Dear KGI,
Thanks to Julie Maruskin of Winchester KY who does programs about heirloom tomatoes we are growing; mennonite heritage, abruzzese, ozark pink, cream sausage, amana orange, german red strawberry, howard german, a nameless yellow variety and a mortgage lifter. We have a local tomato celebrity called Roger Postley who grows about 60 different varieties in his back yard. If I can ever get hold of him I will insist he does KGD.
May all your lycopersicums sprawl and never get blossom end rot.
pax John

Hi all, just found the site. I love heirloom tomatoes, and this year I'm growing Cherokee Purple (to me, the best tasting tomato), Striped German (huge yellow and red striped beefsteaks--gorgeous in salads), Gizwald Italian (an oversized pointy-ended plum, locally developed a generation ago), WI55 (sounds "modern" but it's been an heirloom for ages--it's my basic dependable medium round red tomato), and Juliet, which is not an heirloom, but a hybrid small plum, great for drying.

Last year I made roasted salsa, where I roasted all the ingredients under the broiler to reduce the liquid, then added enough lime juice to take the pH down to below 4.6 (? or was it 4.3--I need to look that up). It was a great way to use juicy tomatoes like the Cherokees and Germans for salsa, and the carmelization flavors were incredible. I roasted onions, garlic and peppers as well.

i like both the newer varities for dependability and uniformity, also fast producing...but i love the heirlooms for flavor, unique shapes and color...this year i am growing morgage lifter, brandywine, pruden's purple, along with big mama, celebrity, sweet million, gold nugget, juliet and green zebra...all in a 3 x 12 raised bed with basil and calendula sprinkled between...pure heaven....

I plant Yellow Pear Tomatoes and Roma, both paste varieties, for fresh sauces. These are heirlooms I grew from saved seed. This year I also planted White Parchment, Black from Tula, Brandywine, Early Girl, and Better Boy, all ‘slicing’ tomatoes for salads and sandwiched. All but the last two are heirloom.

My husband and children prefer tomatoes as a sauce. So come summer’s end, all varieties will be cooked into spaghetti sauces and frozen for winter enjoyment. Though this year we may try making ketchup; thanks for the article! I think I will continue to grow these seven varieties, saving seed from what I can. Or maybe I'll add a pink variety...or cherry...

I absolutely love growing tomatoes and can't imagine a garden without them, which is ironic as I developed a serious allergy 8 years ago and can't eat them myself! But still I grew them, and now my kids love growing (and eating) them too. And when they leave to have gardens of their own, the seeds I pass on to them will truly be heirlooms, ones with many memories attached.

I love to grow heirlooms. Every year I try to grow something new. I always grow Brandywine. They are my top sellers at the local farmer's market. I have grown Cherokee purples and plan to grow them again. I tried mortgage lifters and Pruden's purple but they both are subject to a lot of disease and do not do well for me. A friend has recommended oxheart. I think that will be next year's experiment. The customers at the farmers market are always thrilled to find organically grown heirloom tomatoes and so are the family that gathers at my table. I use my tomatoes in sauce for winter Italian dishes. My neighbor has recommended wrapping the last tomatoes in newspaper and storing in the basement for great winter tomatoes. I just might try that too. I really like this site.

We just returned from holiday to find the garden exploded. We picked an Amana orange weighing in at 19.9 oz. The cream sausages are wonderful too. Tonight we had rain and the local water company fixed the leak in our supply. Tomatoes are saved for another week