Tomatoes only here. Lack of space so only about twenty varieties this year. I have extras if any one close to La Salle, Greieley, Kersey. I love my little green house. Don't know what I would have done with out it thie cold spring.

Kenny

Wow! 20 varieties! I am trying White currants, yellow pears, gardeners delight and snowberry. I dont think I could make room for 20!

How have any of your tomatoes done in the past? Any stellar performers?

There's lots of tomato-heads around here, so I'm surprised you haven't gotten more of a response.

All I grow are heirlooms, and some of the best performers I've had have been Cherokee Purple, Earl's Faux, Giant Belgium, Gold Medal, Amish Paste, and Black Cherry.

Trying about 10 that are new to me this year, plus some of the ones listed above are returning as well.

Now if the weather would warm up, so I can actually get them in the ground ...

But see, Bonnie, you don't garden in the Front Range, either.

"Tomato-Head" Steve here. I'm not trying to be shy. It is just that I'm about 800 or 900 miles northwest of you, Climberpilot, far from the front range.

I don't really have that much experience with heirlooms. There have been many years when I only grew 1 cherry tomato variety and 1 beefsteak in my garden. And, finding the beefsteak that would do well was challenging at times.

This was before the fall of the Soviet Union. I think that the tomatoes that became available after that sparked an interest in cool-climate varieties. Truth be known, I never thought of the Soviet Union as a culinary Mecca but . . . what do I know? Probably, the Ukraine has about as similar climate to here as anywhere in Eurasia.

Still, a tomato is an annual and summertime conditions are most important. Just because 1 or 2 Ohio Valley heirlooms seem beyond my gardening possibilities, it doesn't mean that I have to go back to growing Subarctics, or something!

The first really successful heirloom I grew was my grandmother's. It may well be a Porter tomato and I've grown the 2 side-by-side, 2 different seasons and I'm still not sure. The plants look quite different but the fruit is all but the same. Anyway, Porters, just like grandma's, does just fine here.

A guy was down at the farmers' market about 7 or 8 years ago with Thessaloniki tomatoes. I bought 2 - they were wonderful! Some seed stuck to the front of my shirt . . . well no, I saved some seed anyway and became, a Thessalonian! (If'n I stand real close to the plants each summer, I can pretend. ;o)

Bloody Butcher was just a great little tomato for me to discover but we call it Jaliranchr in this household. It sounds more hospitable, doesn't it?

Rainy's Maltese is now DW's favorite tomato! It is sure wonderful to have a big, flavorful slicer ripen so early - before any of the others.

This year, I'm trying several more. I think Orange Minsk convinced me last year that I was correct about some of the problems the USSR had. Oh, it was very tasty but sprawled all over the place and was very limited in production. This year, I'm convinced, I'll have a lovely yellow/orange/bicolor slicer just dancing with lovely tomatoes in my garden!

Steve

Last year was a bad one, so hard to tell.
the ones that I think are out standing
Spudakee, potato leaf cherokee purple but seems to do way better.
Gigantesque
Pusta kolox, or some other spelling of it.
My babys this year is "hoy" A hundred year old one just found and seed grown in New Zeland for a few of us. It looks like a large red one. Tomato forums search do not work for 3 letter words. hoystar works at T ville I have 5 plants just started about 3 inches tall. I would share to a worthy person if they were close to get one.
Oh yea, all ways one stupice for early
Hybreds? big beef number one. Early girl, bottom of the list.

Ha! I didn't even catch that, Steve! Maybe because I used to live on the front range, I thought it still applied, LOL.

Lol...Former experience definately counts!!

I hear great things about cherokee purple in this area. Mayhap I'll give it a try.

Digit, I hadnt ever reall thought to look at Russia as a source for good tomatoes, but cool I think I'll start doing my homework!

Anyone else growing heirloom peppers, squash or beans? I say growing even though I have managed to grow excactly TWO jalapeno's and have never seen a sweet pepper get to an edible stage!

You may want to set your sights on Italian sweet peppers, Climberpilot. Corno di Toro peppers have been incredibly productive in my garden. I found them to be a little thin-walled but the good flavor of an Italian sweet is there.

Last year, I had a NuMex pepper, Joe E. Parker. It is open-pollinated but my understanding is that it is a new development, probably from NM State. I would classify it as an Anaheim and it never got hot.

I grow Jalapeno M every year. It just seems to be hard to beat. Thai Hot is probably an heirloom. Tiny plants mature very early - it is one I can count on.

Hungarian Wax did fine even when my garden was at a higher elevation. The banana peppers are related and have been very productive.

For an heirloom squash, how about Burgess Buttercup? It is one of the few that does a good job at maturing and I can keep it into winter for baking and holiday "pumpkin" pies.

Always grew Kentucky Wonder beans until DW complained that they were "ugly" - don't know why a bean has to have good looks . . .

Steve

A bush bean that I got past DW for a few years was Royal Burgundy.

I guess it was released in 1976 and I bet I was growing it that year. Beans are open-pollinated but I don't know if a 35 year old variety rates as an heirloom.

If it does - most everything I was growing back then would have been heirlooms. Nantes half-long carrots, Detroit beets, Black-seeded Simpson and Oakleaf lettuce . . .

Steve

no, that's not steve. that's the photo on the gw heirloom forum. (looks like our neighbor, mr. crivelli, when i was a kid. i wonder if that is mr. crivelli . . . the trees in the background, those distant hills . . .;o)

A couple of years ago I tried Stupice tomatoes and found them to be early, vigorous, quite prolific and taste good so they are my list to grow every year. I also got a lot of good feedback from all the people I gave them to as well (I grow about 150 tomatoes seedlings, but only plant about 16).
I used to grow Ildi tomatoes, which are much like yellow pear only not pear shaped. They often revert to yellow pear. They grew very well and were also popular with friends, but I replaced them with the modern Sungold.
I've grown Amish Paste and Liked them, but some years they came in too late so I quit them.
This year I'm trying Boody Butcher. The plants are quite vigorous. We'll see how well they fruit.
I always grow Detroit Dark Red beets - they are the only beets I grow these days and they always do well for me.