It's growing season in Miami. Here is one of my starts.

Gosh that's an early start. I know you have the climate, but over here I don't start sowing until about mid March...

next year I shall grow my usual favourites... Suncherry premium...a sweet red cherry.... Orange Paruche, which is similar to the better known Sungold... and one other which I usually change year to year... Last time it was Golden Sunrise, but will wait to see what's available next Spring and choose something different...

I only have room for 3 plants, one of each... and these start cropping from early July here.... my greenhouse has been overtaken with roses...

I don't need to spray anything... don't overfeed, nor too much water... I think they are hard thrifty plants.... and I now find they are adequate for my purposes in smaller containers rather than huge ones I used to use...

Just got some seeds I ordered from Tatiana's to add to my collection.

Una Hartsock
Bull's Heart (needed new stock)
Denis
Backa

Won't be starting anything for the gardens until early March. Greenhouse currently has 5 Bella Rosa and 2 Indian Stripe plants in containers that I'll keep going until the weather makes it too expensive to keep it warm enough in there.

Dave

Hi Deeby

Since you asked....at my house we had a holiday party and my daughter made a platter of the best beefsteaks! I could not believe it that it was the favorite dish, it went very quick. I felt sorry that we did not make more of the same platters. After all the cold weather that we just had my tomato season is doing great.

{{gwi:2132424}}

Silvia

I have 100 more days before I start germinating and it will be roughly 200 days from today to taste a fresh garden tomato. Life is tough. That is over half of a year. hehe

As far as panning, I do it on daily basis. haha.

Seysonn

Just pulled several containers of frozen tomatoes out of the freezer this weekend to make room for Christmas treats. I'll be making a BIG pot of chili tomorrow with the thawed 'maters. Chili is great food on cold winter days. No seed sowing here for 3 or 4 months unless I decide to do some germination tests on older seed.

Got 3 packs of seeds from Ukraine:
- Efemer
- Kron-Prince
- Chio Chio San
All of them are listed in TatianaâÂÂs site, though not many details⦠IâÂÂm looking forward to growing them next year. Also, I plan to grow more hearts - this past season, I grew pink and orange heart varieties, I âÂÂd like to add red and black hearts to my growing list for the next season .

I just added the last of my green-picked tomatoes (now ripe) from this fall to a stew. It will be a while until I think about next summer's tomatoes. Like NatureGirl, I do still have some in the freezer for chili and stews.

Cheryl's platter of heirloom tomatoes looks delicious! Silvia, do you know what kind the beautiful gold ones are?

Thank you nhbabs, the front ones are Gold Medal and some in the back are Amana Orange, without a doubt it was this season best performer with the weather that we had, very few of the black ones did okay, the red ones in the picture are Neves Azorean Red and Red Penna, like them for looks and taste.

Silvia

It's way too early here also.

I started a few Red Robins a few weeks ago, I can't help myself!

I have them under lights, they are healthy and have true leaves, but they have purple stems. I'm thinking of adding a little Epsom salt when I put them in bigger pots in a few days.

I also think it has been a little too chilly for them. They are in my parents old house that I'm busy renovating. I had the heat set on 40 so I bumped it up to a little over 50.

That's gonna make them expensive tomatoes, but I will be more comfortable when I'm working on the renovations! I already had the lights set on a timer to make people think that someone is living there also. So that's not wasted either!

I like maters.

42 years ago the Dragon Woman bought a glass-house as a pressie so that I could grow tomatoes in winter. Never happened. Orchid mania happened!

Well, the thread title does say "say anything about Tomatoes".

Still pondering next year's list. I know I need to make up my mind pretty quickly before all the good seeds are snapped up. Maybe I'd better make that my next priority once I get all my Christmas shopping done! A good excuse to sit with a good cuppa and all my catalogs and let the world go by.
Edie

:-)
I traded for several varieties, too many in fact, and I can't wait to get out raised bed set up and planted! I had to plant 2 cherry varieties in large pots this year. This was our first year here at this house, and I ended up having a ton of volunteer roma-looking tomatoes in the large vegetable bed. It isn't an ideal vegetable garden, though, as it is clay soil in part sun. There is a row of strawberries in the technically "full" sun area. Maybe I can plant some tomatoes and pumpkins out there next year, I'll need as much space as possible for all the seeds I traded for!!!
Some of the tomatoes I traded for are:
Yellow Pear
Lipstick
Beefsteak
Gypsy
German Lunchbox
Cherokee Purple
Amish Paste
Lemon
Gruntovii Griboskly
Snow White
Mortgage Lifter
and a plantable business card with Orange Brandywine and Basil seeds in it.
Yeah, too many for my yard, but I'll do the best that I can and stick them everywhere! I'm excited about trying the Lemon, Snow White, and Yellow Pear. I've never made my own tomato paste, so I hope to get some good Amish Paste tomatoes and try it out! I really want to make my own tomato sauce, as we use so much of it. I also use a lot of cherry tomatoes - a salad is naked without them. And I needed a great slicer for sandwiches. So yeah, can't live without tomatoes! The winter sucks for not having good, fresh, warm from the sun tomatoes to pop into your mouth! The store ones just can't compare.

Deeby ;-)

Anything About Tomatoes !

"Salad" .... "Gone in 2 minutes"
"Guilty as Charged"

{{gwi:2132425}}

PC *munching lunch*

The first of my tomato seedlings just popped out yesterday morning!

Keep 'em coming, this is great !

Love the big pinks, yellow and reds and Cherokee Purple ....had about 70 of these last yr and some Big Beef as well. Most biggest I ever raised. It really blows my hair back.

I just started a few Hahms Gelbe Topftomate the other day for indoor growing. They haven't started peeping out yet.

Finalized making plans for what tomatoes I will be growing next year- 2 each of 8 kinds of whites for my main crop, and 1 each of 10 kinds for container testing- some of each kind of color except white.
Drew up the garden section on where all those tomatoes will be going.

Honestly, planning tomatoes and peppers is about all I can do right now- I'm participating on a round robin and looking forward to possibly some gardening goodies for Christmas, so I kind of can't make other plans yet till I see what all seed that will be.

For cooking, hmmmm... Just this weekend past I made a couple pots of chili. One a white chili with homemade stock and hot pickled peppers, one a traditional chili using canned chopped tomatoes and dehydrated tomatoes from this summer pasts garden. And I'm giving away jars of salsa to a few people for the holiday.

I caved and bought some grape tomatoes today. Rinsed and salted wet, they're not bad really. Got one catalog so far, Tomato Growers Supply. It's raining and cold here. Cold for us anyway !

I had a couple of tamales ... one jalapeño strips and cheese and the other chicken, both bathed in very freshly made hot sauce as an appetize for dinner.

The main course was my 23-ounce personal biggest tomato harvested a few days ago. The tomato was fantastic but I ate it in about a minute, as I obsessively and urgently squeezed the few seeds out of each slice and chunk in a hurry. It completely got rid of the enchilado (the spicy-mouth masochism): I never realized how effective tomato was for that and for this it tasted so sweet and was firm and extremely meaty in texture quicly became a refreshing sauce.

PC

I'm hoping for a better season this year. I was actually having a bumper crop when the contractor showed up, and plants had to be trimmed back so that they could move materials and siding around.

Come on, people !!!

OK, OK we're trying ;-)

T'was once a tomato named Charlie;
Grew up in Tobago too gnarly;
He matured with such class,
That I slit his plump mass ...
Sent seeds dib'bling far as Malawi!

PC

Cracked up !

It will be roughly 4 months from today that I plan to plant out my tomatoes. I will start germinating in 2 months from now. I already have decided on what to grow, how many to grow ( maybe 35 plants). I am planning on growing bicolors, browns, reds yellow and orange.

In the mean time you guys out there in FL, CA, TX, AZ just enjoy them maters. he he

Seysonn

I bought some tomatoes at the grocery store last week that were so terrible tasting that they made me gag. This week I bought some Campari tomatoes, they usually aren't too terrible. I saved seeds and grew some in my garden last year just to see what they would do. They tasted exactly like store bought Campari tomatoes. I fed most of them to the chickens.

I have already started planning my 2015 grow list. This is a rough draft, so I might remove or add varieties.

Varieties I have never tried before, new for me in 2015:
Copia
Blue Berries
Texas Star
Vintage Wine
Japanese Black Trifel
Klara
Costuloto Genovese (this one is probably going to go as I have read a lot of bad reviews on it!)
Pantano Romanesco
Cherokee Green (or maybe Green Zebra)
Carbon
Heatherington Pink
Dixiewine

Varieties that I really like and am growing again this year:
Cherokee Purple
Crimson Cushion
Big Rainbow
Isis Candy
Dr Wyche's Yellow
Amana Orange
Tommy Toe
Brandywine (I might grow German Johnson instead, flavor is better for Brandywine but German Johnson is pretty good and produces more fruit for me! Or maybe I will do Eva Purple Ball, I really love that one too. I wish I had more room in my garden!)

I may also grow a couple of Dwarf plants in containers on my deck. I have seeds for Cherokee Tiger Black and Al-Kuffa.

This post was edited by Christacharlene on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 21:09

I just transferred one of my Red Robins to my Miracle Grow aerogarden.

I jerked out my parsley, I don't use much parsley anyway!

I re-potted the rest.

I'm new to hydroponics, but I'm impressed with the growth of the herbs in it.

If it does well I'll be scrapping the rest of the herbs!

Does the aero garden make noise? If they run quietly I'd get one. Some reviews mention the noise and the pump going out.

It makes very little noise, I have to listen closely to hear the pump run. The pump has been fine in mine, but I have only had it a few months. It has more run time than that though because I bought mine used.

The Red Robin that I put in it is growing much faster than the ones that I re-potted. I thought that it would take longer to recover than the others since I had to wash out the roots before putting it in. The roots weren't disturbed on the others.

It has grown 3" in 5 days. The others have only grown 1 1/2" and aren't nearly as thick and healthy looking.

I build a homemade one with a 5 gallon bucket yesterday, plans below.

Here is a link that might be useful: home made

I am in Tennessee now and am looking forward to growing a few tomatoes. Just a few as we are leasing the house. 1 or 2 mediums for eating and cooking , a cherry or 2, and I am trying to find a current tomato. I just like them. Any recommendations.

I'd sure like to get an aero garden someday. What a hoot to make your own too !

It is amazing how many varieties are out there and how the choices are different. I have plans for about 20 varieties, 7 of which will go into containers:

-- Dwar Pink Pasion, Dwarf Purple Heart, Hahms Gelbe ..., Polish Dwarf, Rio Grande, Willamete .., Red Det. Cherry. Total = 7

In raised beds:
-- Ananas Noire, Cherokee Purple, Siletz, Legend, Jap. Blk. Trifle, Arbuznyi, Azochka, Rutgers, Druzba, Siletz, Kelloggs Breakfast, Rosella Crimson, Bear Claw(+ 3 more orpphants) : Total =16

Grand Total of Varieties = 23

Did I say something enough ? hehe

Seysonn

Deeby, I bought mine on Craig list, cheap!

I've been tweaking the watering system on my homemade one. I think I've got it right, only time will tell!

I want to get it down pat before I put any tomatoes in it. I have some sacrificial lettuce seed in it now, since I have plenty of lettuce seed.

It is too early here for full size tomatoes, unless I want to buy more lights to keep them going for 3 months!

I have as of an hour ago started off the tomato season in Central Texas. It is a whopping 33 degrees outside as I type. The low is expected to be near single digit. It is cold, cold, and more cold outside right now.

With that said. In my closet it is 90 degrees, and the lights are shining bright. Last week I started some super hot peppers. This week I am starting a few Cherokee Purple Tomatoes.

What hot peppers did you start?

Talking Tomatoes:
I am 2 months away from starting. BUT i am germinating 2 dwarfs, Thinking that I can manage them inside til April. They are:

-- Hahms Gelbe Topftomato (Dwarf, yellow Cherry)
-- Dwarf Purple Heart

In peppers department I have 7 already going.

I know that I am just itching. Otherwise it is to soon here to think about spring. hehe

Seysonn

I dehydrated sliced tomatoes in 2014.
Joy in winter: a slice of dehydrated Brandywine.

My Sand Hill Preservation Center order jut arrived!
Now comes the checking lights, clearing tables, washing starter containers , and on and on. The 2015 season is official now!

I will be starting my tomato seeds inside in about a week. I use a card table in a southern window. I have to be careful because Zackey, my cat, ate some of the leaves a few years ago. They are poisonous to kitties. I have more tomato seed varieties than I have a place to grow them. I'm starting just a few of the following:
Golden Jubilee--our all time favorite
Large red cherry from a GW trade (no name was given)
and the following that I will be seeding for the first time
Jet Star Hybrid
Pomodora Roma Nano
Wayahead
Amish Paste
Boxcar Willie

So my hahms gelbe topftomate just never sprouted... Super bummed about it, now I need to get more seed. Guess it's time to update the trade list, lol.

But the patio tomato sprouted- I have three of the little buggers planted in and just starting to show their true leaves on the windowsill :)

And now I have pulled out all the seed I'm planning on planting this year.. and realizing I need to get more potting soil fairly soon so I can pot up a heap of seeds!

Zackey ,
I grew and enjoyed very much , Box Car Willie last year . They did very well, tasted great.
Jet star is on my list this year as a new one to me, too.
Happy gardening!

Tomato season, here we come ! Big Beef and Red Robin for me this year. I'll start seeds in March. I just use a sunny window, no lights or mats.

How come you start so late in SoCal, Deeby ?
I'll start mine in late Feb. to plant out Apr 15 to Apr 30, depending on the weather

Seysonn.

I'm in Southern California and I grow tomatoes year round even through winter. In winter I grow tomatoes and zucchini in earth boxes along a south facing wall. They get a bit frost damaged and look like heck at times, but they do produce. I plant out for winter in September and for summer around st patty's day.

Here is a link that might be useful: organic winter tomatoes

I start seeds late because my tomatoes don't do well if planted out before July. We get May Gray and June Gloom with cool temps and the tomatoes just don't take off and thrive until there's reliable sun and warmth.