Hey - we are fast approaching the first 100! Let’s continue.

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Tomato 71 - Peron - This tomato received a glowing description in the Gleckler catalog (they are the company that introduced it). They described it as a “sprayless” tomato, meaning tolerant or resistant to issues that trouble tomatoes - hence no need to spray! The Gleckler 1958 seed catalog states “A miraculous variety developed by Prof. Abelardo Piovano at the National University of Argentina. Medium size semi-determinate bushy vines are very resistant to fungus diseases common to tomatoes. Foliage is semi-dense. A very heavy yielder of large size, slightly flattened globular fruits of the most extraordinary quality. Interior of fruits very solid and meaty, without any core. Very small and numerous seed cells, form a perfect fruit structure. Ripens to a beautiful deep red color over the entire fruit without green or yellow shoulders. Its tough, velvety-smooth skin is very crack resistant and easily peeled without immersing in hot water, a rarity not found in other varieties. Flavor is mildly acid and of a most delicious taste. Fruits keep exceptionally long after ripening. The Peron tomato is called sprayless because it will produce a normal crop of quality fruit in most areas without any disease control. No other tomato was ever introduced that received so many voluntary complimentary reports and we have them by the hundreds. No other tomato ever introduced has shownsuch wide adaptability. These reports have come from practically every state, in areas where they were unable to grow any other strains. It performs wonderfully in the tropics where fungus diseases get out of hand. From Alaska we have a report it is wonderful in the greenhouse. Its drought resistance is terrific”. I did grew Peron in 1988, seed purchased directly from Gleckler. What is odd is that I completely forgot that I grew it - the data I have is that it started to ripen in 74 days from transplant, I picked 17 tomatoes at an average weight of 7.5 ounces, giving a total plant weight of only 7.9 pounds. I seemed to like the flavor, giving it an A-, but I do wonder if the plant had disease issues. I’ve not grown it since.

Tomato 72 - Glesener - Also known as John-Vesta (after John and Vesta Glesener), I requested this variety from SSE member MA LY W - William Lyons of Massachusetts - in 1988. It is one of the potato leaf pink beefsteak types. Glesener was a member of my 1988 garden, providing first ripe fruit in 85 days from transplant, making it a late tomato. I harvested 25 oblate pink fruit at an average weight of 9.9 ounces. The plant yield was therefore 15.6 pounds. I liked the flavor, giving it an A-. I’ve seen the SSE listing having the original source as John Glesener of Iowa in 1979. I’ve also seen the variety listed as Glesener 1912. Like all large pink potato leaf varieties, they likely originated with the late 1800s variety Mikado, introduced by the Henderson Seed Company.

Tomato 73 - Prudens Purple - I grew this variety several times, the first of which in my 1989 garden, which contained a lot of heirlooms. With tomatoes coming in at 72 days, it is indeed a fairly early variety for such a large tomato. I harvested 18 fruit at an average weight of 13.6 ounces, so the plant yielded a little over 15 pounds of nice tomatoes that received a flavor score of A-. There is no clear history for this variety, and a listing in the 1986 SSE yearbook spells this out. George McLaughin obtained seeds from an elderly man in Charleston Illinois in a packet labeled “Prudence Purple”. It is thought to be a misspelling. It seems to have also been made available via a Gardens For All (a defunct gardening magazine) ad. As with Glesener, this is a tomato that may have originated in the late 1800s with the Henderson variety Mikado.

Tomato 74 - Roma - I purchased the seeds from Burpee in 1988, but the variety never did make it into my garden. This is probably the classic determinate growing paste tomato. San Marzano was one of the parents that went into the breeding in the 1950s. The 1958 Gleckler catalog states “A very important new tomato development at the Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland. Final selection came from progenies of crosses of San Marzano, Pan American and Red Top. Vine and fruit characteristics resemble Red Top, but much more productive and slightly larger San Marzano type fruit. There has been great need in the past for a wilt resistant paste tomato in areas where infestations of fusarium wilt has been a problem. Roma fruit ripens evenly to a deep red color. Interior is extremely high in solids, making it excellent for processing whole, for manufacture of pulp or fortifying soup stocks. The mild flavor, few seeds and solid paste type flesh make Roma fine for home use in fresh eating and salads.” I have to disagree with that past part about it being fine for fresh eating. It’s simply too dry, and too bland for my taste.

Tomato 75 - Long Keeper - Another Burpee purchase in 1988, and another variety I’ve yet to grow. Varieties with long shelf life have been listed in US catalogs under various names for many years. The Burpee version apparently came from a customer who used amateur breeding in their garden to create this variety and submitted a seed sample to Burpee in the 1970s. Reports are that the flavor isn’t particularly impressive, but the long shelf life means that at least fresh tomatoes from the garden of some sort can be consumed long after harvest. I think I’ll pass!

Tomato 76 - Red Robin - Seed was purchased from Stokes in 1988. This was my first experience with growing a so-called micro dwarf variety, happily producing small scarlet cherry tomatoes even when grown in 6 inch containers. I grew it in 1998, and at various times in my gardening years. It is a novelty, cute, reasonably productive, but flavor is fair at best.

Tomato 77 - Big Pick F1 hybrid - This fine tomato received its trial in my 1988 garden. With first tomatoes harvested at 72 days, I picked 44 nearly globe shaped scarlet tomatoes at an average weight of 6 ounces. The total plant weight was therefore 16.4 pounds, and I really liked the flavor, giving it an A - one of the better flavored hybrids of my three year hybrid vs heirloom trial.

Tomato 78 - Thessaloniki - I purchased this variety from Gleckler in 1988, it being one of their specialties. I’ve yet to grow it. The listing in the 1958 Gleckler catalog is as follows: “A wonderful new strain recently developed at the Ministry of Agriculture Experiment Farm in Greece. A cross of early Thessaloniki and late Thessaloniki, mid-season in maturity. Vine growth indeternimate heavy, with dense foliage. Plant health throughout the season is very good, carrying considerable resistance to fungus diseases. Most amazing is its characteristic of producing practically all uniform size, deep globular fruits about the size of a baseball. Very beautiful, smooth, with perfect blossom ends. Small and rough-shaped fruits are a rarity. Skin is very tough, highly resistant to cracking, Ripens to a beautiful scarlet color, uniformly over the entire fruit. Its solid fleshy interior is mildly flavored and fruits keep very well after ripening. Adapted for staking and we value it a very important market or home garden strain. Reports of trials with Thessaloniki say "nothing more could be asked for in tomatoes”

Tomato 79 - Evergreen - This is one unique tomato that is truly delicious. I purchased the seed from Gleckler in 1988, but did not get to grow it until 1991. I don’t have the detailed records of those tomatoes grown between 1986-1988, so this is stretching my memory. Evergreen is a medium sized very oblate tomato that has very thick, vigorous growth. The fruit have a tendency to produce odd shapes and catface. The flesh is a true medium green, and the skin yellow when the fruit is ripe. The flavor is just delicious, as most green fleshed types seem to be. Ben Quisenberry had a tomato called Tasty Evergreen in his collection, which found its way into SSE trades in the late 1970s/1980s. Gleckler listed the tomato Evergreen in the 1958 catalog. It is a variety well worth growing, for sure.

Tomato 80 - White Beauty - Here is a tomato I purchased twice, yet haven’t managed to grow it yet. White tomatoes were listed as far back as the 1860s (Large White Sugar), but there is an actual listing for this variety in the 1920 Isbell catalog stating “Albino or White Beauty tomato. Wonders of wonder, at last a white tomato! For years it has seemed impossible to propagate a pure white tomato of good quality, but the impossible has now been accomplished. The new White Beauty contains absolutely no acid and so will make tomatoes agreeable to thousands of people who heretofore had to avoid them. It is of ivory white color, and the flesh is almost paper white. It grows about as large as Stone”. USDA studies disproved the statement about the low acid; the mild flavor is due to elevated sugars. I purchased seed from both Gleckler and Seeds Blum. As we will see, I did eventually grow a white tomato obtained from the USDA collection - White Queen.

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So, we are now only 20 from covering the first 100 varieties in my collection. The next 10 have some real long time favorites. Stay tuned and keep reading!