Before I plan out my 2004 garden, I have a silly question. If planted too close, do different varieties of tomatoes cross pollinate? I usually plant Early Girl, Cherry and Roma. Last year, they seemed to "mix-and-match".

It is possible especially with currant and potato leave varieties. The probability increases the closer the different cultivars are located to each other. Seperate them with a row of something non-tomato and you should be fine.

Of interest: http://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/tgc/newsletters/vol34/v34p12b.html

http://www.tanagersongfarm.com/heirloom_seeds/tomato-cross.html

I'm sure that tomatoes cross-pollinate, but unless you are saving seeds, it doesn't matter. I have a raised-bed "square foot" garden, and every year plant at least 5-6 varieties: yellow slicer (acid free), principe borghese (for sun-dried), juliet (for salad and sauce) early girl (for stewing), brandywine (for my husband's tomato sandwiches) and "something new" (always exploring). I double-plant 16 tomato plants into eight square cages set corner to corner in one of the three fence beds which surround my veggie garden area. and have no problem with new hybrids!

If you had a "mix-n-match" problem, and purchased your transplants from a nursery, you can probably blame adolescent pranksters -- I had that problem with peppers -- purchased pepper transplants at a nursery because an unanticipated Memorial Day frost zapped all my tender plants a couple of years ago -- and the resulting peppers had absolutely nothing to do with their labels. Someone had obviously played a game of swap the sticks (hot with sweet)!

If you are not growing out from seed you saved, odds are there is other problems than cross pollination. That wouldn't show up till the next grow out in any event.

As other have said if you are not saving or growing from saved seed it does not matter who has sex with whom.

if you are saving seed save only from open pollinated/heirloom varieties as hybrids varieties have 2 or more parents and the saved seed rarely comes out true. if you want an adventure in plant breeding saving seeds from hybrids can be fun as you will get surpises.

All the tomatoes you named are hybrids so if you save seed you will get a mix 'n' match garden

Tomatoes need about 30' of isolation for pure seed. Plant in blocks of no less than 8 plants. The more plants the better

>> it does not matter who has sex with whom

LOL - not quite the explanation I was expecting!

Oh yes tomatoes will cross polinate. I had this happen the year befor last. My Big Beefy Girls and the Romas Crossed. And these where seed I had saved over for 4 years. The good part was The BBG were meatier and the Romas bigger.

I got all new ones now, hierloom types. I will be planting them at oppisite end of the garden.

I'm getting all open pollinated and hierlooms for everything I grow this year. Seed order is more than I had expected but I think it will be worth it. My goal is to be able to save seed from everthing year to year.

Feather

feather,

what the seed banks do is save seeds from PART of their collection each year. That way they can have many kinds of say, melons, even though they can only plant one type a year.

And some things are hard to save seed from because they are biennial or simply will not produce viable seeds easily-Broccoli is one of these, maybe 5% of the seeds will be viable.

But what you are doing is a noble experiment I wish you luck and suggest buying the Carol Deppe book; Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's & Farmer's Guide
to Plant Breeding & Seed Saving ISBN: 1890132721.

It is invaluable to the serious seed saver and is a good read (the woman is the rare scientist that can actually write)

All your input has been GREAT! And I do believe I have to leave more space and probably planting each plant with something else between it is a good idea. Maybe using the 4 corners of my garden! It will be interesting to see what happens this year. I did enjoy LARGER Romas but was dissapounted that my Juliets were SO BIG! Not good for salad anymore unless they are cut! 9^)