Tomatoes have always germinated well for me. As you said, planting tomato seeds are cheaper. Have you planted them? Last year, I planted them in February, and they sprouted just as well. But I found them to germinate faster when the weather is warmer, such as March and April. The ones planted in February don't grow much during the colder weather, so the ones planted at the later time catch up in size and fruits nearly at the same time. Unlike last year, I'm still waiting to plant my black plum tomatoes, possibly two more weeks.

Thank you all. I have done some occasional stalking over on the Harvest forum, and you bet those folks know their stuff. Maybe I worded my search wrong, but couldn't seem to find the info I was looking for. (maybe because most people have enough sense to figure it out for themselves...) Thank you, Dave, for your words about Victorio. I bought it last year for dealing with blueberries, but it was an incredible help with my tomato harvest this year. It absolutely does leave the pulp. Last year (when I grew sauce tomatoes), I had lots and lots of sauce after I ran it through a wire strainer. I just didn't have enough sense to know what to do with it. This year, I did strain the first couple batches of tomatoes I ran through it, and the small amount of pulp that was in those beefsteaks made lovely sauce. Just not enough of it. What I especially liked was how quickly the pulp cooked down into sauce once it was strained out. After using this amazing gadget this year, I don't think there's much of anything that anyone could say to make me fall out of love with it. It's a huge labor and time saver! As a note, I discovered by accident, that if I filled the hopper with tomato pieces before I cranked them through and then emptied the bowl right into a hot pan, I had minimal separation of pulp and water in the jars. Re: Determinate Sauce tomato. I grow my vegetables organically, and honestly don't even like to spray organic concoctions. Add to that the fact that the entire county here seems to have Early Blight in the soil, plus the fact that our incredibly hot mid summer heat puts a stop to tomato production anyway, and I have decided that it really doesn't matter whether I grow determinates or indeterminates. I am still only going to get the first crop. I will try Opalka as an experiment. Sounds intriguing. But I am very grateful for the extra mention of Italia. All three recs are on my list to try.

Did you have wind as well as heat? Was the humidity low? Dark red roses, for the most part, will have that problem. When we get Santa Ana winds -- dry, with high temps -- the blooms of 'Prospero' turn into instant potpourri. A few lighter-colored roses are bothered, too. "Grandmother's Hat" has very fragile petals, so they shrivel, at least around the edges. But reds generally speaking are hit disproportionately. Beyond that, your roses only having been in the ground for two weeks, they likely haven't much of a root system yet. If the weather is heating up, I would remove the blooms, and allow the plant to use the water it gets to help it grow roots. Jeri

You can just freeze them washed and whole, or washed, cored, and whole. Many do all the skinning and chopping after they thaw - saves several steps. Skins slip off easily when thawed and they will be less mushy that way. But if you want them pre-chopped for some reason, then just dip them/skin them/cut up, and pack them cold. Dave