I can help with some tom seedlings too Mary.

I have to upgrade my tomato lineup for this season. I went to the Tomato Festival (I think that is what they called it) and couldn't resist the temptation to buy at least one more plant. So now I have to add San Marzano to the list. I'm going to have to start considering which landscape plant is going to give up it's spot in the yard to make room. :o)

I fell for the White Snow Ball that Tom Seacat grows.

I fell for the lavendar, basil and rosemary. Due to donations from friends, I did not need to even LOOK at the tomato starts that were for sale. Thanks buddies!

I'll type up some notes later about tomato growing. Picked up a few tips. I've transplanted up just about everything I picked up today. Score!

I'll add my notes later too. It will take me awhile to distill all three presentations. Hint...the third guy grows tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets...go figure.

Glad you all got some new additions to your gardens - lol... McP, you went for the herbages I see. Can't wait to hear what you all learned - hopefully some good tricks!

Jayne, I'm interested to know what he said about BER when growing in buckets. I'll start a new thread for our notes from the class.

aaaahhhhhh...that never came up. But, there was a second tomato class yesterday at another location and it was about container growing. I will email the instructor and see if he has any insight. And, I will post on the Guild forum so we can see what the many say. Dr Carolyn Male has written extensively about BER and makes a pretty good case against what the many keep saying i.e. watering practices and calcium deficiencies. However none of her research has been done with container growing. TIm, the first instructor yesterday also mentioned those two things when asked about BER. It is still a mystery to me.

http://www.azhomegrownsolution...

This is the third presenter at Tomato Fest, David Parkin, who does some gardening in buckets. You can join azhomegrownsolutions and ask him questions about containering tomatoes if you are a mind to.

I had viruses last year and lost most of my garden. This year my veggies will be in either self watering (homemade) pots, or a different location. I have started; Black Krim, Pink Oxheart, Mystery Kentucky (I harvested the seed from my friends tomato she brought home from her mothers garden in KY), Prudens Purple, Baby Beefsteak, & yellow pear. I will start more next month, not sure what yet. Any suggestions?

You're at a higher altitude than we are so your season should extend more into the summer but I would stick with the short or midseason varieties.

I'm trying out a very short season variety called Red Alert this year. It is a determinate with a 55 dtm that is reported to be an excellent container plant. If you believe the catalog descriptions it says "A superb juicy, sweet flavor in small fruits. Expect 4 to 5 pounds of fruit per plant." I'll let you know how mine do.

I would also recommend some of the cherry varieties. They seem to handle the heat better and they are early season as well. Black Cherry and any of the Sweet 100 variations are my personal favorites but there are dozens of cherries to choose from.