My plans for this season

[bluelacedredhead]

Alan, can you explain a bit about your breeding experiment with Mer de Nomes?? TY

[Alan]

Yeah, it was just sort of an experiment that fell into my hands a couple years ago, my neighbor gave me the original tomato/seeds. It actually was orginally an accidental cross between small fruited red cherry and a family heirloom red tomato his family had traditionally grown (the only two tomatoes my friend had grown the year before). He ended up with 5 plants that produced 1-3 oz red tomatoes that were blemish free, round and red the next year, he thought they were good enough to keep and passed it on to me, in the past two years, i've grown it from seed 6 times (using the greenhouse and the natural summer season) and have selected for uniformity, taste, and size. It seems to be fairly stable now, if you find any instability please let me know and send me some seed as i'm keeping a few off types on hand for future research.

There is another Mer De Noms as well, it's a black variant, but it is an "on purpose" cross of red Mer De Noms with Nyagous, it's still got a bit to go before it's stable, if I get on it I might be able to offer it as a promo by next spring I hope!

[johno]

I'm excited to try Mer de Noms, but the black variant sounds even more enticing. Does it set in clusters?

[Alan]

yep, it sets in clusters, is a determinate, and very manigible/almost dwarf. I've kinda selected it to grow in greenhouses but I do have some indeterminate seed that i'm growing this year as an outside varriant (mer de nomes black #2)

You guys will all be recieving seed as soon as it's available and that's a promise!
-Alan

[bluelacedredhead]

Thanks for the explanation Alan. Good luck with your plans this season. I didn't order any tomatoes from you..I have more than enough right now as it is..
But I'll be watching to see what others say about your efforts.

[Tom Akers]

Here's my current list:

4th of July
Aker's West Virginia
Aunt Ginny's Purple
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Azoychka
Black Cherry
Black Sea Man
Bloody Butcher
Brandy Boy
Cherokee Purple
Cuostralee
Dr. Carolyn
Earl's Faux
Early Girl
Gardener's Delight
Golden Queen - USDA
Green Zebra
Jet Star
Noir de Crimee
Paul Robeson
Perito
Porterhouse
PrimeTime
Pruden's Purple
Purple Russian
Reisentraube
Roma
Rose De Berne
Sun Gold
Supersonic

I may have to pare it down some or till the whole yard. ;D

Happy gardening to all.
Tom

[downinmyback]

Hey Alan remember that Aussie tomato called BRUNO i was trying to get seeds from. The seeds arrived yesterday . After i save the seeds this fall i will send you some. I am tickled to get that one.

[johno]

BLRH, where'd you get the Aker's W.V. Black? I would like to hear more about it, and how it does this year, especially compared to Aker's W.V.

[houseodessey]

I was afraid to reply until I was sure my seedlings would make it.

Here's what I'm confident will survive as far as heirlooms are concerned:

Golden Sunray
Green zebra
Arkansas traveller
Plum Lemon
Cosmonaut Volkav
Mortgage Lifter
Boxcar Willie
Cherokee Purple (I direct seeded these a few weeks ago and they're doing awesome compared to my indoor starts)
Pineapple Beefsteak
Brandywine
German johnson
Mr. Stripey

Heirlooms that are iffy

Black Crim
San Marzano
Kty Beefsteak

Hybrids
Better bush
Sweet 100
Early girl
Classic Roma

Hopefully they'll survive hardening off.

[bluelacedredhead]

Johno, it was from someone on Tomatoville. The offer is now closed. But like you, I thought it would be interesting to see how it compared to the pure variety. I love Black tomatoes anyway, so most of them will just go for table use. But if they turn out nice, I'll save a few.

[jeannine]

This will be my third yr with O/P varieties, so far I've never had this much fun growing maters in all the years I've done this, and I'm not telling how many that is ya all will have to figure it out on your own !

So far I've got growing:

Dr. Wyche's yellow
Pink Accordian
Cherokee Purple
Purple Calabash
Roma-most likely hybred variety, saved from my bumper crop last year
Brown Berry

In the Works as time and space on my growing shelves permits:

Aunt Ruby's German Green
Dad's Sunset
Giant Belgium
Flame/Hillbilly
Mr. Stripey-I actually have 2 plants that were wintered over in the living room but, we just loved these that I will have to have more than 2 to get me through the season!

I also will have a few others, though I don't know exactly what DD picked out and has growing for her own piece of dirt, gosh that kid is great!

Jeannine

[johno]

Well, Wild Chiapas and Goose Creek were my two failures. The rest of them are in the ground and happy - about 60 plants. Of course, that doesn't count the Doc hybrids or the other 18+ varieties I have started indoors right now. I'll use them for replacements and for a later planting. I'll have 6 or 7 main beds full of tomatoes, plus 3 with cherry tomatoes.

I had planned on growing 4 of each variety, but ended up with only 2 or 3 good ones of some, and only one Sweetie cherry tomato made it. I'd say I'm averaging about three of each.

[downinmyback]

This is the final count of tomatoes for this year unless i squeeze another few in
Old Brooks
Stupice
Mule Team
Mr Striped
Burrector Favorite
Aunt Gertie Gold
Arkansas Traveler
Purple Passion
Old Virginia
Mexico
Cherokee Purple
Mortgage Lifter
Mrs Martha Italian
Red Barn
Zogola
Stump of the World
Cherokee Green
Earl Faux
Mr Bruno
Little Lucky
Boxcar Willie
Grub Mystery Green
Kellogg Breakfast.
Tommy Toe
Yellow Pear
Peace vine Cherry
Brown Berry
Roma
Amish Paste
Pink Brandywine
Andrew Rahart’s Jumbo Red
I have over 80 tomato plants and i would have to enlarge mr garden or take out some other vegetables if i try to plant more.

[johno]

Well, tomatoes are like crack for me, I guess. I now have over 40 varieties planted - I just don't know when to quit...

[bluelacedredhead]

I'd grow more tomata's if I didn't need room for all the varieties of squash I've got...Not sure if I had to make a choice between squash and tomatoes which I would pick??