Heirloom Tomatoes?

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Stone_Family3

Stone_Family3

New Member
So I'm a sucker for color, and I've also started planning for next years garden project. I've considered doing Heirloom tomatoes and would like to get some opinions on them. Anything just general info.

Thanks.
 
I planted Mr. Stripey and Brandywines this year. They are both doing well, blooming and setting on but haven't ripened yet. I CAN HARDLY WAIT to be eating fresh maters.
I am in zone 5 and planted them inside wall o waters in april
 
I have some huge plants and there are plentry of green tomatoes on them, but the only one that has provided any ripe ones is the cherry tomato (Sungold) on the back porch.
 
Like I said I'm a sucker for color and uniqueness. Since most things now are hybrids I thought heirlooms would be the best way to go. I didn't pick heirloom corn though, DH was specific about the type of corn he wanted..lol.
 
I had several kinds of seeds and I just mixed them all up, so I don't know what kind of ear I will find when I shuck it. It doesn't really matter to me though. They are all good. At least all the varieties I had seeds for are good.
 
I love heirlooms! There are so many beautiful and unusual varieties, and the taste! *swoon*

Here are some good places to look at all kinds of heirloom and open pollinated varieties of vegetables. I've ordered from these 4 and had good service and great plants from all of them.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

http://rareseeds.com/

http://www.southernexposure.com/index.html

http://www.seedsofchange.com/

Here's one that was recommended by several folks in the on-line community, and I'll probably give them a try next year.

http://selectedplants.com/


I don't know if you've ever ordered from this company, flowers4Yeshua, but Laural's <http://www.heirloomtomatoplants.com/> doesn't have the best reputation in the on-line community. Some question her business practices, although I've never heard anyone say her products are poor or plants unhealthy. I have not ordered from her, but was interested in the Goose Creek tomato since it's supposedly a South Carolina heirloom. I was pointed towards the last site I gave when I commented on the high price ($6.95) Laural's was asking for one tomato plant.
 
I've only made it as far a burpee for seeds. I like to start everything from seeds. Since I homeschool we use it as part of our earth science. I'll for sure check out the links. Thanks everyone.
 
Oh, you have your hands full then. My daughter home-schooled her kids for many years. Alec is the youngest and when he came of high school age, he started going to C. S. Lewis Christian School. Bless his heart, he made 'honor roll' the first year.
 
Oh our daughter is just doing pre-school/Kindergarten curriculum and we only have one child so I think I still have a good handle on things....lol.

I'm leary of hybrids and GM foods I know heirlooms are alot older in variety and have stood the test of time.

Oh and the colors I've seen while looking at heirlooms online it's all so tempting.... :)
 
There's nothing dangerous about eating hybrids, all they are are crossbred plants. And many of them do give good disease resistance. I always plant at least one variety of Tomato Spotted Wilt virus resistant tomato, and most of them are hybrids. The problem comes from the gardener/farmer's inability to save seed on hybrids. It puts corporations in control of seed crops.
 
you know I also homeschooled my daughter ...back when not many did...we used a great curriculum from a place out of Floria...for science...alot of gardening year round..partly in the green house...I will have to look up the name of the company if you would like...although it has been 11 years from her graduating ...so mmaybe they are no longer around...LOL
 
I don't know if I plant any heirloom tomatoes. A seed packet will last me for several years though. I have 15 tomato plants and they are all looking really good.
 
If you really want to know if you have any heirlooms, list them and I'll tell ya!

Anything that says F1 or F2 or even F3 is usually a hybrid.
 
Blueaussi said:
If you really want to know if you have any heirlooms, list them and I'll tell ya!

Anything that says F1 or F2 or even F3 is usually a hybrid.
Click to expand...

Cherry tomatoes; Sungold and Sweet 100

Regular tomatoes; Roma, Celebrity, Big Boy, & Better Boy
 
With the possible exception of the Roma, all of those are hybrids. There are so many roma tomato varieties, it's hard to know.
 
Thank you. I have never attempted to save any of the seeds anyway, so I won't start now. LOL
 
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