Below is a snippet from the link Dave provided above, and below this cut and paste I'd like to add more heart varieties that I think very highly of. (I'm a heart lover and I just want to note that what Tomatofest is selling as Rostova, and TGS sells the same, should NOT be heart shaped. The original was a red beefsteak and it kinda morphed into a heart. I sent the last of my true Rostova seeds to Linda at TGS, so fingers crossed. Anna Russian is fine, quite early for a heart and Kosovo seems to do well for everyone. But you've got all pink hearts there, discounting the wrong Rostova, which should be a red beefsteak, so let me suggest what I think are some great tasting and performing red heart varieties. Linnie's Oxheart Indiana Red German Red Strawberry ...and some great ones to look for in the future since I don't think that any seed sites are yet offering them, but I didn't check: Fish Lake Oxheart Granny's Heart Kukla's Portuguese Heart Added the following note: You can update seed availablility for the above 3 at Tania's wonderful website. I know Fishlake is out there but not sure about the other two yet since so new. I send seeds for new varieties to several seed sites where I know the owners well and have for a long time, for trial. Some can offer them if they like them, for the next year. Others need to subcontract out so it normally takes two years. ) $$$$$$$$$$ Ones I'd like to add now: Kosovo I already mentioned in the above snippet Danko, a great med red Tsar of Bells ( Tsar Kolokol), pink Dragoevo, red, new Anna Maria's Heart, pink Ludmilla's Pink Heart Bobbie, red Orange Minsk Heart, new Cherokee Purple Heart, new Serdtse Buivola, ( heart of the buffalo), pink Cuore Bui, red Anna Russian, pink ...... enough for now.(smile) Carolyn

Helenh, Thanks so much for directing me there! I just posted in there and I believe I'm going to join it! :) Dave, That's true. The one thing is though, I'm starting my tomato plants right now, that's why I have ants in my pants. ;) Last year I still had huge green tomatoes all OVER my vines when the season had ended. I had started them the "4-6 weeks before last frost", but I guess for heirlooms in Utah that don't cut it. Haha My father-in-law buys the like 2'-3' plants from the nurseries, and always hybrid, so he couldn't help the friendly competition between us where he had tomatoes about 1 1/2-2 months before me. But what can I say? I absolutely LOVE growing things from seeds and am slightly bias towards the idea of heirlooms. Though I do love me some Sun Gold. ;) Kevinitis, I did happen to see that. The one thing I'm not too keen on the idea of though is ordering from 3-4 different seed companies at once. I guess already with the two I'm juggling, it's hard to keep straight what I need to get from where, and I'm also having to see what two stores(well, a store and a nursery) carry near me to get cheaper. Did my first round of that today. SO...in a way simplification is best at this point I think. Haha Also, I thought it'd be nice to swap with someone who might need my seeds like I theirs. But again, I'm not against just buying them. Carolyn, Thanks for the heads up. I did happen to find such a page before, but I know for one variety I started to hunt down that way a company or two didn't carry it anymore? Though with such a large database I'm sure you can't micromanage it to that level. ;) And thanks anyway!

It's hard to tell through cyberspace, but I hope my friendly question was not taken in the wrong light. &&&&&& I did take it in the wrong light when you asked about my business ventures, of which there are none. I wouldn't have written what I did above if it weren't for that, since I didn't want you or anyone else thinking I was making money off something, presumably tomato seeds or profits frommy book, of which there were none. I don't think folks realize that when I, or anyone else, sends seeds for trial to a seed vendor, there's no money that changes hands.If the vendo likes the variety and then listsit, all money goes to him or her. As for SSE listings and a request piice, SSE sugggests $3 for a minimum of 25 seeds which I think is way too high, especially since most of the listers are not professionals, but amateurs ,so in the 2013 Yearbook I offered 10-15 seeds for $1 to both listed and unlisted SSE members ( the SSE request price for the latter is $4), anywhere on earth. The SSE Yearbook in my opinion has become a seed catalog and no longer has much to do with seed preservation by relisting varieties requested. For my seed offers elsewhere I let those outside the US e-mail me their requests and then I pay the postage for all of those wherever they go.Gunnar can attest to that. (smile) Finally, you want to see my bill for supplies from Staples and my postage costs? No way can I cover what I need as supplies from SSE requests but my supply costs also pertain to my seed offer elsewhere, I agree.. What I prefer to do is to share what new and old vareities I have with others, for a SASE for my annual seed offer and going as low as I can with a request price for the SSE listed ones. Ok, Peace. Perhaps I over reacted, it's possible, but let's go forward now. Carolyn, who has not seed any red streaks or blushes in OO or Orange Strawberry or Herman's Yellow or any of the orange hearts she's grown in her area.An allele is an alternative form of a gene, not all genes have alles, but to give one example, the gene gf ( green flesh) has I think 4-5- alleles, I didn't check those numbers but I'm close, and scientists have been able to determine the specific allele in different so called black tomatoes and put them into categories which then gives an estimate of where they originated from. And that helps distinguish heirloom ones from ones that have been bred more recently or are the result of natural cross pollination.Doing that it was found that the 100 yo variety Cherokee Purple was not that old, seeds given to Craig L by John Green of TN who was told that when the seeds were given to him.

my neighbor his letting me use his yard space and only requested that I grow oxheart tomatoes. of course, I've started about 12 heirlooms but NOT oxheart. Anyone have any? Posting in this forum because someone near by would be convenient and best for the plant, but I am willing to do a trade or whatever by mail.