomatoes until the cows come home!

What do we do with all the tomtoes? We eat all we can. We preserve all we can. I don't can much any more because of the new ceramic-top stove, but I dehydrate several thousand of the small bite-sized ones, and freeze oodles and oodles of the large ones for cooking in winter time.

There's nothing like pulling out a container of frozen tomato puree and using it in winter as a base for a soup like Chicken-Tortilla Soup, 15-bean soup, a vegetable soup or Taco Soup. I take Taco Soup, 15-bean soup and Chicken-Tortilla Soup to our county's firefighters a lot when they are out at major wildfires and other disasters. I use tons of tomatoes in the winter months.

We make a lot of fresh homemade salsa and pico de gallo.

A lot of people use tomatoes in the standard ways....fresh in salads and on burgers and sandwiches, in pasta sauces, in soups and salsas, as fried green tomatoes, etc. To use up all the ones we grow, I have tons of recipes that use them in all kinds of recipes from marmalade to tomato pie to caprese salad to tomato cake....oh, you can use them a million different ways! Since I started freezing more of them and cooking more with them, I hardly ever have any left over to give away, and I used to give away tons every year. (I've cut back from 300-400 plants to less than 100, so obviously I have a lot less to give away than I used to.)

If you are feeling really adventurous, you can make and can your own catsup! You can pickle green tomatoes. You can stuff and broil tomatoes. There's just endless ways to use them.

I mostly purchase seeds for the varieties I grow. I have tried seed-saving, and some years I have done quite a bit of it, but most years I am so distracted by all the mowing, weedeating, weeding, watering, harvesting and putting up the harvest that I run out of time and good intentions before I get any seedsaving done at all. In 2003, I think I saved seed from every flower and veggie I grew, but that's because it was a very dry year (I think about 18" of rain) so the harvest was finished early, what little harvest there was, and I had lots of time to collect seeds that year. LOL

There are tons of seed suppliers. I get most of mine from Tomato Growers Supply Company, Seed Savers Exchange, Harris Seed, Victory Seed, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Willhite Seed (based in Poolville, TX, west of Fort Worth), Stokes, Johnny's Selected Seed, Tomatofest and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

I know I spend more on seeds than the average gardener, but I don't spend a lot of money on other stuff that some people do, like fancy clothing or shoes, manicures, jewelry, expensive handbags, going on tropical vacations or to OU Football games, etc. My spending money goes to gardening stuff. All my Christmas and birthday gifts are garden-related too.

I consider tomato seeds a good investment. Let's say I spend $3.00 for a pack of seeds that has 30 seeds in it. I might raise 6 to 10 plants per year of that variety, so one packet will last me 3 to 5 years. Some seeds, of course, are more than $3.00 a packet, but some of the others that are fairly common are less. Some companies (and Baker Creek does this often) overpack their seeds, or at least some varieties of them, so even though their catalog and website will say a packet has 25 seeds or 30 or whatever, when you open the packet you might see 50 or 70 or 100.

Lots of people save seeds and trade/swap them with other gardeners, or kindly send them to other gardeners for nothing more than postage. I wish I had the time and discipline to save seeds, but by the time I do everything else, I just don't. Last year, though, I did clean out my seed box of odds and ends of leftover packets of tomato seeds and sent a lot out to people on this forum. That was fun, and it left me lots of space in the box for more seeds, and it gave some folks a chance to try a few tomato varieties.

Some serious seed savers like George (Macmex) and Jerreth are listed seed savers who make their seeds available through the annual yearbook of the Seed Savers Exchange. (The yearbook is for members only and the website/catalog offer a much more limited selection for purchase by the general public.)

Some people, like Trudi at Wintersown.org (I think that's her website) send seed out to lots of people.

Some people trade through seed exchange websites.

One thing to keep in mind with traded seed is that there is always a chance you'll get seed from a cross-pollinated bloom if the seed saver doesn't bag blossoms. (It is a slim chance with tomatoes, but it happens.)

And, contrary to some rumors started here (grinning as I say this), I do not bathe in tomato juice. However, if you are handling tomato plants a lot and your hands are stained green, just cut a tomato in half and rub it all over your hands to remove the green stains. It works as well as anything else.

A Tomato Cult? Well, OK. Everyone has got to belong to something, so maybe some of us do belong to the cult of avid tomato growers (and eaters). Everyone has got to belong to something!

Dawn

Scott, "fragile?" You mean the plant (of Sioux) seems fragile?
It doesn't seem to get as thick stems as some others and it really bushes out. But I've never thought of it as fragile.

George

OK, OK, I overstepped my bondaries. She only baths her hands in them. I am trying not to roll on the floor laughing. Dawn, you are too funny. We love and appreciate you. Carol

George, to me it was fragile this year in terms of needing really good care to get the fruit very big without cracking, and then only having a shelf life of a few days. The short shelf life could be due to the excess cracking. It is also possible that they cracked more because they were started a week or two after the other varieties and therefore matured a little later (during the more hot and dry weather). I just pulled them and put them in the compost pile about an hour ago and their root systems were not as big as the ones around them, possibly also contributing to their cracking more.

Carol,

I think you are pretty funny too. And I have noticed that Scott and George are having a serious discussion about tomatoes in the midst of our hilarity. I love and appreciate every one of you too! And, I am serious about tomato juice....it really does removed green tomato foliage stains from hands!

I have decided that nothing smells better than the aroma of tomatoes dehydrating in the oven. It simply perfumes the whole house. Why can't someone give us THAT smell in a potpourri mix instead of some lame vanilla or lilac scent (not that there is anything wrong with vanilla or lilac)?

Scott, I've never thought of Sioux as fragile either...and I am NOT trying to nitpick your word selection either.

In my garden it is rather strong and tough and can take a lot of high temperatures and intense sunlight in July and August. It does seem slower to take off and grow and set fruit, but you know, every plant marches to the beat of its own drummer. I usually don't get ripe fruit from Sioux until late July or early August no matter when I plant it, which is fine because it picks up steam when others are slacking off.

The first three years I tried to grow Sioux, it just didn't do anything for me. The plant didn't grow fast. It didn't look great. It was slow to set fruit. The fruit took forever to ripen. I changed seed suppliers then, though, and got better results.

I haven't had much trouble with it cracking and splitting, but I grow dryland to the extent I can without the plants flat out dying, so that might be why. I wonder if your Sioux plants were carrying a heavier load of fruit than their roots and vascular system could handle. Normally I'd blame cracking and splitting on heavy rain, but you haven't had heavy rain.

It never ceases to amaze me how differently tomatoes perform in different soils, different weather, different years. Sometimes I have two plants of the exact same variety in the garden (sometimes side-by-side) and one does great and the other doesn't. I suppose the plants like to keep us guessing.

Dawn

Hahaha. Tomato Cultists! :)

I'm not a member (yet). I've grown so few types of tomatoes. I've grown Brandywine, which tasted good but I had a tiny garden at the time and couldn't afford to "waste" space on such a non-productive plant. I've grown Better Boy and some other "Boy" type and I thought they were passable - productive, no problems, vigorous. Not real good tasting, but they were tomatoes. I grew grape tomatoes and liked them a whole lot. The next year I bought what the tag said was grape and it turned out to be Sungold or something like it. They were just as tasty and sweeter, so I want to grow them again sometime, yet I still want grape tomatoes!

The last year I was in Minnesota I grew First Lady and I liked it a lot. They were the perfect size tomato for me, not too meaty or juicy, productive, problem-free and fairly tasty. I also grew some kind of big tomato. Maybe a mortgage lifter? Anyway, I thought it was too meaty, not productive enough, too prone to splitting and didn't taste any better than First Lady. At the time I resolved that next year I would plant First Lady again, along with Sungold and Grape. Then we moved to Oklahoma.

Now I've eaten several Cherokee Purples from my grandfather's garden and one from mine. They taste very good, like a brandywine, but I am disappointed so far in the productivity and the top cracking. I have loads of blooms on nearly all my other surviving tomato plants (20-30 of them) and a few fruit, so maybe in a month or so I'll be able to sample more.

Oh, and my grandfather gave me a pink hearted yellow tomato that was exceptionally tasty. I have another here on the counter I'll eat later.

I made gazpacho soup today and it was very yummy. I wish I had more tomatoes to make more soup! Yum, yum.

I suspect with the Sioux it was mainly a time-of-year thing (started a few weeks later than others and transplanted about 10 days later) that interacted with the fact that mine were a little overcrowded in raised beds. I couldn't keep them from cracking except for the first dozen fruit or so. I also found I couldn't stack them even two-deep without damage, again possibly due to the way they cracked.

It's nice to see the forum so busy!

Reading the lists I didn't notice any hearts. I might of missed one. I have never found one that has done well for me. Have one this year Little Lucky Heart that was a selection during the grow out and stabilizing of Little Lucky. It has lots of blooms and think it has some tiny ones set. So hopefully I might have some hearts this year. They are bi-color also. I have tried several and cut down to just a few this year. And I think Little Lucky Heart is the only one left. Hearts haven't done well here at all. Many tend to have wispy foliage. And don't seem to take the heat well here.

Scott I have had great overall results with Goliath. I lost both plants this year. The first total failure I can remember in probably close to ten years of growing it.

Dawn didn't get the rain tonight just a few sprinkles and some wind. Sure blew my Supersonic around. It has lots of blooms so hopefully after this week will see lots of fruit set. After I posted I thought of several lists I could of made and filled. Ana's Noire, Money Maker, Belarus Orange, Carbon, Mr Bruno and Vintage Wine Striped are good producers here. To just name a few. So hard to cut down. I'm going to get my seed out so I know I have enough of everything I plan to grow and then try to give a lot of the rest away so I won't be tempted to plant them. Especially with the hybrids I always plant more than I should telling myself I will give several of the varieties away. Then just have to sneak at least one of each in somewhere.

What I do with the excess? In the past I've gave a lot away. Made salsa, canned some and froze some. Last year I had no problem. In the future I plan on selling some of the excess at a farmer's market. Not sure yet how many I will have extra this year. I'm down to around 45 plants that have been in the ground a while. Several later ones that I planted to just see if I could get a few fruit to sample and also save seeds from. And I eat them all day every day if I have them. I eat several in the garden if the birds will let me leave them that long.

Yes like all tomato discussion what does well for one doesn't for another. Climate, soil, rainfall, gardening practices all enter into it. I have only tried Sioux, Super Sioux, Porter and Porter Improved. Wasn't impressed with any of them. May try Sioux again sometime. Also like Dawn did I may need to try seeds from another source. I have found that can really make a difference. I have had so many I wanted to try that most have only received one chance. And the last few years I only planted one of several varieties. This coming year my plan is 3-5.

I have started saving more of my seeds. Many believe that after a few years if you save seeds and select those that do well you will get plants that do well on a more consistent basis. I have bought several seeds but now mainly swap and just get seeds sent to me. I'm going to be selective of any new seeds I accept this year. I have an inventory of over 400 varieties. I made an offer on another forum last winter. I gave away a lot of seeds. Think I packed around 30 envelopes and bubble mailers. Anywhere from 2-20 plus varieties in each. Like I've said anyone who wants seeds from me send me a pm. I enjoy helping others. I'm going to make another offer this year. I'm cutting down on the new ones I'll be trying. And no need for seeds to go to waste. I have already started saving seeds for this year. I don't bag but select early fruit from inside the vine. With very few pollinating insects I don't have much problem with crosses. Having said that this year will be a disaster. I have bought garden seeds from over 25 sources the last four years. So won't even start listing them. Have had great results with all but a few. Only two I would only buy from if it was the only place I could buy a seed. I have tried to buy and save seeds from SSE members the last few years. But think this may be my last year as a member.
I'm like Dawn find it interesting how you can have several plants of a variety and have one that struggles and the others do great. Maybe all side by side. Started and transplanted at the same time.

Will be watching this thread to see what is posted next. I've been accused of having a severe tomato addiction. Now I guess I'm a member of a cult.Ha. Let me give you some seeds and I'll have you a member also. Jay

OOO-Jay. I will take you up on some of those seed. I didn't take any of Dawn's last year because I didn't have a place to plant anymore, but now I do. Is there a list to pick from??? I have some seeds left over and I bought four packs of tomatoes this month from Thompson and Morgan when they ran their closeout sale.

I would especially like to have Black Krim, Nebraska Wedding, Carbon, Kelloggs Breakfast, or Sioux, if you have any of those. Just let me know and I will send you a mailer. Thanks.

George - Your chickens are eating too good if they are getting all your Sungold. I think a turkey got mine this morning. I picked all I could hold as I passed a vine this morning and then asked my DH to hold them while I picked a squash. He held them OK....but I didn't get them back.

I have not had one cracked fruit so far. I had one with BER and two with fruit worms on some of the frist to ripen, but the rest have been very pretty. Of course, I am not getting hundreds like some of you pick.

gamebird - Twenty to thirty plants, huh? Who says you don't qualify.

I can supply seed for Sioux, especially if the request comes in the next month, as I can process seed as needed. My seed came from Tomato Growers Supply.

Scott, I guess I have observed more cracking with Sioux, than say, with Baker Family Heirloom. But so far I haven't had enough harvest to worry too much about over stacking them. I attributed the cracking to uneven watering, as it was not a problem before this year. Actually, it's very bad this year. I've had more problems with voles or rats taking bites out of my tomatoes, and have had to start an extermination program (which seems to be working).

Actually, I'm sometimes amazed at what a difference it makes, what part of the garden I plant something! Sometimes I can't even begin to figure out exactly why it makes a difference. But it might have something to do with something I buried (and forgot) in a given spot.

Last night, while making some cottage cheese, I thought of another thing I like about Sioux. I was standing around, stirring and stirring, and got a craving for fresh sliced tomatoes. Sioux was at hand. So I sliced and ate about 8 of them. About one third of the slices required two bites, to finish off (for my size mouth). The rest were just right to pop right in and finish with just one bite. I find this handy. Baker Family Heirloom, on the other hand, almost always needs to be quartered for such consumption.

Carol, I can relate to your husband's practice. It seems that they always taste best when "snitched" from the garden!

I didn't mention Rutgers, as I haven't had good luck with it here. But I believe that's probably more a matter of not giving it enough priority at planting time. I tend to squeeze things in, and then they tend to get squeezed out, when everything else grows. Rutgers is a great one. In NJ it did exceedingly well for us. It's very close to BFH, only difference being that the interior of the fruit has a more simple locule structure, and the plants are semi-determinate. To me, the flavor of Rutgers, BFH & Sioux is about the same.

George

Soonergrandmom,
I will try to get my seeds out and go through them in the next few nights. I'm sure I have all you mentioned. I'm attaching the list I made last winter. I might be out of a few of these but have most. All from commercial sources will be 4 years or less old and I only had germination troubles with one variety from a commercial source this year and it was only a year old and expected that from what I had read on the forums. I did look and all you mentioned were from commercial sources. I think Sioux was from Baker Creek. I will put the source down when I send seeds. Now many or the others are saved seeds from others and a few from me. Don't ask me why I accumulated so many seeds. A true addict. I had some other plans and now they have changed. Just pm me your address and I'll send the seeds. Jay
Inventory list- Names only

1. Adelia
2. Aker's West Virginia
3.Amazon Chocolate-.
4. Amish Gold
5. Amish Oxheart
6.Amish Paste .
7. Amish Potato Leaf -
8. Amish Yellow
9.Andes
10.Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red
x11.Anna Maries Heart
12.Anna Russian
13.Anna's Noire ( Black Pineapple )
15.Ashleigh
16.Aunt Gerties Gold
16.Aunt Ginny's Purple
17.Aunt Ruby's German Green
18.Azoychka
19.Ballad
20.Baiqoqianafeng
x20a. Barlow Jap
21.Barne's Mountain Yellow
22.Basingna
23.Bear Claw
24.Beauty
x25.Beauty King
26. Beefsteak Red
27.Belarus Orange
28. Belize Pink Heart
x29.Berkeley Tie-Dye
30.Big Beef op
x31. Biggun's
32. Big Month
33. Big Zebra
34. Black and Brown Boar
x34a. Black Cherry
35. Black from Tula
36. Black Krim-
37. Black Mountain Pink.
38. Black Prince
39. Black Sea Man
40. Black Zebra
x41. Boar's Hoof.
42. Box Car Willie -
42a. Bradley
43. Brad's Black Heart.
x44. Brandywine Cowlick's
45. Brandywine Glick's
46. Brandywine Quisenberry
47. Brandywine Sudduth
48. Brandywine OTV
49. Brandywine Red Landis strain
50. Brandywine Red RL
52. Brandywine Red PL
53. Brandywine Yellow Platfoot strain
54. Break O Day
55. Brown and Black Boar
56. Buckbee's New Fifty Day
57. Buckeye Yellow
58. Bulgarian #7
59. Burcham's
60. Burpee Gloriana
61. Campbell's 1327
61a. Candy Stripe
62.Red Cardinal Ukranian
63. Caspian Pink
64. Carbon
65. Chalk's Earl Jewel
66. Chapman
67. Charlie's Green
68. Cheatham's Potato Leaf-M
68a. Chello Cherry can be bi color @ core
69. Cherokee Chocolate
69. Cherokee Green
70. Cherokee Purple
71. Cherokee Purple PL
72. Cherokee Red
73. Cherry Duke's
74. Chocolate Stripes
75. Church
76. Cindy's West Virginia
x77. Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red
78. Condine Red
79. Copia
80. Coustralee
81. Coyote
82. Crnkovic Yugoslavian
83. Czech Select
84. Dagma's Perfection t
x85. Daniels
86. De Barrao Black
87. Debbie -
88. Delicious
89. Depp's Pink Firefly
90. Djena Lee's Golden Girl
91. Doctor Lyler
92. Dora
92a. Dorothy's Mennonite Beefsteak
93. Druzba
94. Dr. Wyche's Yellow
95. Earl's Faux
96. Early Rouge
x97. Ernesto
x98. Ernie's Pointed
x99. Ernie's Plump-
x100. Ernie's Round
101. Ethel Watkin's Best
x102. Eva's Amish Stripe
103. Eva Ball Purple
104. Evan's Purple Pear
105. Eva's Shoeneck
107. Ferris Wheel.
108. Fireball
109. Firesteel
110. Flame(Hillbilly)
111. Flammee' Jaune
111a. Flamingo
112. Florida Pink.
113. Frank's Large Red
114. Freckled Child
115. Gail's Sweet Plum
115a. Galina's Gold Cherry
116. Gary Ibsen's Gold
117. Gary O'Sena - SA
x118. German Breault
119 - German Head
120. German Johnson
121. German Lunchbox
122. German Pink - NL
123. German Tree aka German Tree
124. Giant Black Ukranian
125. Giant Paste .
126. Giant Pink Belgium
127. Giant Syrian
128. Giant Tree -
129. Gigantesque
130. Gillogy Pink
131. Giraffe
132. Glacier
133. Glacier's Giants
x134. Glick's 18 Mennonite
135. God Love
136. Gogosha
136a. Golden Cherokee
137. Golden Jubilee
137a. Golden Queen USDA
137a. Gold Medal
138. Goliath op
139. Good Old Fashioned Red
140. Goosecreek
140a. Grace Lahman's Pink
140b. Grandfather Ashlock
141. Grandma Viney's Yellow and Pink
142. Grandpa Charie
143. Grandpa Willie
144. Granny Cantrell German
x145. Gran's Portuguese Neighbor
146. Green Bush Italian
147. Green Giant
148. Green Zebra
149. Grub's Mystery Green
150. Guido
x151. Harzfeuer
x152. Haley's Purple Comet
153. Hanky Red
154. Hartford
155. Hazelfield Farm -
156. Hawaiian Currant
157. Heart of Compassion"
x158. Hege's German Pink
159. Heidi
160. Heinz 1350
161. Heinz 1439
162. Henderson's Pink Ponderosa .
163. Hillbilly West Virginia - SF
164. Homer Fike's Yellow Oxheart
164a. Honey
165. Hugh's
166. Hungarian Giant -
167. Hungarian Oval
168. Illini Star
169. Illinois Beauty
170. Imur Prior Beta
x171. Indian Stripe
172. Italian Sweet r
173.Italian Tree
174. Japanese Oxheart
175. JD's Special C-Tex
176. JD's Special Pink - BV
177. Jerry's German Giant
178. Joe's Portuguese
179. Julia Child
180. Kalman's Hungarian Pink
181. Kanora - USDA P163636
182. Kansas Depression
183. Kasachstan Rubin
184. KBX PL
185. Kellogg's Breakfast
186. Kentucky Beefsteak
187. Kentucky Plate
188. Kentucky Striped
189. Kimberly
190. Kornesevvije
191. Korney's Cross
192. Kosovo
193. Kroska Pink Bulgarian
194. Kumato
195. Lafayette
196. Lahman Pink
197. Lancaster County Big Pink
x198. Large Barred Boar
199. Large German
200. Large Mennonite Heritage
201. Large Red
202. LeDoux Special
203. Lida Ukranian
204. Lillian's Red Kansas Paste
205. Lillian's Yellow
x206. Limbaugh's Pink Potato Top
209 Lime Green Salad
x209a. Lincoln Adams
210. Lithuanian Pink
211. Little Lucky
212. Livingston's Beauty
213. Livingston's Magnus
214. Lucky Cross
215. Lumpy Red
x216. Lynnwood - DJ
217. Lyuda's Mom's Red Ukraine
218. Magnum Beefsteak
219. Mama Leone
x220. Manalucie
221. Manyel
222. Marglobe Supreme
x223. Marianna's Conflict
224. Marianna's Peace
225. Marizol Black
226. Marizol Bratka
227. Marizol Gold
228. Marizol Red
229. Martin's Amish/Mennonite
230. Mary Robinson's German Bi-Color - NL
231. Matina
x232. Matt D Imperio
233. McClintock's Big Pink
234. Mexico
235. Mexico Midget
235a. Midnight in Moscow
236. Milka's Red Bulgarian
237. Millet's Dakota
238. Millionaire
239. Miracle Russian Paste
240. Missouri Pink Love Apple
241. Monk
241a. Moneymaker .
242. Moonglow - SF
245. Mortage Lifter Estler's
246. Mortage Lifter
247. Mr. Bruno
248. Mr. Fumo
249. Mrs. Maxwell's Big Italian
250. Mule Team
x251. Mystery Black
252. Nebraska Wedding
253. Nepal
254. Neve's Azorean Red
255. New Big Dwarf
256. Noir De Crimmee'
257. Novikov's Giant
258. Oaxacan Jewel
259. Oaxacan Pink Mexican
260. Old Brooks
261. Old German
262. Old Italian
263. Old Pink Plum
264. Old Virginia
265. Olena Ukraine..
266. Oleyar's German
267. Olga's Round Yellow Chicken
268. Olomovic
269. Opalka
270. Orange Russian 117 .
x271. Orangina
x272. OSU Blue Fruit
273. Pantano Romanesco
275. Paul Robeson
276. Paquebot Roma
277. Perito Italian
277a. Pierce's Pride
278. Pineapple
x279. Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
x280. Pink Boar
281. Pink Climber
282. Pink (Rozoviy) Flamingo
283. Persimmon .
284. Pipo
285. Placero
286. Polish
287. Polish
287a. Polish Ellis
x288. Polish Pastel
289. Pork Chop
290. Porter
291. Porter Improved
x292. Portuguese Monster 1 & 2
293. Provenzano
294. Pruden's Purple
x295. Prue
296. Purple Calabash
x297. Purple Haze
298. Puszta Kolosz
299. Raad Red
x299a. Rainy's Maltese
301. Red Barn
302. Red Boar
303. Red Paragon
304. Red Penna
305. Red Ponderosa aka Crimson Cushion
306. Red Rose
x307. Rinaldo - Bully
308. Rio Grande
309. Rose
310. Rose Beauty
311. Rostova
312. Rouge D Irak
313. Roughwood Golden Plum
314. Rousich - SHP
315. Royal Hillbilly
316. Russian Bogatyr
317 Russian Rose
318. Rutgers
319. Sabre
320. Sabre Ukranian
x321. Sandul Modovan Ribbed
x322. Sandul Moldovan Smooth
323. San Francisco Fog
324. Santa Clara Canner
325. Santorina
326. Sarnowski Polish Plum
327. Sheyenne
328. Siberian
x328a. Siberian Finger
329. Siletz
330. Sioux
331. Sisters
332. Slava
333. Sophies Choice -
334. Southern Nights
335. Spears Tennessee Green
x335a. Spudakee
x335b. Spudatula
336. St. Pierre
337. Stump O' the World
x337a. Sugar Lump Cherry
337b. Summer Cider Apricot
338. Summertime Improved
339. Sunset's Red Horizons
340. Super Choice
341. Super Sioux - SF
342. Sweet Home - SHP
343. Tappy's Heritage
344. Tadese
345. Tennessee Britches
346. Texas Star
347. The Dutchman eet.
347a. Thessaloniki
347b. Thunder Creek
348. Tidwell German
349. -Tiffen Mennonite
350. Tiny Tiger-
351. Todd County Amish
352. Tom's Yellow Wonder
353. Trophy
353a. True Black Brandywine
354. Turl's Mut
355. Uncle Mark Bagby
356. Valiant
357. VG Russian
358. Victoria
359. Vintage Wine Striped
360. Virginia Sweets .
361. Wagner
362. Watermelon
363. Weeping Charlie
364. Wes
365. West Virginia Hillbilly
366. Wins All
367. White Tomesol
368. Williams Striped -
369. Wisconsin 55 .
370. Wisconsin 55 Gold
371. Yellow Boar
x371a. Yellow Submarine
372. Yellow Stuffer
373. Yoder's German Yellow
374. Zogola Polish

Wow.

Oh my gosh!!!! We knew the Tomato Queen, but I believe we have just identified the Tomato King! That is some list Jay. I was expecting to see a list of 30 maybe. I shop at seed suppliers that don't have a fourth of that selection. Are you sure that you and Dawn are not siblings. LOL

It's not fair for you to pay postage and it is going to save me a lot on tomato seeds for next year. I know you can't sell on this site, but we can exchange or give. How about if I send you mailers and postage, or send you money to purchase mailers and postage out your way? The reason that I mention buying bubble mailers on your end is that I had several get lost in the mail last year, so we can cut that in half by not sending the mailer both directions. Your choice on how we do it but I don't want all of the expense to be yours.

I see you even have yellow stuffer. I grew some of those a few years ago and they were fun. They are kind of an oddity, but a few of my transplants went to the senior citizens center that year, and the next year I had requests for that one. Not much like a tomato really, but in a big pan of stuffed peppers it was fun to add a few stuffed tomatoes, and those are certainly the easy ones to stuff. Your work is cut out for you saving seeds from that one though, I bet. Actually I don't even remember if they were OP or hybrid. They really don't have many seeds or much of anything else inside, but perfect for stuffing. That one will be on my request list. My DH is not on the board for that center any longer so I probably won't feel the obligation to furnish transplants again, but I will go that one for myself again. LOL

I am going back to the list to do some shopping. WooHoo. Thanks Jay. Carol

Carol,
I'll agree Dawn is the Tomato Queen. I'm just the Tomato Addict I think. Have always enjoyed them and have never lost that love of them.
Let me know what you would like. I will see what I have. Then send it too you and you can see what the postage is and send that much back if you desire. I would rather see them used than go to waste. And my plants to grow several hundred has changed for now. So no need for that many seeds and also I've found several varieties that do well here most of the time so will grow more of them. And anyone else feel free to speak up. Jay

Gamebird,

Welcome to the cult! If you love tomatoes and raise even one plant, then I think you qualify for cult status. Just remember, though, once you join the tomato cult and we've reprogrammed your mind, you'll have to grow and enjoy more and more tomatoes every year!

Remind me this winter and I'll send you seed of both Grape and Ildi (a yellow grape). Grape is producing just as heavily as SunGold this year and I do love those little red maters. Ildi is an heirloom yellow grape I've grown for 10 or 12 years and it is one of my favorite tomatoes too. The flavor is superb.

With regards to Cherokee Purple, I love it but have dropped it the last couple of years to grow the almost-identical Indian Stripe. For me, IS has the same great flavor as CP, but produces earlier, more fruit per plant and with less cracking. Next year I am going to grow them both side by side.

Jay,

I think of all oxheart type tomatoes as heartless, cold, cruel things who simply refuse to produce fruit in our climate. If you ever find a heart that produces more than 3 fruit per plant per year here, let me know, because I have given up and quit trying them.

I do wonder, though, if I started some hearts from seed in December.....and planted them in containers in Feb......and carried outside every morning and inside every night.....well, would I get flowers in April or May before the heat arrives that would form fruit? It might be a fun experiment and it might be the only way I ever get an oxheart that produces anything in our heat.

Jay and Scott, I like Goliath too and have both a regular Goliath and a Bush Goliath plant for fall. I grew Goliath several years right after we moved here and it did well. It hasn't made it into the garden much in recent years merely because so many others have.

Jay, you have progressed so far beyond having a tomato addiction that it leaves me speechless. I guess we belong to the same tomato-growing cult. : )

Scott, I suppose you were having to irrigate a lot since it has been so dry there. My Siouxs are never as good if I have to water heavily. I bet they'd be a great true dryland tomato.

The forum is busy isn't it? Usually it just dies at this time of year when everyone's busy getting the kids ready for back-to-school.

Carol, I don't know if you want hundreds of tomatoes...unless your family is going to be in town visiting at tomato-picking time to help you pick them, wash them, sort them, put them up for fall, and eat them! Well, IF they were in town visiting at tomato-picking time, y'all could have a real good time!

George, Cheese-making is on the list of things I thought I'd have time to do after we moved here. I haven't tried doing it yet, but it is still on the list! (I have made soap and I really like doing that, although I haven't made any in a while.)

I like smallish tomatoes that are just the right size for snacking too. I'd hate for Tim to know how many tomatoes I eat throughout the day in the garden while he is at work being deprived of tomatoes until he sits down to eat his lunch.

Jay, I felt like the Tomato Queen until I read your list. I think now maybe I am only a tomato princess, but you definitely are the TOMATO KING. Yes, in all capital letters. In fact, you are THE TOMATO KING! I have grown maybe 400 or so varieties of tomatoes in my whole lifetime, but I do not have seeds of almost 400 tomato varieties sitting in my seed box all at once. You need help, serious help.....help growing all those seeds! LOL

Here I am trying to cut back and cut back and cut back on both the number of varieties I grow and the total number of plants and there you are waving around a tempting list of tomato varieties. Are you trying to kill me? I mean really now. It ought to be illegal, immoral or unethical for you to post such a tempting list of varieties when you know a certified tomato addict like me is going to see it, read it, and let their imagination run wild.

Scott, I think Jay makes the rest of us look like slackers!

Carol, Slow down, girl. Before you start making your list of seeds you "must" have, check with your hubby and see if y'all can buy the properties on either side of you and knock down the houses so you'll have space to grow all those tomatoes. Watch out for the King of the Tomato Cult or he'll have you tearing up the driveway to make room for yet more tomatoes. LOL

This is the best thread we've had in a long time....both humorous and enlightening.

Jay, I might want to try just a couple....you know, like 1 or 2 or maybe a couple more. Hmmm. Honestly. I can handle it. I know when to stop. I don't have to get carried away and try to grow one of every single variety on your list. That is totally contrary to my desire to cut back on tomatoes and grow more of everything else. Right? Right. On the other hand, there is that unused acre between the barn and the big pond......

Dawn

GOOD HEAVENS! I am sitting here in absolute amazement. I am stunned. You Guys (don't you hate that term?) are way over the top - this is great! Now I am wondering how much paper it is going to take to print all of this. With all the gardening everyone does, where do you find the time to write such detail? Each and everyone of you IS incredible. thank you Thank You Thank you. Thank YOu

Bella,

I am relieved because when I saw the words "GOOD HEAVENS!", I honestly thought the next words were going to be "you people need help--serious psychiatric help".

Those of us who are native southerners, or at least native Texans, use the phrase "Y'all" which I prefer because it doesn't imply any females are guys. : ) You can continue to refer to us as "You Guys" or "Folks" or whatever, because we answer to almost anything.

All I can say is run now, and hide and stop reading our tomato words or you'll find you have been completely brainwashed and have joined the cult of tomato-growing maniacs without even realising how it happened.

How much paper to print? Probably one sheet more than you have there. At least, that's how it always works at our house. You also can save it electronically to the My Clippings section of your page here at GW.

I can't speak for the others, but here's how I do it.....I try to be out by sunrise most mornings in the summer and work while it is cool, and then back inside during the high heat and humidity, and then back out in the evening if it cools off before dark. It certainly is a lot easier in fall and spring when the weather is milder.

When I am inside, I'll leave the computer on and sit down at it in between doing housework or while waiting for something to come out of the oven or waiting for a load of laundry to finish in the dryer or whatever.

Sometimes...usually when the high doesn't exceed 90 or so and the humidity is bearable, I'll work outside all day, but take a break every couple of hours to come in, sit down, cool off....and get on the computer during that time. Then, once I am cool and have had something nice and cold to drink, I'll go back outside and work some more.

I didn't work at all today because I was babysitting our son's future stepdaughter while he and her mom were busy with last-minute preparations in advance of their upcoming wedding. So, no gardening today but we did bake cookies and I got a lot of laundry done...and had lots of computer time while watching her play. Since she's very young, I have just about overdosed on the Noggin TV network so it is good this forum was so active today. My brain was dying a slow death after a couple of hours of "Toot and Puddle" and "Max and Ruby" although I do always enjoy "Miss Spider and her Sunny Patch Friends". Thus, "talking tomatoes" on this thread saved me by allowing me to converse with adults.

Dawn

Dawn,
Jay, I might want to try just a couple....you know, like 1 or 2 or maybe a couple more. Are you talking about 1 or 2? Or 1 or 2 HUNDRED? LOL

It is funny how fellow members of the cult try to make sure someone doesn't falter and leave the cult. Last winter I posted this over at TL. I saw a lady asking for some seeds so sent a pm telling her to look at my list and I would send what she wanted and any others that was on the list. She emailed back and said first she wanted to know what my motive was for offering so many and she needed assurance I wasn't trying to quit growing tomatoes. I knew right then she wasn't a true tomatoholic or she would know we never quit growing till we start pushing up flowers. And then I already have plans for my garden in the sky. Tomatoes in the prime spot. No wind. No hail. No diseases. Plenty of rain and never too hot or too cold. Can eat them year round. MMMMM. Better get out to the garden or I'll be slicing another one. LOL. Jay

When do I write? I stay up nights to do it. LOL

Well, I don't work as many hours in the garden as Dawn does, and I don't work at a job anymore. Eight years ago, we bought a small lake house and it seems I have been working on it since that time. I also take breaks during the day and sit at my computer to drink and cool, but as you will see, most of my long post are written at night. I am not a fan of TV so I spend my evenings at my computer. I am also a night owl so my evenings usually last til 1AM. LOL

Oh, don't worry Dawn, my email went out to Jay earlier today with my requests. It was a very loose request because he has hundreds that I haven't tried, and dozens that I would like to try. I wish he lived next door.

The drive way...ha ha. I have two lots. Now I do have to consider that there is a septic system out there, and I don't plant that ground, but who said I couldn't plant a few containers. Actually, from where I am sitting, I can see food growing in 25 containers in my side yard now. Then there is my fenced garden area that is about 40x40 that is about half planted now. My husband would prefer that I grow food only in the back yard, so maybe I will try that next year...well... maybe I will.

There is so much to try and so little time. Someone said that life was like a roll of toilet tissue, the closer you get to the end the faster it goes. Mine is rolling like a ceiling fan. I seem to be busy all of the time. Of course, I also have a lot of company. I think I had someone here 15 of the 31 nights this month. I have neglected my kiddie clothing project this year so I will really have to kick into gear when the weather gets cold. If I can get 50-60 t-shirts made this year that will be OK with me. I can make them pretty fast and I already have a few made, and a few more cut out and ready to make. I had to move so many things around while we were building the safe room and my sewing room caught a lot of the odd ball things. I need to do a really good cleaning back there. Did I mention that I am going to start working in my kitchen next? LOL I can't stop. Actually I am not doing a lot but I am making a few changes, like adding a pantry and getting a new stove top.

I am really enjoying this cool air and we have had a couple of nice rains. I hate for the heat to come back, but it will help things to grow I guess. My pole beans are starting to put on little vines, so they will be reaching out for that cattle panel soon. I have lots and lots of blooms on my peppers so unless something drastic happens they should produce really well.

Dawn, I told you earlier that the melon I got from you was trying to spread all over the yard and had many fruits. Well, one slipped up a tomato cage and today I had to make a sling for a softball size melon that was just dangling in the air.

Jay,

You understand me too well. Of course, I immediately had the urge to start rototilling up land for another 100 tomato plants, but I poured myself a tall glass of tea and mowed some of the grass instead. Since it rained, the bermuda grass has just gone nuts.

Now, I have to warn you....if you hear a knock at your door one day, and you open it and there is a short blond-haired woman standing there with her William Woys Weaver book (and you know which book I mean!)....and she is waving it enticingly in the air...and saying "How many seeds will you trade me for this book....?" Well, that wild-eyed woman who is lusting after all those tomato varieties would be me. IF that were to occur, just call Tim and tell him "she's lost control...." and he'll come get me. (You don't have to worry. I wouldn't really show up at your house, but you should be grateful you live so far away that I can't do this, otherwise, I might! LOL)

You garden in the sky sounds heavenly! And it's so funny that she wondered if you were trying to get out of growing tomatoes....as if anyone would deliberately quit!

Carol, I haven't sent Jay an e-mail yet, but he knows that I will as soon as I figure out how to break the news to Tim that I need a bigger garden and it is all Jay's fault!

Time does seem to fly by so quickly the older we get. I remember when I was a kid that summer seemed to last forever, and now it flies by so fast and I find myself saying the same thing every year: "Where did summer go? The kids are getting ready for back-to-school already? How time flies!"

I know the house has kept you busy. The first few years that we were here, it seemed like all we did was work on getting everything in and around the house "just so". The last few years the garden and yard have had a disporportionate amount of the attention. We really need to paint the exterior of the house and make a few minor repairs. A new house sure doesn't stay new for long!

I still don't know how you do all you do...the house, the sewing project, all the summer visitors, the garden, etc. I have noticed you write a lot late at night. I should try that. The house, of course, is really quieter then.

I hate for the heat to come back too. It is miserable here with the temps in the 90s and the humidity exceptionally high, and I think every day for this coming week we're going to have each day get slightly hotter than the day before. I hope we get some more cold fronts soon! I don't even care if they bring rain as long as they drop the temperatures a bit. Oh, well, September is only a month away.

Carol, it sounds like the peppers and beans are going to keep you busy picking in a few weeks. Yea! The melon sounds like it is doing great. Now, keep your fingers crossed that moisture won't fall and water down the flavor as it ripens up. I'm glad it is doing so well.

I know we keep talking about what a hard year it has been, but honestly our garden is mostly having a great year now. In early June, I wouldn't have thought that possible. The onions were small after waterlogging, but are storing well. The tomatoes were late, but are producing very, very heavily. I am almost at the "sick of tomatoes" stage. Luckily, if I can free myself from the kitchen and not have to cook, freeze or dehydrate any for a couple of days, I get "well" very quickly. The corn was so-so, but that was the fault of the raccoons. The peppers are the best crop ever here. The melons are about the same. Broccoli was the best crop ever in Oklahoma and rivals the best year I ever had in Texas. Potatoes are so-so, but I expected that since they froze once and drowned twice. The squash has produced heavily. The okra has gone bonkers. I don't know if it has ever produced as many pods per plant and quickly as it is this year. So, I feel like I have very little to complain about and only hope the fall garden does as well and that the first fall frost is late and not early.

I need to pick tomatoes again tomorrow since I haven't picked in 3 days. It is amazing how they stay green for so long and then all start ripening about the same time. I think it is a conspiracy.

And, here's some local Lake Murray news for Carol: Mom and Pop's Grocery Store/Restaurant on the east side of Lake Murray burned down last week on, I believe, early Tuesday morning around 3 a.m. I don't know if you ever went there, but it was the only store at that end of the lake and the local residents are quite upset at the loss of their convenience store and gathering place. They think it was an electrical fire.

Every time there is a medical call at that end of the lake, or a fire call, the dispatcher's directions always say "Turn south...or west...or east....or north at Mom and Pop's and go......". Tim and I are wondering what they'll say now? Turn east where Mom and Pop's used to be? No word on whether the current owners plan to rebuild. From listening to them talk on the news, I don't think they had insurance.

Dawn

Dawn,
I trained barrel horses for many years so used to short blond haired ladies waving and talking. Also have two blond sisters and my Mother is also. And both nephews were. So show up and we can talk gardening and drink some iced tea. I'm the faded out red head.
I have received Carol's list and won't reveal numbers but waiting to compare numbers. LOL. Jay

Ahh, too bad about the store burning. I hate fire.

It just seems like things are so late to me because I want to base harvest times on my Carter County timetable and not the Delaware County timetable. What I am noticing though is that newly planted things are really growing faster now than they do in the spring. I usually just plant in the spring and maybe start a new batch of cukes for later. I don't think I have ever planted beans this time of year and I know I haven't planted squash for fall. Usually I am so tired of the garden by Fall that I just don't get things started, plus normally it is just too hot. This year I am still inspried because the spring things are just now starting to come on strong.

As I have driven around the area and looked at gardens, most of the tomato plants seem to be suffering. Most are loaded with the tomatoes but the plants look ugly and worn out. Most of mine look like they are dying and have dead leaves, but at the top they have green leaves and blooms.

I haven't added compost to my garden for several years now since it hasn't been in use, but had a compost pile in the space that was almost all fall leaves. Even after a year, a lot of the leaves had not broken down but the soil under the bin looked wonderful. My DH put up some of my cattle panels for me and I planted tomato plants along one of them. Two toms were lucky enough to be where the compost/leaf bin had been for the winter. They are twice the size of the other plants that I put out on the same day.

I warned him that the panels were probably in temp positions but he didn't care and said they were easy enough to take down and put up.

Actually, I have one more 16 foot panel that I could put up and two four foot sections that are eight feet tall. I love snow peas and think I may plant those on one panel. They always do very well for me in the Spring, but I haven't tried them in the Fall. I really can't think of anything for the other. The tall one is a little harder to put up so I need to come up with a permanent location for that one I think. I keep looking at the OSU Fall Planting Guide and hoping that I am not planting too late.