Following, but no useful advice.

Here is an interesting thread on Heat tolerance and taste. I have had a different take on the Juliett tomato . It taste good to me and performed well.

The Sioux tomato sounds interesting. People in Arizona say it grew for them.. Hibiscus, have you tried it before?

On bigger tomatoes I have had the best luck with Better Boy and Big Beef. Chocolate cherry tomatoes has produced well and have a very good flavor. They do grow very tall and need a tall support. A smaller cherry tomato that has done well is Baxter.

The main thing is to plant early and protect from frost. You will need a tall support (at least 4 foot tall six feet even better.) I use woven wire cattle fencomg and make a 2 1/2 foot diameter circle. I will sometimes go two layers high, Need to support with a T post.

Can I ask what do you do for fertilizing and ground prep?

Well, I usually put my tomatoes in 20 gallon pots (cattle syrup tubs) with a mixture of pinebark, perlite, and peat moss. roughly a 3:1:1 mix. Those I fertilize with about a teaspoon of miracle grow in a gallon of water about every 3 or 4 weeks. I tend to over fertilize and they tend to grow to 6 to 10 feet by mid summer. The Baxters tend to stay smaller.

I did grow them in raised beds of 1/3 sand loam, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost. I fertilized very little to keep them at about 4 to 5 feet (except for the Chocolate cherry which grew to 8 to 10 foot). If the tomatoes are dark green do not fertilize. A pale green is not bad but if you have yellow leaves with green veins it needs additional nitrogen. I would put a table spoon per plant once a week until the leaves get back to a medium green. Again, most people including me tend to over fertilize tomatoes.

I know what you mean about the 2x4 stuff I used to have the 2x4 cages but I always felt like a monkey caught in a trap with my prize when I went to get the tomatoes out. The 2 x 4" cages are now used to protect tree seedlings. Thank you about the color judgements on the tomatoes and fertilizing. I did not know that.

Gary, Where do you find Pinebark? Do you buy it in bulk or bagged?

Lowes has it in Beaumont. It works better as a mulch. It can tie up nitrogen if it is mixed in soil. I just add more nitrogen to compensate if I need to. Cypress should also work well. For a raised bed I would use compost since you would not have the problem with tying up nitrogen. Getting compost around me is pretty easy and I can even get it for free most of the time. Getting pine bark in bulk would be cheaper, just try to get more bark and less sap wood. The bark breaks down slowly, sap wood breaks down quickly and tie up nitrogen.

I am actually asking for my succulent mixes so it is off topic. I have been breaking up oak bark. Not a perfect solution.

I have had best luck with Early Girl. By the time they are finished, mid July, I am more than ready to be done with garden work for the summer.

You can get pine bark fines at any Lowes in Austin. It's called Landscaper mix and also includes small amounts of perlite. I use it for my own potting mix, but also mix it in with the soil.

Thanks!!! I will drive in . Home Depot does not have it. Dripping Springs is sans Lowes

I picked AND ATE my first two Julietts this afternoon. They were juicy and delicious. The season begins for me.

i love the julietts and they reseed prolifically but mine are already "gone" for the summer, i think i have two left on the vines and i have 3 new plants in the pot about 6 inches high these tomatoes are very small thumb sized and very tasty

Summer has not begun yet!, how could they be gone.IT 57 out there!!!! in MAY!!!!

Definitely not a large variety, but if you are looking for a dwarf/semi indoor variety, Tidy Treats are my FAVORITE! Bought a small cell that was producing but very small and sad, and it absolutely flourished. Lots of clusters and fast!

Does anyone grow Heirloom tomatoes? I don't think it's a particular 'type' but a plant that has been around for 100 years, more or less. Heirloom Roses are another example.

I am growing Black Krim , a Russian heirloom tomato. Does that count?I love them. They are the best tasting of all of the ones that I am growing this year. They would have given me more tomatoes if I had done a deep drip on them, but I thought all the rain was enough. We did not get as much rain as other people. My plants are in a raised bed and they still had blossom drop . I am now getting tons of fruit forming now that I am doing a deep drip watering. Shame on me. The Carmellos are the tops. They were the tomato that I took a chance on and it is a hybrid from France and it is the largest plant (even though it was planted last), and has the most fruits and was not as touchy as the others. the Phoenix has not made one fruit yet so it is the pits.

Black cherry and Cherokee purple both have done well for a heirloom tomato. Black Cherry does sprawl but has good flavor and decent yields.

Wantonamara, are they large enough to use on a hamburger/blt, or salad tomatoes?

Gary, what about the two you mrntioned? Large or small?

Can any of these be grown in a container?

I think the Bl Krim is hamburger size unless you go overboard and make behemoth burgers. I find the Carmello's to be good for sandwiches I might need to do a slice per side of sandwich bread depending on the bread size and shape. Juliette are great salad tomatoes. . I cut them in half because they are larger than a cherry. I also cut them diagonally and put them in sandwiches. . I add them to pasta dishes also.

Here is a a small carmello. Usually they are larger . They are a mid sized tomato. I left the cat in for scale.

Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes are hands down the easiest and most prolific for me. Only problem is finding a cage big enough for them!

The black cherry is the size of a regular cherry tomato. The Cherokee Purple Is a medium size tomato that tends to have an irregular shape. Both can be grown in a container as long as it is at least 15 gallons and will need to be watered daily in the heat of summer.