Joe Williamson wrote:

On Sat, 29 May 2004 23:55:34 -0700, Glenna Rose wrote:
However, I grow almost exclusively heirloom tomatoes, so they are
all super...

I am just trying some Brandywine so-called heirlooms. Got them from a
major seed company, so I'm not sure if they really qualify as heirlooms.

If they're Brandywines, they're heirlooms no matter where you
bought your seed.

But it's weird to see the potato-leafed plants coming up--not what I've
assciated with tomatoes in the past. Can you tell me what heirloom
varieties you like the best, and if your growing techniques are any
different than with the usual hybrids?

What heirlooms do best for you will depend to a certain extent on
where you live and what your zone is. I'm in the South, so I
mostly select heirlooms that were developed to withstand our hot,
muggy summers. Lately the onslaught of spit! thrips and their
weapon of mass destruction, Tomato Spotted Wilt virus has
forced me to drop some varieties that I've grown for years and
search for some that have better disease resistance.

Interestingly Brandywines have so far shown the most resistance
to the spit! thrips. I'm trying some Arkansas Travelers, a
variety of Mortgage Lifters, Black from Tulsa, and Andrew Rahart.
Oh, and Stupice, which I planted as my early tomatoes. I started
getting ripe tomatoes about two weeks ago, so I'll certainly
plant the Stupice again next year.

..I've never eaten a bad tomato. :-)

Alas, that's what got me back into gardening. It was seemingly impossible
to find a good-tasting tomatoe in a store anymore.

I bought the most beautiful, perfect tomato from the organic
grocery store about a month ago. Lovely, smooth pink skin,
and it was at that perfect stage of ripeness.

Paper has more taste than that tomato had. It was awful!

Penelope
--
"Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"ElissaAnn"