Gardening Buddies and Tomatoes for 2011

I am a lucky girl.. One of the best things an avid (ok, obsessive) gardener can have is a friend to share in the seed ordering and starting, as well as the eventual swapping of seedlings. And I don't just have a seed buddy, I have a group! This pack of neighbours and friends allows us all to order a wider variety of seeds and share in the costs of both seeds and shipping. For example, I usually grow about 15 to 20 types of tomatoes per year (crazy, I know).. I'll buy seed for 7 or 8 different types, but my seed buddies will also buy different packets and then we'll swap seeds (or the transplants just before planting time). Sharing gives us the opportunity to grow a lot of variety without breaking the bank!

It can be hard to find a good seed buddy, but if you don't have one, I'd recommend checking out your local garden club, or scouting your neighbourhood for other veggie gardens.. Gardeners love to talk and share stories of their successes (and failures), so you have an automatic icebreaker.

I'm really looking forward to this tomato season - even though we're still enjoying our heirloom tomatoes from last summer! I froze about a dozen large freezer bags of just-picked tomatoes and I use them for sauce, salsa and on our homemade pizzas.. they are a bit more watery than unfrozen tomatoes, but they still taste like summer. My list of tomatoes for 2011 includes the following, but I'd love some more ideas - please let me know your own favourites!

• Sungold - our favourite hybrid!
• Black Cherry
• Mexico Midget
• I need to find a good red cherry - we grew 'Ladybug' last summer and they split VERY easily and were only so-so.. any recommendations?
• Costoluto Genovese
• Big Rainbow
• Cherokee Purple
• Persimmon
• Black Krim - it has been a bit disappointing in recent summers.. tends to rot on the vines.
• Brandywine
• Cole - a new one for us from Annapolis Seeds
• Omar's Lebanese

Well, I'm off to help 55 grade 3 students plant up individual terrariums - wish me luck!

Happy Gardening!