I have Sequoias, too, and found that fertilizer works wonders. I was inspired after seeing the commercial fields nearby with huge plants and lots of berries. I don't fertilize as heavily as they do, but I am adding some organic fertilizer regularly now. I'm on the border of Sunset zone 24. Some of my blossoms dried up when it got unseasonably hot. Here is a link that might be useful: Growing strawberries

Chandra, I don't know that I'd trust that lady bug thing from the Farmer's Almanac. I've had lady bugs for 3 or 4 weeks now and had frost just a few days ago! Jhart, I agree with the others on Sprite, Lime Green Salad, Garden Peach and Paul Robeson. Of those 4, Paul Robeson has gottest the tallest--about 4 feet but it just doesn't like me and tends to die before producing ripe fruit. I don't know why. Maybe it is my soil. Baker Family Heirloom is very large and should grow in the ground. Razzleberry is a determinate that gets about 4 or 4.5' tall so it could be grown in a large-ish container. By large-ish I mean at least 7-10 gallons. Winsall did not get as large in my garden as I expected an Indeterminate to grow, but I grew it in a year when we had extreme drought like this year and the other year when I grew it we had excessively heavy rain and all my tomato plants sat in really wet soil for too long and stalled and stunted. I haven't grown it in a 'normal weather year' because I don't think we have those kinds of years here. For me, Indian Stripe grows like Cherokee Purple--taller than your average determinate but not a huge indeterminate. I usually grow it in the ground, but I've grown it in 20-gallon containers and it did just fine. I grew Lillian's Yellow in a year we had exceptional drought (the most severe form of drought) and it only got 3 or 4' tall, but I think it would have gotten taller in good moisture. Yellow Brandywine is a huge monster so I'd only put it in the ground. Rio Grande is a determinate but I would put it in the ground. It grows very vigorously (wide! thick! full!) and puts out a huge load of fruit. Because paste tomatoes like Rio Grande are prone to blossom end rot, and because moisture is hard to control in containers, and because uneven moisture contributes to blossom end rot, I'd put it in the ground. Hope that helps. Y'all. Unless you are going to water like a maniac or are in one of the far NE OK counties that has had plentiful rainfall, expect smaller than usual plants in this year's drought conditions. That will allow you to space them a bit closer than usual (as long as you're NOT using overhead watering) and to grow some Ind. in containers because in these conditions they won't get really huge. Please realize that if we are already in Extreme drought now (as any of you are), the next step "up" is to Exceptional Drought. I find it hard to water enough to keep a garden going in exceptional drought conditions. There's only so much water any of us can afford to pour onto the dry ground. In these conditions, water well early (in April and in May) in an effort to get your plants to grow well and set fruit. However, once fruit are sizing up nicely, you need to be very careful not to water excessively or your fruit will have bland flavor. It is a delicate balancing act. Dawn

thisisme: I have never had a significant "Catfacing" problem with a round tomato. But some beefsteak or severely oblate tomatoes seem to "catface" no matter the weather, or how they are grown. I have quit growing some varieties because they always do, and are not exceptionally outstanding, but have grown a few for years that are always lumpy, but taste so good I am willing to chop them up rather than slicing them, just because they taste so good.

Nope, they are not deformed -- they look a lot like Opalkas or perhaps Polish Linguisa or something along those lines. If so, lucky you! They're very tasty tomatoes. Yeah, they are a little weird when you first see them because they don't look like traditional tomatoes. Not what you expect to see. Do you still have the ID tag for them or remember the name of the tomato? I think you will enjoy them once you get by their appearance. Congratulations!