On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:38:39 -0500, Ohioguy wrote:

Americas favorite and number one garden plant is.... Tomatoes... Yes!

Hmm, that's another good idea. I don't have a good place prepared
for them right now, and that certainly would be a good area for growing
them. Lots of sun, and they do seem to like heat.

That's your best bet. They'll love the extra heat.

Start looking right now at some varieties you can't get at the local
nurseries. Start your seeds in a few weeks.

Plant a few varieties as you never know which one will like this
summer's weather best. One year my plums will be larger than my
beefsteaks-- another year the early tomatoes don't fruit until after
the plums.

Put some odd colored tomatoes in the mix. I don't know if they
taste all that different, but it really impresses non-gardeners that
you have purple/yellow/pink/orange/green/'black' or spotted tomatoes.

Plant them on trellises & make a shady spot to sit and eat them.

In my garden I *have* to have at least-
a couple cherry tomatoes
a few pasta tomatoes
a couple early
a couple huge
a lot of celebrity- my favorite tasting tomato most years
a few of something new
a few more 'new to me' varieties

That ought to cover that space nicely. nice thing about tomatoes
is soil prep isn't too bad. Dig a hole- amend it- mulch around it.
Straw/newspapers/carpet/pavers all make good paths through the tomato
space.

If I don't grow tomatoes there, however, I can grow them along the
chain link fence that goes along the entire south side of our back yard.
I was planning on getting that set up for vegetables early this spring.

The hard part of that is weeding both sides of the fence. If it is a
boundary fence you neighbor will spray with a herbicide about the time
your veggies are thriving. . . or not, and they'll be choked by his
weeds.

Now I'm torn between the various choices.

Wait until you have the vision of what you want it to look like- and
need to choose which varieties to do it with.g It is a *good*
dilemma, though.

Jim