No, more like no growth at all on the San Marzano. They came up in late March/early April and most are still about an inch or two high. I've only put one in the garden because they just don't look like they'd make it. Is it maybe a paste variety thing -- they need more heat than we've had? The Opalka and Amish Paste are also slow growing, though better than the San Marzano. Some of the Anna Russians just don't seem to be thriving (although one is doing great). The other is still very small though it's been planted out for a few weeks now. I'm not giving up on it, and I've got plenty of other varieties, just noticed that some mentioned having trouble with this one as well.

I have found a trade for these seeds, so this trade is now closed. Thanks everyone!

Sue, do you means the four crosses I tried to describe above? Almost all of them had the same size kinda mini-beefs and since I didn't grow out any of the F2 seeds myself, I don't know what folks got other than what Jeff Casey shows. Pale Perfect Purple isn't an heirloom, it was bred by Tad Smith who crossed Ozark Pink with Purple Price, made some selections and when Tad found one he liked he grew it out to the OP state. Indet, PL , excl yield and with smooth dark pink fruits about 3 inch , but I wouldn't call it an early either. I like it very much and it isn't the only one that Tad bred. The one that's known best has no commercial source and never will. LOL Tad sent me a three way cross, told me what he was looking for, said I had a 1/64 chance of finding it, I set out only 12 plants and got it. I named it Tad, why not, sent seeds to my friend Craig LeHoullier and it was the accidental cross between Brandywine and Tad that led to Lucky Cross, Little Lucky, both bicolors, and several other varieties now. it's been a rich source of germplasm indeed. However one porblem. Someone else was helping Craig grow out some F2 and F3 seeds, got an OP he named Liam's Brandywine, Linda at TGS didn't exactly understand what Craig said in an e-mail and put it in the 2011 TGS catalog as a Brandywine, which of course it isn't. She feels badly about it but you can't change words in a catalog. Carolyn, whose TV man Joe, who is excellent, called before he came, as I'd requested, so I could describe what happened, he came, the signal strength at the dish was fine for both statellites so he didn't have to trudge through 3 ft snow to climb up the hill, so then he was able to reset the multi-dish switch in the receiver and all is well for now. When the weather is better in the Spring I'll get a new receiver, possibly go to HD, but heck, the picture looks fine to me. The receiver was here when I moved in and is close to 15 yo and they can go bad, as I know. So as I sit here taking a break I can hear the TV back here, and now I go to watch more. LOL

Ukrainian Heart (also called Russian Heart), **** I don't think those two are necessarily synonomous. Russian Heart has a different background than does Ukrainian Heart although one of the two folks who list Russian Heart equates it with Ukrainian Heart in the SSE Yearbook/ There are two Ukrainian Hearts that I know of and have grown. One was received by me years ago from Jerry Murphy called the TNMUJ strain and the other one I got from Craig who got it from Tania O'Neill of Phildelphia called the O'Neill strain. Jerry Murphy did contact me last year after a long absence and I do think I remember him saying that he originally called it Russian Heart before changing the name to Ukrainian Heart to more accurately reflect the origin of the variety. Whatever! LOL They are all excellent IMO. I'm a devoted fan of heart shaped varieties b'c I think they have some of the best tastes around and I'd like to see you try some of the following: Danko, red Anna Maria's Heart, pink Wes, red Tsar-Kolokol, pink Tidwell German, pink Yasha Yugoslavian, pink Nicky Crain, pink Orange Strawberry Brad's Black Heart ....for starters off the top of my head. Carolyn