seed starting, ever hopeful on a warm January day last week

Planted butterking
rouge d'hiver
rouge de grenoblouse
formidana
tom thumb lettuces and some viroplay spinach, and foolishly, three brandywine tomato seeds. Just couldn't stop myself.

Good for you. I couldn't resist starting tomatoes & peppers either. But they are going to need more heat somehow... I don't suppose you planted them at one end?

Hi Tamara, I did. I try to put them near a floor heat vent at night and in the sun during the daytime.

Well, I should clarify, only meant the tomatoes would need more heat than the rest... floor vent is a great idea. I understand you will get better germ rate on the lettuce between 70-75, though 85 works for some. The maters like it hot. I have mine set on top of the light fixture. Hope to see some come up in a week or so.
Would love to see a pic when yours come up, esp the brandywine (yum)

You're right. Of course I should have put the tomatoes in a separate container but I was having fun and I am implusive when it comes to gardening and life in general. If I get any germination worth posting, I'll take some pictures.

Since they are on the end, if you don't mind cutting up the plus tray, cut the tomato strip off so you can give it extra special care. After all, those ARE Brandywines, don't they deserve it LOL

I almost did the same thing last weekend when starting my greens. Remembered just in time, which resulted in my planting more than just brandywine. I did a separate tray of tomatoes/ peppers. Then I decied that wasn't enough and did ANOTHER the next day.

I have pics posted under "first sprout", under propagation forum...

I'll check it out Tamara. The tomatoes will have to do their best where they are. I am a lazy gardener and if they don't make it, I'll plants some more next month. Thanks for the head's up tho. :-)

Well, they will certainly bloom sooner if grown in cold temps anyway. Isn't this exciting, getting our veggies started??? Guess i should have waited on the brussell sprouts. I was planting brassicas, and just thought "why not"?

So where is everybody? Maybe they are having a warm day and they are out getting their early garden stuff done...

"So where is everybody? Maybe they are having a warm day and they are out getting their early garden stuff done..."

Hardly. It's been 30 something degrees and raining all day long. Yuk! So I did what any other frustrated, obsessive -compulsive, addicted to tomatoes gardener would do. I sowed more tomato seeds. LOL

yahoo!

what kind, give us details, and pictures. It's cold here too...

I had already sowed these:

Spring/Summer Garden 2005
1. Creole
2. Noir De Crimee
3. Black Krim
4. German Red Strawberry
5. Large Pink Bulgarian
6. Matchless
7. Olena Ukranian
8. Wanda's Potato Top
9. Aunt Madge
10. Good Old Fashioned Red
11. Oxheart
12. Kellogg's Breakfast
13. Ugly
14. Dr. Lyle
15. Pruden's Purple
16. Alicante
17. Bulgarian #7
18. Rutgers
19. Hillbilly
20. Arkansas Traveler
21. Red Rose
22. Red Brandywine (Landis Valley Strain)
23. Lillian's Red Paste
24. Black Cherry
25. Paul Robeson
26.Tommy Toe
27. Taps
28. Matina
29. Wild Cherry
30. Omar's Lebanese
31. Aker's West Virginia
32. Andrew Rahart's
33. Box Car Willie
34. Cherokee Purple
35. Coustralee
36. Druzba
37. Old Virginia
38. Eva Purple Ball
39. German Head
40. Mortgage Lifter
41. Juanne Flammee
42. Russian 117
43. Tiffen Mennonite
44. Anna Russian
45. Purple Perfect
46. Aussie
47. Diener
48. Reif's Red
49. Sioux
50. Soldacki
51. Wins All
52. Stupice
53. Riesentraube
54. Black from Tula
55. Mexico
56. Brandywine OTV
57. De Quasi
58. Orange Strawberry
59. Old German Pink
60. Glory Hybrid (I'm keeping 2 plants and giving the rest to a friend with a small farm)
61. BHN 444 (I'm raising all of these for a friend)

Today I sowed:
1. Bonny Best
2. Bradley
3. Martino's Roma
4. Sioux (more of them)
5. Super Sioux
6. Creole (more of them)
7. Mule Team
8. Red Currant
9. Rutgers (more of them)
10. Zogola
11. 1884

(Edited because I forgot two varieties.)

Do I have enough now? LOL

Terri




This message was edited Jan 29, 2005 11:30 PM

Well, let see...
although they are not alphabetized, I didn;t see these in your list:
Tigerella, Marmande, Super Marmande, Peron Sprayless, Yellow Pear Cherry, Flame, Thessaloniki, Roma, or Snow White Cherry...
But since that is what I am growing, you probably have the list pretty well covered.

So I guess "obsessive -compulsive, addicted to tomatoes gardener " would not be an exagerration at this point, since you are not capable of exagerrating or overdoing LOL

You must spend a lot of time in the tomato forum ;-)

Mule team sounds interesting. Isn't the Ugly the same as Marmande? I think that is what I read in the Tomato forum but PLEASE don't quote me on that, just wondering if you knew...

I am just addicted to the dirt, well, and the corn...

The way I understand it, Ugly is the result of improving Marmonde, a French heirloom tomato. Here is an interesting article on "Ugly."

http://www.saintpetersburgtimes.com/2005/01/16/Business/Ugly_Says_who.shtml

And yes! I spend a lot of time at the Tomato Forum. I guess you could say that it's my home away from home. LOL I love corn, too! Thank goodness I have a pal with a farm that keeps me supplied with Silver Queen. I do my part by keeping her supplied with tomato plants. :-)

I bought an UGLYRIPE in the supermarket here yesterday just to try. It is labeled as an heirloom and is grown in Mexico. It isn't exactly an ugly looking tomato to me but it isn't a nice regularly rounded one either. It certainly looked more like a garden tomato than most of the ones the produce department had in stock. I won't be trying it until tomorrow but I think it will probably taste as good as the more expensive greenhouse ones. The uglyripe was priced a dollar a pound less than the greenhouse tomatoes.

well, lettuce know...

i place all my seed trays on a heating blanket to keep them nice and cozy until the second set of leaves come out.

Great idea Herbie 43. Some of my lettuce seedlings are up and growing.

I'm looking forward to tasting my first vine ripened Ugly, at least I think I am. I can't find any in the stores around these parts. If I want to taste it, I've just got to grow it. My expectations aren't too high for this tomato, especially with all of the hoopla written about it. It's probably just a good marketing job, but time will tell.

Well, this morning I had two brussel sprouts and two Roma tomatoes up, I am VERY excited. The thyme and cole crops and peppers may take longer. I apparently need another light sooner than I though, so off I go to buy one tomorrow.

Herbie, do you mean like an electric blanket you use on your bed? What a cool idea. I am building a heat box. Saw it in the propagation forum, I think. When I am done, I will have two 26" x 26" boxes to heat four 12" X 24" trays.

Pete2~Compared to all those other marvelous tomatoes you have growing, the Ugly will proably just not measure up :-)

Roseone33~ I bet you can't wait to start having a fresh salad every day...

~Tamara

Lord in heaven, Terri! How large of an area do you plant your toms in? and how many of each variety do you do? You have become my tomato mentor.
-Juli

Oh honey, I'm not an expert of any sort. I promise you that. Carolyn is THE tomato expert and has grown more varieties that anyone I know. You really should pick up a copy of her book, "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden." It's fabulous!!!

Oh, but I DO love tomatoes! The truth is that I probably won't have room to plant more than 2 of each of the varieties I've sown from seed. And some of the ones on my list, I eliminated as I was potting up. The ones that I've grown before and like, I'll plant more of. I got a little out of control this year with the tomato sowing. LOL I certainly don't have room to plant all of them, even though I grow in the ground and in containers. I always supply my friends and neighbors with tomato plants. I had planned to plant more of each variety, but that was before I went overboard and sowed so many seeds. I announced to my church friends yesterday that I would supply all of them with tomato plants, too. And I will. Also, I am planning to go to the Georgia Daves Garden Round-Up in April. I'll be taking (what else) tomato plants to share with everyone.

I will be growing 5 plants each of Aunt Madge and Rutgers to save seeds from this year. I'll be bagging those blossoms to insure seed purity.

I know that people look at my tomato list and think I've lost my mind! LOL The reason that I'm growing so many of the diffferent varieties is because I want to find about 20 or so favorites that I can plant every year. After I find those favorites, I'll try a new one here and there just to keep things interesting. :-)

As it is now, I'm going to have to till up more of my yard to fit everything in. I had put that part of my garden to bed a while back when I went back to school and just didn't have the time for a really big garden anymore. Guess I'll be cranking up my tiller in the next week or so. :-)

Terri

Terri, I just bought Carolyn's book and I love it, so many tomatoes to try. I hope to be able to get to the round-up. Hope maybe you may have a tomato plant "leftover" that I can have. Wish I could ru my tiller but it's way too cold and way too wet.

Leftover? Lord have mercy, I've got more tomato plants than I can shake a stick at. I'll be begging ya'll to take them home. LOL

Terri

I have a feeling that you won't have any trouble finding a home for your plants!

Pete2 --- I love to grow different varieties and usually grow one of each although raising five of each variety and keeping the best for myself. I do end up giving a lot away. I find a few I like but then when it comes time to sow new seeds I aways seem to pass up the one's I like for the challenge of growing the one's I've never grown. It's just the feeling of something new and different and if the quality and flavor is exceptional then that is a real treat. There are thousands of varieties and growing twenty-six at a time and having two growing seasons I don't think that in my lifetime I can grow them all but I shall try !

Ok, I can't resist. It's 3 degrees outside, with 2' of packed snow on the grounds...and here in the sunroom...

Not a very good shot, but here's one without the dome...

And here's the other...

They're lookin' good!

I lost the big one in the snow storm last weekend. The door to the sunroom blew open in the middle of the night (50 MPH winds) and it was covered with a 2' snow drift when I woke up, along with my Henna and Incense Passiflora. The latter 2 survived, but the Marmande was a goner!

Note to self: Must learn to SHUT the door!

Just beautiful, Sequee! My goodness, they are so healthy looking! :-)

Terri

Tplant, I do understand! There are so many different varieties of tomatoes and so little time (it seems) to grow them all. But by golly, we'll give it our best shot, won't we? :-)

Sorry aobut your Marmande Sequee, what variety is the one that survived?

I am excited about my seedling tomatoes too. And it is now February, so Spring is nearing!!!

I'm dyein here want to start the seeds so bad, but I know what "leggy" spec. they would turn out to be - good luck all - Dyson

One of them is the Chinese Tomato ( real name unknown at this time), the other is a mystery. I was packing up trades and when I was all done, there was a tomato seed sitting on my desk. Hmmm - couldn't put it away like that, so i decided it wanted to be planted. God willing it will grow into a real producing tomato plant and I will find out what it is!

I really wanted to grow Marmande this season but somehow got sidetracked. To late to start now so I'll save it till I start my fall crop in August. Sure hope we don't have hurricane problems again ?

Tplant, I cannot believe it is too LATE to start tomatoes in Florida, WOW!
Sequee, keep us posted on the mystery tomato. I may want seeds from that one.
Dyson, you poor mistreated thing. Tell you wife all you want for Christmas next year is a table top light.
Pete2, you ROCK with tomatoes!
roseone33, show us a new photo--

Tamara

Tamara, I'll get one posted later today. You'll get a good laugh when you see my jury-rig and my leggy lettuce, but I ordered a grow-light table from Farmtec yesterday, (somebody stop me and my credit card!), so I can always start over.

People with addictions should NOT have credit cards! (I just ordered a "Compost Digester" from Garden's Alive! Hey, it was $25 off, what's a girl to do???)

I'm sure you needed it as much as I needed my grow light table. :-)