One thing I notice is that a lot of people plant a lot more trees than they need to. In an effort to have lots of varieties and all the correct pollinator combinations, and to have all kinds of fruit in long seasons, they might plant enough trees to provide -quite literally- tons of fruit every year in just a few years. Even one semi-dwarf apple can give you bushels of fruit. Pears, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries ... they can all come through for you nicely, but they won't help you use it. Why, in no time at all you'll be packing produce to the food bank and hiring help to put up all the preserves you need to make to use it all. So maybe start a little small- choose a favorite apple, a favorite apricot or peach and maybe a cherry and/or plum, and get those going. Learn about the pests/diseases in your neighborhood and figure out how you're going to deal with them. Are you doing berries and such too? That has always tempted me, but I just don't have much space. I would like to talk SO into a grapevine, though. I don't have room for many trees so I try to get varieties by having multi-grafted trees. That is, my one apple tree has over a dozen varieties, and my pear about ten. But that's a whole 'nother thing, and you don't have to rush into it. A lot of fun, though. Good luck, Mark

I think I found the answer to my first question on the Fedco Seeds site: "Be My Baby Gene Pool Cherry Tomato OG (65 days) Open-pollinated. Ind. This productive cherry is the ongoing result of a cross of three famous tomatoes: an heirloom potato-leaf beefsteak and two cherries, one orange and one red. The crossing and selection process began in 1997. Although it was selected for a red cherry with regular tomato foliage, a few plants will still be potato-leaved. Rogue them out because their flavor is not as desirable as the rest. The grape tomato in its background lends a rich sweet flavor somewhat akin to that of Sweet Baby Girl, which it replaced. Bred by Relentless. 2007. OT, CO-certified." I still don't know if a large tomato can result from crosses involving cherries. Jim

A new view....neighbor said he should have bought only "patio tomatoes"...I told him you can grow tomatoes on the patio no matter what....suggested an ice cream bucket. He went indoors. LOL

Must be the variety. You never know about those farmers market vendors. They may have used seeds that were cross pollinated from last years crop. Very often those don't turn out to be amazing. But we bought a plant from the garden center. Big Boy. Mislabeled. Turned out to be a cherry with skin so tough it will choke you! I have to scald them and peel them so we can use them. Like peeling grapes. Sigh. So, your Market Vendor may have just got a bad packet of seeds. Just walked out and looked at my abundant supply of volunteers. Don't know what I've got. They came from the compost and are whatever the varieties of grocery store tomatoes inherited in their genes. Some look like San Marzanos, one like a beefsteak, most like your regular plum. Some are sunburned. The dreaded white spot at the top that will never turn red. But I just cut that part off, and we do have an umbrella out there to provide shade now that it's so hot. Lots of green tomatoes! Might try frying those.