How many varieties have you grown?

14 years ago

It's getting to be that time of year again for me: garden planning, seed starting, etc. While I was planning which varieties of tomatoes I wanted to grow - my father, who's grown tomatoes for most of his life (and just turned 74 this January), was asking why I grow so many different kinds.

He has his two or three kinds that he grows and he doesn't feel the need to bother with any other new or strange varieties - I wish I had that problem, hehe. I'm on the search for the perfect tomato(es) which will grow well / taste great given my location, weather, soil, cultivation, etc. I have 3 "garden regulars" that I plant every year, but then I try anywhere from 5-10 new kinds - depending on space.

I still consider myself fairly new to growing a big garden, but at the end of this season I will have tried out about 35 different varieties. Based on some of the people who I've seen post here, I'm betting there's a good few in the hundred or more category.

I'm thinking eventually I'll probably narrow down to about 8 varieties total and just grow more plants of the same kind every year, but at the rate I'm going that may take a while.

How many varieites have you tried in your searching? And do you plan to stop at some point or keep searching as long as there's a new plant to be grown?

-Mike

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Comments (7)

the_tank
14 years ago
Up to this season, I've experimented with 78 varieties. I've got new seeds in this year that will put me over 100. Hardly a drop in the bucket for alot of the folks here, and I plan to keep on trying new ones every year. For me, the fun part is the search.
carolyn137
14 years ago
To date I've grown about 2500 different varieties and continue, always looking for that next new favorite.

Carolyn
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digdirt2
14 years ago
Just a guess - 300-400 over 40+ years. Have my tried and true regulars each year but usually plant at least 20-25 varieties and an average of 100-150 plants each year so each year has room for several new (to me) varieties.

why I grow so many different kinds

Because we do a lot of canning and canned tomato products, in any form, taste best when made with mixed varieties. We also do a lot of our own taste tests so summer meals commonly feature a big plate of mixed variety slices. Even a BLT with 2 or 3 different varieties on it tastes better than the same sandwich with only 1 variety on it. ;)

Dave
bigdaddyj
14 years ago
Guesstimate: About 200. Got 7 or 8 new ones this year...
azhotdog
14 years ago
1. Well technically, that's not even true. I have 17 that I am trying to grow for this year. Last year I grew two hybrids (from Home Depot) that I did not like the flavor of. This year is my first year growing tomatoes from seedlings and I have 17 varieties growing into little tomato plants that are about ready to be put in the ground (I'm in AZ and I am hardening off as we speak).
I guess my answer is 0 until the end of this year. LOL.
barkeater
14 years ago
I'm probably between 150-200 that I've tried. I do have less of an urge to try so many like I used too as I've found 4-5 varieties that do so well for me.

I've also cut back to about 20 plants from 44 a few years ago. But, I will probably always have 3-4 new ones every year in my garden just to see if I might have found "the one."

This year's first timers look to be: Cowlicks Brandywine, Missouri Love Apple, Gigantesque, Sandul Moldavan, and Isis Candy.
Bets
14 years ago
In the last 3 years that I gardened (had a spell that we didn't plant a garden for various reasons such as work and health) I have planted 239 varieties. I plant 60 - 100 varieties each year, with about 20 - 30 of them being repeats, either becuase it is one we like or one I want to give another chance too. I usually try to have between 120 - 150 plants in the garden.

I didn't include the season the deer ate just about everything to a nubbin. Anything further back I didn't care to dig the old lists up.

Right now I have seeds for over 450 varieties. Yes, I still look for more to try.

Bets

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How many varieties have you grown?

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the_tank

carolyn137

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