Re: Cool-season tomato plants?

**m* l* <m*@earthlink.net>**

When Gleckner first offered Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes, he said he was 
offering them mainly as a curiosity because the flavor was nothing to 
boast of.  The earliest I've found are Pallo de Fuoco, at 65 
days.  An indeterminate red-round tomatoes about the size of a 
billiard ball in my brink-of-the-desert climate, they're also OP, 
from Underwood Gardens.  I think Garden Writers have a moral 
obligation to teach their readers there are more and better tomatoes 
than Roma.  It's lost every taste test I've ever read about.  What 
did you think of the flavor of Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes?  Margaret Lauterbach

At 01:40 PM 8/7/2008, you wrote:
>Mary Fran asked:
>  In a recent posting on tomato tastings, you mentioned you went to one at a
>nursery that featured cool-season tomato plants.  Can you tell me some of
>the ones they were showing?
>
>I live in USDA Zone 4b where the first frost can occur right after Labor Day
>and the last one up to Memorial Day in a cold spring. Some years, the
>growing season is less than 100 days.  The best tomato to grow for short
>seasons in pots is Silvery Fir Tree or any determinate that matures in under
>75 days.  I start seeds indoors, move seedlings up to 4 inch pots and then
>into large containers with short wire cages.  I put them out during the day
>in the sun and bring them indoors at night when temps are below 45F.  I
>picked my first Silvery Fir Tree on June 15, 55 days from setting into a
>large container.  Roma does well in containers, too.  Determinates set their
>fruits over a 10-20 day period and ripen fruits in the same time frame.  You
>can stagger plantings to prolong harvest, too.
>Doreen Howard

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