http://gardenguide.montana.edu/mgardener/mgardenerindex.asp

I remember neighbors peas, green beans, all kinds of lettuce, cabbage ... asparagus, rhubarb too. All the "cool season" stuff thrives there.

I grew up in Montana, and my aunt still lives and gardens there. She's about where Wheatland, Sweet Grass and Golden Valley counties come together -- somewhere between 4A and 4B, with LOTS of wind thrown in. She has a fabulous garden every year (puts mine to shame, but that isn't tough to do) that includes corn, squash (generally acorn, buttercup, pumpkin, etc.), tomatoes and peppers as well as the cool season-type crops. Though she starts things like tomatoes and peppers (and sometimes squash/cucumbers) in the greenhouse, everything later goes out to fend for itself. She uses black plastic under the squash, tomatoes and peppers and plants squash/cucumbers in tires. With regard to tomatoes, she had a bumper crop of Pineapple this year, but I notice she tends to hedge her bets with a good selection of earlier varieties. I think she'd be lost if she couldn't can at least 50 quarts a year. HTH and good luck.

There's a wide variation in growing regions. Do you have an idea of what area you might choose to live? I grew up in Helena, and later moved to Darby (at the southern end of the Bitterroot Valley). In Helena, I mainly remember my mother's carrots and corn. After she died, I moved to Darby to live with the aunt I've been discussing above. The Bitterroot is kind of the "banana belt" of Montana (~5A, I believe). I think the Flathead region may be as well. In the Bitterroot, my aunt REALLY, REALLY gardened. When she moved east, she still had roughly the same elevation (~3,500') but not nearly as mild a climate (nor the water) and has had to adapt. My other Montana aunt lives outside Wisdom in the Big Hole Valley (~60 miles from Darby) but is at +6,000'. She basically expects frost any day of the year but still manages a few tomatoes in addition to her cool-season veggies. Inverted fish tanks make great cold frames :)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg1200511326811.html?6

I have box car willie on my list to try this year. It's almost too long to maturity for us, but I'll either keep it in the greenhouse or plant it early with wall-o-waters. Because I don't eat alot of tomatoes fresh but mostly process them (freezing and canning) I grow mostly hybrids. Never paid much attention to the difference. After reading on gardenweb everyone's love of heirloom I've decided to add some to my list.

My last year's list:
Delicious
Early Goliath
Park's Whopper
Tomande
Anna Russian
Juliet
Jenny
Big Mama Paste

This year's list (so far):

Red Alert (free seed, so I'm trying it)
Early Goliath
Champion II
Juliet
Sungold (everyone on GW seems to like them)
San Marzano Redorta
Opalka
Big Mama Paste

My maybes:

Brandyboy
Hege German Pink
box car willie
milano