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steelnut

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Has anyone started ordering their plants/seeds yet? I can't wait!

I'm a football nut and I know that in two weeks it's all over, so that's when I go into my "spring" mode.

I cannot wait to go dig in the dirt again, I can just feel the dirt right now, soft and warm....LOL, hubby thinks I'm crazy, but I honestly can't wait to start planting. I'll have some new lillies to plant this year, thanks to a friend.

And I can't wait to see how the cactus that I planted last year do this year. A big thanks to Bon!  :)

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Guest snellma

It is probably too late for me to order anything but I have never heard of that place before.  I will have to go on line and check it out.  We will be getting ready to till in 2-3 weeks.

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Give us your opinion after you get some tomatoes. I thought it was kind of watery when I grew it years ago and somebody who grew it last year wasn't fond of it either. I remember it as being late but with lots of tomatoes.

I see there is a hybrid Brandywine now or at least I think I saw one. Wonder what that is like?

I used to grow all sorts of different tomatoes but with the dry growing seasons we have had the last few years I gave it up for the tried and true that I know will grow here. I'm getting the urge again. Must be spring.

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Give us your opinion after you get some tomatoes. I thought it was kind of watery when I grew it years ago and somebody who grew it last year wasn't fond of it either. I remember it as being late but with lots of tomatoes.

I see there is a hybrid Brandywine now or at least I think I saw one. Wonder what that is like?

I used to grow all sorts of different tomatoes but with the dry growing seasons we have had the last few years I gave it up for the tried and true that I know will grow here. I'm getting the urge again. Must be spring.

It just looked like the kind of tomato that I really like, I get them at the store and have to pay $$$ for them. They are marked as "heirloom" and they are watermelon pink and have a completely different flavor, and are sometimes oddly shaped. I am a little concerned about the size of this one to grow in a pot, but I am going to use a very big pot. I haven't started seeds inside for years and always have mixed luck doing that, but I am not sure if I can find an heirloom variety in live plants if I wait. Any suggestions?

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Give Rainbow Valley Greenhouse a try for live plants. They usually carry a wide variety of tomatoes and might actually be willing to start them for you if you seriously think you will have trouble with growing them from seed. Tomatoes are practically a weed. The only thing that has ever happened to mine (other than they didn't get watered) was damping off and that is rare. That can be avoided by sticking to sterile media for starting. A little peat moss on top of the soil when you transplant helps and you should transplant into sterile or at least good bagged soil as well.

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The BUDS Gardeners will have different kinds of tomatoes in May at our sales.  We sell Brandywines along with Rutgers, Red Cherry, Yellow, paste, and a lot that I can't think of right now.  Our first sale will be either the third or last Saturday in May and the first Saturday in June.

 

If you have anything special that you want raised, just let me know and we will raise the seeds for you.  One gentleman was ill last year and gave me the seeds he wanted grown for peppers and tomatoes.  He seemed pleased when we delivered them.  It was nice to help him keep up with a tradition even though he couldn't start the seeds himself that spring.

 

All profits go to educational projects and the planting beds on Park Avenue, Franklin Street and at the Historical Society.

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Depending on your neighbors and whether you want a fence, that could be an option.  Without a properly built fence then your going to have to depend on chemical deterrants that stink or taste bad, or walk your dog right around the perimeter of the garden all the time.  You can also go to physical things like scarecrows, motion activated lights or a motion activated water spray.  The latter works best because you can move it around to different areas.  

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It just looked like the kind of tomato that I really like, I get them at the store and have to pay $$$ for them. They are marked as "heirloom" and they are watermelon pink and have a completely different flavor, and are sometimes oddly shaped. I am a little concerned about the size of this one to grow in a pot, but I am going to use a very big pot. I haven't started seeds inside for years and always have mixed luck doing that, but I am not sure if I can find an heirloom variety in live plants if I wait. Any suggestions?

If they really are an heirloom tomato them you might be able to save some of the seed to grow your own.  It's worth a try if you really like them.

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My son and I just ordered a huge bunch of seeds from Gurny's last week. Good thing grandma built a greenhouse for us to start them in! I think our garden is going to be twice the size it was last year. I am hoping to have more to freeze. Last year he gave away all the corn, ha ha. I am excited though!

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My son and I just ordered a huge bunch of seeds from Gurny's last week. Good thing grandma built a greenhouse for us to start them in! I think our garden is going to be twice the size it was last year. I am hoping to have more to freeze. Last year he gave away all the corn, ha ha. I am excited though!

Me, too! I can't wait.  :)

 

And em, I hope you have good luck with the Brandywine, I tried them twice, but no go. I wish I could get them to grow.  :(

 

 

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Brandywines are an open pollinated tomato so you shouldn't have to do anything much to get seeds that will breed true. Tomatoes are generally self pollinating but if you are growing a different kind of tomato near by you could get some crossing. Then you would have to hand pollinate and bag the blossoms. Since you are only growing one tomato in a pot you should be OK.

Here is a trick to recover those tomato seeds. Pick a large, perfect, ripe tomato and put it in a jar with some water. Wait until it is reduced to sludge by bacteria and fungus. You can then put it through a strainer and just wash the seeds off. Don't leave it too long as I did one year. The seeds will start to germinate.

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Do I have to do anything special to save the seeds Petee?

 

I want to see pictures of gardens on here this year!!

Since you only want a few plants, just dig out the juicy part and save about twice as many seeds as you want plants.  Then you can still eat the tomato.

 

Put them in a small bowl for about three days at room temperature and a scum should start to form.  That's OK. it's just microbes breaking down the little protective sac that encircles a tomato seed.  Dump them onto a paper towel and rub them a teeny bit.  Once they are pretty clean just let them dry for a few hours and put them in a piece of waxed paper till time to plant them.  Refrigerate then till planting time.

 

When that time comes, just dampen a paper towel and toss in the seeds.  Fold it up and put it all in a sealed sandwich bag. If they are viable they will sprout.  You have to check them every day.  Once you see a sprout, immediately pick it up with tweezers and pop it into seed starting soil.  A styrofoam cup with drainage holes works great.

 

If you have other questions just ask. :-)

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We got our seeds today!! I am hopeful we can grow one of those giant pumpkins this year, I've been studying up on it! I think I am going to start researching a planting calendar. It will keep me busy figuring out when to plant our seeds, and when they shuold be ready to harvest. Anything to keep from thinking about how cold and frozen the ground is right now!!

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I grew them one year, which amazed me as pumpkins usually do not do well in my yard. I don't know what the biggest weighed but it was about 4 feet in diameter and took 2 men to get it up onto the porch. Very lopsided though.

Somebody once told me they grew giant pumpkins by feeding them dilute milk. I don't remember doing anything special; it was just a good growing season.

I still have to get my seed order in. Why do I procrastinate?

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