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  • From: "Alliums" <garlicgrower AT green-logic.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] RE: heirloom tomatoes
  • Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 16:22:54 -0500

Hi, Folks!

My husband changed my e-mail client and I haven't figured it all out yet -
if this e-mail comes out strange, I'll figure out how to fix it for the
future.

Vivian Kooken wrote:
I had problems with my heirlooms cracking from excessive rain last season.
I did not use plastic mulch around them, though, and wonder if that might
have helped to keep moisture more consistent.
Vivian

There are LOTS of different heirlooms out there, folks - you just can't make
general statements about what "an heirloom" is going to do. Some are going
to crack no matter what you do, some don't.
To find out what is going to do best in your area, you need to talk to the
tomato enthusiasts *in your area* and find out what they recommend - what
does best, what has problems - and either grow what you've heard will do
best or try something similar (there being thousands of heirloom tomatoes
out there to try.)
IMHO, the guy from NM who is getting recommendations from a tomato grower in
CT is going for the curiosity factor more than "what will work" for him - I
can't imagine two more different climates.
I grow out the Zhong Chu #6 tomato from China which I got by accident from
USDA, but turns out to be the perfect tomato for SE PA - it never cracks or
gets blossom end rot and those are the two biggest tomato problem here. So,
one never knows what will work - and since I grow 3 tomatoes/year for SSE, I
get some *hopeless* tomatoes for this area that unfortunately, there just
isn't the "right" person to preserve the seed that year. However, if I was
selling tomatoes, rather than growing them out for a nonprofit seed
organization, I'd be honing in on what traditionally worked around here
(with a few wack-out trials just for fun) or what the local tomato nut said
did wonderfully rather than trying to re-invent the tomato cash crop from a
seed list that easily runs into the several thousands. . .
Just my thoughts since I'm back on the list - check out the new e-mail
address, too. . .
Dorene
Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460







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