Cecilia...
geez Louise.... I am so sorry to hear of your health issues. I do hope you will fair well thru all that nasty chemo and discomfort. I am pulling for you .
There are many of us to help out...so try not to worry too much about the fest.... just take care of yourself and get better.
Bonnie gardnwatch

Thanks to Louise and everybody here and at the "other" tomato site who wished me well. BTW, since some of you mentioned it, prayers of all denominations are gratefully accepted, as are positive vibes of all kinds. I'm doing really well so far - no nausea or bone pain after the first chemo injection & neulasta shot, but I know that will probably change as the treatments continue. But enough about my ills ... now on to tomatoes!

The tomato plants I've ordered (just in case I'm not up to caring for my seedlings) are:

From Burpee (3 plants each):
Sungold & Black Krim

From SSE (2 plants each):
Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Stupice, Hungarian Heart, Trophy (the last two are new for me).

I plan to be a little more adventurous with my seedlings. These are the ones I'm thinking about strting under lights soon:

Paul Robeson, Russian Black, Slovenian Black, Nyagous, Black Cherry, Japanese Trifele Black (Can you tell I like black tomatoes?); Lemon Boy (my old standby yellow, and I can get plants anywhere if the seedlings die); Milka's Red Bulgarian, and Church (it flopped last year, but I think it deserves a second chance, since I've never seen it at MAGTAG.)

My thanks to Manure Queen for a supplying alot of these seeds.

If I don't kill 'em, I'll probably have WAY too many mater plants this year, but I plan on growing my peppers, eggplants, and some other veggie plants in containers to make room. Maybe some tomatoes as well - Stupice and Lemon Boy did fine in large pots for me one year.

Heck, if I don't feel well enough to water the seedlings, I'll force DH to go downstairs and do it! That's what spouses are for, after all.

So what's on your MAGTAG list?

Hi Cecilia,

Today's beautiful weather had me out planning (day dreaming) in the garden and that, of course, lead to checking in here for early swap news... ;-) I've yet to get to one the famous MAGTAGs but will now add that to my calendar too.

You will be in my prayers and thoughts from now on as I putter in the dirt. May God Bless You and heal you FAST!
(((HUGS)))
Leslie

You know I don't have enough sun to grow 'maters, but I have lots of good thought and wishes for you Cecilia. If you need anything let me, you are not that far up the road.

After all who else would I get wood aster from?

Hey, Kim - I'll have more than wood aster this year! DH is - ahem - "suggesting" that I downsize my garden a bit, so I am thinking about having a "dig-in" day in early spring, where folks could get freebies as well as help me till & compost my veggie bed. I have lots of shade plants.

Leslie - thanks for your kind thoughts! I think I'll be up to doing at least a little puttering of my own this spring.

Now what about those MAGTAG lists?

Nothing focuses the mind on the important things like a cancer diagnosis. My first thought was how I would keep my cats with me if I ended up seriously sick - yours is tomatoes... You will probably have your best tomato year ever with all the helping hand, prayers, and positive energy. I'll start thinking about posting my list. Let us know when you have a clean up Cecilia's garden day.

Ok, here's my list:
For sure:
Carbon
Green Sausage
Principe Borghese (great for sun-dried)
Cosmonaut Volkov
Brandywine
Rutgers
Earl's Faux
Black Cherry
Tokyo
Gilbertie Paste
Amish Paste
Olena Ukrainian
Green Giant
Tokyo

probably:
Ramapo
Old Brooks

Also Greg is supposed to send me some Emily seed

Could someone please outline the magtag for me? I moved away before it was started (I think). And let me tell you I plan to go as crazy as I can with Tomatoes this year because I didn't have one good tomato to eat in 4 years in Hawaii! Apart from family and friends it was tomatoes I missed most during our sojourn - that may sound crazy but it is true.

Can any one recommend some easy starter varieties while we get the irrigation and beds back in order? DH generally did the veggie gardening in the past but he is not very variety conscious. My goal is a long production season.
Laurie

Get well soon, Cecilia! And meanwhile, be as little sick as possible :-).

My list is:

Black Cherry (gee, I wonder where I got that idea from?)
Della Pepper (heirloom from my neighbor)
Thessaloniki

A post by Stormymater on the T0mat0ville.c0m site has piqued my interest in trying some "local" varieties. I've ordered Scarab, Chesapeake, and Del Mar from heirl00mt0mat0es.net, and Greater Baltimore from Victory Seeds. I also ordered Sunray from Victory Seeds, since the description includes says it was developed by Dr. W. S. Porte at the Beltsville, Maryland Station and released in 1950.

I have no idea where I'm gonna put all these plants...guess I'll have to grow all my peppers and eggplants in containers this year.

Laurie,

Any small fruited variety is and easy starter. This includes current or cherry tomatoes. Need some seeds?

Annebert,

I am sending out seeds this week so Emily is on the way!

Cecilia,

I am not sure what I will plant this year. I kind of gave up on planning ahead because I keep changing my mind :-)

I do have some crosses that I am going to try. I crossed Yellow Cookie with Cherokee Green two years back and this is the first year I shall see the F2 results. I was hoping to get a green heart for my efforts!

Also, I crossed Cherokee Green with White Current last year. I am hoping some of that works out. I would love to get a good tasting green cherry tomato. Green Grape was not terribly impressive to me. Dr. Carolyn has mentioned that Green Doctor would be a good one to try, maybe I will find some seeds and see for my self!

I definitely would like to try some new stuff this year. Someone brought Persimmon one year and I really liked it. Maybe I will get some seeds for that.

Greg

Well, my Scarab and DelMar seedlings were flops, but Greater Baltimore, Sunray and Chesapeake are in the ground and growing like weeds. I'm also growing Hopkins for its Mid-Atlantic connection - it was found growing on the PA estate of Edgar Allan Poe's mother. Hopkins was her maiden name.

I also have Cherokee Green and Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Lemon Boy, Hungarian Heart (new for me), Black Krim, Church, and Polish Dwarf (also new for me).

And my Stupice plant actually has a green fruit! Perhaps I'll have that elusive July 4th tomato this year.

Many of my tomatoes are in the ground (I'm way ahead of last year!) and Brandywine already has flowers. Emily B and C are planted in (separate) sequestered locations so I can save seeds. I also have Olena Ukranian, Tokyo, Black Cherry, Mama Leone, and I think Green Sausage in the ground, with Persimmon, Valencia, Green Giant, and Gilberties Paste still to go.

I have been amending with some citrus and tropical fruit fertilizer that I picked up for my orange and lemon trees - this seems to make the tomatoes quite happy.

The tomatoes I started from seed this spring are taller than the self-seeded tomatoes which I have not been able to bring myself to weed out entirely, but the self-seeded tomatoes look better. And I can't even imagine a July 4th tomato. Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain (which is still better than no rain, no rain, no rain, no rain, no rain).

I started tomatoes by winter sowing and planted them in 2 large deck planters. I mixed miracle gro potting soil and peat moss and they are doing great putting out the first flowers. I have mostly cherrys- red, brown berry, and black cherry- and some yellow perfection. I'm starting some cucumbers now, too, on the deck to grow along the rail. The elevated deck is the sunniest spot I have to grow stuff, so I am very excited that I might finally get some home grown veggies this year (I know they're fruit!).

Susan

Hey dear friend, I may have missed it but have you picked a date yet for MAGTAG? Let me know if you need additional help with coordination, etc. I know you're doing well but still, extra help may be in order this year.