Tomato seedlings awaiting transplant sitting atop new strawbales awaiting placement

This the cusp of the really active part of the gardening season. April sees some workshops (April 8 talking tomatoes at the nearby Veterans Healing Farm, April 20 talking tomatoes in Gastonia NC, and April 29 talking tomatoes in Morganton), a return to weekly Instagram Lives (of which I’ve already done a few in 2023, including last Thursday with Dave Whitinger of Victory Seeds - you can find them on my video tab in my Instagram profile - @nctomatoman), as well as an intense week or so of transplanting and positioning of the strawbales I’ve purchased.

Regarding tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, the vast majority have been planted and are up and growing nicely. A few days ago, I replanted a few no shows and recent acquisitions, as well as a few I forgot to plant initially. Many are already sprouting. I also planted some various basil types, echinacea, a rudbeckia and a zinnia. Once the rain stops, I will sort through those that are already of good size and start to decide how many to get into single plants per pot. This will include those destined for growing in the Veterans Healing Farm greenhouse, and in my own backyard garden, as well as a very few that represent preorders of specific varieties for local pick up.

I am finding the prioritizing of my grow outs to be particularly complex this year. Here is my first attempt. The best approach may be to decide which varieties are a must due to need for seed, then to decide by the end of the month which location (farm greenhouse or backyard) will be their destiny.

Highest priority varieties (as a first pass) - indeterminate types - Big Sandy, Bisignano #2, Coyote, Dester, Eva Purple Ball, Gallo Plum, Giant Syrian, Hege German Pink, Indian Stripe, JD Special C Tex, Captain Lucky, Purple Dog Creek, Price’s Purple, Potato Leaf Yellow, Dorothy’s Green, World War 2, Pink Princess, Weber, Abraham Brown, Tundra, Taiga, Fritsche Family, Stocky’s, Earl, Kosovo, TBT, Ruthje, Peregrine Farms Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Green, Little Lucky, Marlowe Charleston, Sargent Peppers, and 9 of the Fairy series generously sent to me. I’d also really love to grow out new F1, a few F2, and F3 selections from my indeterminate X indeterminate hybrids - this represents an additional 14 varieties. If I total this up, I get to 55 varieties. Add in those I really want to grow due to being my favorites to eat - Anna Russian, Brandywine, Lucky Cross, Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Chocolate, Cancelmo Family, Hugh’s, Lillian’s Yellow, Monticello Mystery, Yellow Brandywine, Sun Gold, Casey’s Pure Yellow, Polish, McCutcheon, Stump of the World, Ferris Wheel, Red Brandywine, Nepal, Green Giant, Bing and Egg Yolk - that takes me to 76 varieties. If I can fit 80 into the Veterans Farm Greenhouse, between that and what I grow in my own bales, it leaves plenty of room for multiples of some varieties for various reasons - looking through the F2 or F3, or using different seed lots. OK - I’ve convinced myself it can be done. When I consider what to plant in my yard, it will likely be based on a combination of having great eating varieties close by, or particularly interesting genetics.

As far as dwarf varieties, my aim was to use the Veterans Healing Farm greenhouse as a big demo of the Victory Seed released versions. I also have a handful of future releases, and just a bit of Dwarf Tomato Project R and D varieties. If I grow 40 to 50 dwarfs at the farm, I need to decide if I want to dedicate some of my strawbales for overflow of the dwarfs into my back yard. My aim for this year is to minimize grow bags, but it may be essential for a dozen of them so I can squeeze everything in.

Oh, the trials, tribulations and mental conundrums of an overly ambitious tomato grower! Stay tuned for the next chapter of “Craig transplants - and is overwhelmed…already”!