Our spectacular blood red rhododendron, in full bloom in our yard

Getting busy, so I better get this next one posted. The numbers are funky because some in this range were used for saved seed. There are a few really major tomatoes in this batch. Read on!

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Tomato #171 - Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter - I purchased the seed from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in 1989, and, sadly, never did grow out the seed. I went into the history of the variety in a prior blog, tomato #26.

Tomato #172 - Tappy’s Finest - Also from Southern Exposure in 1989, I did grow out - and enjoy - this tomato in my 1989 garden. Reportedly a West Virginian heirloom, but prior to that from Italy, it was named for “Tappy”, who did selection work to result in the released variety, in 1983. It is a big fruited regular leaf pink beefsteak type. First fruit came in at 72 days. I picked 23 tomatoes from the plant at an average weight of 16 ounces - so the plant gave me 23 pounds of nicely flavored tomatoes, flavor rating A-.

Tomato #173 - Peron - I already covered this tomato as Tomato #71, including my growing of the variety. This Peron seed was from WI BA L, SSE member, in 1989. I never did grow out this seed.

Tomato #174 - Anna Russian - Now we arrive at a classic - one of my very favorite tomatoes. It was sent to me in 1989 by Brenda Hillenius of Corvallis, Oregon. Her grandfather, Kenneth Wilcox, was given the seed by a Russian immigrant. I’ve grown it many times - first in 1989, and in my 2021 garden, last year, where it was a star of my garden. The very lanky weepy regular leaf plants (not atypical for heart shaped varieties) produces a heavy yield of medium to medium large, gorgeous true heart shaped pink tomatoes. The flavor is far superior to most pink heart shaped tomatoes, full and delicious with a tilt toward sweetness. I do remember in 1989 being amazed at how sickly the plant looked. First fruit was in 68 days. I picked 34 fruit averaging 8.4 ounces, so that straggly plant produced 18 pounds of tomatoes - rated an A for flavor.

Tomato #175 - Mrs. Lindsey’s Kentucky Heirloom - This tomato has been described several times under various names, initially my tomato #142, Yellow White. I received seeds from tomato #175 from Edmund Brown of Missouri, SSE member, in 1989, but never did grow out the seed.

Tomato #176 - Radiator Charlie - This tomato, essentially Mortgage Lifter, was sent to me in 1989 by Edmund Brown of Missouri, but I never did grow it out.

Tomato #177 - Viva - Another name for Yellow White (tomato #142), and sent to me by Edmund Brown in 1989, I did grow it that year. First fruit arrived in 78 days. I picked 39 tomatoes at an average weight of 10.9 ounces. The plant produced 26.5 pounds of fruit, but the very mild flavor rated only a B. I liked what should have been the same tomato, Yellow White, a bit more. I found Viva to be a bit shorter, the fruit a bit smaller, but the same color.

Tomato #178 - Believe it or Not - Already described as tomato #118, I received this seed from Edmund Brown in 1989. I’ve never grown it out.

Tomato #207 - Indian Reservation - Now here’s an obscure variety, a West Virginian heirloom sent to me in 1989 by Edmund Brown. Edmund received the seeds from West Virginia seed saver George Pesta. I grew out the variety in 1991. It produced typical yellow/red swirled beefsteak type fruit on a regular leaf plant. The flavor was typically mild/sweet/peachy, the dominant flavor of these yellow/red beefsteaks. The original history of the variety is not known.

Tomato #209 - Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom #4 - This was a follow up seed sample sent to me by Robert Richardson. The labelling must have been incorrect - this tomato grew exactly as Lillian’s Large Red Kansas Paste. I grew it in 1990.

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It is odd to realize that I’ve never grown the Radiator Charlie strain, authentic Mortgage Lifter. I’ve grown the Halladay and Mullens strains. Also huge in this list is Tappy’s Finest, and maybe the star of the list above, Anna Russian.