On Sat, 03 Sep 2011 10:20:26 -0500, Lou Decruss
> wrote:

>On Sat, 03 Sep 2011 08:46:50 -0400, George >
>wrote:
>
>>On 9/3/2011 12:54 AM, Lou Decruss wrote:
>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Heirloom tomato doesn't mean "good". It just means "expensive". What
>>>>> you just had is a typical home-grown tomato. And now you know you
>>>>> know why people who were raised on home-grown tomatoes bitch about
>>>>> supermarket tomatoes.
>>>>
>>>> Although... A few years ago when my tomatoes actually grew... They were no
>>>> better than the Supermarket ones. I was sadly disappointed.
>>>>
>>> Order seeds and don't buy seedlings from home depot. It makes a big
>>> difference.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>
>>For sure, home depot doesn't have heirloom types and they are a weaker
>>looking lower quality plant and a lot more expensive than the heirloom
>>varieties I buy from a local nursery. She has about 20 different types
>>(and often adds more, this year she had some from Russia) all grown in
>>the hothouse in the rear of the property.
>
>I only recently learned the drastic taste difference. A nursery may
>cost a little more but well worth it.
>
>Lou


I only buy tomato plants that are at a steep discount or bedraggled
towards the end of the tomato-plant buying seasons. The rest of my
tomatoes get seed-sown directly in the ground. I do this with both
tubs on the deck and directly in a separate bed. I do the same with
cukes, beans, lettuces, etc.

I spent too many years fussing with my own seedlings and itty-bitty
pots and wasting money on that or on hothouse grown starter packs.

I buy my seeds at the end of the whole growing season (like now here
in the NE) or save my own seeds and re-plant. I can get a nice variety
in tomatoes and 2-4 years worth of plants for what it would cost me to
get a 6 plant flat. It isn't the money - I can afford to buy
seedlings, but I hate the waste of all that plastic and other
nonsense.

But not everyone can do this.I have been at it for decades and know
what I can get away with and what not. I also was given a huge
industrial, weather-proof industrial thermometer with a 2-foot probe
that gives me timing hints in the spring. And weather can work against
any gardener...that happens some years.

And the taste of the tomatoes, even when I keep consistency within
planting varieties, can vary greatly from year to year, too. Rain, sun
and temps can have a great affect on the flavor of the fruits.

Boron