Heres one

Here is a link that might be useful: Knapps seeds

Last year I bought small plants from a vendor at the Torrance Farmers market. They were excellent plants and true to their name. I figured out through searching that the seeds were from tomatofest. This year I bought seeds from tomatofest. Just started them and hoping for the same good results.

Have you asked over on the California Gardening forum here?
Tatiana's gets 5 stars!
tomatogrowers.com too.

Dave

When it comes to seeds you can buy them anywhere and the places that I know that have a very good reputation ias to seed purity, PRICE, and customer service, to name just a few, might include:

Tomato Growers Supply
Gleckler Seedmen
Sandhill Preservation
Victory Seeds
Tatiana's T-base
Double Helix
Heritage Seeds
Casey's Heirlooms of Ardrie

.... as I said, just to name a few and I know all the owners of those places and trust them.

As for plants, have you checked out the tomato sales in Long Beach, the Fullerton one and another one whose name I can't remember.

And the Tomatomania event that used to be in Pasadena now moves around S Cal and you might Google that for dates. Last I knew Steve Goto was still growing plants for at least some of those events as he did when Hortus Nursery, now out of business, was still going.

And aren't the Armstrong Nursery stores still in the LA area? they used to be good. And there's another one in Orange County whose name I can't remember now, but it's the place my friend in Pacific Palisades goes to get his/

Yes, I'm in upstate NY, but I was asked by Hortus Nursery when they were still going to fly out and do a weekend dog and pony show with them and I also have many tomato friends in S Cal.

Hope that helps.

Carolyn

I bought from Tomatofest and Gary is a great guy, always on call to help out. He even sent me bonus seeds with my order.

I think there is someone who is Gary's friend and uses tomatofest's seeds to germinate seedings and sells them in Los Angeles Area. Gary @ Tomatofest might know. Usually the guy has advance booking and he sells out quick.

You can find URL's for many of the above listed businesses on this page.

Seed Suppliers

DarJones

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

In order for me to get the varieties I want, I usually have to order from a few places. My tried and true have been:

Sandhill Preservation
Tatianas
Victory Seeds

I'd like to give a big shout out to www.heritagetomatoseed.com. I absolutely had to have KBX for my orange and the only place I could find them was from these people. I have never ordered form them but if all goes well, they will be added to my list because I received my order in 3 days!! I ordered on Sat and they arrived Tuesday.

There's more than Steve's Heritage Seed place that sells seeds for KBX, as the link below shows.

Just sayin' that KBX has become a favorite of many over regular RL Kellogg's Breakfast.

Martha Hufford, who discovered it, and I posted at the same place many years ago and she also has raised plants for me since I fell and can't do it myself and now Craig LeHoullier does it and sends them up here from Raleigh/

My seeds were from Martha.

Carolyn, who notes that Tania updates sources for 2012 as fast as she can, but has to wait sometimes until all websites and catalogs for 2012 are out, and she also now features pages for close to 4,000 varieties, so it's a labor of tomato love, as I see it, aside from the fact that she herself sells tomato seed for about 600 varieties.

Here is a link that might be useful: KBX seed sources

Laurel at http://heirloomtomatoplants.com/ uses Gary's seeds and sells seedlings. She is in Lomita.

Tomato Mania has several big sale events in March/April. I used to go to the Tapia Brothers farm in The Valley, Balboa, at the end of the park. Google them.

Green Thumb Nursery also has an OK selection year-round. They tend to sell stock that works well with the local climate.

If you want seedlings (aside from tomato sale events), Burkard's Nursery in Pasadena has the widest variety of tomato plants I have ever found. In past years the seedlings start arriving about now and continue coming in thru April.

They are a bit on the high side, I think $5 each, but they have well over 100 varieties to choose from. The stock changes every couple weeks as new stuff comes in, so it may take more than one trip to get what you want.

Here is a link that might be useful: Burkard's

Also Home Depot has Certified Organic Heirloom tomato seeds fro $1.99/ea as well.

The Fullerton Arboretum has a famous annual tomato and pepper seedling sale in March with over 250 varieties.

Carla in Sac

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.fullertonarboretum.org/ps_MonsterTomato.php

Don, Can't help you on seedlings which as you found out is a crap shoot but the seed suppliers that Carolyn listed are some of the best. I have personally bought and grown seeds from Victory, Glecklers and Tatianas and have had nothing but excellent results as far as germination and variety trueness.If you want to take a walk on the wild side check out the selections of Wild Boar Farms which is located in Napa.
I have heard of and have gotten seeds that were not true to the stated variety from Tomatofest and Baker Creek.
As far as KBX sources are concerned I know Glecklers has the true variety because I was their source and my source was Martha Hufford which I first grew out in 2007.
If there is anything in particular your looking for maybe I can help. Ami, born and raised in Whittier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wild Boar Farms