Hello: I'm interested in trading for a tomato variety that has the perfect balance of sweet taste and acid. Sweet, rich tomatoes are very nice, but the special ones have an acidic taste also! I am leaving a spot in my garden for this kind of tomato, does anyone have a heirloom or family poccession that fits this description? I would be very willing to trade with you... Thank-you for your time, Randy BC, Canada Zone 6b-7 "whitehouse"

In Z8, basil can sprout from the seeds that are dropped by the blossoms in the previous summer. I have tried all kinds of basil, including the mammouth leaf type, and even Thai and purple types. I found that the Genovese type seems to have the best flavor. It grows into a small bush about 20 inches tall, and has smaller leaves, compared to regular basil. Once basil starts to blossom, the leaves tend to get bitter, so pick it before it flowers. The mammouth type grew to over 5 foot tall with leaves bigger than my hands.

Jan and Dave, You both use the term "complex." What does that mean? Is it the same as "balance", which after googling some more, I have learned is not too much sweet or acid, as in wine. Or does complexity add something else? By the way, I found a free glimpse of a paper indicating that high acid and high sugar together do in fact correlate with high flavor. I also learned that the acid content declines once the tomato ripens past "breaker" stage, whatever that is. Maybe that explains why I don't like tomatoes after they have been sitting out for more than a day or so, unless they were green when they started. It would seem that you need to eat a tomato once it is ripe, because left out it loses acid, and in the fridge it loses sugar! The black tomatoes came up when I googled "complex tomato flavor," along with a few others I can add to the list. I should search the forum with that term. Black Cherry for example. BTW, I am looking for early tomatoes, and also for varieties that will live through the hot summer and start bearing again in fall. We have a long spring and a long fall. Thanks so much for the recommendations and comments on my list!

I am growing and have grown 6 varieties of heirlooms. The winner is Cherokee Purple with potato leaf Red Brandywine a distant second. There is a reason as to why the Cherokee is the number 1 selling seed and that is Flavor. It is also the most difficult to grow but really not impossible. My techniques. Grow in 5 gallon buckets,dark sandy loam soil. I get my soil from the top inch of earth below pine and oak trees. Objective is pH of soil. I also increase the acidity of soil by applying powered sulphur and large amounts of oak leaves and pine straw. I run a rope thru bottom of bucket up to an 8 ft high bar. This gives me a place to tie branches as they grow and also helps support the weight of the fruit. I use, as directed, Miracle Grow 24-8-16 and apply once per week, 1/2 gallon per plant. When temps reach 90+ I water twice per day, 1/2 gallon of water per plant on each application. Otherwise, 1 gallon of water per day per plant. I place buckets as closely as possible to each other to give fruit as much shade as possible. This almost eliminates cracking and splitting. You end up with a Jungle which makes it difficult to find the fruit. Plants will reach 7 ft high. End results have been high production of fruit on all varieties with very limited splitting. Also apply Iron to each plant on monthly basis. I have 100% sun. Have had a few Cherokee fruits to exceed 1 lb, most are in 10 to 12 ounce size. In tomatoes size does not count, Flavor rules. When you chunk a Cherokee you will have less than a thimble of liquid in bowl.