What a great resource. Thanks for sharing.

Gardened quite a bit as a kid and young adult but moved to a wooded site and got tired of too much shade and too many critters getting what little came from my work. Now I work from home so, a few minutes here and there are a good break, have cut a few trees and have started a few small patches where there is just enough sun to try. Last year was the first, all in pots on the deck. This year it has expanded to some in ground and I'm already experiencing mission creep :-) I'll expand a tad more for next year or maybe even this fall but there is a limit if I want decent crop rotation, enough sun, convenient to water and close enough to the house that the deer and coons will still be shy.

I found this site by looking for info on Heirlooms, since last year taste was better than the store but not what I remembered as a kid. Lemon boys were OK and Carolina golds (which I couldn't find as plants this year) were great but the reds, don't remember which, were kinda disappointing. I just picked a Jet Star a few days ago and it too was bland so, I decided to nose around and am happy to have found you all.

I'm on the border of 5b and 6a and we've had a decent enough spring. The plants in ground are generally larger and more lush than those in pots but I did pick an Early Girl today from a pot that smells good. We'll see how it tastes tomorrow.

Because of limited space and a willingness to experiment I've got multi habits going. Some caged, some tied and one upside down.

This yearÂs tomato crop all seem healthy enough and is as follows,

Jet Star, 1, in ground, caged, bland.

Early Girl, 2, 1 in 1 out, caged, smells good.

Bonnie Original, 2, 1 pot caged, 1 upside down.

Lemon Boy, 2, in ground, caged, blooming, from seed of a very early bearing plant (mid MAY!) of last year so, who knows what I'll actually wind up with but it is obvious that the earliness was a fluke.

Husky Gold, 1, in ground, caged.

German Queen pink, 1, potted, tied, over 6' sparsely blooming, no fruit set, lots of blossom drop. What a pretty plant she is though!

Beefsteak pink, 1, potted, tied, over 6' a little better than the German Queen in blooms and has some small maters set.

Brandywine yellow, 2, potted, tied.

Yellow pear, 2, potted, 1 tied, 1 caged, fruiting.

Like I said I've had some mission creep so, they have been planted at different times and at different stages. I'll do better next year :-)

I've read with much interest your thoughts about pruning, soil replacement in containers, BER and variety choices. Dr, Male's book is on my wish list and I'm already looking forward to next spring so I can try one or two of the blacks and greens.

Thanks again.

Dave