Yes, the tilly ball was a gift, Gigi, so I don't know how much my daughter spent on it, but I've wanted to make another one, and run into the same thing as you - each plant is $3 or more and you need a dozen or so to start a ball.
Don't feel bad. Timing is everything on tomatoes here. Those tomatoes were planted in September, and we'll be planting more by the end of February for a spring crop. You can't keep them going into summer here for a lot of reasons. But of course at the school garden we have to yank them out before the end of school anyway. Mine at home sometimes keep going into June, but not last year. It got hot so early, they gave up early, too.
