You are welcome, db! Your plan sounds perfect to me! :)

I am in zone 4... Those 3 tomatoes are Radiator Charlie Mortgage Lifter, Earl's Faux, and Goose Creek (our very favorite tomato of all time). They all do well if we have cold and rainey springs, and they all survive the heat of summer which can be 100 degrees for days. They all have a sweet flavor with a bit of a kick (Goose Creek tastes like fine wine here) and produce more that we can eat even in my short growing season. I do not put up any tomatoes anymore, so the neighbors get the extras. Even though I try new tomatoes every year because of all the great temptations on this board, I still love my tried and true the best! This year the search for the perfect cherry tomato goes on. I am trying some hybrids, but I have high hopes for Ample from Tatiana.

Rebecca

I like varieties of colors, shapes .... Every year I try some new ones. Only one out of three passes the test in my garden. This year I have 13 new trials. Probably 3 or 4 will pass the test. Then I am done. No more venturing.

Sey

Oh, Sey!! You made me laugh out loud!! I say the same thing every year... No more new tomatoes. This year when I am limited to 5 tomatoes because of downsizing, 4 of them will probably be new trials of cherry tomatoes. I know I will kick myself come summer and fall picking time, but I so want to find an early cherry tomato that I love.

I envy you your love of variety of tomatoes. I have tried black cherry and Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Kelloggs Breakfast, but my tongue won't have them. Pink it says, only pink. But this year I am trying Ample, a red and Sunsugar, an orange, and we'll see what happens. If I could make Goose Creek be earlier, I wouldn't even try for a cherry... :)

Rebecca

My LFD is roughly mid-April so I will be starting seeds sometime in the first week of March. I historically do them on my birthday March 30th but 6 weeks would be that first week. I'm doing a variety like back in the years I first started gardening: Cherokee Carbon, Pork Chop, Kellogg's Breakfast, Goose Creek, Earl's Faux (my all time favorite), Brandy Boy, Coustralee, Stupice (bucket), Aunt Ruby's German Green, Gregori's Altai (bucket), Steakhouse hybrid, among some others.

I am also LFD mid-late April, last year I started tomatoes 7 weeks before plant out and they got too big to keep in my indoor space. I will not be starting them this year until the last week of March. They grow fast.

I've just finished building my new seed starting station powered by 2 4', 4-tube florescent fixtures. I have the seed starter mix moistened and tomorrow it should be ready to be loaded into the cell flats. I won't be starting tomatoes just yet, but I went through my seeds, and am getting the earliest veggies ready... some kale, leeks, broccoli, arugula, maybe a few others that I may be forgetting.

It has not stopped either snowing or raining for longer than 2 days since mid January. At this rate, I won't be turning my beds for quite a while. It's frustrating but... oh well. I've decided to start some favas and snap peas, hopefully Saturday, without turning the soil and see how they do under no-till. It won't be optimum, I had hoped to turn in the foot-thick pile of leaves that have been covering the bed all winter to amend my clay, but favas won't wait. Being Tn. is right in the middle between the North and South, we tend to have very short springs here. It goes from fairly cold - and snowing - to HOT - and sweltering - quite fast. if I don't get the cool weather crops started, I'll miss the window.

Eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes will be started soon, probably in that order, but there's no hurry on summer veggies yet. Better to be a little patient, then to have them languish in root bound pots come spring. But the time is certainly getting close at hand.

I've had my soil ready to go in propagators since I started my peppers several weeks ago. Chomping at the bit, but have learned my lesson MANY times about starting too many, too soon. Our last freeze date is probably in about two weeks, but soil temps, and night temps ( @55) almost always wait until May 1st......with the triple digits not far behind.

But lately I've been planing in self-watering containers, so I'm going for it this weekend. Growing all "dwarfs" ( I think!), about seven of them; most from Victory; ("Blazing Beauty", "Chocolate Lightning ", "Adelaide Festival", "Boronia", "Golden Heart", "Fred's Tie Die", and "Purple Heart"). And I already have a waiting list for seedlings.

BTW, the soil in my propagators seem to have a sort of white filigree on them. I am assuming some kind of mold or a fungus. I read "A white mold growing over the surface of houseplant potting soil is usually a harmless saprophytic fungus. ", but since it can't be a fungus AND a mold, I'm skeptical about the source.

I've taken the plastic off, and have not been refilling the reservoir ( of the one with no seedlings) since I noticed it. Should I be worried? The peppers seem unfazed.

This source seems better;

"Black Gold" on mold in potting soil

I was having that same mold issue with the last of my winter seedling soil. I took a tip from the rustic garden and use boiling water to sterilize my potting soil and stopped adding dried fertilizer to my seed starting mix (which feeds the mold and the fungus). I let it cool before seed start or pot up, but basically boiling water is my initial pre planting wetting agent. I have had no issues since. I also found the room did not have enough air circulation so this year I started the fans at seed start.

My bad; molds are a type of fungi.

Just planted my tomato seeds. The tomato I love and grow every year from saved seeds--Canestrino-- seems to be missing from my seed stash!!?? All I can find are seeds from 2013, I hope those will germinate. I know I'm starting too many plants and too many different kinds but I couldn't decide which ones to cull out so I just planted them all and will decide later on. Also, I'm always worried some will not germinate or there will be a catastrophe and I won't have enough of my favorites. Perhaps nature or happenstance will decide for me. I also planted some dill seeds, a first for me since I usually purchase a plant or two but I want a bed of dill because I like the flower...

Canestrino-- seems to be missing from my seed stash!!?? All I can find are seeds from 2013,

-----------------------------

rhoder, calm down ! It will germinated. I have started few from 2013 ( commercial seeds) and they germinated like a charm. Tomato seeds have long viability shelf life, some times for decades. Thogh they might take a few days longer.

To cope with possibility of poor germination rate, I sow maybe 3 seeds if I need just one plant. Then after a while I cull the extras.

Sey

Oh good, I'm glad there is a chance for my Canestrino. It would be hard to replace that one. I guess I could have googled the answer but sometimes that leads to more confusion. Thank you, Seysonn.

Seyson, it sure feels like spring in your garden with daffodils and garlic and onions... My garden is way behind. But I am going to make a new low tunnel, pretty much like you did. This year I am planning to sow some of my tomatoes right in the ground under the hoops and to grow them there all the time. Last year I had volunteer tomatoes in the tunnel. I did not care about them at all but they looked very good and than I gave them away to the friend. I still have some of my tomatoes indoors growing right now and they help me to reduce spring itching.

Yes, Antmary, ...We have very long cool springs but short warm summers. That is why I have to push the envelope and plant early.

Sey

Sorry, but mine are all on their way. I expect to start harvesting some beefsteaks by April fools day. The main thing I've been doing is removing all the lower sick leaves, and this also dissuade whiteflies since they seems to go for weaker leaves.

dead/failed: malachite box, green giant, green zebra, paul robeson (again), orange russian 117

Cherokee Purple are doing good.

Black Brandywine (left) next to Aunt's Ruby German Green. It seems Black Brandywine is earlier, but have less blossoms and less fruits forming in comparison, the ones that does though are big. ARGG are taller. They have some septoria, but the ARGG are healthier.

I have a single Black Cherry volunteer that I stuck in dark sandy soil, mulch it and no fertilizer, neglected it and rarely watered, it continues to be the most productive cherry. Some fruits gets to be 1.5" diameter.

Lemon Drops is an heirloom introduced by SSE. Very unique tasting, it's yellow with light green, low in acid, very sweet and have a light tang fitting it's name. Unfortunately, it is not very productive, only average 6 cherries per cluster and not very big, though it is suffering from some blight. I would grow it again for the taste, but it's not very productive.

Grew some Silvery Fir Tree per Sey's suggestion:

Wild Boar's Black Beauty. It's been suffering from septoria too. It exhibit characteristics from the Indigo Rose, very purple, strong stem, not very tall. Held up against the wind pretty well.

Possibly Kellog's Breaksfast and Garden Peach in containers.

This is what happened when you start dwarf determined tomatoes (Red Riding Hood) too early and they prolonged a lengthy period of cool weather. Supposed to be 2.5ft max, but it's hitting 5ft now.

Wild Boar's Brad's Crazy Cherry. I never grew big clusters cherry before so this is exciting. I planted it in a fresh mix of 50/50 horse manure compost and peat because I ran out of stuff, fertilized it, and it's the healthiest looking tomato in the garden. The plant gets wind and rained on just as much as all the other plants and is pristine, not hint of diseases. So I wonder if it's the fresh mix or the variety, but it looks to be a winner.

Cowlick's Brandywine in container. Smaller Delicious next to it. I use rice hulls as cover for my containers. The leaves color is a bit dull with streaks of purple. I thought nutrient deficiency, but I think most likely due to trying to grow a beefsteak in cool weather in a container during February.

Parkseed's Nectar hybrid, started out well and productive, but got very sick so I lost interest. It is one of those super sweet variety, easily above 8 in brix value, but somewhat flat flavor. I germinated a dozen of F2 seeds, just stuck half of them in sandy soil and the other in one gallon pots and see what will become of them. I notice these F2 plants are already flowering at 10 inches tall, maybe it's reverting back to a currant size, or is being very productive and early producing. If the taste turns out okay I'll keep regrowing them, but otherwise I concentrate mostly on heirlooms.

Great photos, maxjohnson

John, that is revolutionary :(

All your plants look the best they can be.

While you are harvesting I am just babying my little sprouts. So I am roughly 4 months behind. Good luck for the rest of season.

Sey

BTW: your SFT plants almost reaching the full size.

I started seeds for brandywine and roma yesterday afternoon, my last frost day is (from what I can find) april 27, so hoping it wasnt too early.

eterprincess,

You maybe able to beat the LFD.

Around April 12 to14 check the 15 days forecast. If there is no frost in sight, then you can go ahead and plant out. Of course you need to harden them off first.

Be on the look out and be prepared the plants , for just in case. That is what I do.

Sey

Still a much above average Spring forecast. The soil is already very far ahead of the game, it is usually still snow covered here and soggy into April. I guess I should get started soon even on the tomatoes. I will definitely start my peppers this weekend.

https://weather.com/forecast/national/news/march-may-spring-2016-forecast-update

The forecast here calls for a cold end of the week / weekend and then temperatures more typical for May than March next week.

eterprincess, you may want to get some plastic warming your soil and buy some row covers to get an early start.

I had a shameful year last season, even failing to get in all the fruit harvest...for one reason and another...but this year, I have given myself a stern talking to and seed orders are arriving (getting my gardening mojo on). In the past, I have grown heaps of varieties...nearly all of which have labelling disasters...but have reigned myself in with just a handful. March 15th is my nominal sowing date (in the cold greenhouse) - for transplanting during first week in June (we get some horror late frosts).

I am thrilled to have found Dr.Carolyn's Pink here in the UK, along with my 2 failsafes, Matina and Stupice. Also sowing Ruby, a Bulgarian variety, Black Cherry and a ridiculously tall Tres Cantos. For ketchup, I have Marianna's Peace (this was a very good 'doer' last season, and finally, have caved in to requests and am growing the supermarket favourite - Piccolo.

Believe In Spring !

Here is a little update on my seedling.

sowed 2/21/16 today 3/3/16 ,,, that is 12 days .

Some of then have a pair of true leaves but most are in COT stage. I will get ready to pot them up in a few days.

BTW: the ones in the back are early start : SFT and HGT.

Sey

They look great Sey!!

Nice Sey! I'm chomping at the bit to get started but I'm trying to hold back. I don't know If I can make it through the weekend without starting them. I started my peppers and eggplant about a week ago but that just isn't the same as starting my maters.

I will be starting my first round of hardening off this weekend. Once the space is opened up I may start more plants.

Looking very good, Nate.

Your plants are ready to take the world. In Central Texas is the time to plant out. I have 4 more weeks to test the waters. I have yet to pot up my seedlings. May in another week or so.

OK., everybody ! Spring is right around the corner. Are you ready ?

Sey

I am in Zone 9a. I know it'll sound crazy, but I started tomatoes outdoors December 1st of last year. I've got 6 foot tomato plants right now. That's unusual, because I usually start them outside about February 1st. I figured out, however, that if I watched out for a few light freezes that we sometimes get, I might dodge a bullet. I've gotten a few tomatoes so far and a little batch yesterday. First tomato was February 19th. Below is a picture from 12-24-15 and another picture of my first little batch I picked yesterday. These are Campari's and Tami G's. The last picture is from a month ago. I'm seeing dozens and dozens of green tomatoes right now. Now I just have to keep the birds away!

I also made a video of a unique way to start tomato plants using brussels sprout leaves. I know that sounds really crazy, but it works wonderfully. I've never gotten seedlings so big in only 3 weeks. It's a little discovery of mine that I'd like to share with everyone. Maybe it'll work for you?

Making seed starting pots with Brussels Sprout leaves

Looks good, HikingV.

You practically have a year round growing season. Mine is about 6 months.

Latest: I sowed on 2/21/16 and today ( 3/8/16) finished potting up to 5" pots . So far so good. I will test the waters in 3 weeks. Then I will get on with hardening off and plant out bu mid April.

Our weather is very steady and warms up like a turtle. slooowly. hehe

It warms up about 5 degrees in a month. My concern is mostly to get the soil warm enough ( 55F++). So I have covered the beds with plastic, trying to create a micro greenhouse effect.

I am still working on hardening off the first round of plants. It has been raining for a week now. Today it is supposed to stop, and next week will be nicer.

The pics are from last week. The plants now look better, and have been on the porch for a week. They are begging for a chance at some sunshine now.

.... And It Goes On ...

Here is a more recent picture

I have another tray like that .

OK. Today is 3/12/16. in about 2 weeks ( 3/ 26/16), weather depending, I will take my plants out side and start hardening off process. Then I start planting out little by little from April 6th on til May. I can deal with cool temps , but I pray for sunny days. My garden soil is already warming up under plastic cover. And the rain is kept out.

The season is underway and must go on !

Little Update : 3-16-16

Sowed seeds 2-21-16 >>> day 26th.

There is 18 in the picture. I have 22 more, adding up to 40.

Sey

Wow! They look awesome Sey!! So does your Garden preparations!!

Blimey - I am still sowing seed until end of March. My last frost date can be as late as the first 2weeks in June so I have literally weeks of doing the hardening off, in and out dance. Germination is just beginning and will be in full swing in another week or so and then it is a long and anxious wait in the unheated greenhouse (under cover, fleece, door closed, door open, outside in the day, back in at night until finally, finally I can risk it on the allotment. The earliest I ever manage to eat a tomato is usually 2nd week in July (Matina or similar early) but if I can fend off blight, I will be harvesting until end of October...and later in the greenhouse.

Some observation on the varieties I'm growing.

The Cherokee Purple are good producers, but fruits thin skin makes it hard to keep them from being damaged. I lost about 15 or 20% of the unripe fruits already due to borers. This also is due to my neglect to spray which I wanted to reduce this season.

Aunt Ruby's German Green gets very tall for a beefsteak. I actually like growing tall tomatoes so it's probably going to be one of my favorite to grow.

This Super Snow White plant is against the South fence and gets only about 2hours of direct sunlight a day. In the beginning it was very thin and sick. It was a stringy vine with yellow leaves for 2months, somehow it kept getting healthier and now mostly diseased free. It got lanky early on so I bury the stem sideway and that helped a lot. This is quite out of the ordinary, at least for me.

Delicious seems like an amazing variety, very healthy. Wish I had put it in the soil, I'm going to limit the blossoms and see if I can get some larger fruits.

Kellog's Breakfast. I used a poor mix with not enough compost in the container and it dries fast, but somehow it's still prolific.

Matt's Wild Cherry. I really like the taste of this currant tomato. It's the opposite of Florida Everglade. The flavor is very smooth and sweet, not strong nor acidic. Also very healthy viney plant, thin but strong stem. Unfortunately it seems to be slow to ripe, later than a lot of my other larger cherries.

Brad's Crazy Cherry. They say it have a thicker skin, which is a good thing for me, no cracking is a plus.

Orange "Roussollini". These are supposed to be a super sweet heirloom cherry tomato and the one I'm most looking forward to tasting. They're from Italy and don't seem to do so well in my climate. The leaves never looked happy, always seems to droop, probably dislikes the humidity.

Parkseed's Nectar F2 one month from transplant in 1gal pots, for whatever reasons they seems to produce very fast. Some with fruits already, this is like 8weeks from germination. I'm kept them single stem.

Will I just started my tomatoes on March 16. The first sprout showed 48 hours later. Now, 3 1/2 days from planting, half my seeds have sprouted. For a change, I didn't use a humidity dome or a heat mat. Instead, I immediately put them about 4 inches under my T5 lights. The temperature probably gets to about 80 during the day. I'm way behind most of you, but the timing works for me. My last frost date is officially April 30.

The season is well underway.

My plant out date is getting close. This coming Tuesday I will start hardening off my plants (no more seedlings ) and a week or so later will begin planting out , putting cages wrapped w/ clear plastic ( or kitchen clear wrap) around them. This should keep the plants warmer at nights.

How are your plans are coming along ?

Sey

Here are my tomatoes and peppers grown outside in the small hoop house with soil warming cable. The pictures were taken last weekend. The tall tomatoes were sown in February and the small ones were sown in March. We had a couple of nights with 28-26 F, and as you can see they are doing quite good and they even grew during those freezing days.

That's impressive Antmary. I might try something like that next year! How do you go about watering, does it need to be vented and at what temperatures?

Here are my little guys; still seedlings, but ready to come out of those little cells!

This is my first year trying to grow tomatoes with soil warming cable. Before that I always got very nervous during the night freeze and I took tomatoes inside and it was tiresome and not mind relaxing. This year I know that my plants have an internal heat source during the freezing temperatures and it supports them enough. My makeshift greenhouse is quite simple. The wooden frame 4X4 feet is actually the part of my compost bin. It will serve as compost bin after I will be done with tomatoes. I put some isolation inside, but I am not sure if it helps. Two 10 feet hoops, some agriborn row cover on top, the plastic sheet on top of the cover. I also put smaller hoops right inside the greenhouse and I put the additional layer of cover when the nights are freezing. My plan is to turn on soil warming cable when the night temperatures are lower then 40 degrees (which happened on the most days so far) and to open the plastic cover for the ventilation (but leave the agribon) if the outside temperatures are higher then 55-60. Eventually I am planning to leave agribon cover only when the temperatures are high enough. This year all of my veggies grow outside instead of the basement. Today we had 26 F in the morning and inside the greenhouse it was 39, it quickly got warmer when sun came up. The soil temperatures stay in 60s all the time.

Volunteers

Setting fruit, have no idea whai it could be, hope its tasty.

The season is well underway here. Today (4/19/16) I wrapped up my plant out. By the last count I have 31 plants in beds and about 10 in containers. I started the process on 4/5/16 and continued few when the weather was nice. about 5 of them already growing buds.

We expect another week of much warmer than average temperature. The highs back to mid 60's. Even that corresponds to our May averages.

I hope your weather is clement.

Sey

Sorry no updates, I've been working like crazy. But, my season is almost done, probably a month left at the most. Here's how they did:

--persuasion: terrible germination. Only 2 of 15 seeds. I kept 1 plant and birds ate it to the ground, I doubt it will come back. I have my folks the other, it seems to be growing fine and will start blooming soon.

--Tiren f1: vigorous grower but I can't get it to stop with the BER when temps go over 90f. It's clearly a water problem and it can't take up enough to compensate for the evap rate in +90f temps. Would be great for somewhere cool but awful for me. Oh well!

--German Lunchbox: great grower! Mine are coated with large cherry sized fruit. Haven't eaten one but they should start ripening in the next week. Thumbs up.

--Black Krim: not churning out buckets but oh, so fantastic. They're the best tomatoes, earthy and sweet but savory. They don't taste like tomatoes, they taste like something else entirely. Will grow from now on.

Unripe black krim

--Mystery volunteer: I was right it was a cherry but I don't think it is a colorful one, instead it looks like some sort of mini-heart or currant. Very wilt-y too, so I'm guessing cherry hearts. Good producer, might save some seeds.

Already planning for the fall season, thinking some heart tomatoes!

Happy growing, everyone!

Tiren had massive BER for me last year out here in the SF Bay Area. Much cooler temps, days over 90f are rare. Terrible. My Granadero Roma did fine and produced well and I had no BER issues with other fruit in the same bed. I wouldn't grow Tiren again. Like you, my Black Krims were extraordinary, but not heavy producers.

I planted out my big bed on Monday. I lost two varieties to the heat wave before plant out: Jaune Flamme and Katja. The Jaune Flamme was a painful loss. It will be the first time in four seasons I'm without it. That's the last time I listen to the naysayers who say don't start too many seeds. I want backups next year.

I have four plants in Earthboxes in the yard: two Legend, one Siletz, one mystery PL and one Gold Dust. I am going to plant three more dwarf varieties in Earthboxes: Hahms Gelbe, Uluru Ochre and Dwarf Purple Heart.

The HGT is going in an Earthbox jr… Those familiar with both, do you think I could plant two in one Earthbox Jr.?

How many of the "standard" dwarf tomatoes do you think I could safely plant in the regular Earthbox?

@http://www.houzz.com/user/mlissca; Wow! Lost to a heatwave in April! I am also planting dwarves in earthboxes; two to a box. I am also technically SF Bay area, but in reality more like central valley. Days UNDER 90 seem rare!

I have posted my list of dwarfs already, but would be happy to copy and paste! No HGT, but doing Dwarf Purple Heart for the first time.

I did two New Big Dwarf in one earthbox last year, but did one each in old Gardner's Supply self watering planters that seemed to do better. Black Krim in the same, not so much. Not sure why. I wish they still made those. Maybe the new "root" earthboxes are similar.

I think I'll start some black krim, amish paste, black cherry, morgage lifter, and jaune flame from seed for a second crop. Everyone has great reviews for those.

I am cutting back to seven varieties this year. Sowed seeds on 4-14 of Azoychks, Big Beef, Brandy Boy, Brandywine Sudduth, Reinstraube, Rutgers, and Stump of the World. Only Stump has not germinated as of today.

Mnwsgal, I am also growing AZOYCHKA, BIG BEEF, and RIESENTRAUBE .

U grew Azoy and BgBf last year. The were among my best varieties.I am growing them again,

Good Luck !

Sey