Boot camp for tomatoes

My best friend says that there is no need to buy maturish tomato plants at the nursery where they've been sprayed, overfed and pampered into weakness.

She plants the heirloom seeds right in the soil after the danger of frost is gone... then it is sink or swim, grow or die for the little seedlings. Only the strong survive and become monster vines, loaded with succulent tomato fruit.

She claims that by harvest time, there is no difference in size between a nursery plant and a plant from seed...so I'm going to try it with three varieties: a Red Slicing, an Orange Roma and this Yellow Pear. I'll require my tomatoes to do push-ups and sit-ups and if all goes well, I'll be popping these little golden berries like candy come late August.