A lot of heirlooms are also popular tomato varieties you'll find on almost any seed rack, like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple.

It is late to start tomato seeds if you want to transplant as soon as it's warm, but the season is plenty long enough for lots and lots of homegrown maters before frost.

For what it is worth, at the Etowah County Master Gardeners sale on April 12 and 13, we will have transplants of a number of tomato heirlooms for sale for $2 each. I cannot remember the entire list, but you can e-mail me at mosasaur47@msn.com and ask if we have a specific one. I know we will have Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, and Brandywine. Isn't Homestead also an heirloom?

Definitely not too late to start seeds. Plus, a number of mail order places offer express processing for additional charge.

A couple of places to check out online:

Darrel Jones/Alabama
http://www.selectedplants.com/

Abundant Acres Heirloom plants
http://www.abundantacres.net/

Both very reputable sites.