FREE heirloom tomato seeds collection giveaway!

You know what’s going on around here, don’t you, Gentle Reader? Here we are in High Winter (that’s what I call January, anyway). The ground is rock-solid; the garden is sitting quietly; the grass is brown; seed catalogs are scattered around the house, hither and non; cabin fever is beginning to poke its restless head into our business.

Sigh. Of course. It’s January in Nebraska. We’ve had plenty of cold, but not much snow yet this winter. Little Mack has a new sled, and he hasn’t used it yet. My daughter is dating a sweet young man from Hawaii, who has never played in the snow. We all wouldn’t mind some snow, but for now we’re just trying to make it through January. The holidays craziness which kept us–for the most part–distracted from the snow and the ice and the cold, has passed now, and there’s a long stretch before we can get our hands in the warm, fragrant garden soil. Not to mention the compost pile. Sigh.

Poring over seed catalogs, making my seed orders, and planning my gardens is quite a mood-stabilizer for me, this time of year. I heard bluebirds the other day. Surely they were scouts, just passing through as they looked to see if this was still a decent place to raise their young.

“Yes, it is!” I called out to them. “But not yet!”

Here’s a typical scene, say, in our kitchen, about 6:30 p.m. After a busy day, I’m trying to get supper on the table before anybody faints from hunger. A perilous time for the nerves. I slip, I drop something or run into somebody, and snap at the unfortunate soul who is Underfoot But Not Particularly Helpful. (Probably my Beloved.) You know the scenario, Gentle Reader, don’t you?

First of all, why ON EARTH would anybody snap at anybody in our kitchen at this hour? After all, there are only two dogs (one medium, one supersize), one skitterish kitty (Sammie), one hungry husband, one very tall and very hungry teenaged son, and a lovely teenaged daughter and a very wiggly 7-year-old son, who possibly are Perilously Hungry and Underfoot, too. And the kitchen is, roughly, 10 feet by about 4 feet. Not kidding. But anyway. The fact that we badly need a bigger kitchen is not what I’m writing about today.

Here the dogs are waiting for me, just outside the back stoop. I take kitchen trash to the chooks every morning, and usually throw them a treat, too, thus their diligence to dog my every step.

Here the dogs are waiting for me, just outside the back stoop. I take kitchen trash to the chooks every morning, and usually throw the dogs a treat, too, thus their diligence to dog my every step (no pun intended).

A bigger kitchen. . . with a floor drain and cabinets that repel flour and sugar and pancake batter and grease . . . a bigger kitchen with a counter top that is not bathroom tiles with that awful grout in between them all . . . a bigger kitchen that is not the thoroughfare for traffic to all parts of the house . . . a bigger kitchen . . . oh, I’m sorry. I think I’m complaining and that’s not very nice. Bad, discontented, January ME.

Amalia hears my tone, and comes to my aid. “Mom, I’ll finish up. You go look at your nice pretty seed catalogs, okay?” Did I mention that my daughter is an angel? Well, she is. She gently guides me to my big chair, by which is a tall stack of seed catalogs, a notebook, my reading glasses, and a couple of pens (in case one runs out of ink). I settle in. I smile.

Everything is going to be okay. It won’t be January forever. It may feel like January will never end . . . but it won’t . . it won’t last forever.

Besides, I have some really good news for you, my Gentle Readers. I have a present for you. Since it’s January! The really nice folks at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds sent me a very sweet collection of heirloom tomato seeds, so I could give them away to one lucky, Gentle Reader.

You know how over the over the moonish I am about heirloom tomatoes. I mean, they really put me into orbit! What I’ve found is that they are just as easy to grow as hybrid tomatoes, and the variety and the colors and the different tastes of heirlooms just can’t be beat! Honestly. If you’ve never tried them, you must! If you’ve never grown them, do yourself a favor and grow some this year! You’ll thank me for this bit of free advice.

I grow a lot of heirloom tomato plants. I harvest bushels and bushels and bushels of them, and I make up dozens of jars of salsa every summer, I dehydrate them, I can them, and I make tomato soup that is so tasty it will make you cry. I cook with them nearly every day during the summer. I simply adore my heirloom tomato patch, and I do take a bit of ribbing for how many plants I put in each summer. But no matter.

My mouth is watering right now, just looking at this picture, Gentle Readers. Not making this up. It’s worth it to be known as the Crazy Heirloom Tomato Freak Lady.

See? See? Aren't they pretty?

See? See? Aren’t they pretty?

So, the packets of seeds that are included in this giveaway are in all these colors that Baker Creek carries: White! Striped! Yellow! Orange, and more! (Did you realize that heirloom tomatoes came in so many colors? Well, they do!) Here’s a list of the packets that you will receive, if you enter this awesome giveaway:

  • Yellow Pear Tomato
  • White Tomesol
  • Hillbilly (stripey!)
  • Amish Paste (red)
  • Paul Robeson (purple!)
  • Aunt Ruby’s German Green
  • Dad’s Sunset (orange)
  • Pink Oxheart (pink, of course!)

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds isΒ  a great company, just a stone’s throw away from us, in Missouri. Their story is an inspiring one, and I greatly admire the owners, the young couple Jere and Emilee Gettle. They’ve made it their life’s mission to provide excellent heirloom seeds for gardeners, and they work extensively to supply free seeds to many of the world’s poorest countries, as well. My sisters and I traveled to their awesome Spring Planting Festival last May. It was the most fun I had had in a long time, and not just because I was with my sisters, of course some of my favorite people in the entire universe. It was just a really amazing event for us garden-hungry, heirloom seed-nutty, crazed foodie types like us. You can learn more about the Gettles and their amazing company by clicking to their website here.

But, back to those free seeds . . . I’ll tell you a secret . . . I have raised a few of these, but not all of them . . . I’m sorely tempted to keep a few for myself . . . but no! This giveaway is for YOU, my Gentle Reader, as my humble and grateful “thank you” for reading my blog, for commenting, for sharing it with your friends. I do appreciate you all so much!

It’s very simple to enter, and the more entries you plug in, the more chances you will have of winning!

First, type your e-mail address in the bitty box to the right, so you’ll never miss out on another vomitingchicken.com e-mail update! There. Done? That’s one entry. But you can enter many more times, with the super-simple Rafflecopter thing below, to increase your chances of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On the last day of January, when we’ve made it through this long and gray and bitter month, we’ll draw a winner from all the entrants, and the very next day the seeds will be winging their way–so to speak–to that lucky person! Just in time to get your plants started for your summer garden! You know, it could be you!!

So don’t delay, Gentle Reader. Enter now, and enter often! And then dream of heirloom tomatoes . . .

This was our beating-the-first-frost, last tomato harvest in October!

This was our beating-the-first-frost, last tomato harvest in October!

I’ll be sharing this post with my pals over at The Prairie Homestead Barn Hop. Join us!

 

286 thoughts on “FREE heirloom tomato seeds collection giveaway!

      1. Natasha

        I am a tomatoholic. I obsessively plant as many organic heirloom tomato plants as I can fit into my garden. Last year it was 25. I pick them up at farmers markets like people pick up stray kittens.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Alana,
      Oh, zucchini is so versatile, too–you can chop it up in salads, or saute it, or make it into bread. Do you have a favorite variety?

  1. Mari

    Ooh! It is so tempting to enter to win these seeds, because they are names that I don’t have, but I already have my seeds for this year and they are now waiting impatiently for some nice loamy seedling soil to stretch out their little legs and arms, aka roots and leaves. It just wouldn’t be fair! But the temptation is so great that I have to run to the table and look at my seed packets (which I got from Baker Creek) and realize I have no idea where I will plant all the ones I bought, let alone that many more! So I will leave my chances of winning with others that don’t have their seeds yet. I congratulate the winner!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Haha, Mari, I hear you! I’m making my order right now and I have to constantly remind myself of the seeds that I have leftover from last year . . . πŸ˜‰

  2. Mari

    I would love to get your to-die-for tomato soup recipe! With all my tomatoes, I usually make this really excellent tomato sauce that I picked up from Spring Warren’s Quarter-Acre Farm book. It is over the top best tomato sauce I have ever eaten. I liked it so well that I made all my tomatoes last year into this sauce. Now this year I really need to branch out and I am looking for the very best recipes for tomato soup and gazpacho soup which is a favorite of my husband’s. I like it hot, he likes it cold. We both like tomatoes!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Mari,
      I’ll dig up that recipe and post it on my blog before tomato season. It’s SO good and incredibly easy. You do need a submersible hand blender to make it, but that makes it so simple! I’ll trade you for your awesome tomato sauce recipe . . . please. . . ?

  3. Lauri Rottmayer

    We just moved to a new home and I’m SO excited to try and garden this year! I once tried to grow tomatoes but, because I had to be gone for two weeks in July, they burned up. Now, I’m free and clear and excited to see if I can actually make something grow. πŸ™‚

  4. Chef William

    I am spending the next little while writing about super foods and I do believe that heirloom fruits and vegetables are part of what makes a food super. I like the idea of a contest and hope that many people enter and that even those that don’t win, will grab the catalogs and start their own heirloom gardens. We must nourish our bodies daily and feeding it poison from GMO crops is not the way to do it. Great post, Great Idea.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Thank you Roy! It has been really fun and really easy to run this giveaway, thanks to Rafflecopter. And they didn’t pay me to say this, either. πŸ˜‰

  5. Marcy

    Just one favorite??? Hm, lettuce because it is usually the first thing that we get out of the garden in the spring, the two-legged critters usually snack on the tiny leaves before the seedlings even make it in the ground. Oh wait, maybe it is beans, because they are easy to grow and my sweetie thinks, or did think, they were the only thing we grew that wasn’t just for fun. (Actually it all is for fun, we just happen to save money along the way). Oh bother, tomatoes! Because as we all know there is nothing like a fresh tomato drizzeled with olive oil, fresh chopped basil (maybe that should be a favorite, there is pesto you know), a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and slices of freshly made goat mozzarella. Oh phooey, let’s just say plants are my favorite thing to grow in my garden!

  6. Francene Stanley

    Great post. I can just imagine everybody in your kitchen, each with their own agenda.
    The scene on the top of the page looks so COLD. Where I live close to London, we’ve escaped the bitter cold and snow this year although we’ve had plenty of rain. In fact there’s still a rosebud visible, the stems are budding with new leaves and even the hydrangea has produced tiny leaf tips. What’s going on?

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Maybe, Francene, you’ve only missed the extreme cold SO FAR. Perhaps you’ll still get some? We’re still waiting for SNOW, since we’ve had very little so far this year. πŸ™

  7. D.J. Paris

    As I live in a fourth-floor condo, I’ll let someone else win the seeds. πŸ™‚ But the next time I go to the grocery I’m totally going to get some heirlooms. Thanks for the reminder on how great they are!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Brenda, I have grown to love the herbs that I grow every year, too, and I miss them during the winter months very much!

  8. Cher

    Wow Amy those toms look awesome and sugar snap peas awwww. We have had the most amazing winter here in France its been beautiful there is stil a couple of daisies growing up the road – can you believe that? But …… here we go now, I knew it had t get cold at some point, hope not tooooooo cold though!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      NO I can’t even imagine daisies still growing at this time of year! Your winters there in your part of France must be much milder than ours here! (Chanceux, vous, Cher!)

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      OrangeBlossom,
      You can still leave a blog comment and also leave your e-mail address, for entries. Or are you on Twitter? That’s another way you can enter!

  9. Caroline

    Well, it’s hard to pick a favorite but if I had to, it would be tomatoes. They’re the one thing I grow that I can consistently count on to give me a harvest. I only started “seriously” gardening 3 years ago, but before that I grew tomatoes.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Yum! I’m really starting to miss garden tomatoes, Caroline, since we ran out of our last ones months ago! The grocery store tomatoes sure aren’t the same, are they?

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Dana, what’s your favorite thing to do with your hot peppers? I grow a lot of them, too, but then I’m always at a bit of a loss at what to do with them all!

  10. Hunter

    I planted heirlooms last year for the first time and WOW! They turned out amazing!!! And unfortunately right at the peak of their season a huge wind/rain storm came in and I was stuck at work and couldn’t protect them and they all blew over safety cages and wooden structure and all. So I had heirlooms that grew on the ground for a few more weeks! Can’t wait to try it again in a few months!!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Ugh. Hunter, I hate it when that happens! We get big windstorms here in NE, too, and I’m always thankful when my entire tomato patch DOESN’T end up on the ground!

    1. L A Selesky

      I forgot to tell you my favorite thing to plant, Has to be spinach! or tomatoes no no green peppers. Well I guess I really don’t have a favorite πŸ˜‰

  11. Valerie

    I love heirloom tomatoes. We plant almost 100% heirloom seeds. The striped tomatoes are my fave. Posts like this make me forget that it’s the middle of winter in MN πŸ™‚ Thanks

  12. Tony

    I find the best way to not miss the garden is to bring it indoors for the winter. I have a small hydroponic garden and some shelving set up in the cellar .I hope to have Perth pride tomatoes to eat fresh in about 6 weeks. You can check it out on my time line on facebook (Anthony Renzulli). Some of the starts you see are from baker creek seeds.

  13. Amber

    It’s hard to pick just on plant, but my favorite tomato is Kellogg’s Breakfast. Yum! …and rosemary, zucchini, Hungarian wax peppers, sugar snaps… πŸ˜‰

  14. Kim Allen

    My favorite thing to grow in my garden has to be tomato’s! I love canning them every year and having yummy salsa and tomato juice year round!

  15. Carissa Jordan

    I’d have to say my favorite thing to grow in my garden is tomatoes – nothing beats a fresh, warmed by the sun tomato for snacking on – especially grape tomatoes!

    I just recently quit my job, so will be home to be able to do a garden this year that is more than just a couple tomato, cuke & zuke plants. I got the Baker Creek catalog and have started marking the pages of what I want to order for this year. I had marked a couple of the heirloom tomatoes and would love to win your giveaway. Thank you for the chance!

  16. Traci Keel

    I grew my entire garden from Baker seeds last year! My favorites were the tomatoes- my favorite was the Pantano Romanesco, but the Amish Paste were wonderful too! I had dozens of pepper plants that were outstanding as well.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Traci, thanks for that recommendation. I’ve never tried the Pantano Romanesco and now I might just have to try it . . . πŸ˜‰

  17. Tricia

    You have a really nice blog! Thank you for your generosity for having this contest. My favorite vegetable to grow are tomatoes. I am obsessed with growing, eating, talking about and learning about tomatoes! I look forward to following your blog. Happy gardening!

  18. Melissa

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE Baker Creek! My most recent “culling” of my choices out of my BC catalog still leaves me with over $400 in seeds! I told my husband we better get ready for gardening!!! πŸ™‚ Love your site! πŸ™‚

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Oh my goodness, Melissa, now I feel a little better. I always write down everything I want, and then I total it all up and then cull out a bunch to get the total down to where I can pay for it! Yikes!! And to where I can actually have space to grow all the ones I order!

  19. Jessica Dowdy

    Heirloom tomatoes is my favorite garden treat too! It’s how I got started gardening! Except I started with hybrid varieties, and just couldn’t figure out why my garden tomatoes lacked the flavor I remember from childhood. Then I somehow found an orange oxheart plant. I’ve grown them every summer since!
    My favorite tomatoes are full of flavor, so I considered ordering the Paul Robeson from Baker Creek this year.

  20. Tracy

    Tomatoes are my favorite thing to grow in the garden. I love the way the plants smell. I love rubbing the leaves and having that tomato plant smell on my hands. My kids all have grown up picking tomatoes off the vine and eating them like apples out in the middle of the garden, even as babies. We can make a meal of just tomatoes in the summer (if my husband isn’t home, he requires meat). And I love growing heirloom tomatoes. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!

  21. Val Guthrie

    Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes…I took get made fun of for the amount of tomatoes that I plant. I planted over 50 plants last year. Tomatoes are my very favorite food.

  22. egf1989

    My favorite to grow is tomatoes. Last year I grew 7 varieties and this year will be a dozen. I plan on putting in 36 plants this year. I love salsa, soups, sauces, etc. can’t wait until I can actually start my seeds and start working in the garden again.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Yup. I don’t even reveal any longer how many tomato plants I grow, because people have started laughing at me . . but they don’t laugh when I pull out a jar of salsa . .. or canned tomato soup . . πŸ˜‰ As I always say, “He who plants the most tomato plants has the last laugh.” Or something like that. πŸ˜‰

  23. Deborah

    Heirlooms of all kinds. My husband loves tomatoes . We been married 6 months. This summer was his first heirloom tomato he feel in love.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Haha Jennifer, me too! I always call the weeds my “living mulch.” Just don’t let them go to seed—oiy, what a mess then!

  24. Lisa

    My favorite thing to grow in the garden are tomatoes. For me they are challenging here in southwest Texas, not like when I was living in Ohio and you had to stake them to an 8Ft. high stake

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      I grew turnips for the first time this year and I just love them, Kelli. They are so delicious diced and roasted with other root crops. I’m gonna grow more next year, so I’ll have enough to last us all winter long!

  25. Angie

    Cutting into a homegrown tomato is unsurpassed by many things, but I’m also really excited about growing some Hidatsa and Arikara beans and Mandan corn this year. We homeschool and have been studying the first farmers, so our young children think it is really cool that we have found the seeds with Bakers Creek and can grow them ourselves! I think dreaming about gardening during the blustery days of January is just as exciting as the season of growing. Pretty sure I’m close to having the Bakers Creek catalog memorized. πŸ™‚

  26. Luis

    I don’t know how I have never come across this blog! I love it.

    I love growing tomatoes because of all the different colors, flavors and textures. I was really a fan of tomatoes but that changed when I started growing them.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      THanks Luis. When I was a kid, my mom bribed all of us to eat fresh tomato slices from her garden by sprinkling sugar on them. Now I love them straight from the garden, eaten like an apple! I’m glad that our childhood tastebuds do change!

  27. caitlin smith

    Broccoli is my fave !!! i love that it takes longer and grows that massive plant for it and really makes me appreciate how much room it takes to make a bag or broccoli ! and the fact that we have never actually been able to cook or eat our homegrown broccoli because as soon as i harvest it my 3 yr old gobbles it up !

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Wow! You are raising that young-un right, Caitlin! I love it that broccoli also sends out all those little side shoots. They’re terrific in salad or stir-fries. Maybe you can keep them a secret from your broccoli-crazed 3 year old! πŸ˜‰

  28. Heather Olds

    I love growing tomatillos! Not only are they tasty to eat, but the plants look so beautiful in the garden (at least to me)..they’re like tiny Chinese lanterns.

  29. Monica Roberts

    I’m so excited about this! I knew how you felt as I read your post. I’m experiencing cabin fever down here too, in Tennessee!! I want so bad to get out there and get my spring garden going, but alas, it’s not spring, and it’s too cold! I grew 3 types of heirloom tomatoes last year, and the ones that did best were the mini yellow pear tomatoes. We ate them right off the vine. Sometimes, they didn’t make it into the house! πŸ™‚ I’d love to win your seed packets. I’d like to try and grow more varieties of tomatoes this year, and learn how to grow all of them more successfully. Thank you for this opportunity!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Monica, I love to grow heirloom tomatoes, too! It’s a thrill every year to see those bitty green tomatoes forming on the plants. Even more of a thrill to pop the first little one into my mouth, when it’s ripe. Yum!!

  30. Luke

    My favorite hands down is tomatoes. Since I was a kid I loved growing tomatoes of all varieties . I started growing organically about two years ago and have not looked back. Even though I believe it is tougher to grow this way it is a lot better for you. Thanks for the opportunity of winning some seeds !

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Kara, good for you!! Have a blast in your new garden space and you can continue to enter every day to increase your chances of winning these seeds!

  31. Jane warren

    It is almost impossible to choose my favorite veggie in my garden. At first I thought it was going to be tomatoes but the more I thought about it I decided that it is actually onions. I can alter the sweetness of my onions by remembering to side dress with fertilizers and lots of compost tea.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Oh, Jane, you’re the first person to say onions. I love to grow lots of onions, too. Have you ever tried to grow leeks? They are fun to grow, too. Thanks for the onion-growing tips!

  32. Teresa Johnson

    Oh just seeing the pictures made this frozen mama in Ohio happy! Love heirlooms. Have you ever grown Cherokee Purple or Black Krim? I would love your input.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Teresa, BOTH Cherokee Purple and Black Krim are regulars in my garden. I love the rich flavor of the dark colored tomatoes! I grow them both and love them both! You just can’t go wrong with either of those varieties.

  33. Sarah

    My favorite plants to grow in the garden? How to narrow it down? Greens, because they are instant gratification; Peas, because I know my son cannot resist eating them in the garden. Carrots, beets, onions and parsnips for they speak to me about late fall, when everything slows down (for about a week). Tomatoes, Chile, Tomatillos, peppers, eggplants the stars of August, so yummy still warm from the sun. Squash are fun, for we love watching them climb the corn in a tangle, making a natural fort. Corn is nice, something I catch my husband and son munching in the garden midsummer. Cruciforms, while not my favorite, add splash at the end. Flowers, all kinds of flowers, drawing the bees in. How to find my favorite? I cannot for they all are my favorite when my eyes spy them, reaching for the sun.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      I agree with everything you said, Sarah, and I love the way you said it, too. πŸ™‚ Very pretty word pictures. I’d love to see your garden!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Marsha, you’re welcome and it’s my pleasure. THank you for your comment! I have really been impressed with Baker Creek. I think they are a fine company with a great product!!

  34. Amelia Jarvis

    Oh my , hmmm I cant pick just one thing. We had a blast with the corn, an overabundance with the zucchini, Tons of Tomatoes, Peppers, peas, squash and cucumbers! Planning on adding more this planting season!!

  35. Vanessa Stoner

    My favorite thing to grow is tomatoes. I love trying new varieties. You are so right about browsing the seed catalogs are a great mood lifter during the dead of winter.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Thanks for entering, Lisa, and good luck! Remember that you can continue to enter again every day to increase your chances of winning!

  36. Loryjean Pratt

    I am also a tomato nut. I let them reseed and come up year after year in my greenhouse and in the garden. Then at frost, I pick everything and let them ripen in my back room. I usually have tomatoes through December! Just last night I was poring over Baker Creek’s tomato selections; would love to try all eight of these!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Loryjean, thanks so much for your comment! Don’t forget that you can put in new entries every day to increase your chances!

  37. Nancy

    My favorite things to grow are tomatoes! When I was growing up, my great uncle in New Roads, La used to grow this amazing tomatoes, and he’d bring us some whenever he came to visit. I’ve loved tomatoes since I was a little girl. You can do so much with them. I even love the way my fingers smell after I touch the plants. Yum! πŸ™‚

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Nancy, me too! I will be starting my tomato seeds in the house in a few weeks, and every day after they come up I just like to run my fingers over them, to have that tomato smell on me all day. Lovely.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      I’m on a bit of a humanitarian mission in my area, Mickey, to expose and illuminate this issue to as many people as I can. So many people have never tasted an heirloom tomato, can you imagine? And they are a completely different animal from the grocery store “tomatoes,” wouldn’t you agree?

  38. Shawn McCourt

    mmm…Heirloom tomatoes are my favourite thing to grow in the garden- there’s nothing quite like a fresh-picked, ripe tomato, still warm from the sun and bursting with juicy sweetness balanced with a slightly tart, acidic background. Tomatoes are like wine- some varieties have a cult following; some are good for every day use; and while people will still drink two buck chuck (or eat a commercial/hybrid tomato), no one really enjoys it… Heirloom tomatoes are like the finest of wines.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Shawn, nicely put! It astounds me that there are so many people (at the farmer’s market where I sell every year, for example) who have no idea what an heirloom tomato even tastes like.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      THank you Sophie Bowns. Sugar snap peas are something I grow every spring, too, and I have to get to the garden first, before the kids find them . . . they love them, too!

  39. Noel

    I will be growing most of my small crop indoors this year. Our ‘yarden’ needs refurbishing….. but I will always have my tomatoes right here next to me and my window!

  40. liz

    I love growing herbs. Then here in Oregon, in the dead of winter, in the pouring rain, I creep out into the yard and snip some fresh herbs to season my sauce/soup/stew… makes all the work worth it… πŸ™‚

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Liz,
      I didn’t use to grow herbs, for some peevish reason didn’t feel like they were “real food” but now I grow LOTS of herbs and probably miss them in the off-season more than anything else!!

  41. tawsha

    I love seeing all the photos you post of the beautiful varieties you gorw. I had the most lovely garden at my old house where I grew almost all of our produce. It’s the only way to get great, fresh, clean SAFE fruits and veggies!! Thanks for all the info and updates, love you guys!

  42. Kyrie

    I absolutely love Baker Creek seeds. Seriously, out of all of the seeds I have ordered out of heirlooms theirs are the best quality and pretty much EVERY seed you get will sprout. I grew some Lincoln Shell Peas in a hanging planter and they just went crazy flowering and producing and they taste very good. I ended up just keeping most of them until full maturity to send to friends and family who now enjoy them too!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Kyrie,
      If you live in the area, the Spring Planting Festival that they hold in Mansfield, MO, is really, really fun!!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Butternut is one variety, Christina, that I’ve found that the squash borers aren’t so hard on, and I like it too.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Me too, Joseph. My favorite watermelon (so far!) in fact is from Baker Creek. Their “Orangeglo” watermelon is really amazing!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      I love having dry soup beans in the pantry, Dana. Such a comforting feeling to have them in reserve, just in case!! So tasty, too!

  43. Tara Sowards

    My favorite thing to grow is tomatoes- you can make so much with them- spaghetti sauce, salsa, pizza sauce, or just use them to jazz up some hamburgers or a salad!

  44. Laura

    Squash would be my favorite – all kinds! They’re easy to grow, and so versatile. I’m a vegetarian, so I’ve never met a veggie I didn’t like, but I love the ones that can be fixed any which way.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      And Laura, there are so many kinds of squash, too. Do you get the Baker Creek catalog? They’ve got a stunning amount of squash varieties!

  45. Jamie

    Gosh that’s a hard question. WHat’s my favorite thing to grow…..Herbs for my kitchen and snap peas for the kids. I just love working in the garden and the kids are munching away on fresh peas and happy and content

  46. Samantha

    That is an abundance of gorgeous veggies you have there in that photo…wish I could grow that much. My favorite veggie right now is kale for my green juices.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Kale is a real favorite at our house, too, Samantha, and I love it that it has such a long season. It’s the last thing to freeze in my hoop house.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      The striped ones are some of my favorites, too, Robin. I just can’t get over how pretty they are! And I also love the pineapple variety: it is gorgeous!

  47. Kirstie

    I really like to grow tomatoes with peppers and lettuces coming in a close second! I can them so I like to grow a variety of them. This year’s favorite was the Jersey Devil and Black Krim.

  48. Robin

    I’m not saying this because you’re giving away tomato seeds but I REALLY REALLY love tomatoes. I could eat cherry tomatoes all day! I eat the full size ones like apples. And nothing beats a fresh picked, sun ripened, heirloom tomato.

  49. Pam Kaiser

    My favorites are tomatoes since I have to go all winter without any. Who wants tasteless tomatoes from the grocery store, anyway? A close second is greens of all kinds, especially kale and Swiss chard.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Pam, I can’t ever bring myself to buy the grocery store tomatoes, except for at the end of the winter when I’m really craving them. THen, I find that the bitty cherry tomatoes ALMOST taste good. πŸ™‚

  50. Patti

    Peas. I didn’t even like them until I grew them, but I love growing everything potatoes, garlic, leeks, celery, greens, beans fresh and dried, asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, elderberries, currants, onions, shallots, tomatoes, peppers…

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Oh my, Patti. You sound just like me . . . and kale and collards and kohlrabi and cabbage and cauliflower and broccoli and squash . . . πŸ˜‰

  51. Barbara

    Great post, even better is the give away.
    I look forward to growing zucchini and serving them many different ways. But, lettuce, kale, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and my strawberry patch are not distant seconds.
    Thanks again for the raffle.

  52. Michael Bugard

    Thank you for the seed offer. Though I just received my order from Baker Creek, I always want more tomatoes. If I win, I’ll have to play the soundtrack from “Showboat” for the Paul Robesons! He was an amazing talent, and I am very pleased to see a beautiful tomato variety named after him. πŸ™‚

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Michael,
      Well, then I hope you win! I’m going to buy myself an envelope of the Paul Robesons, since I’ve heard so much about him and the tomatoes during this giveaway!

  53. Melissa

    I love love love growing tomatoes. I love how fragrant the plant is. Just delicious. Looking forward to digging into your site to learn about all the different ‘tommy’ plants πŸ˜‰

  54. Lisa

    This year, I will have my first garden. I am planning a small raised bed with some of my family’s favorites. My son loves tomatoes, so I will definitely be attempting them, along with carrots, snap beans, cucumbers, and strawberries.

  55. Stephanie

    A favorite here is definitely green beans and tomatoes of course! Tomatoes for a lovely summer salad and my son can’t get enough of our homemade dilly beans.

  56. CJ

    I love to grow tomatoes and am just discovering heirloom varieties. But I think I love cucumbers the best because I love me some dill pickles – 35 quarts for just me and I have already gone through almost half of them already! YUM!

  57. Tina

    I was very happy with my eggplant this past summer. But what I really want to happen this summer, is to have a successful harvest of tomatoes! I canned tomatoes for the first time (heirloom) this past summer and WOW! are they so delicious to have all winter long. Well, sadly, we only have one jar left….what to do???? Plan for a harvest this summer that surpasses all harvests, so that we can enjoy the taste of summer year long! Thanks for your help with that dream!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Tina,
      I’ve found that tomatoes are easy to grow. Mine get very large and very productive. Just don’t plant them in the same spot in your garden every year or they won’t do as well.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Megan,
      Every year I put in more and more herbs, and you’re right, they really pair well with heirloom tomatoes. ESPECIALLY basil . .. and oregano and thyme . . .oh! Sage is good, too . . .

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Oh, those dark purple tomatoes are the most nutritious, too, did you know that? Very cool! I love Cherokee purples, too!

  58. Pat Hopkins

    Luv Luv Luv your columns……Happy Gardening soon….well, maybe not soon soon but soon……

    I have to go with tomatoes if I could only plant one thing……but thank you Lord, that’s not the case……

  59. Marvin green

    I’m a disabled veteran trying to round up extra seeds for community garden to give back to the poor if any can help please hit me up
    Seeds bulbs etc
    My email is da7676dagmail.com

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