Tomorrow I will start sowing Solanacea family seeds in our greenhouse so they can get an early start on the season; including tomatoes, chili peppers, eggplants and potatoes.

We are excited to share one of our favorite Tomato seeds with you! We love cherry tomatoes because they are so versatile and prolific! We grew many tomatoes last year but one of our top favorites is the Camp Joy Cherry tomato.

These cherry tomatoes were so delicious fresh. We also sun dried them, made sauce with them, fermented them into wine and of course saved their seeds so that we could plant them again this year and share them with you :)

These particular Camp Joy Cherry tomatoes are nostalgic for us, but they are also very delicious and produce abundantly!

Camp Joy Cherry tomato seeds are available for sale for steem, sbd and usd in Hoemsteaders Co-op.

Tomato, Camp Joy Cherry – Solanum lycopersicum

Life cycle: Annual / Ease of propagation: Difficult / Hardiness zone: 10-12

Nothing is sweeter, juicier, and more jam packed with flavor than an heirloom tomato and Camp Joy cherry is among the finest. It has earned a permanent spot in our garden for many reasons: sweet flavors with firm skin, first to ripen, high yielding, beautiful full clusters of medium sized tomatoes, and high resistance to diseases.

We thought we might be partial to Camp Joy cherries since Ann apprenticed at Camp Joy Gardens, but when we saw it in Baker’s Creek catalog and came across it at a homestead in East Washington, we knew this tomato truly is a winner.

We also learned a couple tricks to growing great tomatoes from our experience working in different gardens: ground egg shells (calcium), bone meal (potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus) and garden compost (humus and microbes). At Camp Joy, tomatoes are grown in 4″ pots with a fine layer of egg shells at the bottom of the pot. We copied the same method and included another teaspoon full of egg shells at the bottom of the potting hole when we transplanted the tomatoes and to that we added a handful of bone meal and a generous scoop of compost for additional boosts.

As we trellised the plant vertically, we also pinched back all side branches so that the plant focused its energy on fruits and this gave us lots of gorgeous clusters of tasty tomatoes. Another tip: save your eggshells as you eat them and you’ll have plenty to use in the garden. It’ll come in handy for most plants that need calcium such as peppers, brassicas, legumes, and potatoes.

Sowing Instructions

Sow seeds 1/4″ deep in flats 5-6 weeks before last frost. Keep temperature of the starting mix at 75-90°F (24-32°C). A heating mat might be needed to aid germination. When first true leaves develop, transplant into 3-4″ pots with a thin layer of eggshells at the bottom of the pot. Water only enough to keep the mix from drying. Over watering can cause “damping off,” which is a fungal infection that will cause the seedlings to collapse. Fertilize with fish emulsion.

Transplant into garden 24-36″ apart once all danger of frost has passed (avoid setting out unprotected plants until night temperatures are over 45°F). Dig holes deep enough to cover the roots up to the first leaves. Add to the hole a small handful of crushed egg shells, bone meal, and garden compost. Provide trellising for the plants to climb.

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