hey everyone! being my frist post on this forum, i thought i would say that.

a few friends and i want to start a veggie garden this spring. we want to grow a few things such as potatos, corn, tomatos, peppers (hot and sweet), lettuce, and maybe one or two other types.

so far i found a supplier that sells organic pepper seeds and tomato seeds ( www.pepperjoe.com ). i have not yet found a source for the other seeds though.

also, when looking at tomato seeds, i dont know what kind to get. we just want the "normal" variety of tomato that is sold in grocery stores. nothing special. what kind of tomato is the norm?

I can't say that I know what the "norm" is for grocery store tomatoes.

I can say, however, that once you grow your own tomatoes, you will never be able to buy one at the grocery store again!

You might like a beefsteak type tomato. They are quite large and are a pretty good general purpose tomato.
Maybe someone in your zone will have a better suggestion.

Welcome to the forum!

Keli

I guess I would consider the most typical "normal" tomato for me would be Celebrity. It grows alot of tomatoes and is average size and flavor. Now that I grow heirlooms though, I wouldn't go back to anything "normal" again (unless a hail storm wipes out my entire crop and there is still enough time to get to the greenhouse and buy whatever is left, even if it is a hybrid). That has happened before, and any type of garden raised produce is so much better that none at all. Jane

so what is a good heirloom variety to try?

i mentioned this to my dad and he said that "beefsteak tomatoes" are good (strange name for a tomato variety) but i havent been able to find anyone who sells seeds for that. i found ox heart tomatoes though. perhaps he is getting mixed up with what he wants for dinner tonite =)

i think i am going to start another thread with the types of seeds i am looking for and having trouble finding.

Pepper,

Tomatoes come in all of the following colors. White, yellow, orange. pink, red, purple, brown, black, and stripped or bi-color.

The tomatoes you will most likely see in your supermarket will most times be reds or pinks, with a fruit shape of 6x7, beefsteak, cherry, or paste (plum).

Good red(ish) full sized tomatoes for a northern garden could be any of the following (and about 500 more) rutgers, brandywine, German Johnson, Olena's Ukrainian, any of the 'boy' (better boy etc). Just to rattle off a few.

There are about 1000 cultivars of open pollinated-heirloom tomatoes available from seed houses in the united states. And perhaps as many another 10,000 cultivars being maintained in family seed collections.

*if* you plan to garden on a massive scale as in acers of plants then you may want to look over F1 hybrid seeds offered by seed houses. They will tend to be more uniform and are often preferred for a whole crop ripening at the same time.

IMO organic seed is over rated. I would reccomend against growing seeds treated with anti-fungal treatments like captan.

I suspect what you want to use for your search (for tomatoes anyway) are key words like "Heirloom or open pollinated" for old time tomato taste.

Organic practice is a wonderful thing. You don't need fertilizers or sprays to grow a healthy garden. The term 'organic' may not however lead you to the seed I suspect you want.

i guess more of what i was looking for by "organic" was not treated with the anti fungal stuff.

its not going to be a huge garden. probably just a corner of the back yard. an area of abou 10-15 feet by 10-15 feet is probably as big as it will get.

i'll have to do some more digging on google and find some seeds. thanks!

Hi Peppers,

You might want to look on page 5 of this forum, there was a thread entitled favorite tomato. Mine is Mule Team you can find it in Southern Exposure Seed Saver Exchange(www.southernexposure.com for a free catalogue).
My second favorite is Cherokee Purple but you might not be ready for a purple tomatoe yet. I gave one of each of these two plants to my boss a couple of years ago. She thought something was wrong with the Cherokee Purple and was throwing away great tasting tomatoes.

Another variety, similar to Beefsteak, is Beef Master. I have found them to be better for my area--and man do they get huge. Guess they call them that because they are big and "beefy". One slice will easily cover a slice of bread. I had eight plants last summer and got a couple hundred pounds of the things.

there is a great place on the web and an excellant catalog for seeds and other organic paraphanilla--hehe! check out seedsofchange.com it's a wonderful place. here in the middle of "resume speed" kansas we tend to grow beefsteak or brandywine. there are several other great varieties on the market too....hope i could help!

thanks for all the input! i am gonna look around a bit more but i think i will end up getting two types. the beefsteak and the brandywine.