I had sent seeds of Sophie's Choice to Jeff McCormack when he still owned SESE in Mineral, VA and it was he whosaid it didn't like heat.'But that's not been true for others and I know many in hot areas who have done very well with it and you're in zone 5, as I am, and no problems at all.

I'll link to Sophie below and you can see that it was grown several years in California before Barry sent seeds to me.

Sandpoint, LOL A continuing joke between Glenn Drowns at Sandhill Preservation and myself bc/ I said it was a spitter and one of the worse tasting varieties I'd ever eaten.

Then Glenn tells me how he went to Sandpoint HS in Idaho, then I asked him if his wife Linda could dunk it in chocolate for me, and on and on we go over the years.

Be sure to tell me how you like it.

It was bred by Dr. Boe at the U of Idaho and I'm pretty sure he bred your Kooteni one as well.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Sophie's Choice

Yes Gem State and Kootenai were in the Dr. Boe package from Sandhill. I put all 4 SC in pots so I could try to give them some shade/relief from high temps if needed, but since there were only 4 no big deal, these 2 are in identical pots to see BX vs HP, others are in 1 and 4 (?) gal pots but didn't think I needed to put her in 5 gal. Also trying Kootenai in-ground and in as small as 1 gal since I read on Tatiana's that it could go that small? Trying it with Sandpoint too since wouldn't you know I had 11 of those.

I thought you had recommended Sandpoint last year as an early - I don't recall you mentioning it was a spitter!

But that's why I'm growing 24 different cultivars this year, for taste-testing as well as environmental testing.

The plant on the left seems to be suffering from lack of nutrients. Potting soil might not have everything that a tomato plant needs (Read the label !).
Remember that soil is just a medium. It needs to be supplemented with nutrients. Some potting soils have added nutrients more than others but that is not (IMO) the reason that they are better. I made 8 cu-ft of potting soil (5-1-1 version) , starting with BIG ZERO nutrients but supplemented myself. I have about 20 potted plants. Not all of them are performing the same.

I've read about your potting mix, just haven't tried making it myself. I know container plants need regular fertilizer, but I don't fertilize right after potting up, I wait until the 1st watering. These have not been watered/fertilized yet as they are still moist. We are expecting rain over the next few days so I may put these on the porch (or at least the BX plant) and water with diluted fish emulsion.

I posted the picture to show the difference in 2 identical plants in identical pots treated the same way, only difference is the medium. Frankly, I'm surprised at the growth of the HP plant. It is similar to the growth I have seen in my in-ground plants, though I can't do a direct comparison since I don't have Sophie in the ground. According to the website, neither HP nor BX has added fertilizer.

Of your 20 plants, do you have any that you have done the same with (only 1 variable) for comparison?

Of your 20 plants, do you have any that you have done the same with (only 1 variable) for comparison?
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I am not doing a study. I was just speaking of my observatios. That means that there are other factors beside the medium and fertilizers. It can be genetics, root health, growing habit, etc.

On fertilizing: I fertilize starting the very first watering after plant out but with less than 1/2 rec. strength. Even in the rain it might become necessary to fertilize. Might sound strange but too much rain washs the nutrients (N in particular) down.
I try to READ my plants' lips. A yellow foliage clearly tell me; (1) you are watering too much and/or (2) You are not fertilizing enough, seysonn: -)

I am doing something of a study, though very small sample size ;-) We got less than 1/4" of rain since I potted these up, the mix is still moist from the initial wetting (hot water and up to my elbow mixing since it's peat-based). I do plan on fertilizing today or tomorrow, and protecting from rain so it doesn't wash out. It will be interesting to see if HP is better, and if it depends on size of container (smaller might dry out too fast, BX might be better in smaller containers). My initial concern with HP might be that it would drain too quickly, might only want to use it in very large containers but I'm not sure if I'm going to be planting in any tubs this year - I've been too busy (late) getting plants in the ground. I might try some 5 gal buckets with leftover Best Boys if I have time next week.

I should have grabbed 18gal totes w/o lids when I saw them at Goodwill, have some indeterminates left over too. But I've already planted at least 6 of each (except for SC that I only had 4 of), and had room in beds for more (up to 12 of some varieties) so really don't need to find containers, use up my mix, spend time watering, etc. more containers of late-season indeterminates. Maybe that will be next year's experiment.

No, I have never suggested Sandpoint as an early, or otherwise. Some others yes, but not Sandpoint.

If you saw the Boe collection then you saw the one that Glenn put together for me and he'd asked in advance which ones I'd like included, and then said, well, he didn't have enough of this or that, and now I forget which ones he listed. LOL

Glenn plans to do those collections in the future and started out with just those four for the reasons he gave, so he'll see how it goes and then make a decision.

Carolyn

I didn't get the catalog, you told me about the Dr. Boe package (and someone else listed what was in "your" package). There were a lot more than 4 in Dr. Boe's and they were all supposed to be early, so I ordered that. Though I didn't start all of them.

OK, you didn't "recommend" Sandpoint, just said I might want to "check it out" but no mention of taste (or lack thereof)...

No matter, it was in the package, I will let you know what I think but wish I hadn't started 12 seeds - and planted 11 that germinated ;-) I was just intrigued by Glenn's description of the 2nd flush.

I did have some Latah from trade last year, they were early, pretty lanky, not bad tasting for an early tomato. But I wanted to try "the real thing" this year in case those were a cross. So far the growth habit looks the same as what Alex sent me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Looking for Latah seeds

What is HP?

High Porosity (now don't ask what BX is b/c I don't know LOL).

Fertilized 1/2 strength Neptune's Harvest on Wed and the smaller plant is looking better, has put on some growth but is still behind. In fact, none of the others has had anything like that growth but I will see next week if the ones in HP take off like that one did.

Thanks.

So, what are you using for your HP? Is it your own mix?

ffreidel,

HP is a version of ProMix.
To make it High Porosity, I think they just add more perlite and possibly some pine bark. Still it is a peat moss based mix.
Promix is also a major peat Moss seller.

Sorry, I didn't realize that it wasn't clear both BX and HP were made by ProMix. HP has more perlite, no vermiliculite, less peat according to website. About 10% less peat than BX.

I may try to find a source for the mycorrizae and mix my own in the future, but I really don't like working with perlite (I've bought bags in the past and used it to lighten a mix). Creates a lot of dust. Have to wear a mask if mixing it in volume. Same with lime, unless you use pelletized lime.

Here is a link that might be useful: HP ingredients

HP has more perlite, no vermiliculite, less peat according to website. About 10% less peat than BX.
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Vermiculite is what makes soil mix more than wet, "Soggy". It absorbs many times its weight in moisture (water) and expands in volume. I think that is what make some commercial soils "Moisture Control". That on top of peat moss base make together a bad combination, IMO. Then they come and add perlite to it to nullify the effect. Just does not make sense to me.