Tomato seed need the basic requirment below: Use seed starting mix,dampped by warm water Plant your seeds about 1/8 inch (3 mm) deep. Firm the mix lightly to ensure that the seed is in direct contact with the moist mix. The seed needs to absorb moisture during the germination process. The optimum temperature range of 70 to 80F (21 to 27C). Germination is delayed by lower temperatures and accelerated by higher temperatures. Temperatures below 50F (10C) or above 95F (35C) are detrimental to germination The germination needs 5-10 days. I had over 30 tomato seedlings from my seeds and they are 3" tall already Wendy

Actually, they are called food strainers. Here is a photo in another thread to compare yours to. Note the wrap around spatter shield and extended waste cone. The photo is near the bottom of the thread. The very old original models were called Victorio, had aluminium hoppers and wooden pushers, then Villaware, and now Roma Weston, among other brands. There are many hundreds of post about these and if you do a search of the word 'Villaware', or 'Roma' you will see many. They are all very similar, except yours probably has big wing nuts on either side of the conical sieve to hold it onto the cast body. The most recent is Roma, and has several improvements to prevent leaking from the crank shaft and several other improvements. Today, the strainers simply twist on and are held in placed by a small thumb screw. They also offer optional sieves and and shorter auger for the big seeds of grapes. The other type is a Foley, and its sort of shaped like a sauce pan, with a crank at the top. In this application, its nearly useless as it will clog up quickly with skins, unless preprep is done. The food strainer needs only have big tomatoes cut in halves or quarters to go into the hopper. VERY EFFICIENT machine!! I wasn't able to supply a direct photo as Photo Bucket (where pictures are saved) is acting erratic. Canning in used coke bottles and other means, is not safe, so please follow todays canning standards as to safety. My chunky ketchup is canned in pint jars. Here is a link that might be useful: Food strainer

Absolutely Brandywine. These and Cherokee Purple were the first to ripen here.. over three mos ago.. but I started with plants in four inch pots. The first ones I started got frozen in the late spring frost. The Brandywine were and still are the best of all.. the leaves are wider than any other tomato I know. The plants are very tall, about six foot.. I plant them all in tall baskets made of concrete reinforcement wire about five feet high and three feet in diameter. They fill them nicely.. the wire has large square mesh that is easy to reach into to pick the tomatoes. I used lots of alfalfa hay as mulch this year and had the best crop ever.. About planting from seed, it really helps to plant indoors in a very sunny windowsill in April to get a good start with these plants. Lots of light and warmth to get a good plant going in its own pot. I just have seven plants this year and they are producing lots of great tomatoes. Next year I hope to put in around a dozen or more so I can give more away. Also.. if you can find the seeds for Early Giant, it it a good big early tomato. But if you don't want to mess with planting seeds, buy the plants in late May and plant them outside, tend them well and you'll have tomatoes by Mid August.

Great story, touched my heart..we are now facing placing my father in an adult care group home, one of the main reasons he picked this place over the others is because the owner likes to garden and dad used to be a master gardener in his day. They told him he can help with a tomato plant and a rose bush over there. I really liked your story! children and seniors love to nurture!