WHAT HEIRLOOM TOMATOES TO GROW ?

Find an heirloom tomato seed supplier and look over the pictures and attributes of those you are selecting. My first order at one of these suppliers was between 15-20 different ones. Tomato seeds keep up to ten years, so I didn't need to plant them all in one year, but grow up to 8 varieties each year for household use and seed saving for use myself and for sale. The lists are long so visit many sites for seeds. You can even get a few from me on my website.

Which ones to buy?

The answer here is "Whichever heirloom that hits your fancy". However, how would you know without trying one out ?

The choices are in the hundreds as you will find out when you research heirloom tomatoes.

Harold sells seeds as do many other heirloom growers.

I started learning how to grow tomatoes when five years old. Even the varieties we grew back then for H J Heinz Company, are today heirloom tomatoes. They included tomatoes called " Jewel, John Bear, and Bonny Best" . We found the Jewel tomato to be of superior quality for best "No. one red grade" when a load of tomatoes went to Leamington to the processing plant. Orange shoulders and green shoulders of the other two varieties would make them be thrown into seconds and lower your grade. Each tomato was cut in half from one 'Heinz Basket" (7/8ths of a bushel). White centers would also downgrade the load. They wanted them dead ripe. Dad would hold them for three days after picking them before shipping, so they would ripen even more, and we never ever had a load rejected.

I have related the above to you so you now know that you need to grow it to find out what good attributes it has, and do they fit your desires and requirements.

I suggest that you grow at least two new heirlooms each year until you find that one or many that you just will "Not let Go". You will want to keep several varieties and this is fine since tomato seeds from good ripe fruit will keep up to ten years, if kept in a cool dry storage area. This then becomes an heirloom that you can claim and hand on to your children, by saving the seeds for it. The number of keepers may be many more than one as there are some very good oddities and good tasting heirloom tomatoes.

Be sure to let your children know how you came to have the seeds to begin with, and that they were heirlooms when you acquired the seed. I suggest you grow and save the seeds of each variety at least every five years, but never plant all of your seeds in any one year. Teach your children how to save tomato seeds and to keep them for posterity. This does not go for just tomatoes, but all plants that can be propagated easily by seed. You are also rewarded by not having to pay for more seeds next year.

Desired and/or Required Uses

What will be the main use for your fresh garden tomatoes? Will it be fresh out of the garden tomato soup, or will you want to freeze or can the bulk of them? Do you want your salads garnished? Will you want a colourful plate of sliced tomatoes for dinner with multi colors such as, slices of yellow, slices of red, slices of many colors (Ananas Noir)?

You will choose the tomato to grow to fill any one or more of the above questions.

For fresh garden use, choose a good red beefsteak, perhaps a golden tomato like Kellogg's Breakfast, or pink Brandywine.

For soup or canning tomatoes, the red beefsteak types with best flavour are chosen to fill this use. Pasta type tomatoes are used to make chilli sauces, pasta sauces, and salsa sauces.

Great care is taken in Harold's garden to keep heirloom varieties apart so seed will remain true and not cross pollinate.

Happy Gardening ---- from Gardener Harold.

.