Tomatoes are so much fun to grow–we did a combination of purchased seedlings (Roma, Better Boy) and tried growing Sun Gold from saved seeds. We had a bit of a late start due to a strange April snow but have managed to get a few lovelies so far. The Romas came first, much to the delight of the slugs. Our first batch yielded 3 perfect specimens and 2 with a few nibbles.
The Sun Golds are coming in now. The parent plant, purchased as a seedling, produced gorgeous bright orange sugar bombs. I’ve since learned that the variety is a hybrid so anything I get will probably not be true to the original. This first batch ended up being a light yellow with a single orange one. I wasn’t even sure they were ripe until I gave them a quick taste test: good, but not as sugary sweet as I’d hoped. Still, very pretty! The first Better Boy is picture perfect and destined for greatness in a tomato sandwich. Yum!
Bottom line, saving seeds is all well and good, but if you can buy inexpensive seedlings, there isn’t much difference in hardiness and at least you know what you’ll be getting!
Charlie's Garden 