late June 2002 view of my garden - this was our 10th garden in Raleigh, prior to moving most of the tomatoes to the driveway.
I’ve never been a particularly good photo-documenter of my gardens. Prior to digital photography, there simply isn’t much at all that was captured. It really is a shame, particularly for the 1987-1990 stretch when I really took the deep dive into heirloom varieties.
2002 saw the very beginnings of growing in the driveway - this shows mostly peppers and eggplants.
The Nikon Coolpix purchased in 2002 meant more pictures, but not always the most timely and best organized. I didn’t always use the best size (meaning lower resolution), but in taking a tour through my 2002 pics, there are a few worthwhile things to share.
The real Red Brandywine - regular leaf, scarlet fruit, medium sized, nice smooth form
In 2002, my garden held 78 different varieties. Looking through the varieties, it is clear that many grown then continue to be my favorites - Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Chocolate, Ferris Wheel, Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Red Brandywine, Aker’s West Virginia, Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, Speckled Roman, Stump of the World, Lucky Cross, Nepal, Black from Tula, the Livingston varieties Favorite, Magnus and Golden Queen, Peak of Perfection, Burpee’s Matchless, and Anna Russian. Seeds saved that year are now 20 years old and I will likely try my hand at germinating some, though they are 4 years older than the oldest seeds I’ve managed to germinate.
Black from Tula
My first good picture of Cherokee Purple showing all of its characteristics
Druzba, a highly underrated, fine medium sized red tomato from Bulgaria
Livingston’s Favorite, from the 1890s, a very popular medium sized historic red variety rescued from the USDA germplasm collection
Ferris Wheel, from 1894, a Salzer variety I also rescued from oblivion, hiding in the USDA germplasm, now one of my favorite tomatoes.
The spectacular Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, potato leaf, late, showing its characteristic pink blush - core variety in my gardens since 1990.
Livingston’s Magnus - from 1900, showing exactly as shown in the old seed catalog - potato leaf, pink, medium sized, sweet and delicious. I grew it this year and loved it just as much.
Mexico Midget showing its tiny, pea sized fruit
Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter - this one was around 2 lbs, very characteristic.
Yellow Brandywine (which is actually orange) - big, oblate, and delightfully tart
That was fun to do - going down tomato memory lane, 20 years ago. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it!