Tuesday, February 21, 2012

What's Your Favorite Tomato?





I know I said I wasn't going to buy any seeds, but I've been finding these lists of favorite tomato varieties, and I don't know if I can help myself. 

Lynne from NPR's The Splendid Table picked three favorites from 2011: Vorlon, Cosmonaut Volkov, and Bloody Butcher, which can all be found at rareseeds.com.

I also found Cosmonaut Volkov at The Hudson Valley Seed Library, which has lots of interesting varieties, including Green Zebra, Yellow Pear and Black Krim, some of Nigel Slater's picks that he notes in my favorite new book.

Slater also likes Sungold and Brandywine (me too!), Gardner's Delight, Costoluto Fiorentino, Marmande, Auriga, and Orange Santa.

One of the local gardening bloggers I follow grows 20 plants a year and likes Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Clear Pink Early, Black Krim, and Black Cherry, to name a few.

My original plan included planting seeds saved from last year - a friend's family heirloom, Brandywine, and Black Cherry - and buying Sun Gold from the store.  The first is a must, but I can always pick up Brandywine from a local garden center,  and we could make another trip to Vermont for a Black Cherry.  If I'm going to give this seed starting thing a try, maybe I should try to grow some things I can't buy...

I know I should be selective, because I don't have a lot of space and this is my first attempt at growing tomatoes from seed.  I'm leaning toward Cosmonaut Volkov, a sweet and tangy tomato, good for fresh eating.  Or, Black Krim?
Do you have a favorite tomato variety?  What kinds have you grown in your garden? 

1 comment:

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