what varieties of tomatoes should I plant this year?

    I've decided to use the south facing side of the house to grow
tomatoes this year.  There are no trees giving shade, so it gets full
sunlight all day long.  In the spring and fall there is a small amount
of "heat island" effect due to the angle of the sun.  There are also two
downspouts, and I'm sure I can figure out a way to capture water from
those in some manner, so that I can water them without having to use
tapwater.

   The area is roughly 25 feet long, and I can install a lattice or
fence of some kind to support climbing plants.

   My main focus is something prolific, with a second desire for disease
resistance.

   I would also like to have some low acid plants, some large
sandwich/beefsteak types, and then something smaller for the kids to
snack on. (like the moby grape my sister grew last year)  I might also
be up for a plant or two that is an unusual color or heirloom variety.

   I bought loads of "tomato soil" on closeout last fall at Lowe's, and
I'm ready to start working up the soil.  I just need to make up my mind
on varieties, order them, and then get the plants started on a
windowsill so that I can get them planted in a couple of months.

   One question that I have is this: how close to the foundation/wall
should I place the tomato plants?  If I place it within 2' of the wall,
I could potentially plant another entire row of lower growing plants
over by the property line.  However, I'm not sure if this would be too
close.

   Anyway, I'm open to suggestions on varieties this year.  I should
probably order within the next 5 days or so.

 

Stripped German
<http://sustainableseedco.com/Striped-German-Tomato-Seeds.html>
Large, low acidity tomato, with great taste.


Juliet tomato
<http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5345/>
It's a hybrid, but last time I grew them I kept getting volunteers which
I found to be indistinguishable from the originals.

With support, 2' from the wall is fine.




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Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in
the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are
cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is
spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of
its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the
clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
<

 
The best grape size tomato I have had is called Sugary. I got seeds at
Tomato Growers Supply Company
I only had to buy them once about 3 years  ago and have used seeds
from the tomatoes since then.  The plants are pretty hardy to cold, I
have had them through out the winter in a barely heated greenhouse
here in North Carolina.

 

Currant tomatoes are the smallest I have ever seen. Pretty prolific and
indeterminate and oh so sweet. But they are very promiscuous

 
resistance.

Two feet from wall should be fine as long as all plants get lots of sun.

A plum tomato like Roma's come in at once, good for sauces and salads.

An early tomato like Early Girls's, a slicing tomato that comes through out
summer.

A globe tomato like Bonnie Best, a medium size all purpose slicing tomato.

A cherry tomato like Cherry 100's, great for salads comes in throughout
summer.

A beef steak a large globe tomato that comes in at once, great taste and
for juice.

Cherry and  Early Girls are bush tomatoes and those circular tomato
supports works best for them. The other tomatoes listed are Determinate and
have a main stalk, heavy ladder supports are better for them.

These tomatoes are the most popular. There are many varieties of tomatoes
grown for color, shape and perhaps taste. The larger the tomato the longer
the growing time it needs. For my area the beef steaks sometimes come in
sometimes an early frost gets to them first.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R  (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)