not at all kit ... but a few more facts might get you a better answer .. how wet.. how long into season ... how big a berm .. etc ... i think berm sums it up.. you see them everywhere ... the key is.. roots need air as much as water ... and by raising the planting.. you give the transplant time to get over transplant stresses.. and put it roots where it can cope with the surrounding issues .... and.. if you are talking about a week or two of seasonal water.. i bet the tree can get over it .. ken

Here's my list as it currently stands. The first three rounds are growing. Round 4, which is fall tomatoes, is usually put into the ground in late June or early July from a late May or early June sowing. Because last year's drought continues to plague us, I cut way, way, way back. I was trying to limit Rounds 1 thru 3 to a total of 40 varieties, but I didn't succeed. : ) ROUND 1: These are my "must haves" for this year. They were started in February for planting out the last week of March or the first week of April. Might start putting them in the ground this weekend, depending on the forecast. These 4 are from purchased plants I found at a local store in Feb. and planted in containers. One of them has 3 fruit that should ripen sometime in April, another is in bloom, and the other two are just sitting there. 1. Better Bush 2. Bush Early Girl 3. Bush Goliath 4. Grape These I started from seed: 5. Arkansas Traveler 6. Black Cherry 7. Box Car Willie 8. Brandy Boy 9. Chocolate Stripes 10. Homestead 24 11. Indian Stripe 12. Jet Star 13. Momotaro 14. Mountain Princess 15. Neve's Azorean Red 16. New Big Dwarf 17. Orange-Flesh Purple Smudge 18. Porterhouse 19. Primetime 20. Ramapo 21. Royal Hillbilly 22. San Marzano 23. San Marzano Redorta 24. Sioux 25. Sun Gold 26. Super Sioux 27. Supersonic 28. Tess's Land Race Currant 29. True Black Brandywine ROUND 2 (These were started from seed about a month after Round 1 and they'll be ready to go into the ground about mid-April.) 30. Bloody Butcher 31. Glacier 32. Ildi 33. Livingston's Gold Ball 34. Moreton 35. Mountain Fresh Plus 36. Mountain Glory 37. Orange Pixie 38. Red Defender 39. Red Robin 40. Rose Quartz 41. Scarlet Red 42. Snow White 43. Sophie's Choice 44. Sweet Million 45. Tropic 46. Yellow Canary ROUND THREE: Started mid-March. Will go into ground in early May. 47. Cuban Yellow Grape 48. Dixie Golden Queen 49. Fargo 50. Golden Sweet 51. Opalka 52. Polish Linguisa 53. Porter 54. Sun Cherry ROUND 4: Since I won't be starting seed until May, this list isn't firm yet, and I'll probably add a few others. These, though, are the ones currently scheduled for Round 4. Because the Livingston tomatoes do so well in our hot climate, I like to grow them as fall tomatoes. They are very tough--there is not a wimp in the bunch, although I do grow Honor Bright (Lutescent) as a novelty more than anything (although its tomatoes taste OK when fully ripened). In the case of the Livingstons, I put their date of introduction after the variety, because some of them are so very old, and I find that quite fascinating. 55. Keepsake 56. Long-Season Peach 57. Longkeeper 58. Winterkeeper 59. Solar Set R 60. Solar Fire 61. Sun King 62. Sun Master 63. Sunray 64. Turkey Chomp 65. Mule Team 66. Livingston's Dwarf Stone (1902) 67. Livingston's Favorite (1883) 68. Livingston's Gold Ball (1892) 69. Livingston's Golden Queen (1882) 70. Livingston's Globe (1905) 71. Livingston's Honor Bright (1987) (Lutescent) 72. Livingston's Ideal (1930) 73. Livingston's Magnus (1900) 74. Livingston's Main Crop Pink (1941) 75. Livingston's Perfection (1880) 76. Livingston's Paragon (1870) 77. Livingston's Stone (1889) 78. Rio Grande And, there's some I didn't start from seed but which might prove irresistable if I see them at a store. I'd probably buy one of each of these and bring it home to plant: Black Krim (replaced by True Black Brandywine), Cherokee Purple (replaced by Indian Stripe this year), and Bradley Pink (couldn't find my seed). I am growing tons of cherry, grape and currant types to dehydrate for winter. On any given day during the harvest season, if you walk into my house, you're likely to smell the delicious aroma of dehydrating tomatoes coming from the kitchen. We don't grow any oxhearts here because they produce very, very few fruit per plant in our hot climate. And, in case anyone is wondering, we grow all these tomatoes for us and, no, we don't sell any, although we often give them away to family and friends. I always raise more plants that I have room for, so a lot of the extras go to friends and neighbors, and many will be going to the April plant swap as well. Dawn

DRAGONFLY - As for watering, I water from the bottom until final plant out. Then, unless I have the plant in a SWC (I build my own), all watering is from the top. And you're right, I judge each plant individually as to its needs. I am fully retired now and have all the time I want to spend on my hobbies. I'm happy you found the spreadsheet useful. Don't forget to change any data values to reflect the world of growing tomatoes where YOU live. Also add any toms (or ??) to track your garden's results. NATURALSTUFF - My plants are normally still bearing fruit at first frost. If you give a plant all of its needs, it doesn't have to go "rootbound" in a container. Rootbound plants are telling you that they are not receiving all of their needs, and they're extending more roots to try and find what they need. Last year, the last plant to go was a Cherokee Purple that was in an 18 gallon plastic pot. The plant had four toms left and they eventually ripened on the kitchen counter. I only had 23 containers last year, but they produced more than 270 pounds of tomatoes. I think that's a pretty good yield. I had plenty of tomatoes here at the house and gave away enough to have my neighbors knocking on the door this spring saying I should not forget them this year. I control the heat of "Hot-lanta" by giving my plants some shade when the sun's intensity is its strongest. I also don't allow the sun to have much direct contact with the few black nursery pots that I'm currently using. Watering in the AM also helps offset the heating of the container. Each grower needs to deal with the environment they are given. I've grown both in the ground and in container over the last 55+ years and have decided now the potting mixes and fertilizer/soil amendments available are far better than growing in the ground. So, even if I could have my dream 5 acre tomato ranch, I would still grow in containers - lots of containers. I mean, just think of all the soil-borne diseases that you eliminate. Anyhow, I hope the season goes well for all. Take care Ted

A grouping of "4th of July"...should be renamed "1st of August" :o) http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3478/3814494103_7277768372.jpg "Black Prince" The BEST sliced thin on homemade pizza dough! http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3815303970_d5d1c1b419.jpg The plants look a bit scraggly due to some overzealous pruning on my part. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/3815303806_9c55c1b0a6.jpg The ultimate fate for my 'maters and some homegrown basil... http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2463/3814494191_ff53157bcb.jpg