Seed Savers Exchange Catalog

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

It's January in the heart of the Heartland--  Hardly a time when most people are thinking about gardening, but I've spent the past two weeks pouring over seed catalogs, and I'm so anxious that I can almost smell the dirt!
Last year I ordered seeds from Seed Savers Exchange as well as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  This year I've decided to narrow it down to just one source in an effort to save money on shipping, and Seed Savers wins in large part due to their catalog's beautiful and thorough photography. 
It's so much fun trying to decide what to order...  at least at first.  Of course my ideas are much bigger than my garden plot as well as my budget, so narrow it down I must.
I'm especially anxious to try at least one new variety of purple tomato.  I grew Cherokee Purple tomatoes last year, and they were the ugliest, most delicious tomatoes I've ever had!  Unfortunately I got a pretty small yield (surely due in part to the overabundance of shade trees in my back yard), so I'm hoping that another purple variety will be a better producer for me.  (I'm also planning to get a garden plot through my park district--  More on that later.)  I did manage to save some of my own seeds, so hopefully they'll be viable and I'll have some more Cherokee Purple along with one or two new varieties.

While I'm naming names, I'll also recommend the Green Grape and Gold Medal varieties of tomato that I also grew last year for the first time.  The Green Grape were so good--  In side by side taste tests, my run-of-the-mill red cherry tomatoes couldn't come close.  The Gold Medal had a more mild flavor, but they were absolutely gorgeous!  
Well, back to the catalogs...
My next post will (hopefully) contain a list of seed semi-finalists!