Haywire Haywood
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:31 pm

Introduction/First Question

Hi guys (-n-gals as the case may be) Just registered. I'm a novice veggie gardener. This is my first year and I tried Roma Tomatoes, jalopenos, okra, corn (Silver Queen), squash, cucumbers, cilantro, lettuce, carrots watermelon, green bell peppers, and birdhouse gourds for my Martin colony. Most of them just one plant each except for the corn, cucumbers, and the green peppers. Wow, when I spell it all out, it appears I overdid the variety a little. Oh well, it was last minute and I just grabbed some plants and seed off the clearance rack. The carrots all died out when they were about 1" tall, the corn I left too long on the stalk and they dried out, the jalopenos I made salsa with, The okra (all 3 of them) are still out there. I got 2 cucumbers which we ate on a salad. The green bells of which there are 5 or so are still out there. We ate one squash baked, but the rind was thick, not much meat inside. There's 4 watermelons out there too. I'm in central Kentucky.


Anyway, next year I'm going to expand the size of the garden and limit the variety to 2 things and plant enough to hopefully can some. I'm thinking beans and tomatos. A friend of mine said that when he was gardening in Pennsylvania, he had a type of Roma tomato called a "Classico". He said it was twice to three times the size of a normal Roma. I have been trying to find a source for seed or plants online for next year, but have had no luck so far. Anyone know of a tomato like this but maybe called something else?

thanks,
Ian

opabinia51
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Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Thanks for posting Haywire, sounds like you had a great garden this year. I would plant the beans and tomatoes together next year as I believe that they are companion plants. I don't know of a source for the tomatoes that you are looking for but, you might look up HEIRLOOM TOMATOES on the internet.

Also, see if there is a Seedy Saturday in your area. Lot's of good heirlooms there.

Anybody know of a source for the tomatoes?

Haywire Haywood
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:31 pm

Oh, almost forgot. He said they were shaped like a Vidalia onion, kinda flat and wide.

Ian

Haywire Haywood
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:31 pm

Mistake... that onion shaped one was another variety. He said the Classicos were pear shaped just like normal romas, just 3 times as big. I did find a site that had 250 different tomato varieties, and a few of them were supposedly large meaty tomatos with few seeds that are good for sauce. If I can't find this one, I'll have to choose one of the others.

thanks,
Ian

Haywire Haywood
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:31 pm

Nevermind.. I found it.

AngryItalian
Full Member
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 5:01 pm
Location: San Diego

These guys came in at work the other day:

[img]https://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c186/elbanfo/Plant%20Stuff/RomaTomato003.jpg[/img]

Not as big as the ones you're talking about but still a litte bigger than a regular roma. No Idea whatt it's called though...

Haywire Haywood
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:31 pm

Thought I was talking to myself there for a couple of days :mrgreen: What I found was a "ClassicA" instead of a "ClassicO". It's not the big one tho. I did find one variety that claimed a 2lb tomato. That's a little overboard IMO.

When I talked to him again, he said it was large and had a 'lobes". This one matches his description. I'll try that one next year if the seed is still available.

https://www.reimerseeds.com/missouri-roma-tomato.aspx

Ian

AngryItalian
Full Member
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 5:01 pm
Location: San Diego

hehe I know the feeling
fortunately I work in a kitchen that gets a lot of organic produce from farms and farmers' markets around the area so every summer we get tons of different heirloom tomatoes so I usually save up some seeds from the varieties I like most; too bad I don't have enough room to plant them all...

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

I'm with you there Angry! Good on you for saving those seeds. That would be my recommondation for Haywire.

Did you know that there are more than 500 different varieties of heirloom tomatoe? I really like the different black varients. But, the zebra tomatoes are good as well.

Haywire Haywood
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:31 pm

Any specific way to go about saving seed from tomatos? Do you clean all the pulp and such off or just let them dry with it on there?

Ian

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

SAVING TOMATOE SEEDS:

Cut the tomatoe in half and squeeze out seeds and pulp onto a plate.

Set the plat aside for 3 to 4 days (it will become a bit moldy, this is a good thing)

rinse the seeds off and place on a paper towel to dry

Store in a cool dry place. (I like to put mine in a tiny ziploc bag with a lable)

Hope this helps!



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