I wish I liked tomatoes. I know this sounds dumb, but they are just so pretty to grow... I wish I had a use for them. My grandpa always grew tomatoes. I love walking through the garden, just looking at them.

Quote: "I won't continue posting threads that say something like "Today, I picked the 57th tomato of the spring..." "

LOL Dawn!!! I hope not because I'm already jealous...

Me, too...because my babies are just sitting there (still shivering and wondering where Spring is!!).

Tisha,

You don't like tomatoes? Oh, good heavens, what are we going to do with you?

Lynn,

Don't be jealous. Your day is coming and one day you'll get to post "I picked the first ripe tomato today!" and we'll all be so thrilled for you.

And, you wouldn't be jealous if you knew how many nights I pushed, pulled, carried and dragged those containers into the garage/barn (unheated, but insulated) to protect them from cold weather. And, then, of course in the morning I had to take them all back outside again. It's not so bad with the 3 and 5 gallon pots, but after dragging in the 5 that are in really big containers (those huge plastic tubs that Sweet Feed or something similar comes in), I swore I'd never plant early tomatoes in containers again. Of, course, I always get over that frustration when the cold temperatures depart, and by the following February I am ready to plant my containers again.

Sharon,

Spring is (more-or-less) here in Love County, so it should be making its way up there pretty quickly now. I've noticed that my in-the-ground tomatoes are entering their rapid growth period that always hits in May (sometimes in mid-April in a warm spring).

And, all of you, remember that these are the tomatoes in containers that have been planted since early March and also sit on a concrete slab (for heat gain) and also get taken in at night if it is cold.

My in-the-ground tomatoes are just as cold and wet and miserable as everyone else's. The tallest are only about 30" tall, and some are quite a bit smaller than that. I have some blooms and some tiny tomatoes, but nothing to get excited about. The in-the-ground tomatoes are definitely going to be very late for me this year. Usually I have ripe ones by Memorial Day, but don't think I will this year.

I hope all of y'all get your first ripe ones as soon as possible, but Mother Nature really isn't cooperating with us at all.

Dawn

I know. I'm a weirdo.

They always said I'd grow out of my pickiness, but I never did.

I don't like tomatoes or pickles or onions or mustard or anything that normal people put on hamburgers. Meet and cheese only, please! LOL

I also really dispise garden fresh green beans. Though, I love canned ones.

I do like fresh okra though. But that's about it.

I'm happy for you and also jealous. I sit out in my garden swing and thought about you picking your tomatoes and mine are still little bitty. I want them to hurry up!!

Tisha,

I don't like anything on my burgers most of the time either not even cheese unless it's cheddar. If I lived alone, the door of my frig would only contain a jar of midget sweet pickles and salad dressing. I will eat home grown tomatoes though--I can almost make a meal out of them. When I was a kid I wouldn't even try them let alone eat anything with tomatoes in it, not even ketsup, spaghetti or pizza. I think it's genetic, my middle DD won't have anything to do with those things either. It drives DH nuts, but we don't say much since we know where she got it. You might give them a try again this summer, I didn't realize what I was missing until I was about 30. I've heard your tastebuds change several times throughout your life.

Jill

Dawn, I noticed you said that one of the tomatoes you picked was from Better Bush. How do you like that tomato? I'm growing it in a Home made EB along with a Patio tomato that I picked up from the local Lowes. It's my attempt at gardening here living in an apartment.

Kevokie,

I LOVE Better Bush, but mostly just because it is THE one that gives me big tomatoes fast.

I buy a few of them sometime between mid-February and early March--whenever they show up at a Lowe's or Home Depot in the Dallas- Fort Worth metro area (because they arrive there a month before they arrive here in southern OK). I usually buy them in 4" to 6" pots. They have big thick stems and are usually about 8" tall and almost as wide when I buy them.. I would have to start plants in November in order to have them that size by mid-February, so that's why I buy them. I can't cope with starting tomato seedlings when I'm so busy with the holidays too. LOL

The Better Bush tomatoes aren't bad....and since they're the first of the year and are very early, we adore them. If I was planting more for flavor than for earliness in a container, though, I'd probably go with New Big Dwarf. (You have to grow it from seed yourself though, as I've never seen it in the stores.)

Lots of tomatoes do really, really well in home-made EBs. If you haven't checked out the various threads on EBs and home-made EBs at the Tomato Growing Forum, you should check them out. Some of the people there grow a LOT of different varieties in EBs and probably could tell you what has done well for them. And, some of those people post photos all season, so you can see how their EB-grown tomatoes do as the season goes on.

Gardening in an apartment is possible, but you're just more limited in your choices. Tons of plants, including veggies and fruit, are being bred for container-growing. Two of my new favorites in containers are a tomato called "Grape"--it was the first to ripen this year, and Husky Red Cherry, which is already about 2' tall in a 4-gallon container and covered in blossoms and fruit.

Good luck.

Dawn