With a little research you could find a few that you would be happy to grow.

86 0n WaterMelon Beefsteak, Wisconsin 55 and Amana Orange.

Is there somewhere that I can get seeds that others would recommend?

*****

I suggest the following seed sources:

Tomato Growers Supply
Sandhill Preservation
Victory Seeds
mariseeds.com
SSE public catalog at seedsavers.org

..... for starters and with just those sources you'll have close to 1500 choices.

If you have any questions about any of them I'd be glad to answer you as to why I suggested them.

Carolyn

I just ordered seeds from these folks late last week and they have already arrived! Extremely fast shipping and an incredible selection:
http://tomatogrowers.com/index.html

Tomorrow I'll plant them and see how they do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Growers Supply

And please remember my favorite tomato seed source, Heirloom Seeds. Hundreds of varieties and low prices for seeds and shipping.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heirloom Seeds

Another source is Southern Exposure. It's where I got my seeds for those huge yellow oxheart tomatoes (and several other things such as squash and beans) and everything did very well for us this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Southern Exposure

Since I'm just a hobby/home gardener will these places sell you just a few seeds of a the varieties that you want? or are you going to get a bunch of seeds? I dont have room for more than about 15-20 plants total.

You have to buy the full packet. Tomato seeds will keep for years and still retain high viablilty.

Since I'm just a hobby/home gardener will these places sell you just a few seeds of a the varieties that you want? or are you going to get a bunch of seeds? I dont have room for more than about 15-20 plants total.

****

No, as Trudi said, you have to buy the whole pack.

But the number of seeds/pack varies quite a bit amongst the various seed sources.

The lowest cost/pack is at Sandhill Preservation and they're right up there with seed purity and great germination. On the other hand Southern Exposure sells packs that have lots more tomato seed but also then charges more for that pack.

So best to take a look at some of the sources mentioned above to find the varieties you want and then compare prices/seed count as well as service ( which folks here can help with) as well as reputation for good germination. Again, Sandhill is the only place I know of where no tomato seed sold is more than two years old.

And as Trudi said, tomato seed will keep for years ( if stored correctly, CJM).

You say you're just a home hobby grower, but that's what this Forum is all about. Almost everyone here is a home/hobby grower, not large commercial, although there are just a few who post here who are commercial on a local basis, and a few who do grow for farmer's Markets, resturants, etc.

Carolyn

Heirloom Seeds will give you 20 seeds for about $1.25 - $1.50, so you'll be hard pressed to find a cheaper source. And you can always trade your unused seeds....

Seeds are very cheap compaired to buying plants and if you are new to growing from seed you may need a few extra anyway. Not every seed germinates. This year I started 72 plants from seed. I only planted 18 of them and gave the rest away to friends and neighbors. So far this season I've had over 265 pounds of tomatoes with more on the way. The tomatoes along with the fun of growing them was worth the small price I paid for the seeds and supplies I bought to grow them.

A little different perspective. ;) While all the recommendations for seed sources are great, growing from seed has its own set of problems and initial expenses and can be quite discouraging to some.

So, if you don't want to get into all that, it really is possible to get good quality, correctly marked, even unusual or heirloom-type transplants from local sources. But it takes a bit of research, asking lots of questions, or driving the back-country roads to find them sometimes.

Do you have any plant nurseries? Not box store types but a regular plant nursery. The link below is to over 400 plant nurseries in GA - any of them close?

Even the box stores around here are offering some heirlooms over the past few years. Ask for their grower delivery date so you can be there when the truck arrives and before all the plants are picked over or get jumbled labels.

Are there any local folks with a greenhouse? Often they are growing their own and will do extras for you if you provide the seeds. Have you explored mail ordering plants or trading plants? Have you checked with your local county AG extension office? They can put you in contact with local growers and sources.

Any spring Flower & Garden shows in your area? There you will find all sorts of grower/supplier info and even plants for sale.

Is there a local Farmer's Market? Great source of tomato plants around spring planting time.

Just some sources to consider vs. growing from seed. ;)

As for disease resistance - I'd recommended using the expectation of disease-tolerant instead. The actual disease resistant tomato plant hasn't been invented yet - at least not one that works for all the diseases all the time. Tomato pests and tomato diseases are just a fact of life in tomato gardening for all of us. ;)

Good luck!

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Plant Nurseries

" ... it seems highly unlikely to be able to get ahold of heirlooms or hybrids or something disease resistant for my area (at least not with any interesting variety)." [rjinga]

RJ,

Indeed, down in the middle of Georgia ... especially in this summer's extreme drought ... I imagine it is right tough growing tomatoes. And then even during a good season, I imagine y'all have right smart fungal diseases and other pestilence to deal with that don't vex us Hoosiers, thank goodness!

But the university and private sector breeders surely have provided many fine hybrid and open pollinated tomato cultivars that resist heat, pests and fungal diseases ... even a few interesting ones, I promise you.

If you have a Master Gardener program associated with the extension service in your county, contact them through your county extension agent . Go to the Websites of fine southern agricultural schools and take a look. Check out the tomato breeding programs at North Carolina State University and University of Florida, Bradenton .

As far as resistance in tomatoes to pests, diseases or climatic conditions, I find the following definition relevant, applicable, and Webster-correct: "the inherent capability of a tomato cultivar to withstand the effects of a disease, toxic agent, pest organism or environmental condition that otherwise remains effective at disabling or destroying other tomato cultivars."

Take heart, and good luck with your tomatoes next year!

Bill

thanks to all who have responded...this bunch is always so helpful and smart :)

I'm going to do my best to get a nice variety and then I'll just sit back and DREAM of getting them all growing healthy and bug free ;) and producing and hope for even close to 265 lbs...wow!!!

I will be doing more research as well to find out what works best around here.

And yes, there are plenty of local (and close enough) nurseries and a few farmer markets around me....I've only so far purchased house/patio and landscaping plants from the nurseries...but I'm sure there are good tomatoe plants to be had too.

I'm putting up my first EVER GH soon, so I'll have a HFGH 10x12 to putz around in and experiment with starting some seeds. etc. cant wait for that!!!!

thanks to all who have responded...this bunch is always so helpful and smart :)

I'm going to do my best to get a nice variety and then I'll just sit back and DREAM of getting them all growing healthy and bug free ;) and producing and hope for even close to 265 lbs...wow!!!

I will be doing more research as well to find out what works best around here.

And yes, there are plenty of local (and close enough) nurseries and a few farmer markets around me....I've only so far purchased house/patio and landscaping plants from the nurseries...but I'm sure there are good tomatoe plants to be had too.

I'm putting up my first EVER GH soon, so I'll have a HFGH 10x12 to putz around in and experiment with starting some seeds. etc. cant wait for that!!!!

Tomatovator makes a good point above about germination. If you're new to growing toms from seed, or any plant from seed, it's best to plan for extras. Sow two or three seeds instead of one for every plant you would eventually like to grow in the garden. If you want to grow a dozen plants then sow at least 36 seeds--even more than that give you a very decent safetly net and you'll likely have extras for sharing with neighbors and family.

T

rjinga,

You've posted pictures of your 2007 tomato plants at two different threads here. Do you plan on tilling a separate garden for your tomatoes, or do you plan on trying to grow them in between established shrubbery and iris bulbs again in 2008?

The reason I ask is because your tomatoes seem to have had so much trouble competing with established shrub roots and flower bulbs up next to your house foundation, that I thought you might try providing a separate garden for your veggie plants next year. Also, some of the pests and environmental stress experienced by your tomato plants in 2007 may have been the result of crowding them in with incompatible neighbor plants.

It also looked like in some plantingss shown in your pictures that three or four main stems emerged from the ground per planting. Did you try growing more than one tomato plant per planting hole? That could've further crowded you plant roots and caused some of your problems.

Again ... good luck with your 2008 tomatoes. Seriously, try contacting your local Master Gardeners program via your county extension and get acquainted with some local tomatoheads and see what works for them. Maybe they can clue you in on what diseases and pests you're up against locally and what tomato cultivars have proved resistant for them.

Bill

Hoosier,
actually, my late (july 22nd) planted 07 tom's are doing much better with the exception of the one that got white fly. than the one's planted earlier this year (approx in April). And the ones planted earlier had 1/2 of my other garden area.

"It also looked like in some plantings shown in your pictures that three or four main stems emerged from the ground per planting. Did you try growing more than one tomato plant per planting hole"

Actually all the plants I planted in July came from individual containers that I got at Ace Hardware's garden center. I didn't purchase any multipacks with those planted in July. Wonder why they would appear that way? I have no idea....But in general even when I do get multi packs, I have only planted each one of them individually and with a good amount of space between them.

My rationale for planting the ones you saw pics of, where I did, was two fold...ONE, my earlier planted tom's where still occupying the garden spot and sweet potatoes had taken over the opposite side of that area...And I had read somewhere that they would do ok with less direct heat. As you are surely aware we had a scorcher of a summer...I have really had no insect problems to speak of (except one attack of horned cutworms...and now I'm on daily patrol)

For next season, I do intend to find alternate places to plant (maybe in my new lasagne bed out back) And if not there, then I'll use the side of the garden that I had sweet potatoes in this year.

What I had not done in April, was to spray Daconil preventively, had I known about this forum then, I might have had better results. Live and learn!!!

I ordered tomato seeds from TomatoFest on 10-13 and received them today already.

I have ordered from them before, and found them to have excellent service.......and GOOD SEEDS (most are 30 seeds per pkt.).

Here is a link that you may find useful:

http://www.tomatofest.com/heirloom_tomato_seed_home.html

Check out the Tomato Exchange forum here too. I was just browsing over there and found tons of for free seed trades.

Dave

Had some bad luck this year with new seed purchases...I expect carolyn to clarify if I make a mistake, but ordered some black krim from a new supplier this year. Of the 4 plants that I grew out, 2 ended up being black krim (performed poorly), 1 was some sort of pinkish beefsteak that cracked and rotted, the other was a small round tomato that looked like it would be reddish brown from the skin, but the inside was a nice purple colour, fruits were great (saved seeds, hope they work next year). I gave the supplier a second chance after a few of last year's seeds turned out to be poor stock (i.e. poor germination of seeds) or the wrong seed. Well, more mixed up seeds this year. LArge well known supplier that I will not mention, but will not go back unless no other supplier has some seeds that I want.

No Anthony, you didn't make a mistake, you received crossed seeds from the way you've described it. I can't speak to the germination issue.

I hope you notified the place you bought them from of the errors so they can do something about it.

Carolyn

If you don't mind paying a premium, you can order heirloom tomato plants from a few places.

You can get 10 packs for 10 bucks delivered on ebay every spring. You'll have your seeds in 2-3 days max. Sure beats paying shipping & handling charges!

You can get 10 packs for 10 bucks delivered on ebay every spring. You'll have your seeds in 2-3 days max. Sure beats paying shipping & handling charges!

****

Mark, you and I both know that not all persons who sell tomato seeds off e=bay are desirable sources, for several reasons.

You no doubt are speaking of yourself when you quote a dollar a pack for seeds with no shipping costs, but I think that's not the norm at all.

How many seeds do you put in a pack? And how many varieties will you be listing for next season? Do you bag blossoms, knowing how closely you plant your plants?

Just curious.

And while e-bay is yet another source, it often comes down to what varieties a person is looking for as to where they buy seeds from and service and trueness of seeds and germination level and PRICE, etc. PRICE is on my mind b'c some places I think charge exhorbitant prices.

Carolyn

First, let me say that I'm not a commercial vendor or business. I have more varieties & seeds than I can grow and offer my extras at a cheap price to cover shipping, special envelopes, expenses, ebay & Paypal fees, etc. What I make is miniscule--it's almost a break-even in small amounts, and considering what it costs me in supplies & utilities to grow them til harvest, it may even be a net loss. Any money goes towards food on the table & my mother's Rx's or supplies. Without getting too personal here, she's diabetic & mid-level Alzheimers and I have more than 1 handicap/disability.

As many here may know, I've given away many seeds for free in the past, both here & other places, as well as sometimes trading & bartering. This is just a way to get some harder to find seeds out there to people to grow, some aren't easily available commercially, (Olive Hill was great this year!) so it's a good cause both ways.

I've distributed probably 20+ packs for free this year at the Buffalo-Niagara Tomato Tastefest party, in addition to donating 60 packs to the event as winner prizes, some still unclaimed (actually 50 packs--I won Smallest Tomato category! Anybody that won please contact me by e-mail if you still haven't picked your choices--yes, YOU get to choose 10 packs!)

Anyway, generally 20-30 seeds per pack, even more for some small seeded varieties... about 300 tomato varieties, it increases every year. While I often use generic descriptions, I also try to include personal comments on how they did or what I thought of them. Pics are available for most so you know what they should look like, what the seeds came out of. Many are not bagged but I use some unique practices like isolation, distraction planting, timing, location/selection, etc. Commercial places don't bag blossoms, though they do grow larger #'s of plants to reduce their chances of crossing.

I actually make it very difficult for crosses to occur. You really have to throw the plant distance/closeness theory out the window and think outside the box on this one--I've actually found that others that plant with sufficient or great space between plants often get crossed seeds and I don't. Plus I often regrow my seeds the following year to insure what it's supposed to be, not just germinating to check leaf type. If you feel you've got a variety that isn't what it was meant to be, I encourage everyone to e-mail me at matermark@gmail.com to let me know about it and I'll pull it and make good on it.

And if I grow a variety from well known commercial sources that you've already mentioned here, and it's not correct, (yes, it happens many times, from many you've recommended above), I come right out and say it's suspect (say, PL Watermelon Beefsteak or WinsAll) & don't offer it, pull it or replace it. I usually outright discard seeds and try another source if it doesn't seem like what it should be, instead of selling those seeds or giving them away as "bonus" seeds like some often-recommended-here companies do--ie: Azoychka bonus seeds many are familiar with....plus you know what I've went through re: Dr. Lyle...

Yes, many places charge shipping or handling charges that often are higher than the seeds... plus many people compromise what they grow because of high S/H costs incurred from ordering from multiple places. I've found ways to cut those costs considerably, so I pay the shipping. I don't really have any minimum order levels though try to stay in nice rounded numbers like $3-5-10, and have even worked with people with smaller quantities of each variety, of course it takes much more time & is more expensive for me to pull 20 packs of just 5 seeds than 5 packs of 20 seeds. And you don't need to be an ebay member either, it's just that that is my most common, easily accessable outlet, and I use it in the spring mostly, when I have all my seeds together, ready to decide which to plant. I also put my extra plants on craigslist in May for a buck or 2.

So, once again, I'm not a business, and this isn't an ad or an offer--I'm an enthusiast. Like I said, if someone is looking for just 1 variety or so, I often help at no cost or SASE if it's something I have enough of and easy to get to & have time.

Hope this helps.

Mark,

who must harvest peppers, take a "non-compliant" diabetic mother shopping for Halloween candy "for Trick or Treaters" she says, carve 2 Atlantic Giant pumpkins in the cold, and hopefully finish planting my garlic. Still no frost yet here in the metropolis named after "beautiful river", but expecting one tonight, almost a month later than usual...

Mark, don't discard your unkown seeds. Send them to me! I'll put them into the blend that goes out to everyone who sends me a SASE for anything. I'll take all the seeds you don't want, lol.

I am also an enthusiast and I laud your efforts...your tomatoes grow like a charm, your seeds have always been true (that I've grown out) and ten for $10 with the postage is a darn fine and attractive price. I am not going to look because I have no doubt you post your seed counts per pack, just as I do, as all who are serious do. Don't let the butterfly stompers get you down.

Bless you for taking care of your Mom; try to get her to opt for pretzel packs or if you can find it, Play-Dough has some nice tubs in trick-or-treat size packing.

Hugs,

T--who will try to get the garlic into the ground today here too.

And while e-bay is yet another source, it often comes down to what varieties a person is looking for as to where they buy seeds from and service and trueness of seeds and germination level and PRICE, etc. PRICE is on my mind b'c some places I think charge exhorbitant prices.

****

Mark, the above was my concern and my concern also is that some who sell tomato seeds on e-bay are not as trustworthy and reliable as you are, and you know that as well as I do.

And that's the only reason I asked what I did above and pointed out what I did.

We both know that I'm very familiar with your home situation . And that you do derive a great sense of satisfaction, as do I, from just giving seeds away. I also distribute the newer varieties from my SSE listings. And more recently I've been giving away even the newer varieties at another place where I post which you also know.

So thanks for answering in such detail.

Carolyn

Not sure where you are in GA, but I always have extra plants. You can email me. -R

imisscolo...I sent you an email. Trudi, I'm sending you a SASE (it got delayed from my earlier post saying I was sending it) thanks to all for the info. and links etc. I hope to have my GH assembled in the next few weeks, and would love to try my hand at growing some tomatoes this winter? have not a clue how it will work, but what harm is there in trying?

I'll keep an eye out for your SASE, I hope you'll enjoy growing the seeds you'll receive.

T

Trudi,
SEEDS came today, WOW, thank you so much....I cant wait to try some of these. What a wonderful treat to open that envelope today....Thanks again!!!

Wow! I love great feedback ;-) I hope you'll enjoy growing them. My pleasure to share with all of you.

And a big thank you to all of you who share with me. Bless you all!

T