Things are "popping" at the garden, and we're getting ready for our big plant sale on May 7th (from 10 to 3). The greenhouse is full, and we're borrowing a little 6x8 pop-up greenhouse to handle the overflow. As you can imagine, the pottin-up team and the watering team have been quite busy. We're excited to have such a good start on our baby plants, despite the cool and often gloomy spring.

This year, we have lots of vegetables again, but with a new emphasis on heirloom tomatoes. Come to the sale and try a new variety (or six!) this year. We have some very tasty old-fashioned-flavored types that will make your growing adventure even more rewarding. See below for a complete list, with the number of days to maturity from transplant into the garden and short descriptions.

For new gardeners who are just entering into the tomato-growing adventure, we are offering two demonstrations on varieties, planting techniques, fertilization, and staking options. The mini classes will be held at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM by the tool shed.

2011 TOMATOES

Ace 55 (80) Low-acid tomato with good yields of large fruit.

Beefsteak (96) Heirloom with huge tomatoes, sometimes reaching two pounds.

Black Krim (70) Beautiful dark purple-black fruit with rich, old-fashioned flavor and a hint of smokiness.

Box Car Willie (80) Indeterminate red slicer; beautiful and delicious. Very prolific over a long season.

Brandy Boy (78) Large pink fruit with soft texture and thin skin. Potato-leaf vines, high yielding; cross between the famous Brandywine and Better Boy, resulting in earlier maturity and bigger yields, with nearly as good a flavor.

Celebrity (80) Medium-large red fruit; reliable producer.

Cherokee Purple (85) Large dusky rose-purple fruit. Delicious mild flavor.

Druzba (90) Large red fruits with fine flavor. Bulgarian heirloom; tolerates heat and moisture.

Fantastic (85) Lives up to its name, with uniform beautiful fruit and old-fashioned flavor.

Golden Treasure (70) One of the best storage tomatoes around – delicious golden fruit.

Italian Ice (65) Ivory-white cherry tomato with very mild sweet flavor.

Jake's Awesome (?) Seeds saved from a garden gift from Jake; the variety is a mystery, but the flavor was AWESOME.

Jaune Flammee (80) Indeterminate heirloom from France; excellent flavor with a hint of smokiness; productive; golden/orange with redder inside.

Opalka (85) Heirloom from Poland. Phenomenal set of fruit; excellent fresh, used in sauces or dried.

Oregon Spring (80) Large red oval slicing tomato; "incredible" productivity.

Pik Red (70) Industry standard hybrid; large firm fruit that holds well on bushy plants; good old-fashioned flavor & reliable yields

Pineapple (90) Yellow heirloom; large beefsteak with red streaks. Nice fruity flavor.

Principe Borghese (75) Determinate Italian heirloom; small oval fruit with excellent flavor and prolific yields; great for drying or fresh eating; hold well on the vine.

Roma (76) Clusters of elongated mild flavored fruit with little juice; great for canning.

San Marzano (90) Heavy-yielding, used for fresh eating, preserves, canning, paste, and sauces. Little juice and mild flavor.

Stupice (60) Czechoslovakian heirloom; cold-tolerant potato-leaf vines; abundance of sweet tomato flavor that starts early and keeps going.

Sun Gold (65) Indeterminate hybrid golden cherry. Does well in cool seasons; loads of sweet fruit. Holds well on the vine.

Super Sweet 100 (65) Red cherry, with good balance of sweetness and full tomato flavor.

Taxi (70) Medium yellow, heavy yielder over short season. Mild & acid-free.

Thessaloniki (68) Greek heirloom, with smooth red medium-sized fruit. Pleasant mild flavor, holds well.

Window Box Roma (70) Determinate red hybrid; develops yield after yield of elongated fruit that hold well. Work well in planters.