I am looking for recommendations for sources to order plants for next year. Particularly one called Fusion I believe.

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The information about the company owned by Fusion ( his user name online), his name is Darrel, was given in the thread you started which has now been deleted.

If you look below on this same page you'll see a thread titled Selected Plants which is his company name, as in selectedplants.com

Depending on which varieties you're looking for you might wish to check out Territorial Seeds as well as the SSE online catalog at Seedsavers.org

The above three are ones I've seen good feedback from but I['m sure there are several others as well.

Again, it depends on what you're looking for.

Eventually you might grow so many varieties that you might wish to start your own from seed which is the only way to grow what you yourself want. Seed company recs are not being asked for by you, so I won't mention any at this time.

Carolyn

paulsm,
I too, like Carolyn, would highly recommend starting from seed next year. Having done so for the last 2-1/2 years, I've found it extremely rewarding and quite simple.
So simple that I'd like to offer you most of what it takes to do it. You'd only need a a 4 foot, double bulb flourescent. I can supply the rest for at least 24 plants :)
I have about 150 kinds seeds, mostly OP's and some hybrids.
soiless starting mix, 6 pack cells to start them in, 3-1/2" pots to transplant, labels, a sharpie permanent marker, and 1020 flat to boot. I'll even cover the cost to send them and can throw in some ripe tomatoes if you can wait a couple of weeks. Just send an email to me from My Page and let me know.
"Kill 'em with kindness"
Rob

Companies that I have dealt with and can highly recommend:

1) http://www.selectedplants.com/

2) http://krackinpremium.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=KPP&Category_Code=TPH

Companies that I have bookmarked for future reference for specific tomatoes I want:

3) http://www.appalachianseeds.com/catalog.html

4) http://www.heirloomtomatoesoftexas.com/varieties.asp

5) http://members.tripod.com/jonsplants/jonsplants2.html

6) http://www.backyardgardener.com/tomato/grown_to_order.html

7) http://www.chileplants.com/aboutus.asp?section=2

Remember it quite late in the year to be purchasing tomato plants and some of these companies are not longer selling them but I pass them along to you for bookmarking, good luck.

You could also look around your area for garden fairs. They're often a good source for plants. We have a nice one in mid-May with many vendors, including a nearby organic farm that sells mainly heirloom plants which have already been hardened off and are ready to plant out. I usually buy a few to supplement the plants I've grown from seed.

Thanks... I found the other thread.

Rob... thanks for your offer but I live in a condo with not a lot of extra space to work with. I also have about a 15 by 25 foot deck which is my planting area which is shared with flowers, herbs, etc.

I wanted to start with three kinds of brandywine this year and then branch out a bit next year. I did pick up a couple of heirloom plants from whole earth foods... a green zebra, a black prince and the last name escapes me right now.

I bought one of those tomato success kits from Gardner Supply that has the self watering capability. Curious to see how that works.

>>>I bought one of those tomato success kits from Gardner Supply that has the self watering capability. Curious to see how that works.If that's the APS system with the plastic foam trays, they work just super! I've been using them for over 10 years, the 40 and 24-cell ones for seed starting; the 6-cell ones for transplanting tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, and for starting squash and cucumbers. This year we took a 10-day vacation and all I had to do was make sure the lower trays were full of water when we left, and I also cut back the length of time the lights were on because I didn't want them to grow too much while we were away (and get cooked in the lights). They're great for retaining the right amount of moisture and insulating the soil so the temp doesn't vary too much. (I also like their seed starting mix.)
Have fun!

Carol

Did someone say free seeds? :)

Recommendation: Hirt's Garden is the only place I ever mail ordered tomato plants from ... and from them only once (a 4-pack of "Rose Brandywine"). They were perfectly packaged, arrived USPS (to the address I specified on my order blank) timely and in perfect shape and haven't skipped a beat since planting out in the garden. They have a limited selection compared to Laurel and Fusion, but then there was only one specific plant I wanted ... besides, for a balcony gardener they have plenty enough selection.

You might try early Farmer's Markets in your area.

I also can highly recommend Darrel (Fusion), at selectedplants.com

You need to order early enough in the year to get what you want. I THINK he starts growing in January or February, and starts shipping by early March to SOME areas, but maybe he does it earlier. You should be able to specify shipping dates, based on the climate in your own area.

He generally has a very large variety of popular heirloom tomatoes.

His plants are healthy and he packs and ships them very well, with great protection. Surprisingly, some of the OTHER (well known) companies (who ought to know better) DO NOT ship their plants very well at all, and if you deal with those companies, you will end up with broken or dead plants. Darrel at selectedplants.com does the best shipping job that I have ever seen.

His prices are quite reasonable, espeically for what he has to offer.

I have ordered from him at least 3 separate years, and was never unhappy.

I would highly recommend Northern Tropics. I don't know how to add a link, I'll try, but it shouldn't be hard to find. I got lovely, large, healthy plants, on time, and with great communication. I ordered from her twice this year, (once after a major disappointment with another seller)and am very happy. She is done for this year, but the site lists what she had available. Selected Plants does pack better than anything I've ever seen.HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Tropics

I can't stress enough how free you would be from these shipping hassles if you just started seeds inside in your windowsill. You don't need light set-up or heating mats, etc. You also don't need to purchase a large variety of seeds when you just want two or three types.

Renee's Garden Seeds has four packets that come with a mix of varieties in them--and you can tell the difference right away because the seeds are color-coded. I'm trying some myself this year the germination is very good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Renee's Garden Tomatoes