I guess it is time to fess up. We had our very late killing frost and did lose some of our tomatoes last week. Luckily we have planted in excess of 4x what we need and should recover fully. You (Sharon especially) will be pleased to know we refrained from replanting everything. Here are our totals:

Sophies Choice (never even grown them before!!) Ozark Pink Paul Robeson Brandywine Aunt Ruby's German Green Debaro Zapotec Yellow Brandywine Striped German Ailsa Craig Cherokee Purple San Marzano Roma Orange Oxheart Siletz Black Brandywine

for a total of 156. All in all a very conservative number and I am pleased with our self restrain. Mind you if you check out the cold frame and window ledges, there are still a few lerking tomatoes.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001

Answers

Further confessions.Last year Nick planted 110 tomatoes when we usually do,under grow tunnels,He aims for tomatoes by June 15th. He loves to have braggin' rights.

We came to a night it was going to go into the low twenties.No way the grow tunnel was going to protect tomatoes this low.So he goes out and digs up all the tomatoes and puts them back in the greenhouse.A job in itself,but these tomatoes are so big when they do go out, that he plants them with a post hole digger!

Well,he IS pretty serious about his early tomatoes.He had them to sell a good two weeks before anyone else.

More confesions-Nick finally noticed all the tomato plants I'd started.Yeah,I got lectured.

I grow siletz as well and really like it. Definitely a keeper for us.Brandywine I only grow a few bc of defect problems in our hot humid climate. We have one that looks and tastes just like a brandywine,but has less defect-also a keeper.

Trying both cherokee purple and a local purple that will prob. be the same thing,this year.Got that seed from my favorite mennonite greenhouse operator and she had grown it out over a number of years,so figure it will be well suited to our particular problems.Love running across the local heirlooms too.Great stories go with some of them.The local purple is a local favorite,so we'll see.

Homestead did good in our climate and had good flavor, and I'm trying Hillbilly (of course!) I plant some sugar lump cherry and yellow pear and italian drying all which add chunkiness to salsa.And are popular to sell.Some folks just like cherry tomatoes or those old yellow pears. Oh yeah,liked amish paste too.Good flavor as well.

Regina yellow beefsteak did not do well,same as brandywine for us,so I'm trying jubilee and gold queen this year.See how it goes.

Have more I'm planting,but can't remember them all.We need to all compare notes again at the end of the season! Varies alot by area what works and what doesn't.Interesting to learn you all's experiences.

Yep.156 is a modest ammount,really.(snort)We are dry as a bone so nothing has gone out except what was already in the garden.Send rain,please! I'm getting frantic. Trays and trays of stuff to get in the ground.Nick irrigated last night. Ponds going down already.Water needed.

So first corn,tomatoes and beans are in, but I'm in a holding pattern on all the rest.Grrrrr.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001

Kim -

You are so right - we DO have to all get together and compare notes at end of season. Thanks, too, for mentioning about the Amish Paste. Its my first year for those... In fact, it might as well be my first year for gardening, as zones 1 and 5 are so different, lol!!! (Nobody up here has anything at all in the ground yet - even peas... Being used to IL, my house now looks like a jungle, lol!

Our nearest market is over 60 miles from here, so I'm not growing anything for sale this year, besides all the differences. I AM trying to get one started up here, though. Any ideas as to how to make it fly with our locals??

I'll be praying you get that rain, too.... Drought conditions out here as well, so I know how you feel -

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001

We need rain badly, but for the pasture, not the tomatoes. We have drip irrigation, and it is WONDERFUL. Ours uses 1/2 gal/minute for every 100 feet of tube, with holes every foot. We plant the tomatoes on every second hole, with something early season on the holes between them. We just turn the water on until there's a moist circle round each plant. The tube only costs about 2 cents a foot, and lasts several years! It also allows a heavy mulch which supresses weeds and minimizes the soilborne tomato diseases.

We have to confess further that this years expansion cost over $100 in new re-bar to stake the tomato plants!

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001

I am so glad that I am on this forum!!! This is the only place I have found other gardeners as wacky as us. We are dry here and it is early anyway to set our plants out and there is no longer any room for us in the kitchen for the plants all over. This is my first year for the Amish paste also, as well as several others. We really should compare notes at the end of the season.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001

Wow, I sure wish I could send all of you some of the rain we've been getting here. It's been raining here since Monday. We can't cut grass, plant in the garden, or do much of any other outdoor work. My basement has had water in it for the last 4 weeks and with this new rain, will probably not stop seeping in until June. I'm tempted to drop a fishing line into the little creek flowing through the middle of our basement, maybe I'd catch something. ;-)

And maybe if I go outside and huff and puff hard enough I can blow the rain to those of you that need it...

BTW, I would love to hear how the Amish paste tomatoes do for those of you that are growing them. I would love to find a good paste tomato. So far the only open-pollinated tomato I've found that does well here in our new location is Lisa King. I need to live in one place long enough to find varieties that do well for that location.

David: Glad to hear you like the drip irrigation. I plan on putting in a drip system for my raised beds - hopefully next year. This year is starting out to be following a pattern like the last 2 years. *Lots* of rain in Spring, a little rain in Summer, and virtually no rain in late Summer and Fall. I wonder if this is a new weather pattern emerging for our area or what? Drip irrigation is definitely needed here by late Summer...

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001

David

What did you come up with to pump your water? That's our stumbling block.Pond is below garden,so we use what we have up to a holding tank.Slow and tedious.Plus the pond is dropping.Choice btwn fish and garden if things don't turn around. We're abt 6 inches of rain behind.

Take it you are using T-tape? Good choice except I keep slicing it when I cut the landscape fabric.Time to order more repair connectors.

Jim keep blowing. Started off cloudy,but now a sunny day. Hey,you can raise fish in that basement.Just a suggestion. Don't get all huffy.:o)

Amish paste did good here,but we are hot and humid.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001

Well that's another confession forced out! We are on rural water supply. We have long term plans to pump water uphill from our spring to a holding tank which will supplement roof runoff. We have all the equipment to convert to solar/wind power, but haven't had the time to set it up. We're still building the house! When we get the solar power set up, we will use the excess daytime current to run the pump.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001

Jim, have you tried Principe Borghese (Prince of Borgias) roma-type? It's an heirloom. I bought a transplant of it in 1999, grew it in an Earth Box (self-watering planter with water reservoir). It produced well, and had so many green fruits at the end of the season, I dragged it inside. It wintered over, quite neglected, and I stuck it back outside for the summer of 2000. I didn't even refertilize it, and it still kept producing. I probably should have cut it back at the beginning of the season and fertilized, but I was experimenting.

I haven't found any transplants of it yet this year, but I may. I know various catalogs sell the seed. Maybe next year, I'll have a cat-proof setup to try starting my own transplants!

Been raining here, but not heavily. More moderate. Jim, what did you do LAST year when we kept getting those HUGE downpours every week or so? My basement flooded (not seeping, came in through the door) 3 times last spring! Nothing so far this year. I have wider gutters this year too.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001

Joy I have that Principe Borghese-that's my italian drying tomato.Original use and yes it does dry pretty good.Good flavor and productive.Determinate so it's good for container.That's where I had it as I run out of room in the garden.Great for salsa.Remind me in the fall and I'll send you seed,unless you want some now!

Amish Paste is much larger,meaty and good flavor for eating fresh too.I thought it was fairly productive,but last year was very wet so tomatoes were slow to ripen.Not a good indicator year.

Still no rain here -Two storms one went north of us-one went south.Help!

Boy David-I hear you! 3 years permanent here this month and still working on the buildings!The 3 years before I would come down for 2 weeks at a time and work on the outside of the old house and my gardens(outside work comes first,don't you know!) Then head back to IN for two weeks and Nick got to have a wife again. Like camping out- loved it.Got pretty much done too,but the property needed beaucoup work.

Still working! inside of old house needs quite a bit yet.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001

Joy: I have tried Principe Borghese though it's been several years ago and at our first home - not at our current home. I had poor results with it at that time but maybe I should give it a try again...

My luck with heirloom and open pollinated tomatoes has been abysmal. The plants grow well but give few tomatoes. The Lisa King variety was an exception last year, though. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with the other varieties I've tried. I guess I need to keep experimenting with several varieties until I hit on a few winners.

Been raining here, but not heavily. More moderate. Jim, what did you do LAST year when we kept getting those HUGE downpours every week or so? My basement flooded (not seeping, came in through the door) 3 times last spring! Nothing so far this year. I have wider gutters this year too.

We didn't have a prolem last year with water in our basement and I don't understand why. We certainly had the heavy rain like you had. The year before that we did have rain in the basement - we ended up putting gutters on the house (none on the house when we bought it) and thought that would solve the problem. And with no water in the basement last year we thought it had solved the problem.

But this year we've had the water again and it's as bad as two years ago. I think we may have to do some grading of the soil around our house and maybe put down plastic sheeting and landscaping rock to keep the base of the house dry. A sump pump may be needed, too. Money, money, money. It sure never ends on what you can spend on upkeep for a home, does it?

And I'm sorry to hear that you had flooding. I'm getting really frazzled with just the constant seeping so can imagine you were pulling your hair out.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001

Er...confession time....I fertilized that tomato when I was there, Joy!! I was planting the other ones, so I flipped up the plastic and gave it a dose of the same organic fertilizer I was giving the others!!

I bought some 'Tumbler' plants today for planting in a whiskey barrel. They did really well last summer in pots, so I thought I'd try them again, 3 to a barrel since one in a hanging basket did so well (until it dried out one weekend I wasn't here and my mom 'forgot' to water it) I also got some 'Patio' to put in pots, since it was the only large tomato to produce red fruit last summer!

I wish I had more room for tomatoes, even though all I got were mostly green tomatoes last year (That happens THIS year, I'm gonna just compost those puppies!!! 60 lbs of green tomatoes to do with, I tell ya!!! Especially when no one will eat anything made with green tomatoes except me, and how many can you eat?)

I also ordered some ultra early varieties (1100 heat units) from Territorial to try -- Glacier, Stupice, Northern Delight, and wanted Oregon 11. but they were out, so I ordered a Siletz instead, which is listed as Extra-Early (1300 heat units). Then I went bonkers at Jungs and bought Sweet Cluster, Wayahead, and Sweet Million. Bwahahahahahaha!!!! (now where am I going to plant them all? Guess I'd better start toting barrels!!) (or I could inflict some of the Sweet Million on my dear sister...)

They're talking about 28 degrees tomorrow night, so I guess all the tomatoes and new herbs come into the Conservatory (aka the green house room...but I like the sound of The Conservatory, a la 'Clue' -- "It was done in The Conservatory, with the Wrench, by Colonel Mustard!!").

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

julie, have you ever tryed wrapping your green tomatoes in newspaper and letting them ripen?? I have heard that it works, although I have never done that I did set them out in a freeze free area and let them ripen and then made sauce out of them one year.

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

Hi diane! Oh yes, I tried just about every method with those green tomatoes last year! I had them by the wheelbarrow load, so I wrapped some, put others out in pop flats with ripe apples (another method I'd heard), and hung others upside down on the vine suspended on metal stakes supported on the backs of two chairs in the garage. A few ripened, but the taste was only so-so on the partially-ripes I tried saving, the ones that were just dead on green when brought in tasted about like cardboard, but most of them ended up rotting away and went into the composter anyway.

I forget HOW many pints of dilled green tomatoes I put up (a lot!) and HOW many pints and quarts of green tomato mincemeat I made, but it was too much!! But being a bear for punishment, and a dopeless hope fiend about ripe red tomatoes, I go forth with compost and trowel in hand into the raised beds of battle once again, forgetful of last year's failures after a long winter....

THIS years experiment: growing them in the same raised bed as last year. Some people say rotate them, others say that if you plant them back same place year after year and fertilize them with the composted residues of their forebearers every year that they just get better and better. Assuming of course, that you don't have some disease in the soil.

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

Cardboard huh Julie??? Must explain why the store bought ones in the winter always taste like cardboard. Oh well, now I don't have to try it for eating. Never did do the dead on green ones, and only canned the ones that I had picked partially ripe. I usually try to keep one "patio" tomato to bring in the house. Usually an indeterminate that will produce a few for eating until I murder it about Christmas time when I need the room.

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

We have a yellow cherry tomato that yields late and heavy. The fruit from this one keep better than anything else we've ever had. Two years in a row we used the last of the ripening tomatoes on Christmas Eve. Don't even know what it is - a volunteer from the compost pile. Didn't plant it this year, but stiil have seeds (I think) if anyone would like to try it. Our seeds are from '98 so I probably should have started some this year! Too late now. Really. Yes, too late. Don't even think that. Too late, too late, too late.

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

David-You are on your way right now to start that yellow cherry tomato seed,aren't you.Stop right there,mister! Hand over that seed.Right NOW,I said! Don't you argue with me!

I need to go plant it,instead!!!! VBEG

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

Well, SOMEBODY plant it and grow seed for all of us next year! It sounds wonderful!

David, did that plant come from your Wisconsin years (i.e., will it do well here)?

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001

Well after a LONG day of High School teaching I got home last night and read David's tomato post (along with some of his other confessions..... groan....needless to say he is grounded from using the computer!!!!). I thought it extremely foolish to chance losing our little yellow cherry tomato seed just because we were too restrained to plant it. So another 9 plants started. Well hmmmm I actually found another seed we had saved the same year. We had some Debaro's planted next to some Brandywines and it seemed they crossed and we had a brandywine coloured plum tomato. WE thought it might be useful as a canner so we saved some seeds. We called the tomato a Debbiewine (actually had a good friend in WI named Debbie who was a real whiner). I hated to see those seeds lost too so....another 9. Come on Sharon, that's only 18 more tomatoes, no big deal right. Boy am I glad I got that off my chest.

Joy, about that yellow tom. Yes it was a volunteer for us when we lived outside of Madison (lived just into Jefferson County between Cambridge and Fort Atkinson). We had named our farm there Dandelion Farm (as that was what grew best) so we have always called this the Dandelion tomato. I think it is just your little standard yellow cherry but it is a real trooper. Great for kabobs and in the kids lunches as a snack. I'd be happy to send you some seeds. You are welcome to some this year, or if these are successful I can send you some in the fall. Just let us know.

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2001

kim, me too???

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2001

Boy, I don't think I'm trying enough varieties! Heck, I'm still doing my "heavy waterin'" with a garden hose! This years new tomatoes are mortage lifter, caspian pink, and ropreco paste type tomatoe. I confess only loving to grow big tomatoes, becasue I love the look of surprise on peoples faces when they hold up there first two pounder.

Peace to all

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

Hah -- Joy hasn't said a peep about this yet on the forum, but she keeps buying different heirloom varieties she's been finding. I think we've got us another Tomato Junkie!

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

Rat Head! Fink! Rat-headed Fink! and :-P

Yeah, I have a bunch of different ones collected. Last night I found a Striped German and a Moskevich (early) to try. Hope I can get them planted SOON! Next year or the end of this season, maybe I'll hit up some of you for some others to try next year. Besides the ones mentioned above, I have a Tumbler, a Cluster (not sure that's the name, maybe it's just a type), 2 yellow pears, 2 Sweet Million, 2 Wisconsin 55 (yum), a Brandywine, a couple of roma types . . . arrgh, I forgot what else, and I not going out to look and see what else. Haven't found a Principe Borghese or Amish Paste yet. Also next year, maybe I can actually START some of my own. I am not yet a competent veggie gardener, certainly in an actual garden. I've grown 'em in pots, and even a compost pile (on purpose).

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

Joy-stop it.Just 'cause Jim is away doesn't mean you can get away with all that NAME CALLING!!! I'm gonna be watching you for any more such outbursts!:oP and :oD

Julie,man,them older sisters,huh? I feel your pain! You poor sweetie,you. :o)

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

Mea culpa! I was calling names! The horror! [She deserved it!] Also, what you don't know is that we have a very exclusive club: The Rat-heads, with only two members, Julie and Joy! ;-)

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

Does your exclusive club like to listen to that rat sh*t music too? (when the boy was still at home he liked rap music- we had our own name for it)

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

Actually, the Rat-Headed League listens mostly to Don Henley, The Eagles, and such....because Joy puts the tape in. Julie does not get to put the tape in...Julie has to listen to whatever Joy brought along in the car....Julie forgot all her tapes at home....(and usually does....)

I bought two 'Juliet' tomatoes today. Eeek!!!

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Don't forget Gordon Lightfoot!

[whispering so no one notices] I got a Jetstar, Amish paste, Green Zebra, and Siletz today. Oh dear oh dear! And some Lemon Gem marigolds and a varigated sage . ..

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Here I am to revive the tomato thread. I found a new web site tonight that I thought I would share with my fellow tomatophiles -- http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/tomato/

It is part of a larger forum that looks interesting. Lots of things that we all talk about here -- http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001