Spring almost here: Tomato Seeds Ordered

We've had three days now when the sun came out - Southern California Rose Bowl weather - after some much-needed rain. More rain is forecasted. We've had kind of a gray winter so far, as usual.

I started to get "spring" seed catalogs in November, and I just got one from Park yesterday. So much fun to dream about a bounteous garden. Buying seeds is my way of "gambling", I think, or perhaps indulging in fantasy. Probably cheaper than going to Las Vegas. If anybody needs some seeds, check with me first. I always have too many.

This year I concentrated on new tomato varieties. And it's not as if I didn't already have seeds. We'll see how many I actually grow. The large number of big pink tomato varieties is due to an effort to discover one like David's Mom remembers from childhood:

Extra-early slicing tomatoes
I'm going with little Fourth of July Hybrid (got seeds at Walmart last year) for my early tomato this year. It's indeterminate. Won a taste test at UC Davis in late summer 2004. Great flavor in hot weather. Has tough skin, but I don't mind. Reportedly resistant to nematodes. Burpee likes to keep details about disease resistance secret.
Park's Early Challenge Hybrid VF12NTmv - 63 days, 4 oz., indeterminate.
Moskvich - 60 days, indeterminate, 4 to 6 oz., does well in cool weather.
Polfast hybrid - 54 days. Determinate. Larger fruits than Fourth of July. Sent the seeds to Betty's parents in Utah.
Early Wonder - 55 days, determinate. Dark pink slicer, 6 oz. Freebie from Tomato Growers Supply.

Plum and other small to mid-sized tomatoes - Indeterminate:
Heidi - Heat-tolerant plum tomato from Africa - good flavor.
Evan's Purple Pear - 70 to 80 days. Sweet. Name a play on the famous "Eva's Purple Ball", but derived from the equally famous Pruden's Purple.
Momotaro Hybrid VF1NSt (Tough Boy) - 70 days. Beautiful sweet pink tomatoes from Japan, heat-tolerant, 6 to 7 oz., fruits grow in clusters. Compare to Tolstoi (have seeds) from India. Larger clusters, smaller tomatoes: 3 to 4 oz. Sold on the vine.
AAA Sweet Solano - Firm, small, sweet orange tomato with gold stripes.
Golden Egg - 70 to 75 days. Egg-shaped, pale yellow. Flavorful fresh or dried.
Little Lucky - 90 days. Yellow with red blush. Complex flavor.
Angora Orange - Medium-sized tasty fruit on a silvery, furry plant. Freebie from Glecker's
Porter - 78 days. Small plum-shaped pink fruits. Heat-tolerant. Old Southwest favorite.
Porter Improved - Very different from Porter. Round, pink, medium to small.

Cherry and Grape tomatoes - Indeterminate unless noted
Rosalita - 65 days. An early pink grape tomato with white speckles.
Sweet Quartz Hybrid VFNT - 65 days. Pink Japanese cherry tomato. Gets raves on the GardenWeb tomato forum.
Yellow Submarine - Yellow pear type, better flavor.
Haley's Purple Comet - Large cherry tomato, originating from Cherokee Purple. Well-regarded. For comparison with Black Cherry.
Black Cherry - 80 days. Lots of people love this one. Cracks in rain.
Green Grape - Determinate plant. Spicy flavor. Good front-yard tomato. Not as early as one might expect.
Pop-Ins - 60 - 65 days. Small red teardrop-shaped tomato
Cherry Roma - 75 to 80 days. Looks like a grape tomato. Holds well. Freebie from Diane's.
Jenny Hybrid 65 days, sweet, small, orange cherry tomato. In honor of Fred's new bride. Looks like it might be discontinued soon.
Ladybug Hybrid - red, clustered. I want to see if all of the tomatoes in a cluster ripe at the same time. Crack-resistant, heat-tolerant.

Large Tomatoes (including beefsteaks) - Indeterminate
PINK/ROSE
Purple Passion - An early pink Utah heirloom beefsteak. Compare to Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, Pruden's Purple.
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye - 65 to 70 days. Striped pink beefsteak from Napa. Better than Cherokee Purple? Compact indeterminate plants.
Pruden's Purple - Early pink heirloom - sent seeds to Betty's parents.
Red Rose - 6 to 10 oz., cross between Brandywine and Rutgers. Compare to Cosmonaut Volkov (red) and Goose Creek.
Aunt Ginny's Purple - 75 to 85 days. Famous heirloom, 12 to 16 ounces.
Dr. Lyle - 80 days. A meaty, fairly smooth large (1 to 2 pound) pink beefsteak without many seeds.
Mexico - 80 days. Heat-tolerant pink beefsteak, averaging over a pound.
Boondocks - 80 days. Big, fat beefsteak, over a pound. Does well in warmer climates.
Marianna's Peace - 85 days. A popular pink beefsteak said to be more productive than Brandywine. 1 - 2 pounds.
German Head - smooth, pink beefsteak.
Tidwell German - big, pink beefsteak from Tennessee.
Giant Belgium Pink - Huge beefsteak, smooth blossom ends. Sweet and mild.
German Johnson Regular Leaf - 85 days. Mild, reddish-pink, fairly smooth. Average 1 pound.
Royal Hillbilly - 85 days. Fairly smooth, little cracking, good yields. One pound average.

PURPLE/BLACK/BROWN
Cherokee Purple - I grew this one last year. Maintains flavor in cool fall weather. Best picked when shoulders are still green.
Gary O Sena - 70 to 75 days. Stabilized cross of Brandywine x Cherokee Purple. Loved by tomato lovers.
Indian Stripe - Similar to Cherokee Purple, smaller plant and slightly smaller fruits, a little earlier. Pick ripe. The favorite of many.

RED
Marmande - Small pack from Artistic Gardens, 35 cents, for someone in a cool-summer climate.
Cosmonaut Volkov - 65 - 75 days. "Best flavor" per Fedco seeds in New England. Wonder how it does in hot weather?
Brandywine OTV - 85 days. Red, more productive than regular Brandywine, especially in warmer climates.
Big Beef Hybrid VFFNTASt - 73 days. 100 seeds. Reliable, disease-resistant, heat-tolerant, good flavor. I have enough seeds for emergencies now. May try as grafted second rootstock for some heirlooms.

Oxhearts - Indeterminate
Orange Russian 117 - 85 days. Sweet fruit, pretty.
Anna Maria's Heart - in honor of our niece
Anna Russian - 65 days. Early pink oxheart. Also in honor of niece.
Oxheart Pink - 80 to 95 days. Big. Reputed to be somewhat heat-tolerant.

May also get from Wintersown (sent them 5 bucks, will try their plant-starting method) Berkeley Tie-Dye, Black and Red(?) Boar, Black Krim(black, relatively early to late, heat tolerant) Nyagous (black, pretty), Grightmires Pride (medium-sized oxheart), Reif Red Heart (Oxheart), Goose Creek, JD's Special C-Tex, Absinthe, Olive Hill.

Like I said, I can't use all these seeds myself.