Aren’t they lovely tomatoes? I’m very excited I found those seeds. 25 seats was very expensive, but now I just harvested my own and I have hundreds and hundreds.
They don’t taste quite like I wanted, not like the certified tomatoes that were actually born and raised with volcanic ash from mount Vesuvius . I actually did try using some of my woodstove Ash, lol,OK still not the right soil :-). I like the way I can both eat them and canned them. And the plants are determinit -How do you spell that –so short stakes are fine. I actually just go grab sticks from the forest, very economical :-)
I’m growing less San Marzanos because I found Walmart.com has the genuine Italian ones from the region for something like 3.98 a can. They are whole packed in sauce. I order most things from Walmart.com and if your order is over 35.00 there is free shipping so when I need to fill out an order I get a few cans. In the grocery store they are 6-7.00 a can. Sorry to sound like a commercial for Walmart but it has been great the past year or longer, I can get heavier things brought right to my door.
We use our own seeds too and this spring put down wood ash from our woodstove too! First time trying that.
Sorry for all the posts. I should have read all of yours first. My late Dad was the gardener and he always went to the local forest preserve and cut willow branches for his tomato stakes.