The number of tomato plants that I’m growing keeps inching upwards. The four from my official 2009 plan are still happening, but then my step grandmother gave me some seeds for a red grape (‘Snacker’s Delight’) and I couldn’t pass it up. And then somehow I ended up ordering seeds for ‘Ildi’, a yellow grape that should ripen early and produce tons and hopefully taste a bit better than ‘Yellow Pear’ last year. Somehow I am resisting planting the Paul Robeson seeds I have because I know they aren’t as well suited to container growing as some of the other varieties I have picked (I have ‘Black Sea Man’ for a determinate black tomato), so at least I can be proud of myself for that.
I’m sad that I can’t grow the same varieties I would want to if I could put them in the ground, but I decided last year to select only cultivars that were specifically container friendly and see how that goes. And then I decided that cherry tomatoes were allowable since they did so well last year, so we’re up to 6 different plants of all different sorts for this year. I will have to buy some new big pots, but I hope that there is enough room on my deck for everything.
On my to-try list for as soon as I get my spot of dirt:
- Brandywine (No duh, right?)
- Paul Robeson
- Carmello
- Sun Gold (I’m trying this next year regardless of where I am)
- Opalka
- Eva Purple Ball
- Kellogg’s Breakfast
I want some kind of a small white tomato, a green one and a good lemon yellow one, but I haven’t chosen them yet. The idea of having a whole patch of different colored cherry tomatoes is very appealing to me, but that seems impossibly indulgent right now. I just can’t imagine having that much space.
