Master Gardener 2022 Plant Sale Highlight: Tomatoes!

Join us for our first fund-raising Plant Sale Pick-up.  Details for pre-ordering are listed below and pick-up is on May 21.  More information is on our plant sale page.
 
Select from six varieties of our best-selling tomatoes from past sales that will dazzle even the tomato connoisseurs out there! We try to have something for everyone including patio tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, the works!

We have tomatoes with a noticeably short "Days to Maturity" rating. Since our plants are well started when you get them you will have about a 15 to 30 day  head start on the how long you will have to wait for your first crop depending on a number of variables including how you harden off the plants before planting, what the soil temp is when planting, how much sun, wind and moisture the plant gets, and what the daily high and low temperatures are. Days to maturity is a rating to help us determine what plants are best suited to our zone (3-4) and the limitations that makes on the plants we raise.

Most of the varieties we offer will continue to set fruit until frost kills the plant. Others which are called "determinate" will set fruit until the plant reaches it mature size. Once these ripen the plant will die back. All determinate varieties that we offer are indicated.

The earliest varieties tend to be the cherry tomatoes. We offer:

• SOLD OUT-Sungold 55-65 days This is an F-1 hybrid that is exceptionally sweet, an orange gold cherry tomato that will bear right through the season.

For mid-sized early tomatoes, we have:

• SOLD OUT - Early Girl will give you crimson red fruit in about 57 days with a good tangy taste.
• SOLD OUT -Sweet Valentine, a great container plant, yields mid-sized heart-shaped red fruit in about 60 days. Determinate.

Large slicing tomatoes take longer to maturity. We offer:

• SOLD OUT German Johnson pinky-red fruit can reach up to 1.5 pounds and has few seeds in about 76 days. It is productive with some disease resistance.
• SOLD OUT Beefsteak yields bright red ribbed fruit up to 2 lbs. in about 80 days. Consistent moisture will help prevent these giants from cracking during ripening.
• SOLD OUT Cherokee Purple if a flavorful deep pink to purple tomato with a sweet aftertaste. Fruits up to one pound in about 80 days.

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If you have experienced "early blight," watch for our article on early blight and how to avoid it in a coming post.

​Please note:  This year’s plant sale will have a “twist” from prior years, as we are requesting pre-orders from February through May 1 or until supplies are sold out. There will be a new pickup location at the City of Spooner Front Street Public Parking Lot (north of the Canoe Heritage Museum) on May 21. The sale is pre-order only with pick-up on Saturday May 21st, 2022, from 8:00 am - Noon. The pre-order form is available on our website at www.northcountrymgv.org/plantsale and at the Spooner Memorial Library, Shell Lake Public Library, Larsen Family Library in Webster, the Sherman Weiss Library in Hayward and the Washburn County Tourism office.
 
Article submitted by Roseann Meixelsperger MGV