Tomatoes-early late

[seedcorn]

Normally I'd agree on early vs mid season tomatoes but here by buying started tomatoes, the mids (Better Boy) are just as quick to bring fruit to the table as Early Girl.

Now there is a large difference between mids and lates tho. Started plants from nursery do change the maturity as the mids are ready to go once they get acclimated to soil.

 

[journey11]

I think I will do that-plant a bunch of diiferent kinds, and journal carefully (I say that every year, but, really! This time I mean it!) By next year I will have a good feel as to which onees I will concentrate on.

Yippeeee!

I am going to go tomato nuts!!!

Fortunately, there are always people willing to take the extras when it comes to a fresh tomato!

 

[desertgirl]

It is my sincerest wish to be so lucky as to have that particular problem!

 

[vfem]

Oh I had extras last year... but most were cherry varieties. I had been hit with the early blight last year and fought to win back a good amount of my plants. Sadly, the majority left for cherries... sooooooo I had to give in and share with the chickens the most. Most people weren't sure what to do with a cherry tomato other then salad or snack.

I found my earliest producer was a Pink Brandywine. The skin was tough on those, but I was able to start making tomato sauces with those in Late June. That flavor was amazing!

If you don't want anything but large tomatoes, I can understand... but I suggest going by determined/indetermined varieties as well as mixing in Cherry, Slicing and Paste varieties!

Just think of all those spicey salsas, pasta sauces, BBQ sauces, Chili's, Salads, Grilled Slices and pasta salads. ECT ECT ECT!!!!

I'm drooling.... excuse me!!!

 

[ducks4you]

Sometimes I like to support those that sell starts. There is tiny town--it's SMALLER than our town of 200!!, and about 3 miles away--they start tomatoes and peppers in their town hothouse, then sell them for town projects in April. Or, sometimes, I buy from the local Christian school that sells in early May. WalMart often sells off clearance plants because their help doesn't know plants--just watch the prices. (They don't know that, either.)

 

[desertgirl]

OK here is what I am thinking (but not set in stone, and I more than welcome any input and/or suggestions).

Determinates;

Fireworks
Early Wonder
Prarie Fire
Bradley

Indeterminates:
Early Girl
Box car willy
Kellogs Breakfast
Brandywine
Cherokee Purple
Virginia Sweets
Hungarian Italian



Cherries:
Chocolate cherry
Yellow Pear
Tumblng Tom Red


Thoughts?

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Sounds good. One thing tho - Early Girl is an indeterminate

 

[desertgirl]

ooops!:happy_flower

Man-you are good!

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Oh, you are welcome! Tomatoes are my thing and I have always grown the Early Girl tho this year I think I am going all heirloom. So far I have 30 different varieties to try this year. My hard part is trying to decide if I want to grow them all at once or start half for a spring/summer crop and the other half for a summer/fall crop. I still have tomatoes in my spare room ripening from my '09 maters. It was quite strange to be canning salsa from home-grown ingredients in the middle of January! LOL

I have another suggestion for your determinate grouping - Rutgers. They produced really good for me. There are determinate Rutgers (which are the ones that Cambell's originally created) and there are semi-indeterminate. I would say mine would have been considered a mid-season determinate....

 

[desertgirl]

I've heard that Rutgers are really hard, though. Like stones. Not true?