Coming along slowly, very slowly.

christian1971 · May 9, 2016

I got to say, I feel a bit better now that I ordered several tomato plants from Laurels Heirlooms. Not having tomatoes in the garden just didn't feel right. I didn't want to fail again. I may not have grown them from seed, but so what. Could have gotten plants from local stores, but I never liked going with what everybody else buys. I purchased: Kellogg's Breakfast, Hawaiian Pinneapple, Anna Banana, Anna (forgot), and Blondkopfchen. Shipping was a bit high, but I wasn't left with many other options. We will see how things develop.
I have to till the garden again. I didn't till deep enough. Ground had never been tilled before. Around 25' X 25'. Added six buckets of rabbit manure a couple weeks ago. Not sure if it will do much/enough good. Add more fertilizer once plants are in the ground end of month.

kath · May 9, 2016

Don't be too hard on yourself- lots of things can go wrong when you try to grow your own plants from seeds. Many of us have had disasters and have lost all/most of our seedlings, including myself. I'm happy to hear your are excited about your purchase and hope you enjoy the varieties you chose.

kath

OzoneNY · May 9, 2016

HA.... Dont blame you one bit. Growing from seed is a colossal pain in the everything! At least for me it is. Next year I will start a few from seed only because some varieties I cant buy as plants. But for the most part I will buy about half of the plants for my garden next year.

imp · May 10, 2016

Don't be too hard on yourself- everyone has problems, everyone has had some failures. It's all a learning thing and that can't be bought at a store, LOL!!

I love, absolutely do love, starting from seeds. It's a super plus for me, and I get plants I can't get anywhere else and I know these plants. For me, it's a rush to get all those dang plants from such a small area to start though I very quickly can over amp myself. But I sure could be doing worse things than growing out too many tomato plants and trying to find homes for them.

You are trying, that is the point. Now, smile and be pleased because you are going to get lovely tomatoes after a while.

rhoder551 · May 10, 2016

I understand not wanting to go with what everyone else buys, I'm the same way. Hope these new tomatoes grow well and produce for you.

Douglas14 · May 10, 2016

Christian,
It's good to see you posting here again. I've wondered about you, as I hadn't seen you post for awhile(maybe you have and I missed it.)

Was the variety Anna Russian that you also ordered? Anyway, I've been starting tomatoes from seed for about the past 23 years. This year my plants don't look as good as usual. I lost quite a few early on, and many of those that survived got sunburned on the early leaves. I started a later batch, but they are quite small, and I lost a fair amount of them as well. I don't have the ideal set up for growing plants, but I get by. I usually give many plants away to coworkers and friends, but I'll likely have less available this year.
You've ordered quite a nice variety of tomatoes from Laurel. I hope they do well for you! This coming weekend looks like it will be cool nights for us(in the 30's). But after that, the longer range forecast looks pretty good(if that can be trusted LOL).

I should add it's still quite early for tomatoes in our region. Many locals wait until around the end of May to plant them. Sometimes I'll push the envelope, but I'll wait until at least next week before I consider putting any in the garden.

Deborah · May 10, 2016

I love seeing a well grown ready-to-go plant in the stores! Somebody else did all the work, and I get all the fruit! I've tried but I just don't have the patience for seeds. I even look for the fastest radishes!

Captain Neon · May 11, 2016

I'm growing Anna Banana myself this year. Let me know how yours do. I grew some Orange Wellingtons last year. Nothing really wrong with them, but I'm not in love with yellow tomatoes. My wife likes to have something to try that isn't red so I grow them for her. I lost an Hungarian Heart seedling so am babying my spare quite a bit now. It will probably be the last one to get planted out around Memorial Day.

My own experience with starting from seed: if you think you have too much light, you probably have just barely enough.

AZGardener · May 13, 2016

I had the same thing happen last year Christian. I lost a big chunk of my garden due to wind, birds, kids,and heat. I actually decided I would order some plants from Laurels too (bc I truly had no other choice and in a pinch being able to order now and receive them soon is plus!). I was happy with my purchase and my plants did very well. I generally try to over start the garden by about 10 plants in case of a loss, but it doesn't always work out. Nothing beats the satisfaction from starting from seed BUT the next best thing is buying plants from someone and skipping on all the time and energy it takes to start seeds, and its like instant gratification

May 9, 2016	#1
christian1971 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Minnesota Posts: 94	Coming along slowly, very slowly. I got to say, I feel a bit better now that I ordered several tomato plants from Laurels Heirlooms. Not having tomatoes in the garden just didn't feel right. I didn't want to fail again. I may not have grown them from seed, but so what. Could have gotten plants from local stores, but I never liked going with what everybody else buys. I purchased: Kellogg's Breakfast, Hawaiian Pinneapple, Anna Banana, Anna (forgot), and Blondkopfchen. Shipping was a bit high, but I wasn't left with many other options. We will see how things develop. I have to till the garden again. I didn't till deep enough. Ground had never been tilled before. Around 25' X 25'. Added six buckets of rabbit manure a couple weeks ago. Not sure if it will do much/enough good. Add more fertilizer once plants are in the ground end of month.

May 10, 2016	#6
Douglas14 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 602	Christian, It's good to see you posting here again. I've wondered about you, as I hadn't seen you post for awhile(maybe you have and I missed it.) Was the variety Anna Russian that you also ordered? Anyway, I've been starting tomatoes from seed for about the past 23 years. This year my plants don't look as good as usual. I lost quite a few early on, and many of those that survived got sunburned on the early leaves. I started a later batch, but they are quite small, and I lost a fair amount of them as well. I don't have the ideal set up for growing plants, but I get by. I usually give many plants away to coworkers and friends, but I'll likely have less available this year. You've ordered quite a nice variety of tomatoes from Laurel. I hope they do well for you! This coming weekend looks like it will be cool nights for us(in the 30's). But after that, the longer range forecast looks pretty good(if that can be trusted LOL). I should add it's still quite early for tomatoes in our region. Many locals wait until around the end of May to plant them. Sometimes I'll push the envelope, but I'll wait until at least next week before I consider putting any in the garden. Last edited by Douglas14; May 10, 2016 at 10:32 PM.

May 10, 2016	#7
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	I love seeing a well grown ready-to-go plant in the stores! Somebody else did all the work, and I get all the fruit! I've tried but I just don't have the patience for seeds. I even look for the fastest radishes! __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

May 13, 2016	#9
AZGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Zone 9b Phoenix,AZ Posts: 390	I had the same thing happen last year Christian. I lost a big chunk of my garden due to wind, birds, kids,and heat. I actually decided I would order some plants from Laurels too (bc I truly had no other choice and in a pinch being able to order now and receive them soon is plus!). I was happy with my purchase and my plants did very well. I generally try to over start the garden by about 10 plants in case of a loss, but it doesn't always work out. Nothing beats the satisfaction from starting from seed BUT the next best thing is buying plants from someone and skipping on all the time and energy it takes to start seeds, and its like instant gratification __________________ Kelly from Phx, AZ Toes and Tomatoes on FB

May 9, 2016	#2
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Don't be too hard on yourself- lots of things can go wrong when you try to grow your own plants from seeds. Many of us have had disasters and have lost all/most of our seedlings, including myself. I'm happy to hear your are excited about your purchase and hope you enjoy the varieties you chose. kath

May 9, 2016	#3
OzoneNY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Frisco Texas Posts: 390	HA.... Dont blame you one bit. Growing from seed is a colossal pain in the everything! At least for me it is. Next year I will start a few from seed only because some varieties I cant buy as plants. But for the most part I will buy about half of the plants for my garden next year.

May 10, 2016	#4
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Don't be too hard on yourself- everyone has problems, everyone has had some failures. It's all a learning thing and that can't be bought at a store, LOL!! I love, absolutely do love, starting from seeds. It's a super plus for me, and I get plants I can't get anywhere else and I know these plants. For me, it's a rush to get all those dang plants from such a small area to start though I very quickly can over amp myself. But I sure could be doing worse things than growing out too many tomato plants and trying to find homes for them. You are trying, that is the point. Now, smile and be pleased because you are going to get lovely tomatoes after a while.

May 10, 2016	#5
rhoder551 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 219	I understand not wanting to go with what everyone else buys, I'm the same way. Hope these new tomatoes grow well and produce for you.

May 11, 2016	#8
Captain Neon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Florence KY Posts: 234	I'm growing Anna Banana myself this year. Let me know how yours do. I grew some Orange Wellingtons last year. Nothing really wrong with them, but I'm not in love with yellow tomatoes. My wife likes to have something to try that isn't red so I grow them for her. I lost an Hungarian Heart seedling so am babying my spare quite a bit now. It will probably be the last one to get planted out around Memorial Day. My own experience with starting from seed: if you think you have too much light, you probably have just barely enough.