Too many tomato seeds, help me choose

I over ordered a bit too many varieties of heirloom tomato seeds b/c I purchased some first, then found the free (with donation) ones on wintersown.org. Here are the ones I have, please help me decide which ones to do. If you have grown any of these, please tell me your experiences. I'm guessing I have room for at least 8, maybe up to 12 plants.

Ananas Noire (Black pineapple)

Black Cherry

Cherokee Purple

Chapman

Ernesto

Dr. Lyle

Remy Rouge

Ed's Millennium

Pera d'Abruzzo

Mortgage Lifter

Rio Grande

College Challenger

Matt's Wild Cherry

Bush Goliath

Beefmaster

Aussie Tomato

Black Cherry......a very prolific tomato, with great taste. Very dark wine red sometimes with deep green shoulders. Its a larger cherry tomato than some. I've frozen them for sauces later. Very good. Its getting sown again this year.

Cherokee Purple....a larger tomato but not huge. I found them very tasty. I'm going to grow some again this year.

Matt's Wild Cherry.....I love the little fellas. Very tasty with a tang of their own and very small. Not as prolific as many cherry types due to its being a wild cherry not long ago, but I love it. Another I'll grow just to eat while out in the garden doing my chores. Love that tangy flavor.



Above: One day's harvest of Black Cherry toms.

Those Black Cherries are so pretty. I hate to admit, I've never had an heirloom tomato, so I am really hoping to make it with my seedlings this year. I have a grow light this year for the first time, so hoepfully I will have some success.

I also "vote" for Matt's. It makes cherries a bit smaller than usual cherries, but in huge clusters. I do not ordinarily like cherry tomatoes, but these taste like normal size tomatoes to me. That's why I like them. If you like cherries, you might not be quite so fond of it as I am.

A few years ago, I grew one plant in a large pot (about 6 gallons or so) with a tomato cage. I brought it in before frost and that sucker kept making me tomatoes for MONTHS with no light other than it being in a south facing windowsill. I think I picked the last few in February.

I didn't even pollinate, but... the plant sat over one of the blowers for my furnace so probably got shook up enough to self-pollinate.

I really like Matt's. Eating tomatoes with real tomato flavor into winter sold me MAJORLY. Usually, best I can do is buying "plum" tomatoes at the grocery.

I grew the Cherokee Purples last year. Not nearly as productive as the others I grew, but very large(my two biggest were over a pound each). There was some cracking but the cracks sealed themselves up well without weeping and leaking. The inside was very firm and great tasting.

So if I have the money to build and fill 3 new 4x4s, I will have space to fit them all! I may be taking on too much though as I already have a 4x12 as well which will be dedicated to a 3 sisters garden which I have never done before. Oh well, it's just seeds, right

I've never had any luck starting tomatoes, but this year I have a grow light. So I may kill some before they get the chance to fill a square.

I'm going to be growing lots of tomato plants this year.. Cherry, grape, beefsteaks, paste, 'normal'...lol.. purple, yellow, black, red....
I plan on freezing, canning, pickling etc for the 7 months of winter we get up here...

Aran

AranMC wrote:I'm going to be growing lots of tomato plants this year.. Cherry, grape, beefsteaks, paste, 'normal'...lol.. purple, yellow, black, red....
I plan on freezing, canning, pickling etc for the 7 months of winter we get up here...

Aran

Don't forget, you can dehydrate them too!

I've grown Cherokee Purple and Mortgage Lifter to name only two. They both did well, but Mortgage Lifter made many more though smaller fruit. I'll be growing Cherokee Purple again this year and I plan to do it the ANSFG way!

Oh yeah, I have my Excalibur....lol sun dried tomatoes... yummmy...

Aran

camprn wrote:

AranMC wrote:I'm going to be growing lots of tomato plants this year.. Cherry, grape, beefsteaks, paste, 'normal'...lol.. purple, yellow, black, red....
I plan on freezing, canning, pickling etc for the 7 months of winter we get up here...

Aran

Don't forget, you can dehydrate them too!

Mmm, I love dehydrated tomatoes! I slice then fairly thin and sprinkle with salt and pepper and put them in the dehydrator. They make great salad toppers or even to eat like chips

lisaphoto wrote:I've never had any luck starting tomatoes, but this year I have a grow light. So I may kill some before they get the chance to fill a square.

I bet that will really make a difference. Before I got lights, I didn't have a lot of luck either so when I started seeds last year, I started way too many assuming they wouldn't all make it, then i ended up giving away a ton of seedlings because they almost all did great! Some were a little leggy but with tomatoes, you can just bury them a bit in a trench so no big deal.

nKedrOoStEr wrote:

camprn wrote:

AranMC wrote:I'm going to be growing lots of tomato plants this year.. Cherry, grape, beefsteaks, paste, 'normal'...lol.. purple, yellow, black, red....
I plan on freezing, canning, pickling etc for the 7 months of winter we get up here...

Aran

Don't forget, you can dehydrate them too!

Mmm, I love dehydrated tomatoes! I slice then fairly thin and sprinkle with salt and pepper and put them in the dehydrator. They make great salad toppers or even to eat like chips

YUMMY!

AND... my old chicken shed turned into a potting shed will be ready next week... which means.. I CAN SOW SEEDS NEXT WEEK!...lol

I usually can't sow anything or plant anything outside until last week of May or even first or second week of June... way too cold. Now I can sow 3 months ahead.

PLUS... we have an old lean-to beside the shed that we're going to turn into a 'greenhouse' using double or triple layered plastic sheeting so I can get an early start/later season and possibly overwinter some things that will need shelter to last over the winter.

Aran