I've been reluctant to post since I don't live in the Boston area, but I have a daughter who spent several years in the Cambridge/Somerville area and then Brookline, and who is now in Oakland, California. She loves California, but is frustrated at the moment with the water restrictions (she has just put in a garden in their postage-sized lot). And while she hasn't mentioned it, she is somewhat asthmatic and definite allergic to smoke and I have to think the "drift" from the wildfires -- not usually an issue in the Bay area I gather but it is this year -- must be keeping her inside and out of the garden more than she'd like. Me, I'll take the woodchucks and the deer ticks over wildfires, earthquakes and drought any day (not to bash California -- S.F. is my favorite place on earth ... to visit) I think you will get more house for your dollar (and more yard) in the Boston area but I am basing that only on what I've read here plus her recent experience in Oakland as a first-time buyer (1200 sq. ft bungalow and a postage stamp lot in a neighborhood she hopes is "moving up not down" for $650,000 -- same that we paid in admittedly rural Connecticut for 3,600 sq ft and a two-stall "pony" barn on 6.5 acres). I also think you will find the nature of gardening on the East Coast closer to what you are familiar with in Chicago, which may be good, may not be -- depends on how adventurous you are. But the plants and the planting cycles (perhaps a slightly longer season, not sure of that), etc. will be closer to what you are used to than would the ones in the Bay area. Many New Englanders love New England and wouldn't live anywhere else. Most Californians I know feel the same about their slice of paradise. I myself am awed by California's incredible horticultural diversity (we were in Berkeley last summer and the flowers, lemon trees, etc. were "to die for" as they say in New York :) It is beautiful and I can understand how people fall in love with it and never want to leave... but for me, I would miss the change in seasons and the wondrous cycles that those seasons create in our gardens: the incredible lush green of a New England spring that nothing quite matches, the "irrational exuberance" of our summer gardens, followed by the incredible fall foliage both in the trees above and in our gardens as they slow down and prepare for their winter "sleep," followed by an admittedly sometimes LONG winter of cold and snow -- which I happen to love but which might well be a deal-breaker for someone who loves the heat. (For heat, head to the hills outside San Francisco! But bring your own water tanker!) Just a few thoughts from a diehard fan of New England gardening :) Good luck whichever coast you choose! (And how lovely to have such a quandry in this economy!)

With the exception of Heatwave, I have grown all those tomato varieties in Sacramento, and although I am late (again! sigh) in getting all my varieties in the ground, I did get my Jetsetter planted a month ago, and it is covered with green fruit right now. So don't blame Sacramento, or the weather here! It has nothing to do with temperatures, because even when it hits 110 here, I still get tomatoes. I completely agree with the others who say you have WAY overfertilized them. Most people don't realize that compost IS fertilizer, or rather to be more accurate, compost also feeds the soil, but at a lesser concentration. So you planted your tomatoes in fertilizer and MORE fertilizer. Somehow most people have the idea you have to DO major work to make your tomatoes grow--I blame the fertilizer companies' marketing, like Miracle Grow. The truth is, yes, nutrients get depleted out of the soil if you plant the same crop over and over, but most home yards haven't been growing heavy feeding crops (like corn) for 50 years. With the exception of new housing developments, most established backyards would grow tomatoes just fine without any fertilizer, or with just putting an inch of mulch surrounding the plants when they are first planted. I would suggest you dig one up and transplant it into an area of your yard where you HAVEN'T done anything to it, and see if you have any tomatoes in a couple of months, and report back. I would suggest experimenting with the Jetsetter, because it does the best in your list at resisting nematodes. Carla in Sac

There are many threads here about Late Blight, clean up, etc., that can be found by doing a search at the bottom of this first page but I thought that perhaps the most useful information for you would come from reading through the LB Cornell FAQ's which should answer all of your questions. If it doesn't, please just ask here in your thread. Carolyn Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell Late Blight FAQ's

I can only share our experience with Marvin. These are 4 years old AL clad outside and wood inside. We are in northern CA up on a hill. Lots of windows and french doors facing SW. In the summer we get direct sun and 110+ heat on these units. In the winter, heavy wind and rain and some snow and hail hit them. Often, strong wind will whip pea gravel onto the French doors. Kids have hit these doors with frisbees, all sorts of balls, sticks, kites, a couple of bike tires when they crashed. So far, the color has not faded and there are no scratches or dents. Do know that if someone were to hit it hard with a large rock or a sharp object, I am sure it will scratch or dent just like a car body. We are reaplcing our gravel with wood chips this year just in case. As for rolled vs. extruded, the window shop where we ordered the windows showed us a cut-out. The extruded had uniform thickness all the way around sharp corners. The rolled, at least with what they showed us, had a "crimp" or thinner where the metal bent sharply. Is that really bad? Probably not if the metal is thick enough. Luckily, the wood work quality did the trick for us. Marvin had the wood work quality we want, so we got Marvin. If the other brand had the same quality woodwork, it would have made the decision a bit tougher. Good luck with your research and I hope you get something you really apprecaite!