Here are a few suppliers mentioned in an Oregonian article in March 2005:

territorialseed.com
nicholsgardennursery.com
rareseeds.com
tomatogrowers.com
reimerseeds.com

I've grown Siletz and Willamette in the past and they did very well.
Last year, I tried different varieties and due mostly to weather and poor choice of location, I had NO luck.

I've been trying lots of heirlooms and some have great taste. My best yielder last year was the hybrid Big Mama, though. This year I'm trying a lot of heart shaped tomatoes since I was impressed with the taste and texture of the ones I grew last year. I grow them from seed.

The Clark County Home and Garden Fair is coming up at the end of April at the Clark County Fairgrounds at the 179th St. exit on I-5, in Vancouver, there will be lots of tomato plants for sale there.

There is also a grower's market annually in May at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby; there are upward of 100 varieties offered.

If Delta Farms in Eugene is still in business, they grow many varieties.

It's too late to start from seed this year but Territorial does mail order plants as well. If you are looking for more varieties start them from seen next year....Territorial really has an amazing seed selection. jwww

Larry, thanks for the info on the Canby market! I'll be there!

Mike, the link below is info I found on the event. If you click on sales category, you'll see there will be at least 5 tomato vendors there.

And here's an interesting article on local garden events: http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=34475

Here is a link that might be useful: Canby market

Thanks for the information.
Looks like the Canby event will have lots of suppliers. I've got it on my calendar.

Mike

I'll go on Sunday, not missing the Kentucky Derby on Saturday!

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

Mary,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
I planted seeds under lights at the end of January for: Polish Linguisa, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Black Plum, and Long Keeper. They were just potted up to 1 gallon pots and taken out of the mini greenhouse. They're 12"-15" tall and hardening off on my patio.
Last weekend I found Black From Tula, Brandy Boy and Pineapple at the Vancouver Farmer's Market, so I'm feeling like there are a few interesting new varieties going in this year. Still looking for a few more new ones, and have discovered Larson Farm in North Plains plans to carry quite a few heirlooms. I can fit a few more in the garden, and am considering Anna Russian, Eva Purple Ball, Pruden's Purple, Carbon and Tiger-like. All these are new to me, but all seem to be highly recommended. Have you grown any of these?
Mike

Hi Mike,

Glad you are finding some interesting ones. Brandy Boy is a hybrid, by the way. Some like it and some don't. I have not grown it, so can't give you any info on that one. Pineapple is offered by Nichols and Territorial. You need a sufficiently long warm summer to grow it successfully. I grew it once and it barely started turning ripe before the end of season. But my best garden spots in the summer have just 8 hours sun a day. If you have more, you might want to try it. I think it would pull through sooner with more sunlight. Anything yellow or orangy in the tomato world seems to taste more fruity. At least,, that is how most perceive it. You won't know until you try. Grew Anna Russian once. It produces a heart shaped tomato. Plants that produce heart shaped tomatoes often have whispy looking foliage and spindly looking stems. This is the nature of the plant. Heart shaped varieties also do not produce as much as some. I grew it during one of our cooler summers, so wasn't impressed. I have been meaning to give it another try, but I have approximately 300 varieties of tomato seed, so haven't gotten back to it. Eva Purple Ball and Pruden's Purple all have excellent reps, but I grew them during that same coolish summer, so can't tell you I love them. They would be worth trying. A friend in B.C. loves Carbon. I have not grown Tiger-Like. It should be a bi-color and if I recall correctly, is an early. I have not grown it.

The fact that they are offering the plants suggests that they have been successfully grown up there and since it is too late to start from seed, I would try them if you are feeling adventurous.

You will find that there are some differences in the tastes of heirlooms and o.p.s. Everyone has different tastes. What may taste fabulous to you may not be someone elses cup of tea, or bite of tomato in this case. Experiment by all means and remember that you don't have to make tomato sauce from paste varieties. Often, I use whatever I have handy. Same goes with salsas. You might not like a particular tomato for fresh eating, but it lends itself beautifully to a sauce, soup, or your own fresh V8.

By all means, come and explore the tomato forum. We usually have a thread going called, "Tomatoes Anonymous-PNW." All Pacific Northwest growers who stretch the tomato growing envelope. (We don't have a thread going right now.) And I promise you that we don't bother with Early Girl or Siletz or Willamette when we can grow fabulous tomatoes like Red Brandywine-a terrific one I forgot to mention. If you see a start for it, nab it. Unfortunately, there are a variety of plants labeled Red Brandywine. If you get the true R.B., you will probably be a happy grower. There are also strains of Pink and Yellow Brandywine.

Do look at Sandhill Preservation. A fabulous selection of heirlooms at super prices.

Glad you've got a greenhouse. So handy for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.

Beautiful day down here. Almost 80 F. on my patio.

Mary

I just came across this thread and thought I'd let you know that I am growing about 200 tomato varieties this year, mostly heirlooms, in the Eugene area. I do business under the name of Garden of Eaton and participate in a couple of local farmers markets as well as selling plants from my home. If you're interested in the varieties I'm growing (as well as the over 200 varieties of peppers I have) you can check out my ad on Craigslist (Eugene) in the Farm and Garden category.

Happy gardening!

Jeff

Eureka! Tomatoes in Vancouver WA offers 15+ varieties of heirloom tomatoes in addition to other heirloom vegetables. All of their varieties are well suited to the Pacific Northwest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eureka! Tomatoes