Tomatoes, phosphorus and seed catalogs

It is too early in the year to get a shovel into the ground but it is time to start preparing for this year's garden if it is going to be the best ever.

Q: What are your favorite tomato varieties?

A: I try at least one new kind of tomato every year. Most of them I never grow again but sometimes I discover a new variety that I keep on growing as long as the seed is available. I always grow one kind of cherry tomato because they are earlier than big tomatoes. This year it will once again be Sungold, for its unsurpassable flavor.

The big tomatoes are always a mixture of heirloom and hybrid types....