THe following is the ramblings of a new to tomatos enthusiast.
This thread inspired me to try a farm stand again despite the less than stellar results last year. And sell a few starts in the spring.
THe varieties include both heirloom and modern hybrids to hedge my bets. I wont list most of the hybrids because frankly their names are too unremarkable to remember. A list of just a few purchased so far----
Big Beef f1
red Brandywine
Delicious
Big Boy
Best Boy
Will try the Wilbur method for several of these. Have several 5 foot CRW cages from long ago. Looking to make a few 7 footers. I dont want to be climbing on ladders as my land is sloped and NOT level, so figure 7 feet in the highest for me. I dont have a green house of any kind, but I sure do look at the horse sheds and envison a makeover. lol The flooring is level in there, too.
I did look at the new dwarf varieties coming out of the Dwarf Tomato project and IMO after much reading, these I would try sparingly. ANd likely sucker a few to see if production would increase with the Indeterminate behavior. There is a list of higher production varieties from the DTP for minimum 10 lbs fruit per plant and an 8 out of 10 for flavor as graded by Craig L. At this time in my life, 10 pounds is too low for all my work.... BUT having said this, I do have a few dwarfs on my list!
Mark,
1. I am assuming that the varieties in your first post, which influenced my seed purchases, is based on performance and flavor. Does that "performance" include high yields ( by weight)
or is flavor more important for your market? ( You have mentioned keeping qualities are NOT a factor given the very short time to market.)
2. Also, how many plants of one variety do you think I need to plant out to get a true evaluation of their production for me in my area. I see many folks just plant one, and this surprises me. Statistically one is nothing. Or is one enough when talking tomatos?
My goal is to maximize yields for my labor. Self suffiency first.
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