How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

Everything About Tomatoes
EdieJ
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#21

Post: # 13579Unread post EdieJ
Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:24 am

Still trying to figure out what does well in AL heat. Last year was mostly abysmal. My ML's did fine early in the season but then the @$#&!$@ stinkbugs exploded and the searing heat/drought finished them off. Everything else in the backyard garden fared even worse. Many plants we got nothing off of. Except for some odd things. I actually had more plants than the garden would hold and couldn't find anyone who would take them and in desperation I stuck a couple in a tub and the other one in the ground next to it all up against the side of the house. We got a bunch of maters off of them. The dozen or so cherries we planted on the other side of the house against the deck went crazy. And that in spite of no soil amendments! So this year I decided to cut way back. I have more tubs, all my ML's will go in those on the side of the house and will actually be covered with insect barrier since I am growing them for seed (sorry, bees.) Other plants will go on the other side by the deck. Since there isn't room for a whole bunch I had to really think about what to grow. I chose the 3 varieties that did well last year + 2 more that at least produced a few, one of each. And 1 each of 5 varieties of cherries, I love a rainbow. Some of them are new, some returning favorites.
North Central AL (mountains)
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Nan6b
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#22

Post: # 13581Unread post Nan6b
Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:34 am

[mention]EdieJ[/mention] You're switching over to what works. Great!

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AZGardener
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#23

Post: # 13602Unread post AZGardener
Thu Mar 12, 2020 12:53 pm

I go through my spreadsheet and choose those that tolerate the heat, some new varieties to try, and some favorites to re-grow. I don't have much
of a plan really. :)
USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 13
Average Rainfall 9.5 inches
Climate: Sonoran Desert

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arnorrian
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#24

Post: # 13658Unread post arnorrian
Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:28 am

I have only about 40 varieties in my seed collection. I skipped some that I didn't like much, or are similar to others, and sowed the rest. I have some 30 varieties growing. Much less of a problem than restraining myself when it comes to buying seeds.
Climate: Cfa
USDA hardiness zone: 7a
Elevation: 140 m

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karstopography
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#25

Post: # 17708Unread post karstopography
Sat Apr 18, 2020 5:42 pm

A few reliable red slicers
A couple of paste/drier types
A few grape/cherry types
A favorite heirloom or two
Some wild cards/unknowns/non-red types
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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MrBig46
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#26

Post: # 17736Unread post MrBig46
Sun Apr 19, 2020 12:24 am

Nan6b wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2020 4:04 pm
Gardadore wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2020 7:36 am Decision made with great difficulty and revisions right up to sowing! .....
Amen! I start each list a year or two before it's time to sow. Stuff I can't fit in this year goes on next year's list. I've researched hundreds of varieties so far. Some things that go into my decision to grow include:
-many other people like it.= Rose Quartz Multiflora, Stump of the World, Limbaugh's Potato Top, Bloody Butcher, Sophie's Choice.
-my sister might like it (tart, red or pink, round, suitable for containers)= Bloody Butcher, Don Camillo
-Irresistible novelty= Cosmic Eclipse, NH Pickling
-I got the seeds and it looks appealing= Feng Shui, Husky Red F1, Limbaugh, Sophie's Choice, Stump.
-I needed another great-tasting cherry in a different color so I can tell them apart.= Isis Candy Cherry.
-Requested by DH.= Sungold, Post Office Spoonful, NH Pickling.
-My mother requested it on a whim, and I just love her.= Purple Russian
-It was an extremely really worthy plant, and I have only one seed left, so I'm trying to get more seeds= Bajaja.

Nan
Bajaja- I can send the seeds. I have a full bag - original from Moravoseed.
Vladimír

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Nan6b
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#27

Post: # 17758Unread post Nan6b
Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:58 am

Thank you, Vladimir. The one seed I had is growing well. If it continues to do well, I'll have all the seeds I need. If not, I will contact you. It was very difficult to find seeds here in the US.

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DMF
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#28

Post: # 17779Unread post DMF
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:53 pm

MissS wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:14 pmHow have you determined what it is that you will be growing? Is it new varieties, taste, past experience. a theme or experimentation?
I keep a spreadsheet of seeds with notes on how they have done in the past. As to what I grow, it's impulse shopping. "Gotta grow Jay's just because. Also Mako Ako. Let's see - tomatoes. I have enough seeds for these three. And lets do a lot of paprika this year; I enjoyed them last grow. And of course Scotch Bonnets."

Then you count how many you have selected and cut down to what will fit. (Which will also happen when I finally realize that I don't have room for nine Shattah plants.)
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
- Will Rogers

clara
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#29

Post: # 17781Unread post clara
Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:15 pm

I'm really happy that I managed to limit myself as to the number of varieties - for the first time since I started growing tomatoes! Only 63 instead of 110 -130 in the past years. As I said in a previous post, these are mainly "old" varieties. I will keep several plants of those varieties I liked very much in the past, so the number altogether will not be much smaller than in former years.
per aspera ad astra

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Cole_Robbie
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#30

Post: # 17784Unread post Cole_Robbie
Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:56 pm

The tomatoes I will grow this year will all hopefully do ok without trellises. My rows are on 3 foot wide ground cover for weed control. They are Maglia Rosa, utnyok (sp?), sol gold (guld), and cole. Everything else in the garden is going to be something I will eat and that stores well. I plan to sell most of what I grow at the farmers market but I want to be able to eat or preserve whatever doesnt sell. I am hoping to dehydrate extra tomatoes. My other crops are beans, peas, winter squash, pumpkins, greens, potatoes and carrots.

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bower
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#31

Post: # 17802Unread post bower
Sun Apr 19, 2020 7:40 pm

I had my 'no trellis' year last year, no work tomatoes all determinates only ten. I am not wanting to pack 50 plants into my tiny greenhouse as I've done in other years, but I guess I will keep at least 20 in there. I chose all plants I expect to be rugged in a tough year. I wanted all colors, so some of each. Some are unstable/cross generations so I will have a few surprises. Some are OP's my mother loves, for her and her friend, the most reliable and often grown. Some are OP's I only grew once, and the seeds are 7 or 8 years old, I wanted to refresh and revisit. They were all good producers except for one I am growing for taste alone. And I started a lot of microdwarf, in case of Ragnarok summer - I will be giving away as many as I can along with other extras. Reckoning about 30 seedlings are spoken for - I have 130 seedlings! I had a feeling someone would want the extras, but IDK! :)
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temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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PlainJane
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#32

Post: # 17806Unread post PlainJane
Sun Apr 19, 2020 7:51 pm

130 seedlings! Holy moly!
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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Nan6b
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#33

Post: # 17818Unread post Nan6b
Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:42 pm

We've seen how fast seeds are disappearing at the seed vendors'. Probably just put the little darlings out front with a Free sign on them & they'll vanish

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MissS
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#34

Post: # 17859Unread post MissS
Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:07 am

Bower, I too started plenty of seedlings. About 300 of them with the intention of giving them away to people who will need and love them. It is one small thing that I can do to help others this trying year. So good on you Bower.
~ Patti ~

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bower
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#35

Post: # 17863Unread post bower
Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:26 am

Good on you, MissS! :) Indeed since we are vegetable growers, this is the first thing that comes to mind in a "what can I do to help" situation. Anyone growing extra to sell is helping their community food security as well. We simply don't know at what point this will become a pressing front and center issue, so digging right in is the thing to do.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
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loulac
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#36

Post: # 18402Unread post loulac
Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:04 am

There has been an evolution in my choice of varieties. First, I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy from catalogues where 99% varieties are exceptional. Then I switched to growers who gave more balanced opinions and to forums. Now I try to stick to my stock of varieties (about 200) and refine my choice, though I may buy some more out of curiosity. This year I chose 82 varieties, I keep some and give a lot at a gardening fair.
Taste, a nice look, production, satisfactory resistance to late blight come first. As I hate checking a nursery where germination can last for 2 weeks I choose seeds that will germinate from 3 to 5 days at a temperature of 28°C / 82°F. Life is much simpler.

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Cole_Robbie
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#37

Post: # 18731Unread post Cole_Robbie
Wed Apr 29, 2020 7:18 pm

Germination of the seeds I dropped has been abysmal. I have been away from growing tomatoes for a couple years and my seeds are getting old. I just now picked out several favorites from my collection and planted the whole pack to see what comes up.

I choose based upon what sells at my market, but that I also like to eat. I planted:

Bosque blue Bumble bee
Ambrosia red (i think it is the tastiest red cherry)
Ambrosia Blue (orange antho saladette)
Brads atomic grape
Zebra rita
Bola Maciza (dark saladette)
De Barao orange (saladette with very long shelf life)
De Barao chorny (dark with stripes)
White cherry
Taos Trail
Mr Bruno

The last two are big red tomatoes. I really enjoyed Mr Bruno as a variety that was tasty without being especially juicy and thus great for a lot of cooking uses.

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Simmran1
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#38

Post: # 19922Unread post Simmran1
Thu May 14, 2020 12:26 am

Normally I grow 9-110 for our non-profit gardening club's annual plant sale. March 22nd (in Iowa) it was plain to see that CoVid-19 was
going to change, as in cancel gatherings like this, so this was my chance to grow outside the normal favorites and experiment.

For example we grow mainstays every year that patrons expect like Carbon, Big Beef and Sun Gold cherry, and though I did grow (3) Sun Gold's
I normally have 24 at the plant sale. I'm growing Brandyberry, EM Champion, Roadster hybrid and Rouge D Amagu, which would cause questions and confusion at the plant sale, 'cause the average Joe hasn't heard of them. So this was my chance to grow outside the box.

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MissS
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#39

Post: # 19992Unread post MissS
Fri May 15, 2020 2:55 am

@Simmran1 I'm glad that you are using this time to your advantage and can grow something for yourself this year. Enjoy!
~ Patti ~

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Shule
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Re: How in the world did you decide on your grow list?

#40

Post: # 19994Unread post Shule
Fri May 15, 2020 4:49 am

One thing I forgot to mention was that I like to compare and contrast a lot of tomatoes. That's partially why I'm growing these groups (belonging to the group means I'm assessing the named qualities, where I named them, since I either know or have read that they have them, or because I suspect they might have them):

* Bosque Blue, Bosque Blue Bumblebee
* Homestead, Rutgers, Marion
* Big/beef/better/best/boy hybrid group: Better Boy F1, Better Boy F2, Big Daddy F1, Best Boy F1, Beefmaster F1, Near-multiflora Brandy Boy cross F3; I was tempted to grow Big Beef F1, BigPink F1, and Big Boy F2, too, but I refrained
* Very sweet group: Esterina F1, Garnet, Rosella, Black Cherry, Austin's Black Cherry, Isis Candy, Black Krim x Garnet, Medovaya Kaplya cross F2, Porter, Malinovoe Chudo, Juliet F2, Sprite, SunChocola F2, etc.
* Black/brown group: Carbon, BSX, Black Krim x Garnet, Garnet, Cold Black Brandy, Bear Creek, True Black Brandywine (froze), Black Cherry, Austin's Black Cherry, Japanese Black Trifele, Brown Berry, Rosella, Chocolate Chestnut, Wild Tiger (froze), Mr. Brown, Purple Calabash, SunChocola F2
* Kellogg's Breakfast, Kellogg's Beefsteak, KBX, Djenna Lee's Golden Girl, Moonglow
* Beefsteak, Crimson Cushion
* Hang-time/shelf-life/firm group: Marzano Fire, Juliet F2, Sprite, Brad's Atomic Grape, Blue Berries, Napoli, Husky Red F2, Amana Orange, Pakenham Pear; I think Wild Tiger and Eva may have been in this group, too
* Eva, Wild Tiger (it froze)
* Egg Yolk, Yellow Plum, Ambrosia Red cross/offtype (yellow golfball-sized), Pink Ping Pong
* Moneymaker, Sweet N Bright (SNB didn't sprout)
* Trucker's Favorite, Katja, Box Car Willie, Amy's Sugar Gem, Pantano Romanesco (froze or some such)
* Tart/acidic/sour group: Old Brooks, San Pedro (froze or some such), Tart Brandy Boy cross F3, Mexican Yellow cross F3, Ovita, Nineveh, Silvery Fir Tree, Purple Calabash, Red Calabash, Prue, Moonglow
* Unusual flavor group: Purple Calabash, Red Calabash, Egg Yolk, Ovita
* Cherry group: All my cherries.
* Potential sports: Bloody Butcher (lots of locules), Sheboygan (oxheart shape), Galapagos Island (5-chamber fruits), wonderberry (3-fruit fuse; not a tomato, but related); well, while I chose them for their potential sport qualities, I'm not necessarily comparing them with each other a whole lot, so much as with their parent plants
* Everything group: Everything, of course.

There are more groups, but let's leave it at that.

I'm contrasting things with previous years, too.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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