It was a pretty small tomato, so I just cut off the bird bite, and ate the rest. Delicious.

Just discovered place called Tomatofest.com hundreds of heirloom tomato seeds for sale very unusual varieties

I love trying new things and seeing the seeds germinate and grow. That makes it hard for me to only start the seeds I need. So I do some for friends, neighbors, my dental hygienist, my hairdresser and the local garden club's plant sale. (Are you seeing a pattern here.) Last year I started over 100 tomato plants. This didn't include the things I started for my butterfly gardening.

100! Wow how many different varieties ?

For anyone interested in trying some rather unusual tomato varieties, Victory Seeds has quite a selection available for this week only (ending on January 12th). This is the info from the e-mail that I received:

"Seasonally available tomato varieties now available, for this week only!
Ever heard of Earliosa No 6 tomato? It is a very unpopular tomato, despite having some virtues. How about Glovel? It's a cross between Globe and Marvel, and unlike it's sibling variety Marglobe, it just never really took off in popularity. But, we continue to offer it anyway, even though only 3 packets of this one were purchased last year.
Other companies would simply discontinue offering poorly selling varieties, because it takes a lot of effort to keep seed in stock and most companies don't want to lose money maintaining varieties that few people want to grow. Not so with us! But, we do relegate these underperformers to a special week each year in which customers can order them. Therefore, we have now opened up ordering for 145 of our rarest and most under-rated tomato varieties. They will only be available for purchase starting now until the ordering window closes on January 12th.
Important note: although you should order now, we will wait until January 17th before packing and shipping all orders for these seasonally available varieties. That means if you place an order for regularly available items but also include a seasonal variety, then your entire order will not ship until January 17th. So please plan ahead for that eventuality. As always, regular orders containing non-seasonally available items will ship within 1 business day."

Here's the link to the available varieties:
https://victoryseeds.com/colle...

Several of the varieties being offered were originally introduced (long ago) by the Isbell Seed Company in Jackson, Michigan, which is where I grew up - so, even though I already have way too many tomato seeds I'm afraid I will have to take advantage of this rare opportunity!

Good to know, Sandy, thanks! I noticed that 'Fish Lake Oxheart' was a "seasonal" variety when I clicked its description, but I missed that email!

@MochaJoe, I added you to the invite list for the tomato seed swap that just got underway. You can still jump in, or you can "lurk," or you can ignore it.

I just might have to get Greater Baltimore. And weren't we talking about Wayahead recently?

Sally, ?? I'm not finding what you're referring to, wondering if you're on the thread where you meant to post that reply. I might just need more coffee.

sallyg said: I just might have to get Greater Baltimore. And weren't we talking about Wayahead recently?

in reference to the special collection seeds Sandy posted about

Thanks Jill

Sally, Dave now owns Victory Seeds, so you'd need to go to TX to pick up your order...

Gary, hope you'll join the fun!

MochaJoe said: Just discovered place called Tomatofest.com hundreds of heirloom tomato seeds for sale very unusual varieties

They have lots of variety!!!

I get it, Sally. I was totally misreading and thought you were GOING to Greater Baltimore, not planting it. There's a 'Greater Baltimore' tomato on the seasonal list at Victory Seeds. Want me to add a pack to the order I'm putting together? Thinking the order should reach us before our seed party.

The seasonal event at Victory Seeds just started yesterday and will run through January 12th. It's a once in a year opportunity to buy any of these 145 varieties. (We have about 450 other varieties of tomatoes that are more popular and therefore remain in stock year round).

Since opening the seasonal orders yesterday we have received several hundred orders of just seasonal varieties. One person bought a packet each of every single one of the 145 varieties! I'm really glad to see such a high interest in these rare varieties!

critterologist said: There's a 'Greater Baltimore' tomato on the seasonal list at Victory Seeds. Want me to add a pack to the order I'm putting together? Thinking the order should reach us before our seed party.

Yes please and Jill

You got it, Sally!

I found a number of seasonal "heart" varieties, then went through the list generated by searching for "heart." I really like the meatiness (small seed cavities) of most heart and oxheart varieties, whether I'm making sauce or salsa or just slicing them onto my plate. I think that might be my focus in the tomato patch this year, although there are a few other must-grow varieties on my list.

dave said: One person bought a packet each of every single one of the 145 varieties! I'm really glad to see such a high interest in these rare varieties!

😲 That is a serious tomato gardener!

or they are planning to resell on ebay for $10 per packet... sorry, I'm not normally cynical.

Does anybody in the tomato seed swap happen to have bee balm seeds? JBarstool is looking for some. I checked the plant (deep red, not Jacob Cline) on my deck just now, but any seeds are long gone.

critterologist said: or they are planning to resell on ebay for $10 per packet... sorry, I'm not normally cynical.

I certainly hope not. I expect they will probably keep most of them in their freezer and preserve them for their enjoyment in future years. Based on the conversations I've had, that's the case with many of our customers.