High Country Gardener
BY MICHELLE MAGA
The Great Tomato Survey
Ask any gardener about growing tomatoes up here and they’ll either roll their eyes heavenward and embark on a long lament or will regale you with stories of beefy red beauties. I am among the former, not the latter.
I was ruminating about what new variety to experiment with this summer, I thought it would be helpful to get some feedback from fellow gardeners.
I have prepared a survey for all mountain gardeners who love god tomatos. [The hot link is below, so read on, then click into the online survey.—Editor]
This is a non-scientific survey—and what works for one gardener may not work for another because altitude, exposure and soil type may have their impact—but I know some of you grow terrific tomatoes and would be willing to share your list of favorites. If enough readers reply, I will compile the results and share them with you.
Readily available tomato varieties are listed in the left hand column. Listed next are desirable or undesirable qualities of each. At the survey’s end there is space for you to add common varieties you think should be included. For those of you who grow heirloom varieties, especially from seed, please list those you have grown with success and would recommend. Rate each variety in each category on a scale from 1-5. 5 being great or not a problem and 1 being not so good or the tomato has a specific problem.
If you have used special growing containers, such as the upside down type or the self-watering deck containers, please include that in the comments section.
For those who prefer to use the form in this week’s issue of the newspaper, you can fax your survey to The Mountain Enterprise at 245-5620 or fill out the survey online.
We’ll publish the results in early May, just in time for you to purchase and plant the winners!
This is part of the April 15, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.
