Hi & Welcome

It’s Vicki from Vicki’s Veggies. If you are looking to plant some gorgeous Heirloom Tomato plants in your garden…. you have arrived at the right place.

You may have heard I’m very passionate (obsessed might be another word) about Heirloom Tomatoes. Whatever you’ve heard... It’s all true. I am a self proclaimed “Crazy Tomato Lady.” What does that mean….I Really, Really, Really, Really LOVE Heirloom Tomatoes. So much so that I really want to pass this exhilarating and fun past time… (or in my case full time) hobby on to you. To discover and enjoy your own favourite heirloom tomatoes.

We will be having the Seedling Sale for 1 weekend this year and it will be a combo of drive through and pick up - for those who have ordered ahead of time. For those people who like to pick out their own seedlings, you are welcome to shop in person in the Greenhouse. The sale is May 20 & 21 - 10am-4pm. No appointments needed.

We will have room for cars to drive through in 2 places for fast, easy & safe pick up. If you have pre-ordered and pre-paid using this online form you will give your name and someone will fetch your order, bring it to you and put it in the trunk of your car for you. If you prefer to make a manual order via email, you can send me a complete list of what you would like and then you can pay on arrival, or prepay using etransfer or paypal (vickiemlaw@gmail.com).

Please order before April 1st if you want to be sure you get what you love as that will be the time I start all of my seeds. All seeds are organically grown with the majority saved from my own garden here at the farm. You will still be able to order after that date. But keep in mind that some of the favourites might be sold out by then. It’s going to be a busy year…. everyone wants to garden.

So let's get started with the TYPES of tomatoes I have:

Cherry Tomatoes- Small in size, can be round, grape or pear shaped, easy to harvest, lots on each plant, great to snack on, for school lunches or to take on a picnic.

Salad Tomatoes- Medium sized, great for chopping up to create beautiful salads.

Beefsteak Tomatoes- Large in size, oblate is the word I’ve come to know for this shape. Round but squaty… and sometimes very odd shaped. Great for sandwiches or salads. Some are large enough that 1 slice will cover a slice of bread. Usually very juicy tomatoes.

Paste Tomatoes- Vary in size can be long and thin or roma or bell shaped. If you like to make a lot of sauce for our long winters.. These are the ones to use. They are usually a drier type of tomato with a much more dense flesh and not as many seeds as the others. So that they do not need to be boiled down for very long.

Canning Tomatoes- These are usually a medium sized round, red tomato. These were the only tomatoes I knew growing up. My dad used to grow tomatoes for the waupoos canning factory and that was all he knew as well. There are a few varieties that were bred specifically for the canning industry here. The 1st started in 1882 & right up until the 1996 the last factory closed. PEC was known as the “Garden County of Canada”. There were over 20 factories dotting the landscape. The ruins of a canning factory my grandmother used to work at in Port Milford is right next to my house. These tomatoes are special for canning because they have such a thin skin and totally red right though and when scalded the skin and core comes off nice and easy in 1 cut of the knife, then dropped in a jar.

Stuffing Tomatoes- Tomatoes that look more like a pepper with 3 or 4 lobes on the bottom so it can stand up straight. It’s boxy and hollow on the inside and great for stuffing. Also great for dehydrating for dry tomatoes or tomato dust or powder.

So if 204 Varieties of tomatoes is a little much for you to handle and you need some advice or help. You can go for “The Dealer's Choice Package”.... Which is… You tell me how many plants you want and how you like to eat them. & I will choose for you.

Step by Step Instruction to help you choose.

Get out a pad of paper and a pen.
Decide how many tomatoes (you want).... Sorry want is a strong word here… if you are anything like me… you will want them all. So I mean..How many do you have room for? I plant mine 1 ½ feet a part (if staked) with 4 feet to move between the rows.
*Very important* How do you like to eat your tomatoes? Refer back to Types of Tomatoes. Grow what you love to eat.

Here's an example of what I would choose if I only had room for 24 tomatoes.

I LOVE PANZANELLA- AKA Bread Salad. So for my bread salad I want to choose as many different shapes, colours, sizes, and tastes as possible. Remember I am intending on making

“The Best Salad Ever” If you have ever had my bread salad you know what i’m talking about.

So I would choose 1 of every colour salad tomato, 1 of every colour cherry tomato and 6 different beefsteak tomatoes.

As we anticipate SPRING and our beautiful gardens to come..I would like you to ponder the intention behind your garden. I have this beautiful book called the Therapeutic Garden written by Donald Norfolk, a doctor who’s love for gardening led him to research and concluding that his healthiest patients all had the same hobby in common GARDENING. One of the quotes I love the most from his book is this.
“Our greatest hope of achieving the greening of the industrial world is to give everyone the responsibility of enhancing the beauty of their own gardens. To motivate this revolutionary change we should regard ourselves not as the outright owners of our garden plots, but merely as their custodian.”

So please enjoy life in this moment and I am SOOOOOOO looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful faces (even if they have to be behind masks) when you come to pick up your seedlings. As I so humbly & lovingly care for these amazing & extremely rare varieties of Heirloom Tomato Seedlings as you undergo a transformation of the best kind... preparing to create your very own version of heaven on earth.

Thanks Everyone

Vicki

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