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| Hello all I am new here but have been vegetable gardening for a number of years. I typically grow just 2 or 3 varieties of tomatoes that I buy as plants locally but last year I started my own indoors from seed with good luck. This year I am going to try a whole bunch of very early varieties to see how soon I can get a tomato to ripen (usually it is late August before we get ripe tomatoes here) I am also going to evaluate how productive and flavorful the tomatoes are. I may post the results here at the end of summer. I have grown Oregon Spring and Early girl before but the others are new to me. Are there any others I should try or does anyone recommend against anything on my list? Right now I have seed or am getting seed for these 15 varieties. Bradley, Glacier, Early Wonder, Kimberly, Benewah, Latah, Matina, Polar Baby, Siberian, Siletz, Stupice, Sugar Baby, and Sub-arctic plenty. Oregon Spring and Early girl which are popular tomatoes here will be included as well. Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| You might want to read a recent thread on a similar question, which I will link to below. Have you also considered techniques to extend your season? I am going to try setting out my tomatoes a few weeks earlier by using Wall-O-Waters. Others have used tunnels. I haven't tried either technique yet, but I'd like to extend my season since many of my favorite tomatoes can take three months to produce ripe fruit. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Early tomatoes for zone 5
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| Thanks for linking that thread, I had found a couple older threads in a search but didn't see this one. I have used black plastic and also covered transplants with clear plastic buckets when it is cold and that has helped early on in the season. The problem here is that it does not warm up until almost July and even then we get cold nights through the summer even if the days are hot. We have had light frosts in July and August and last year it got down to 22 degrees the first week of Sept. Earliest I have ever gotten a ripe tomato was about the 5th of August one very hot summer. |
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| You will soon be more experienced than I am with early tomatoes, Bruneau. I am kind of in your neighborhood so maybe a response will be of some help. (That linked thread should give you some good ideas, also.) Bloody Butcher and Kimberley have been my earliest reds and ripen right along with the golden cherries, Sungold & SunSugar. You know Latah is a U of Idaho release from many years ago. When those varieties first showed up, I grew Benewah, Shoshone, and Kootenai. I liked Kootenai best but that was about 35 years ago! They were all a one shot thing for me but I see that the seed is still out there. I'm quite sure that I didn't grow Latah but it is good to see the favorable "press" on it. Way back then, I also grew Sub-arctic but I'm quite sure it was the Maxi. My garden was about 500 feet higher in elevation then and I was so glad to get down to a lower elevation so that I had more choices. I had Early Wonder once in recent years and didn't find it as good as Early Girl, neither for earliness or flavor. Oh yes, I have had EG right along. Well, I was stuck in Sub-arctic land when EG first came out. Stupice, I thought was a good choice and it had a fuller flavor than most early varieties. Bloody Butcher is real good that way. Still, my Stupice plants produced almost nothing but deformed fruits. And, those are the early varieties from your list and the ones that stand out in my memory. This year, I intend to grow Fireworks because I've heard for a number of years that it does well in the Palouse. I don't live quite in the Palouse but hope that it can run some competition with the Early Girls. Bloody Butchers and Kimberley will also be in mix, along with the cherries and a few early yellows that I've had fun with in recent years. I hope that helps a little. Steve |
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| Digit- thanks for the info, i may have to add to my list. I am actually located in Latah county. I did know about the UI bred tomatoes but have never grown them. I picked Latah because I read some good reviews and Benewah because it is supposed to be a bit bigger than Kootenai, Shoshone, Bonner, and Sandpoint. Celebrity is one of my regulars because it is bigger and very flavorful but still sets fruit okay with cold nights. Did not get a single ripe fruit off them 2 of the past 3 years though. |
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- Posted by missingtheobvious Blue Ridge 7a (My Page) on Wed, Jan 30, 13 at 13:23
| Bruneau, take a look at member fusion power's temperature info on this thread: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0313104430362.html?1 0 Unfortunately I don't know where you could find information about those special or Russian varieties that can withstand the really cold temps. |
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- Posted by LauraTaylor123 none (My Page) on Sun, Feb 3, 13 at 19:33
| Hi Bruneau, You've got a great list of early varieties to work with. Generally speaking, the varieties with Russian and Czech names are more suited to your climate. They tolerate cooler climates and shorter seasons. A couple of others you might want to try are Matina, a small red heirloom that's really flavorful and Tigerella, a small striped variety. It's also known as Mr. Stripey. Green Zebra could also be a good choice for you. I had great luck last year growing grafted tomatoes. They tolerate temperature changes and produced much later into the season. You can put them in the ground a little earlier which might help with your harvest date. Laura |
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| Thanks for the additional comments. I have added 3 more to the list - bloody buthcher, fireworks, and fourth of July hybrid. A couple others look interesting as well but I am already getting a little carried away. If I have good luck this year I will likely keep my favorites and trial a few more new ones the next year. |
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- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Mon, Feb 4, 13 at 23:20
| Gregori's Altai is a very good nice size pink tomato. It matures in about 65 days for me. Would be a week or so more in a cooler climate. DarJones |
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