MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM/THE TOMATO LADY! 

    

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WELCOME TO THE FARM!  Our stand is located in the SW corner of the Saturday market.  This is our 14th year at this location and Brian’s 23rd year at the market.  We grow field crops and also have a thriving nursery business in the spring and summer.  We bring a large selection of plants to our market stand, and we also open our farm nursery from May 1 to June 15.

Click here for our address and hours. By coming to the farm, you get the best selection of plants and also a lovely field trip to see our small farm operation.   This year we’re growing a bigger-than-ever selection of tomato plants, including at least 17 heirlooms and also peppers, all sorts of veggie starts, herbs and perennials.  When you buy our plants, you can be assured that they are right for this climate and properly hardened off to withstand our challenging North Idaho weather. Since we sell the varieties we grow ourselves, we know they are productive and delicious.

FLOWERS We love our flowers and about half the nursery is now dedicated to specialty annuals and the fabulous hanging baskets we make with them.  Susi and friend Julie look forward to Sundays putting together fun combinations and can hardly wait to see how they turn out.   

MARKET Our booth at market changes with the season, starting out mostly with plants and then produce slowly takes over the space. We offer a large selection of produce, with Brian specializing in carrots, garlic, onions and potatoes. Susi, The Tomato Lady, offers her great tasting tomatoes, specialty peppers, fancy beans, strawberries, tomatillo salsa kits, fresh basil, cut flowers and even homemade jam later in the season. Don’t miss our booth in the fall to stock up on dried flowers, gourds, pumpkins and winter squash!



Rudbeckia
Fall!
Dried Arrangement

TOMATOES FOR 2008

Wow, 42 varieties this year!  Some will be very limited. As always, we specialize in short-season tomatoes that have good production and taste good. We do not use poisons and try to grow them as clean as possible.  Last year we grew 4500 plants
and ran out in early June. Don’t be disappointed; come to the farm nursery early if you can!
 
RED SLICERS & SALAD TOMATOES
 
4th OF JULY  49 days  Rich flavor, medium plants
BIG BEEF 73 days Earliest big red beefsteak
BUSH CELEBRITY 65 days Productive, small plants, lg. flavorful fruit
BUSH EARLY GIRL  54 days  Med.-sized fruit, smallish plants
CELEBRITY 70 days Mid-season slicer, good flavor & disease resistant
CHAMPION 62 days Meaty, flavorful lg. fruit
EARLY GIRL  * 57 days Early, 4 oz. fruit
KOOTENAI 65 days Small plants, reliable production, rich flavor
LEGEND*  68 days 4-5” fruit, a little acid, green shoulders, resists blight
NEW GIRL 62 days Earlier and better than Early Girl
NORTHERN EXPOSURE 67 days  Big tomatoes on short plants, reliable, good
OREGON SPRING 58 days Compact plant, sets 5oz. fruits in cool weather
PARK'S WHOPPER 65 days Good sized fruit, very productive and reliable here
SILETZ 60 days 4-5” fruit on smaller plants. Productive & early
SUPER FANTASTIC * 70 days Large 10oz slicers, beefsteak flavor
VIVA ITALIA (ROMA) 76 days Excellent roma with good flavor, high production

YELLOW & ORANGE TOMATOES
 
IDA GOLD 59 days Sprawling small plant, oval, smallish sweet fruit
LEMON BOY 72 days Large plant with large, mild yellow fruit

CHERRY TOMATOES
 
CHOCOLATE CHERRY 70 days Brown fruit with rich complex flavor; fun!
GOLD NUGGET 55 days Smallish plants, loads of sweet yellow cherries
JULIET  60 days Mini romas on large, sprawling plants
SUNSUGAR 62 days Everyone’s favorite. Sweet, flavorful orange cherries
SUPERSWEET 100 65 days Extra sweet cherries, large vines
SWEET MILLION 65 days Improved Supersweet 100, full sized, crack resistant
SWEET OLIVE 57 days  Earliest & best grape on medium plant, prolific

HEIRLOOMS

This year, with the help of Gary Ibsen of Tomato Fest, I’ve added some new, short-season heirlooms.  I picked a few and he kindly sent me some to try.  The days given are only approximate, due to our cool spring weather, and 80 day tomatoes can be quite late for our climate.  If you live in a warm microclimate, have a greenhouse or use season extension such as Wall–o-Waters, tires or cold frames, you will have better luck.  Many heirlooms have great flavor but do not produce a heavy crop.  The new varieties will be quite limited in availability so come to the nursery early to be sure you get what you want.  For more information
on them, refer to www.tomatofest.com.
 
BLOODY BUTCHER 55 days Early, smallish plant, 2” fruit, good acidy taste
BLACK CHERRY * 64 days 1” round black cherries, rich flavor, big vines
BLACK KRIM 80 days Rich, slightly salty black flavor, good producer
BLACK PRINCE * 70 days 2” black with rich fruity flavor
BRANDYWINE 90 days Late, large beefsteaks. Best in greenhouses
CARMELLO * 75 days French; juicy flavor, good for cool weather
DAGMA'S PERFECTION * 73 days 3” pale yellow/red stripes; flavors of tropical fruit/lime
FIREWORKS * 60 days 2 ½” red, pointed end, great flavor
FRED LIMBAUGH POTATO TOP * 78 days Pink beefsteak on big potato-leafed vines
GREEN ZEBRA 78 days Unique smallish green fruit with yellow stripes, zingy
HONEY * 80 days 12-16 oz. Dark pink beefsteaks, great flavor
JUNE PINK * 68 days Clusters of rose pink sm./med. fruits, sweet/tart flavor
MANITOBA * 58 days Determinate, small plant developed for north, good acid
NORTHERN LIGHTS * 72 days 4” multicolored beefsteak, wonderful intense flavor
PAUL ROBESON* 74 days Black 4” beefsteak; luscious, earthy exotic flavors
SUNSET'S RED HORIZON 72 days Red 4-6” Delicious fruit with huge tomatoey flavors*
YELLOW PEAR* 70 days Pear shaped yellow cherry with very mild flavor

* = new this year		    

PEPPERS FOR 2008
 

ANCHO SAN MARTIN
BIG CHILE
BLUSHING BEAUTY
BOLDOG HUNGARIAN PAPRIKA
CHOCOLATE
CORNO DI TORO
EARLY SUNSATION
FAT N SASSY
GOURMET
ISLANDER
JALAPENO, MUCHO NACHO

LIPSTICK
NEW ACE
NORTH STAR
PAPRIKA SUPREME
PURPLE BEAUTY
RING OF FIRE
SERRANO DEL SOL
THAI HOT

 EGGPLANTS

DUSKY
ORIENT EXPRESS

Flower Power for a Great ‘08!
        

Last year we had a ball with specialty annuals and making pots and baskets with them.  What are specialty annuals?  They have been developed by companies such as Proven Winners to be super performers. They grow fast, have fewer problems, and need less deadheading.  Examples are Sweet Potato Vines, Calibrachoa (Million Bells), Lantana, Osteospermum and Bacopa.  For many of these plants we order in small starts in early March, potting them up to 4” and baskets.  We start single wave petunias, lobelia, alyssum and pansies from seed in early February.  It's so fun to put together containers with these plants because there are endless choices!

We make our baskets and patio pots using extra goodies like llama manure and worm castings so they really get a good start and last a long time.  Here is a list of some of the annual plants we will have this year, while they last:

Bacopa-trailing white flowers
Bidens-small yellow stars
Calibrachoa (Million Bells) Blue, Rose, Magenta, Yellow, Red & Tangerine
Carex Bronzita-neat bronze grassy foliage
Coleus-Four amazing Sun Coleus from Stained Glassworks and a fabulous trailing one
Diascia-Pink and Flying Colors Coral (Proven Winners)
Double Rose Pink Begonias
Dwarf Fountain Grass, Dwarf Zebra Grass & other grasses
Helichrysum Silver Spike
Heliotrope Fragrant Delight
Impatiens-trailing butterfly salmon
Liquorice vine (silver trailer)
Nemesia Bluebird and Sunsatia Lemon and Cranberry from Proven Winners
Osteospermum Summerdaisy Orange and Yellow (Proven Winners)
Osteospermum white with pink edges and purple
Petunias-Surfinia and Cascadias in many colors-dark purple, sky blue red, pink, yellow
            (these trailing petunias do not need deadheading!)
Snapdragon-Trailing Sultan Bronze
Sweet Potato Vines-Chartreuse, Black & Variegated
Thunbergia lemon
Wave Petunias-purple, blue, and also both plus white in double forms (fragrant!)
Verbena-Lanai Red, Burgundy, Blue, Royal Purple, Peach and Superbena Lilac Blue
            (Fabulous mildew resistant varieties!)

 

From seed, we have Prism Sunshine and Italian Docissima petunias, Zinnia Profusion-eight separate colors, black, orange, purple, and mixed pansies and violas, alyssum, lobelia in blue, purple and white, fragrant nicotiana, two colors of tall blue salvia, nasturtiums and many more treats.

 Can we make up a special basket for you?  Just email us and we can send a flyer or see the whole selection at the farm nursery and pick out plants for your own pots and containers.  There’s signs and big color tags to help you choose!


THE FARM NURSERY IS LOCATED AT 9782 NORTH RAMSEY ROAD, HAYDEN
(Between Hayden and Dakota)
We open May 1 and close around June 15.
Susi Faville and Brian Howard invite you to stop by for a visit.
HOURS: Sunday thru Thursday, 1-6 p.m. Closed Friday and Saturday
Call 208 772-4659 for information
 

Contact Info:  Mountain View Farm/The Tomato Lady
 Email:  mtnviewfarm@roadrunner.com