96 and counting

Awhile back, I asked for 3 good varieties of tomatoes to plant, as I only wanted 3 plants this year. Well, through good suggestions and the generosity (!) of a couple of friends here at DG, and some free seed from Baker Creek Seed, I have 96 seeds in dirt and at least 3 more varieties that are in a seed order that hasn't arrived yet. I do plan to share those that manage to germinate with daughters and friends. I may end up with a stand out front with cheap tomato plants!

This is what I've got in dirt so far: Rutgers, Husky Red and Yellow, Ace 55, Siberia, Principe Borghese, Thai Pink Egg, Pik Red, Celebrity, Early Girl and the Dutchman. I know I have some Currant and Yellow Pear ordered and it seems like at least one, maybe two, more.

This forum is worse than the rose forum for enticement to grow multitudes!

Yep know what you mean but after last years lesson of starting 288 tomatoe plants I am holding it down to a hundred or so this year. About 60 will be tumbler to give away the rest will be about a twenty variety assortment. Thats going to happen tomorrow I think. Ernie

LOL, Ernie, most of these are from you! The list of people getting gifts of tomato plants will be long, if they grow.

eweed, what did you do with 288 tomato plants??

Laura I planted forty and gave the rest away to friends and co workers and cussed myself a lot. I bought 15 cheap 17 inch square plastic planter boxes and put two tumbler cherry plants and gave them to family and close friends in June when they were full of blossoms and just starting small tomatoes. Then I put 15 in buckets in my green house and twenty more in a high tunnel hoop house along with 25 pepper plants.

I mistakenly took the wrong flats to work and gave away the plants I saved for myself and ended up without some of the types I wanted so I quickly restarted some of my reliable ones. This year the program called givaway will take place after I plant mine or at least I won't be loading up at 5 AM and making that same mistake again lol Good plants are easy to give away Ernie

Kathleen enjoy and you can have a little fun when asked by your friends what kind are these if you say oh those are weed tomatoesor these tomatoes are from a weed. Ok I am going now I won't wait for the hook. Ernie

I think you dodged the hook, Ern. lol. Boy, that family and friends of yours are sure lucky to get termaters all ready to produce!! How about tomato weed?

Laura some of the people I gave the tumblers to need all the help they can get to grow any thing the planters were a no brainer pretty much automatic at that point.

Execellant you caught the point of the hook you get an A. Ernie

I just finished transplanting 50 little plants from the cell packs. I know there were at least half a dozen more that the ding dong rodent got. We're going to war - got the BIG sticky traps today.

I have at least one of the each of the varieties I planted: Rutgers, Husky Red and Yellow, Ace 55, Siberia, Principe Borghese, Thai Pink Egg, Pik Red, Celebrity, Early Girl and the Dutchman. Some, like the Rutgers and Principe Borghese, I got 10 of 12 planted. I planted 4 Thai Pink Egg and got 4 plants. Celebrity only has one - there were two or three more but ddr seemed to like them best.

Kathleen lol I kept my 100 down to a couple hundred of about 27 I think types but not one ace 55 germained in fact that whole corner looks like a bomb blast leveled it. I think I will survive its about time to transplant into 4 inch pots I will cull a few. Ernie

Ernie, I got one Ace 55. I think there were two others that the mouse got. No sign of him last night. I bring the plants into the kitchen at night, so haven't lost any since I started that. Only got one Celebrity, too. The Huskys, red and yellow are the neatest little plants. Very tidy looking.

Kathleen I got brave because I usually get what I consider high germ rates only planted four Ace seeds got none. The Husky plants will grow just robust. The lit says you don't need to stake them but you should.Linda is informing me I planted 270 seeds not 200 so I guess any scaledown will have to come from the no shows lol. Ernie

PS when I catch up a little going to try the ace again just because it irks me to have a zero.

Ernie, I think you ran out of fingers so that's why you couldn't get an accurate count!!! LOL

Laura I see five more I took the other sock off. You know I used to use my teeth but now thats such a short count I don' bother lol Ernie

Hehe, I'll send Jess over - 1st grade and she's figuring out the 3 fours makes 12. That's what we planted last night - 4 yellow pear, 4 Gardeners Delight cherry, and 4 red currant. Then we decided enough with tomatoes and planted some pansies.

Can't count or read. Close scrutiny finds one ace 55 after all. No monroe Erniel