In article ,
The Cook wrote:

On Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:56:52 -0500, Ohioguy wrote:

I've decided to use the south facing side of the house to grow
tomatoes this year. There are no trees giving shade, so it gets full
sunlight all day long. In the spring and fall there is a small amount
of "heat island" effect due to the angle of the sun. There are also two
downspouts, and I'm sure I can figure out a way to capture water from
those in some manner, so that I can water them without having to use
tapwater.

The area is roughly 25 feet long, and I can install a lattice or
fence of some kind to support climbing plants.

My main focus is something prolific, with a second desire for disease
resistance.

I would also like to have some low acid plants, some large
sandwich/beefsteak types, and then something smaller for the kids to
snack on. (like the moby grape my sister grew last year) I might also
be up for a plant or two that is an unusual color or heirloom variety.

I bought loads of "tomato soil" on closeout last fall at Lowe's, and
I'm ready to start working up the soil. I just need to make up my mind
on varieties, order them, and then get the plants started on a
windowsill so that I can get them planted in a couple of months.

One question that I have is this: how close to the foundation/wall
should I place the tomato plants? If I place it within 2' of the wall,
I could potentially plant another entire row of lower growing plants
over by the property line. However, I'm not sure if this would be too
close.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions on varieties this year. I should
probably order within the next 5 days or so.


This year I have a brand new spot for my tomatoes so that I can get
enough areas to do a 3 or 4 year rotation. I have cut my planting
too. This year I am planting:

Viva Italian Hybrid--It is a nice sized Roma and pretty prolific when
the nasties don't get them. I always plant more of these since they
are so good for sauces.

Better Boy Hybrid--My husband's favorite slicing tomato.

Brandy Boy Hybrid--a hybrid of the popular Open Pollinated Brandywine
tomato.

Carmello--Another good slicer. Was originally hybrid, but has been
transformed into an OP.

Early Girl--As the name suggests it is a slightly smaller tomato that
produces somewhat earlier that most of other tomatoes.
Dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes are popular in farmers markets in the San
Francisco Bay Area. The variety is also popular with home gardeners in
that region, where it thrives despite the area's cool and often overcast
summers[12][13][14].
Foodies regularly debate the merits of dry-farmed Early Girl tomato
farms, such as Ella Bella and Dirty Girl[15]
Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters is a fan of the Early Girl tomato,
telling an interviewer "[O]ne of the best tomatoes I've ever had was an
Early Girl that was dry-farmed up in Napa at a friend's house." [16][17]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Girl


These 5 are my plant every year. I have been tracking the output of
my tomatoes for several years. These are always the top producers.

This year I am adding:

Grape
Golden Grape
Julia Child-- A yellow tomato.
Jumbo Roma

These are all Open Pollinated.

When I am looking for tomatoes and peppers the first places I look is
Tomato Growers Supply or Totally Tomatoes. I have had good luck with
both of them in terms of getting what I ordered and having better than
fair germination.

When I get ready to start ordering I first look through several of the
web sites to see what looks interesting and who has what. I will make
a list at each site of what I would like to have. Then I go through
and figure out which place has more of the ones I want. I try to keep
my shipping costs down.

You may be able to get a good variety of tomatoes at your local
hardware, farm supply, nursery, Lowe's or Home Depot. My Lowe's
carries Burpee and Ferry-Morse seeds. I don't think I have every had
a problem with either of them. Shipping costs will eat up your seed
budget faster than the seeds do.
--
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/3/7/michael_moore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZkDikRLQrw