spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob

wrote:
spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob


It depends upon how "heirloom" they really are. A true heirloom tomato
would be one that has not been crossbred. Hybrid tomatos have a bad habit
of "dehybridizing" over a few generations, sometimes just one. So you can
end up with a tomato chosen for looks, or disease resistance, and no or bad
taste. You could also end up with one that tastes great but catches every
disease known to tomatoes, or has small ugly fruit.

If it is a true breed, then you can just save the seeds (before cooking)
and use them. We have a long growing season here, so today's salad/sauce
will produce fruit this year. You save the seeds by putting them in an
open container covered with a few inches of watter. In a few days it
will mold over. When that happens you scoop off the mold and dry the
seeds. The easiest way is to spread them out on an unscented, undyed,
unprinted paper towel.

When it comes time to plant them just cut up the paper towel and plant it
in small pots about 1/2 inch under the top. If you can't do a second crop
this year, make sure they are 100% dry and then store them in a sealed
bag in a cool place.

You can speed things up by planting them inside a month before the first
frost. They need around 70F to germinate, but we have some volunteers that
survived the winter and a few that popped up on their own.

Once it stays warm (around 50F or more) during the day, you can bring them
out for some sunshine (an hour or two to start, and add an hour a day)
as long as you bring them in at night if it freezes.

If you buy commerical seeds or plants, you should buy determinate plants
for a short growing season and indeterminate ones for a long season.
The determinate ones stop growing, fruit and die, the indeterminate
ones will continue to grow and fruit as long as it is warm.

Over a long season, you get more fruit from indeterminate plants,
over a short season, they spend too much time growing before fruiting.

If you are in the U.S. you can contact your "county agent" of the
USDA who will give you advice on which plants/seeds to buy, when
and where to plant them, etc.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

Great advice, Geoffrey, thanks! Do you have a particular
brand/strain/variant that you'd reccommend?



"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in message
...
wrote:
spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob


It depends upon how "heirloom" they really are. A true heirloom tomato
would be one that has not been crossbred. Hybrid tomatos have a bad habit
of "dehybridizing" over a few generations, sometimes just one. So you can
end up with a tomato chosen for looks, or disease resistance, and no or
bad
taste. You could also end up with one that tastes great but catches every
disease known to tomatoes, or has small ugly fruit.

If it is a true breed, then you can just save the seeds (before cooking)
and use them. We have a long growing season here, so today's salad/sauce
will produce fruit this year. You save the seeds by putting them in an
open container covered with a few inches of watter. In a few days it
will mold over. When that happens you scoop off the mold and dry the
seeds. The easiest way is to spread them out on an unscented, undyed,
unprinted paper towel.

When it comes time to plant them just cut up the paper towel and plant it
in small pots about 1/2 inch under the top. If you can't do a second crop
this year, make sure they are 100% dry and then store them in a sealed
bag in a cool place.

You can speed things up by planting them inside a month before the first
frost. They need around 70F to germinate, but we have some volunteers that
survived the winter and a few that popped up on their own.

Once it stays warm (around 50F or more) during the day, you can bring them
out for some sunshine (an hour or two to start, and add an hour a day)
as long as you bring them in at night if it freezes.

If you buy commerical seeds or plants, you should buy determinate plants
for a short growing season and indeterminate ones for a long season.
The determinate ones stop growing, fruit and die, the indeterminate
ones will continue to grow and fruit as long as it is warm.

Over a long season, you get more fruit from indeterminate plants,
over a short season, they spend too much time growing before fruiting.

If you are in the U.S. you can contact your "county agent" of the
USDA who will give you advice on which plants/seeds to buy, when
and where to plant them, etc.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob

I grew the San Marzano variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds last year.
They supposed to be the same ones grown in San Marzano. Prolific and
great flavor - I put up over 100 pints before I got tired of it and
stopped watering them. I had about 12 plants.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/p...no& item=2866

The only real problem was that they outgrew the tomato cages by
several feet. I'm trying to figure out how to support them this year.

- Mark

Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob

I grew the San Marzano variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds last year.
They supposed to be the same ones grown in San Marzano. Prolific and
great flavor - I put up over 100 pints before I got tired of it and
stopped watering them. I had about 12 plants.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/p...arch&search=sa
n%2bmarzano&item=2866

The only real problem was that they outgrew the tomato cages by
several feet. I'm trying to figure out how to support them this year.

Thanks, Mark. San Marzanos are the best Romas I've ever had. Unfortunately,
I've only had them canned. I last tried growing tomatoes, including Romas,
potted, two years ago. Between the bugs, my dog and other critters, I ended
up with almost nothing.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob
I grew the San Marzano variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds last year.
They supposed to be the same ones grown in San Marzano. Prolific and
great flavor - I put up over 100 pints before I got tired of it and
stopped watering them. I had about 12 plants.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/p...arch&search=sa
n%2bmarzano&item=2866

The only real problem was that they outgrew the tomato cages by
several feet. I'm trying to figure out how to support them this year.

Thanks, Mark. San Marzanos are the best Romas I've ever had. Unfortunately,
I've only had them canned. I last tried growing tomatoes, including Romas,
potted, two years ago. Between the bugs, my dog and other critters, I ended
up with almost nothing.



"Principe Borghese" is a great variety for drying. They should be good
canned too, but I wouldn't want to have to peel 'em because they are
small. I saved a couple of fruit last year for seeds, but instead of
mashing them up in some water and letting them rot (like I usually do
when I'm saving tomato seeds), I just let them dry out and rot. The
seeds looked OK when I crumbled them up and planted them, but I got 0%
germination. Oops. Maybe I'll get some volunteers in my garden.

I'm planting "Rutgers" for my main tomato crop this year, and maybe one
or two "Better Boy" in case Rutgers doesn't do well up here.

I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray mold.
Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made from a
buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just 2 days.
A couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last Saturday
afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up 20 little
pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet there's over
100 more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to do with them
all. I don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't have the
heart to throw them away.

Bob

"Nick Cramer" wrote in message
...
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob

I grew the San Marzano variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds last year.
They supposed to be the same ones grown in San Marzano. Prolific and
great flavor - I put up over 100 pints before I got tired of it and
stopped watering them. I had about 12 plants.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/p...arch&search=sa
n%2bmarzano&item=2866

The only real problem was that they outgrew the tomato cages by
several feet. I'm trying to figure out how to support them this year.

Thanks, Mark. San Marzanos are the best Romas I've ever had.
Unfortunately,
I've only had them canned. I last tried growing tomatoes, including Romas,
potted, two years ago. Between the bugs, my dog and other critters, I
ended
up with almost nothing.

Youe dogs eat tomatoes? I guess I am lucky that my cat doesn't like those.
She does love onions, and yes, I know they are bad for cats. Also likes wax
beans and peas with the pods.

I am hoping I will have a better year for tomatoes this year. The last two
years there was too much rain after they started producing and everything
rotted.

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob
I grew the San Marzano variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds last year.
They supposed to be the same ones grown in San Marzano. Prolific and
great flavor - I put up over 100 pints before I got tired of it and
stopped watering them. I had about 12 plants.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/p...arch&search=sa
n%2bmarzano&item=2866

The only real problem was that they outgrew the tomato cages by
several feet. I'm trying to figure out how to support them this year.

Thanks, Mark. San Marzanos are the best Romas I've ever had.
Unfortunately,
I've only had them canned. I last tried growing tomatoes, including
Romas,
potted, two years ago. Between the bugs, my dog and other critters, I
ended
up with almost nothing.



"Principe Borghese" is a great variety for drying. They should be good
canned too, but I wouldn't want to have to peel 'em because they are
small. I saved a couple of fruit last year for seeds, but instead of
mashing them up in some water and letting them rot (like I usually do when
I'm saving tomato seeds), I just let them dry out and rot. The seeds
looked OK when I crumbled them up and planted them, but I got 0%
germination. Oops. Maybe I'll get some volunteers in my garden.

I'm planting "Rutgers" for my main tomato crop this year, and maybe one or
two "Better Boy" in case Rutgers doesn't do well up here.

I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray mold.
Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made from a
buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just 2 days. A
couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last Saturday
afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up 20 little
pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet there's over 100
more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to do with them all. I
don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't have the heart to throw
them away.

Maybe you could sell them? I've seen people do that occasionally in their
front yards. The prices they charge are cheaper than what you would pay at
a nursery.

zxcvbob wrote:
Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
[ . . . ]
I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray mold.
Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made from a
buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just 2 days.
A couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last Saturday
afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up 20 little
pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet there's over
100 more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to do with them
all. I don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't have the
heart to throw them away.

Hi Bob, We grow a lot of those little Thai chiles. We plant them about a
foot apart. They're quite prolific and have a long growing season. Of
course, we use them mostly in Thai recipes. My wife's recipes:

http://geocities.com/sqwertz/junthai.htm

If you want some seed stock, eat my SPAM and email me a mailing address.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

"Julie Bove" wrote:
"Nick Cramer" wrote in message
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
[ . . . ]
I've only had them canned. I last tried growing tomatoes, including
Romas, potted, two years ago. Between the bugs, my dog and other
critters, I ended up with almost nothing.

Youe dogs eat tomatoes? I guess I am lucky that my cat doesn't like
those. She does love onions, and yes, I know they are bad for cats. Also
likes wax beans and peas with the pods.

My dog will eat almost anything. She eats spicy Thai food, but not the raw
chiles!

I am hoping I will have a better year for tomatoes this year. The last
two years there was too much rain after they started producing and
everything rotted.

I just ordered some San Marzano Roma tomato seed frm Johnny's. Jun has a
big garden plot at the Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple a couple of blocks from
us. I hope we both have better luck this year, and I don't just mean
tomatoes!

Take care.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

"Julie Bove" wrote:
"zxcvbob" wrote in message
Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
[ . . . ]
I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray
mold. Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made
from a buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just
2 days. A couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last
Saturday afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up
20 little pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet
there's over 100 more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to
do with them all. I don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't
have the heart to throw them away.

Maybe you could sell them? I've seen people do that occasionally in
their front yards. The prices they charge are cheaper than what you
would pay at a nursery.

That's a great idea. I was thinking sprouts for salads, sandwiches, etc.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

Nick Cramer wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:
Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
[ . . . ]
I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray mold.
Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made from a
buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just 2 days.
A couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last Saturday
afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up 20 little
pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet there's over
100 more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to do with them
all. I don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't have the
heart to throw them away.

Hi Bob, We grow a lot of those little Thai chiles. We plant them about a
foot apart. They're quite prolific and have a long growing season. Of
course, we use them mostly in Thai recipes. My wife's recipes:

http://geocities.com/sqwertz/junthai.htm

If you want some seed stock, eat my SPAM and email me a mailing address.


Thanks.

Well, I called it a giant Thai pepper, but I've done some searching and
the variety "Giant Thai" is not nearly this big. This pepper looked
like a Thai or cayenne or jap pepper, but it was about 6 or 7 inches
long. I can't find /anything/ like it in the seed catalogs.

I have one really interesting pepper that I dug up the plant from last
year and have been nursing it thru the winter. It's a second generation
seedling from an accidental cross between a jalapeño and a Trinidad
perfume pepper (mild habanero). Those are supposed to be different
species, and if they do somehow cross the offspring should be sterile.
I have evidence to the contrary. :-)

Bob

Nick Cramer wrote:
"Julie Bove" wrote:
"zxcvbob" wrote in message
Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
[ . . . ]
I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray
mold. Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made
from a buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just
2 days. A couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last
Saturday afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up
20 little pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet
there's over 100 more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to
do with them all. I don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't
have the heart to throw them away.
Maybe you could sell them? I've seen people do that occasionally in
their front yards. The prices they charge are cheaper than what you
would pay at a nursery.

That's a great idea. I was thinking sprouts for salads, sandwiches, etc.



I'm planning to give a bunch away to other gardeners at my church. The
problem is what to do with the plants for the next 6 weeks. They look
cute now, but they *grow* :-)

Bob

"Nick Cramer" wrote in message
...
"Julie Bove" wrote:
"zxcvbob" wrote in message
Nick Cramer wrote:
Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
[ . . . ]
I bought a fresh giant red Thai pepper 3 or 4 years ago, intending to
plant the seeds the following spring. Of course I forgot about it, and
just discovered the dried out pepper in the cupboard last month. I
cracked it open to get the seeds out, and it was full of dark gray
mold. Oops again. So I planted *all* the seeds in a little flat made
from a buttermilk carton. The first seedling started poking up in just
2 days. A couple of days after that, there were almost a dozen. Last
Saturday afternoon (about 2 weeks after planting the seeds) I potted up
20 little pepper plants, and barely made a dent in them. I'll bet
there's over 100 more plants in that flat. I dunno what I'm going to
do with them all. I don't have room to plant them all out, and I don't
have the heart to throw them away.

Maybe you could sell them? I've seen people do that occasionally in
their front yards. The prices they charge are cheaper than what you
would pay at a nursery.

That's a great idea. I was thinking sprouts for salads, sandwiches, etc.

Those might be very spicy!

On 25 Mar 2008 02:49:45 GMT, Nick Cramer
wrote:

Mark A.Meggs wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:14:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

spring greetings to all! I want to grow roma tomatoes for canning
this year. I've planted heirlooms for salads before, but never
"sauce" tomatoes. Are there any recommendations for a nice, sweet,
prolific type? We'd prefer to start from seed, but if there's a great
seedling from garden centers or mail order, that's fine too! All
suggestions & opinions greatly appreciated! TIA, bobdrob

I grew the San Marzano variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds last year.
They supposed to be the same ones grown in San Marzano. Prolific and
great flavor - I put up over 100 pints before I got tired of it and
stopped watering them. I had about 12 plants.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/p...arch&search=sa
n%2bmarzano&item=2866

The only real problem was that they outgrew the tomato cages by
several feet. I'm trying to figure out how to support them this year.

Thanks, Mark. San Marzanos are the best Romas I've ever had. Unfortunately,
I've only had them canned. I last tried growing tomatoes, including Romas,
potted, two years ago. Between the bugs, my dog and other critters, I ended
up with almost nothing.

I had no problem with pests or critters last year or the year before
(only had the house and garden that long). Here in the Ohio valley
(just across the river from Louisville, KY), the Japanese Bettles and
June bugs went for the raspberries. Nothing else (other than me) was
interested in the tomatoes. They do suffer some from blossom end rot,
but I'm pleased enough that I'm going to plant them again this year.

What I really want to find is a good slicing/sandwich tomato. Lots of
flavor, and able to give me inch thick slices at least 4" across.

- Mark (still working my way through the remaining 50+ pints of
tomatoes)