Useful Sites & Sources
On this page we provide additional tomato information including books and websites — even our favorite heirloom varieties — for your enjoyment.
Best Tomato Fertilizer
Available Here
Sources for Heirloom Tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes can’t be beat for their intense flavor. They are wonderful to look at, too, and have great names like Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Red Pear, Mortgage Lifter and White Wonder. Finally they have wonderful stories to tell. For example, a West Virginian home gardener named Charlie fell on hard times during the depression. He owned a radiator repair shop, but people were so broke that they weren’t repairing their cars. Charlie took his four largest-fruited tomato plants and crossed them repeatedly to create a plant that produced two-pound fruit. He sold the plants claiming that each plant would feed a family of six. Within four years, he made enough to pay off his mortgage.
While not all tomato plants have such an interested history, they all have a “tasty” tale to tell. Below are some of our favorite web sites that offer heirloom tomato seeds.
Planet Natural (free shipping on seeds!)
Laurel’s Heirloom Tomato Plants
Further Reading: Books
The Gardener’s A — Z Guide to Growing Organic Food, by Tanya L.K. Denckla
Pests of the Garden and Small Farm: A Grower’s Guide to Using Less Pesticide by Mary Louise Flint
Golden Gate Gardening by Pam Peirce
Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by R. Kourik.
Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden by Sally Jean Cunningham
Tomato Varieties
Heirloom: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, White Wonder, Nebraska Wedding, Black Prince, Persimmon Yellow, Pixie Peach, Green Zebra, Mr. Stripey, Old German.
Paste tomatoes: Roma, Sauce and Slice, Plum Dandy or Super Marzano.
Here’s a partial list of special needs and the varieties that can adapt to them:
Cooler climates: Oregon Spring, Northern Exposure, Manitoba and Stokesalaska
Hot climates: Heatwave, Sunleaper, Equinox, Sunmaster
Early starters: Early Girl, Sunstart, Burpee’s Early Pick, New Yorker, Wayahead, Moreton Hybrid, Jet Star, Pik-Red, Pilgrim.
Early cherry tomato: Red Robin.
Mid-season: Heinz 1350, Better Boy, Burpee, Roma, Floramerica, Celebrity, Red Star, Market Pride, Mountain Delight.
Late starters: Supersonic B, Ramapo, Supersteak, Mountain Pride, Beefmaster
Yellow and orange fruits: Jubilee, Sunray, Lemon Boy
Cherry tomatoes: Red Cherry, Sweet 100, Sweet Million, Small Fry, Chadwick
Pear tomatoes (small fruit): Red Pear, Yellow Pear
Dwarf cherries (great in containers): Tiny Tim, Small Fry, Presto, Baxter’s Bush Cherry
Dwarf vines with medium fruit: Patio, Pixie.
Eric is now retired, but is still a renowned gardener known for his expertise in composting, organic gardening and pest control, utilizing pesticide-free options, such as beneficial insects.
Eric believes when you do something good for the environment, the effects will benefit generations to come.
Recommended Products
Wall O Waters (3pk)
Start tomatoes and peppers 6 to 8 weeks earlier without fear of frost or freezing.
Read more
Blossom Set Spray
Use to promote blossom set and fruit development in tomato and vegetable gardens.
$6.95Read more
Tomato Fertilizer (7-4-5)
Contains precise NPK ratios that are designed to maximize fruit set and yields.
$12.95Read more
Garden Compost
Provides organic matter and natural nutrients for flowers and vegetables.
$8.50Read more
Tomato Clips (100pk)
Use to improve air circulation and reduce disease in tall crops or vining vegetables.
$14.95Read more
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