Kewl! - Okay, here's what you do,...first, highlight and copy your subject line "RE: Heirloom tomato seeds to trade" so you can paste it into the subject header of the email you'll be sending me. Next, click, above, where it says "(My Page)", which will take you to my member page. Once there, click on "Send me an email" and, when the email page comes up, paste in the subject line that you copied from here. Now, go ahead and send me a message that contains your email address and "real" world address, and I'll reply with my postal address. :) Oh yeah, a couple other things: 1) Whenever you send seeds, the vastly preferred method is to send them in a "bubble envelope" (usually 4"X7" or 6"X9", depending on the amount of seeds you're sending) to protect them from being crushed by postal machinery, etc. To save yourself money, try to recycle/reuse the bubble envies you receive from others if you can. 2) Please click on the link, below, for instructions on how to edit your member page so that you'll be able to receive email from other GW members. :) - Lookin' forward to our trade! Here is a link that might be useful: Addressing newbie and newer member issues

Here's a yummy way of using up all those extra tomatoes. "Shakshuka" is a sort of breakfast or light supper dish, consisting of eggs poached in a thick, spicy tomato sauce. It originated in North Africa ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and has become part of the local folk culture. There are as many variations as there are cooks (lol). Here's mine: SHAKSHUKA 4 large juicy tomatoes 1 large onion, chopped 1 sweet red pepper (bell pepper?) 2 cloves garlic (optional) 4 eggs olive oil salt and pepper to taste. (we like our food hot and spicy, so I add 1/2 teaspoonful of "Arissa" - a hot Moroccan condiment, but you can use a few drops of Tabasco sauce instead). Brown onion and garlic in a large skillet. Add chopped up tomatoes and pepper. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft and have produced some liquid.(about 15 minutes) Add salt, pepper and hot condiment, according to taste. Break eggs carefully over the sauce and simmer uncovered for a few minutes, until whites begin to set. Remove from flame, return lid to skillet, and set aside for a few more minutes. Serve with plenty of fresh white bread to sop up the sauce. Serves four.

Hope you have found some good heirlooms to try this year. You had a pretty good selection last year. Cherokee Purple is one of my favorites. Sun Gold is the only hybrid I grow. A really neat cherry is Black Cherry. Looks like a mini Cherokee Purple and more prolific for me than Sun Gold. Black Cherry is not an heirloom, but an open pollinated variety. You can save seed from it. It will grow true. For future reference, look at Sandhill Preservation, a family run seed catalogue in Iowa. They are on-line. Don't remember their exact url, but you won't have trouble finding it. Huge tomato section, including some very rare and interesting ones. Do not let anyone tell you we can't grow delicious tomatoes here. We can, but it takes some planning. You need to start your own seed. I start mine in February or March. But I have a mini greenhouse to put them in later in the spring, and not everyone does. Choose the sunniest spots in your garden for the plants. I have large trees around me, so I have to plant in the same places yearly. By all means experiment with walls of water, hoop houses, cloches, wrapping tomato cages with clear plastic, planting near walls or driveways or in pots and hanging baskets. All can be effective. And one of the most important ways to get a big and delicious tomato is to grow one that consistently grows big and delicious. I've traded for some terrific ones in the tomato seed exchange forum here on garden web. Neves Azorean Red grows huge and yummy tomatoes, but I don't think too many catalogues have it yet. This is the latest grower in my collection. Probably over 90 days from transplant. Even with my limited sunshine, my biggest tomato grew over 2 pounds. One that is easier to find and grows around a pound and more for me is Aker's West Virginia. And the stems are huge on this one. Very sturdy plant. You've already tried Cherokee Purple. I have grown it for years because of the taste. A really nifty book with excellent tomato info is Dr. Carolyn J. Male's, "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden." She is also a valued contributor here on garden web, mostly in the tomato forum, but sometimes elsewhere. The book has terrific pictures and history of the tomato variety when known. Although I love and appreciate Territorial and Nichol's, I do not rely on them for interesting tomato varieties. I did buy the Beaverlodge Series and Orange King from Territorial this year, just to try them, but they don't have that many interesting tomatoes. That said, I love them for most other seeds and their excellent growers info. Tomato Growers is excellent and so is Baker Heirloom Seeds. I did not care for Siletz and I have not grown Willamette. Most folks in the northwest seem to be under the impression that we can't grow delicious tomatoes, but must grow only the boring earlies. Untrue! (Although it's a lot harder around Seattle and the Pudget sound area.) If I recall correctly, the Delta Farms folks retired. All the best to you for your 2006 garden. Mary

Michael I noticed you signed up the day you started this post and you dont have an email link listed. Why don't you put something up on your page for folks to look at?