Brambling Rows saves all their own seeds from the best plants in the field each year. This means the varieties become more Lakes Area adapted each year. Plants shipped in from Georgia and Florida for the big box stores need time to adjust to our weather conditions. Even plants grown in Minnesota from seeds produced in Florida, Bangledesh, or where ever the seed brokers buy their seeds each year carry genetic codes for these far off locations-NOT Minnesota weather. Yes, they will produce fruit once they adapt but why start with something that needs to go through that process.  Our plants are genetically programed for this area and don't need all this adjustment time. An example of what I'm talking about is the BULL'S HEART TOMATO we sell. When we got seeds six or seven years ago from a supplier in Florida, it was listed as an 87 day tomato. It has become our second earliest, ripening shortly after our little Russian, CLEAR PINK EARLY. 

 Clear pink is the tomato we use in our beds for slicer production and in our Instant Gardens. We sell out almost every year even though we increase planting size by at least 25% so we nearly doubled the number of plants this year. Also doubling was our POLISH LINGUISA, an 8 to 10 ounce paste tomato. It is shaped like ROMA but is 4 times the size of a Roma as Romas are about 2 or 3 ounces. A greeter at our local "Big Box" has spread the word on our Polish. Another fellow originally from the Twin Cities area, drove out the other night just to see how the plants were coming along saying "If you haven't had the Polish tomato, you haven't had a tomato." Quite an endorsement!

LEO'S GERMAN is the huge German tomato that Mrs. Johnstone used to sell in her North East Brainerd greenhouses back in the 70's and 80's. Our selection process has made this a much smoother tomato but retains the flavor and size. Last year BRANDY WINE gave us a 3.5 pounder, large dependable and the standard for heirloom tomato flavor since 1896. We do carry a couple of determinate tomatoes that are excellent slicers and quite disease resistant and both American heirlooms but MARGLOBE and RUTGERS produce such heavy crops all at once like other determinates that they are used as canners. These are the two mother planted every year but she always tried one or two others for fun. MARIANNA'S PEACE is a potato leafed tomato, an early beef steak type and AZOYCHKA is a very low acid yellow tomato for those that like tomatoes but are bothered by the acidity of most tomatoes.

We carry seven different varieties of cherry/grape tomatoes which have gone through the same selection process as our large tomatoes. This year we are starting selecting on a new one called CHEROKEE PURPLE. It's been around forever and has that deep rich black tomato flavor. While not quite as dark as some of the other "black" tomatoes, it does have that deeper flavor. Perhaps we will have a few plants next year as the seed source was here in Brainerd and the selection process started last year when a neighbor showed me his  garden and I asked for seeds from a specific plant.