Scott, Don't you love it when the harvest rolls in? So far, my favorite tomatoes taste-wise have been Brandywine Sudduth's (as always), True Black Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter and Valena Pink. They are also the only ones that have been in the same size range as yours--mine are running from about 12 to 20 ounces, which is remarkable in a year when we've only have 14" of rain here. The plants I planted earliest (and managed to keep from freezing) also have been the heaviest producers. Every year, I plant as early as I can (sometimes, perhaps, unreasonably so) because I fear having exactly the kind of weather we had this year....from "too cold" to "too hot" literally overnight. Planting early carries a lot of risk of freezing but it also gives you the best chance of getting a big harvest.....or any harvest at all. Big Beef and Royal Hillbilly are both putting out loads of red ripe ones now in addition to the varieties I already mentioned, and so is Fourth of July, which I grow solely to give away.....they aren't the best-flavored (but the heirlooms have me spoiled) but there are tons of them to share with people who are perfectly happy to have ANY tomato that is home-grown. My biggest producer is a tiny red currant tomato called Tess' Land Race Currant. The plants are about 9' tall and 4' to 5' wide and I have never seen anything like them. Each is covered in hundreds and hundreds of tiny red tomatoes. I believe we will get thousands of fruit per plant from the two of these that I planted--they make Sweet Million and SunGold look like low-producing slackers. I didn't even pick them on Tues., but will today. When dried, they are smaller than a raisin and very tasty. I also eat them by the handful when I am in the garden. My Black Cherry tomato plants are just as tall, but only 3' wide, although I like their tomatoes more. Some of the plants for which I had the absolute highest hopes, like Porterhouse and Cherokee Green, were eaten by the deer and haven't produced a single tomato because he ate all the growing tips, blossoms and small fruit. Maybe they'll produce later in the summer now that he has been kept out by the new fence and the plants have regrown some. I cannot believe you sold your Brandywines.....I don't even give them away to our closest friends!! Well, one year I gave some to DH's best friend, who promptly branded it the best tomato he'd ever tasted. I'm glad the kids are all enthused about helping. Feel free to send them here to pick tomatoes after you wear them out there! : ) Dawn

Jerry...you are leaving! How silly of me,,,,I made me and my daughter a cruise for May 8. I told hubby over the weekend that he is IN CHARGE while I am gone over the tomatoes! I am more worried about leaving them, than my dog! My first instruction was "NO! Don't water the leaves"! He wants to be sure to do it right as he knows how important my tomatoes are. One year we cruise on June 7th. I left my friend in charge. Told her to pick when pink as the bugs will eat them. She did what I was told...but put in fridge! I lost some awesome Cherokees to that!

Brushing Up :-) I have yet to know if my efforts are paying off. I have lots of "nubs" that are hanging in there. That means they did not "drop". That means they've got pollinated. BUT not sure that they will all grow . The weather is to blame, me thinks. For the last couple of weeks it has been cool ( lows in high 40s and highs in mid 60s), with less sun and more clouds and light rain. That is not a tomato loving weather, for Pete's sake. But we seem to be turning the corner and highs reaching 80s. Lows around mid 50s. No too bad. So we shall see what grows and what not. In the mean time I will keep brushing. hehe Sey

Janice: According to Clemson I was within the planting window but towards the end ( I am in the central area). I planted April 15th (planting for my area is April 5-25). But you do have a good point about planting earlier. I usually like to plant at least some early (in March) under row covers to get earlier fruit. I do know that this year fruiting (and also my leaf yellowing problem that seems somehow linked to fruiting) is at least a few weeks later than normal. But I chalked that up to the high-nitrogen chicken manure which caused a lot of green leafy growth at the expense of fruit. Two years ago I grew peppers with great success, I've tried squash and cucumbers in these beds 2 or 3 years ago which both failed miserably. But I have added a lot of lime and fertilizer since then. My pH in these beds 2 years ago was 4.0 -5.5 so one would not expect squash to do well. Last two or three years these beds have had tomatoes and peppers, because I care the most about tomatoes and wanted to put them where there was the most sun. Thanks so much for your time. It's been very helpful. :)