I'd suggest the first thing you do is get the book 100 Heirloom tomatoes for the american garden by Dr. Carolyn J. Male. You can get it on Amazon, I think.
Most of your questions should be answered there. If not, she does look at this forum and is always happy to help people. There are a number of people here that can help you.
Good luck and have fun!

Will you be growing your plants from seed or buying transplants? If buying transplants, locally or online?

If buying locally then your choices will be limited to whatever heirloom varieties are available - Brandywine is one commonly found but only a few others are usually offered.

If growing from seed then your choices are unlimited. You'll find many 'favorite' discussions here for variety ideas. Here are a couple of discussions you might want to review:

If you could grow only one heirloom...

Tomatoes you would grow again...

Dave

Hi KR222,
I am a first time heirloom tomato-gardener now :) & am loving it! I wanna suggest to you to go to Trudi's site at www.wintersown.org, she has a section for free seeds. She has a list of tomato seeds in small sample size pkgs she will send you (you choose)at least 6 choices, just follow her instructions of how to send her a sase. She returns them quickly to you as well. She has been very genereous & filled sase request for my family & our neighboors as well as my mom, sister & Grandfather. We're all having good success with them. She has descriptions of each choice. You can get some good info here on different varieties so you can have lots of good info on what might grow well in your area or what may have tastes you're looking for & choose from her list. Good luck! Hope you have as much fun as we are having!

Wow. Thanks for the fast response everyone! That book sounds great. I'll have to look for it.

Dave- I plan on starting my tomatoes from seed. Those two links were very helpful. Now I have a good list of tomatoes to research a little further. It's sooooo tough to decide which ones to start with when they all sound delicious.

Tumblingtomatoes- Thank you so much for the link to Trudi's site. They offer a great list of seeds. Of the types I selected after reading Dave's links, they had all but two. The only ones not on it were Kellogg's Breakfast and Black Krim. Not bad. Next year should be a great year for tomatoes around here! If it's not, at least I'm having fun trying. :)

Thank you so much. I love this site. I am learning so much from everyone.

Kim

Whenever I heard the word heirloom it sounded intimidating. My thinking was that heirloom equals special which equals hard to grow. I looked up the book that you mentioned, "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden," by Dr. Carolyn J. Male. What a great book! I was afraid it was going to be over my head, but it wasn't. Plus it features tons of heirlooms that I am interested in trying. I'll have to put it on my Christmas wish list.

Sorry Kr222, I should have told you the book is great for beginners - if you aren't truly excited now, you will be when you finish the book. You'll be wishing it was seed starting time.

I was afraid it was going to be over my head

****

Because it was written by someone called Dr.?

Rest assured that I had two lives, one as a faculty member doing teaching and research and one as the farmer's daughter who lived to garden.

I started posting online about gardening, and yes, tomatoes as well, in 1989 and every post I've done I've signed off as Carolyn, and that's the way it is and should be.

I had to retire in 1999 b'c of hip problems and up through 2004 and to date I've grown well over 2000 varieties of tomatoes.

OK, I could have had a stamp collection and my mother wanted me to collect glass and ceramic shoes, but I ended up collecting tomato seed and growing out those varieties.

It takes all kinds, you know. LOL

Carolyn

YOIKS!!!!

Kelloggs Breakfast is SUPPOSED to be on the list, it was there yesterday--I think I fudged it this morning when I updated the list. It is going back in as soon as I'm done typing this post ;-O

I don't have Black Krim anymore but I do recommend it, BK is the first black mater I grew and I fell in love with it--wonderful, rich taste; not quite like a red, but there's something succulently extra to a black tomato. Truly fine eating.

T

Kim,
If plant health is a concern to you somebody should mention KBX as an alternative to regular Kellogg's Breakfast. Most posts indicate it is a hardier plant.
Len

Carolyn,
"Dr." didn't scare me. The word "HEIRLOOM" did. :) I've always heard people brag about the taste of heirlooms, but I assumed that they would be a lot more difficult to grow. Since you are reading this post, I wanted to let you know that my brother is getting me your book for Christmas. I can't wait to get it. I got a sneak peek of the inside on Amazon, and it will definitely be helpful. I have many gardening books, but none that focus nearly enough on growing heirloom tomatoes.

Trudi,
I sent in my SASE yesterday. I picked out the 6 I thought would suit my tastes. I think it is so great that you distribute donations. It gives someone like me a chance to try a couple new varieties without spending a fortune on individual packs with too many seeds for a small garden like mine. I'll make sure to let you know how everything works out next season. Hopefully I'll have some great pictures to post too.

Len,
I've never even heard of KBX. Thanks for the tip. I think I'll give Kellogg's Breakfast a shot, and if it doesn't go well I'll try KBX. I may wait to try the seeds from Trudi's site first, then look into getting Kellogg's Breakfast seeds for the following season to replace any that didn't work out.

Thanks again everyone!
Kim

Kim

We are growing black krim now, if it does do well,(which I really hope it will, the plant looks good, big, has several baby tomatoes on it), I'll be happy to share seed with you Kim & send you some Trudi too, let's hope I can get good results! :) I'll let you know how it goes!
I agree, Carolyn's book is excellent!

Thanks so much. I wish you a happy harvest! Ours is over for the season, but I am already making sketches for next years garden and thinking about seeds. After reading all these posts, I feel so excited about trying out heirlooms. Next year they are going to play a huge role in my garden.
Kim

I hope for a happy harvest too! :) Will let you know how things go!

"Trudi,
I sent in my SASE yesterday. I picked out the 6 I thought would suit my tastes. I think it is so great that you distribute donations. It gives someone like me a chance to try a couple new varieties without spending a fortune on individual packs with too many seeds for a small garden like mine. I'll make sure to let you know how everything works out next season. Hopefully I'll have some great pictures to post too. "

I'll look forward to filling your SASE ;-)

The list has seeds donated from many afficianados across internet tomato forums, commercial source seeds have also been donated to the list. There will be more varieties added before the end of the week. I am very grateful to everyone who has made this list possible.

Trudi

Brand new here to the forum!

We're in southeast GA (about 85 miles southwest of Savannah). For those who have never been to the deep south before, let me just say that it is definitely a land of "all-or-nothing" weather. From the middle of May to the end of October, it's a soggy steambath. . .which is broken up only by a blazing drought every once in awhile.

:)

As you can imagine, growing tomatos of any kind is a challenge. . . .Blight. . .blossom-end rot. . . *sigh* Every year we try, though, to recapture the tomatos that I wistfully remember from my youth. Actually, I grew up in the area of Kansas City, KS, and my father raised the most delicious tomatos every summer. I can't remember what the variety/varieties were, but the fruit was huge, thin-skinned, dark red, as juicy as gossip, and it had that perfectly savory, acidic taste. Only a mere whisper of salt was ever needed for effect. Those tomatos were the pure flavor of summertime, and I have been sorely missing them for decades now.

Is there any hope of my growing a comparable heirloom tomato in these very southern conditions? I know I need to read up and get ready for the coming season, but for the time being, if anyone can make any recommendations, they will be most appreciated.

:)

Thanks in advance!

From the middle of May to the end of October, it's a soggy steambath. . .which is broken up only by a blazing drought every once in awhile.

Sounds like Long Island. If you live in a moist summer climate you will have foliage diseases. The best advice is to be prepared early on by having ready any number of products for dealing with foliage issues. Start a regular spraying program and stick with to keep the plants healthy.

T

My standards to grow every year are Black Krim, Aunt Ruby German Green, Rose de Berne, and Brandywine. I also really like Kellogg's Breakfast, and Jersey Giant Paste tomato is the only paste variety I grow. You may have to look in the SSE yearbook for the Jersey.
Funny how heirlooms can scare people off because of the supposed lack of disease resistance. If you think about it - these are varieties that are decades old - some over a century old. Wouldn't they have died off by now if the disease resistance was really that bad? Maybe we should start calling them 'disease tolerant' - as while they may get diseased, the disease wont take the plant out! Anyway, the only plants that ever completely failed and died on me were hybrids, which really threw me because they were supposed to be the resistant ones. Figures.....
Good Luck Kim - you just opened the door to a whole new world of flavor!

missmymatersofks - welcome to the forum! :^) We have several Georgia growers who post here regularly so I am sure they will stop by to offer you some tips.

Take comfort from the fact that you aren't alone with the soggy steambath problems as Trudi said. Unfortunately, it isn't unique to Georgia. ;) But yes, it can be done.

One thing that will help is learning which problems are specific to your area. eg: BER blossom end rot isn't a result of hot soggy or blazing drought - it is universal - but can be controlled to a degree. And "blight" is a catch-all term - specific foliage disease can be controlled but they do need to be properly identified and we can help with that too.

Do some research on the many posts here about 'early blight', 'Daconil', 'Serenade', and you might also want to browse some of the prior posts linked below too.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing tomatoes in Georgia discussions

I have grown Kellog's Breakfast for the last 3 years. The flavor is good, but the production is poor for my garden, only 4 or 5 fruit per plant. Thus, it is off my grow list. By contrast, Earl's Faux and Brandywine give me 50+ fruit per plant.

this is for the feller in south georgia. i live in glynn county, on St. Simons Island. i know of the weather your talking about. you can definently grow heirloom tomatoes. i have for about five years. you have to get them in the ground early, like early to mid march, so you can beat the heat. you got to have very fertile soil. just make and add compost, compost, and more compost. mulch with 3 in. layer of straw, one year old hay, or pine needles, or some organic matter. use a soker hose or drip system if possible. fertilize with osmocote, not that cheap once a month crap they sell at feed store. i have raised beds, if you could do them it definently makes a difference. i have grown in ground and raised bed, raised bed was much more productive. sometimes i pinch suckers, sometimes i dont, really cant tell a difference. i also cage and stake plants. some varieties tend to get real large. gypsum helps with b.e.r. and make sure soil is proper p.h. i recommend getting soil sample analysis. i grow a mix of heirlooms and hybrids just to compare productivity, flavor, diesase resistance, etc. the heirlooms generally out perform hybrids. flavor is always better with heirloom varieties. my most productive heirlooms are kellogs breakfast, eva's purple ball, arkansas traveller, red brandywine, omars lebanese, and hillbilly. these are the few that come to mind. there are also quite a few hybrids that taste good and grow well. Amelia, better boy, lemon boy, parks whopper, celebrity, and sweet one hundred are some hybrids i have had luck with. i am no tomato growing expert, but i take my tomatoes seriously, and this is what i do and it works. beating the heat is probably the most important thing. your plants will probably be withered away or severly infested with disease by august, just plant fall crop in early september. good luck this year with tomatoes. if there is anything you would like to ask, just email me, justinsnell@comcast.net

Thank y'all so much!!! I appreciate all of the info more than I can say.

:)

And to Justin. . .hey there neighbor! We live in Glennville, which is Tattnall County. St. Simon's Island is so beautiful! We're right outside your back door allot of the time in Brunswick and on Sapelo Island. My in-laws live on Sapelo Island and manage the Reynolds Mansion. And actually, I'm not a feller, but that's okay. . .who could have known? LOL

:)

Your advice is priceless! Along with all of the other great info I'm finding, I'm printing out these pages and will be using them as my "Tomato Bible" this year. I will definitely post my results! And I cannot wait to taste these long-lost tomatos of my past!!! Maybe we can compare some of our best ones with each other this year.

~Lisa :)
chucha@windstream.net

Here is a link that might be useful: This is just us. . .

I completely agree with Lisa. I've been searching through the posts on the forum and learning so much about growing tomatoes, seed-saving, diseases, and different cultivars. This information is fantastic and covers everything I need to know...and then some!

Thanks to everyone that takes the time to answer my questions and give suggestions.

Kim

The term "heirloom" just means old varieties, usually with a documented origin and/or history. It doesn't mean in any way that they are more valuable (as in plated in gold) ;), more difficult to grow, or anything else intimidating. And as has often been discussed here in the past, it is a greatly over-used and abused and mis-understood label.

Perhaps it would be somewhat less intimidating to you to just think of them as non-hybrids rather than 'heirlooms'. ;) Or better yet, just open-pollinated (OP for short), as most of us do, since that is really what they are.

Unlike the ones covered in Carolyn's book, many of the so-called 'heirloom' varieties now days haven't been around long enough to truly qualify as an heirloom - they just get marketed as such. But they are OP's and they will reproduce true from seed and they are just as easy to grow, just as disease resistant, and most taste even better than any of the popular yucky hybrids commonly sold and grown.

But there are some great hybrids too! One should never rule them out completely. The secret to tomato growing is to not get caught up in "labels" but to try many different varieties and see which one's do best for you in your garden and on your taste buds.

Dave

Dave,
I've noticed some catalogs list items as "heirlooms" while others use the term "open-pollinated" for the same tomatoes. That always confused me...

I did ask Santa for Carolyn's book. With that and you guys I think I'll be able to figure all of the terminology out. :)
Kim

I've noticed some catalogs list items as "heirlooms" while others use the term "open-pollinated" for the same tomatoes. That always confused me...

****

Look at it this way.

All true heirloom varieties are OP but not all OP's are heirlooms. ( smile)

Carolyn

Carolyn,
Thanks :)