The Crafty Cultivator

I finally narrowed down my list of tomatoes and got them started. (I still have Cherry tomatoes to finish deciding on and then get them into some soil). I sowed these 5 varieties on March 7th along with the sweet peppers… The tomatoes are all up and will probably have true leaves by next week, The peppers, are still deciding if they want to germinate.

“Mortgage Lifter” – These are reputed to grow up to 4 pounds! I doubt that will happen in our backyard, but I have to give it a shot. Mostly because they are a new to me variety. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll be happy if I break my record from the Brandywines last year.

“Black Krim” – I made the mistake of growing these too close to “Black Russian” last year, so I had no idea which was which… Both were delicious, although one was much smaller than the other…

“Cherokee Purple” – These are new… at least officially. I am sure I had one plant last year from the Rainbow pack of seeds I sowed, but I can’t be sure… so this year, I will know

“Marglobe” – These were superstars last year, both in the greenhouse, my backyard, and farther north on my Mom’s deck. So I hope to have another successful year growing them.

“San Marzano” – I had some of these last year also, but they hardly ripened. They made it into some sauces, and Tomato Jams, but never really got to shine on their own. Also, something attacked the stems of 3 out of 4 of the plants. I am going to attempt 4 plants again this year… but may pawn some off on my best friend and/or Mom. If you want some more information, there is an entire website dedicated to this tomato and its illustrious history.

(I will probably still do some “Manitoba” as long as I have enough room for them… But they are only about 50-60 days to maturity, so need less of a head start than those above)

If you have any tomato tips, share them in the comments below. I am working on a future post on how I grow my tomatoes in our wonderful Alberta weather, and would love some input on what others do.

Also, if you live in Canada, and have some Heirloom tomato seeds, maybe we can make a trade? Leave a comment, and we can get in touch.

(Sorry no pictures… working on some issues right now)