A couple of days ago, as I made my morning tea, the temperature outside was 13 degrees, and yet, that was the day that I received my first tomato plants to repot in in larger pots–to give them a head start before I set them outside.  Today is February 5, and I have received another shipment of tomato plants to repot. I will not plant these guys outside until April, but the bigger my plants are by that time, the sooner I’ll be eating tomatoes from my garden. In this post, I want to show you which tomato varieties I’ll grow this year, and I’ll also provide you with a list of supplies I am using for this project,

For several years, I have ordered my tomato plants from Bonnie on Amazon. The plants are shipped in an elaborate packaging system, and not one plant has been damaged during shipping. The tomatoes arrive in small , clear pots that are protected inside a little greenhouse. I’ll wash the pots and reuse them inside their little greenhouses to start other seeds. “I use the whole buffalo.”

Guozzli Gallon Plastic Nursery Pots

I repot the plants in much larger, gallon pots that I also order from Amazon.

In order to assure that my tomatoes grow straight and form strong stems, I stake them, as I repot them.

I placed a 10″ bamboo skewer immediately next to the plant, and I secure the plant with cotton twine.

Coloch 16″ U Trellis

Because tomato plants do appreciate minimal shuffling about and other disturbances, I immediately provided each of them with a bamboo U trellis.

 

For this initial repotting, I use Scott Continuous-Feeding Premium Potting Soil that feeds the plant for up to 4 months.

The Tomatoes I Am Growing In My Garden:

Better Boy
Image Credit: Bonnie’s Plants
Height: 5′ – 8′

Bush Goliath
Image Credit: Bonnie’s Plants
Height: 3′ x 4′

I like that Bush Goliath is a Determinate Tomato. He will not grow to a height that is unmanageable.

Cherokee Purple
Image Credit: Bonnie’s Plants
Height 5′ – 8′

The Cherokee Purple truly has purple fruit, but it is an heirloom plant. Because I favor the plants that my German grandmother grew and not purple tomatoes, I must admit that my interest in this guy is to experience an heirloom variety from another culture.

“The tomato is a beautiful dusky pink with a deep, rich-red interior. Cherokee Purple grows well in most regions of the U.S. Let the fruit ripen on the vine for the best flavor. This one is a consistent taste test winner at tomato fests around the country. For an heirloom, it is a good producer. In our Alabama test garden, where conditions are ideal and the season is long, we harvest and average of 20 or more fruits from each plant. Vigorous vines benefit from strong staking or caging.”

German Queen
Image Credit: Bonnie Plants
Height: 5′ – 8′

For at least 50 years, I have been on a quest to reconstruct my German Grandmother’s Cottage and Kitchen Garden. I have largely recreated the flower beds, but my grandmother grew magical tomatoes. They were big, sweet, and they had an ultra-tasty old-garden flavor. Today, I have ordered German Queen tomato plants. The German Queens look like my grandmother’s taste. Within a few month, I’ll know about the taste.

“Heirloom. This old-fashioned beefsteak has large, sweet fruits that are lower in acid and quite meaty, making them perfect for slicing. The indeterminate vines will grow tall and bear fruit all summer long, so be sure to stake strongly or cage. One slice makes a great sandwich filling!” Bonnie Plants

Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes
Image Credit: Bonnie Plants
Height: 5′ – 8′

Sun Sugar is a Sweet yellow-orange tomato that I plant along with some of my Burpee Heavenly Blue Morning Glories as part of my children’s garden. Orange and Blue are complementary colors.

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Super Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes
Image Credit: Burpee
Height: 5′ +

Super Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes are delightful, They are prolific, and they have the flavor of old garden tomatoes, During the summer, I am like Red Riding, as I enter my cherry tomato forest, basket in hand, hoping that this will be the morning that my host of Super Sweet 100 cherry tomato plants finally ripen, and I can partake of a tomatoey super feast. After Super Sweet 100 begins its production, he yields a steady stream of fruits,