2023 Post-season Garden Summary - part 2. Back Yard Garden Straw Bale Indeterminate Tomatoes

Final harvest from the back yard garden, late August 2023

Let’s dig into the tomato updates. I am going to split the back yard tomatoes into straw bale indeterminate varieties, with the next update blog focusing on grow bag cherry tomatoes and dwarfs.

Straw Bale-grown Indeterminate varieties

Cancelmo Family Heirloom X Green Giant F4

Cancelmo Family Heirloom X Green Giant - F4 selection #7789 - I created the hybrid in 2020 by applying pollen from Cancelmo Family Heirloom onto a blossom on Green Giant. I grew the hybrid in 2021 and sent some seeds to my garden pal Alex Moring. He grew the F2 seed and selected a potato leaf, slightly heart shaped purple tomato with excellent flavor. I grew one plant from Alex’s seed this year - it was a vigorous very productive potato leaf plant. The first fruit harvested in 79 days from transplant. The tomatoes showed a bit of enhanced tendency to blossom end rot, and were a nice purple in color with a bit of green mottling in and out. This is a promising selection that needs a bit more work, and deserves to be eventually named and released. Seed saved as T23-1.

The three Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom F4 selections in the garden - 7838 above, 7808 lower left, 7785 right edge

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - F4 selection #7838 - potato leaf - In 2020 I took pollen from Cherokee Purple and applied it to a flower on Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom. I saved seed from the fruit that developed and grew the hybrid in 2021. It was just spectacular - a regular leaf, large, prolific pink that was the best tomato in my garden that year. I sent out some seeds to gardening friends from that hybrid - and last year I grew two plant from saved seed - a regular leaf, and a potato leaf. The regular leaf was tasty but even though it was a prolific bloomer, very few set fruit. The potato leaf was quite unique - relatively compact growth and medium to large fruit that were mostly pink but showed some yellow as well. They were delicious. Lillian Rose was born - and I sent out lots of seed from that, as well as grew two of them (see below for the one that I grew here). Three people grew out seed saved from the hybrid, enjoyed the outcomes and sent me seeds. The one I will describe here was a potato leaf selection made by my garden friend Justin Sieglaff - sent me seed which was recorded in my collection as 7838. I grew one of the potato leaf plants this year - it grew well and yielded prolifically. First harvest in 81 days from transplant, the tomatoes were more round than oblate, quite large (up to 20 ounces), and when perfectly ripe, quite delicious. The flavor was not quite up to the level of excellence as the hybrid, but being a pink fruited potato leaf from this particular family, it is likely worth pursuing as a future release. I would want many other gardeners to give it a try. Seed is saved as T23-2.

Sgt Peppers, showing antho on the shoulders

Sgt Peppers - #7810 - I was sent seeds of this interesting variety by my UK tomato pal Lance Turner. It is apparently a selection made between the antho tomato Oregon P20 and German Red Strawberry. This is a bit surprising, as crossing two red tomatoes should lead to a red tomato - yet Sgt Peppers is a pink tomato with shoulders that have strong dark blue antho pigmentation when the fruits are exposed to the sun. The plants are typical for a heart shaped variety, being quite floppy and droopy, and grow upward quickly. Fruit set is excellent. First fruit was harvested in 78 days, making it one of the first harvested. Fruit size varied widely, between 3-16 ounces, most being in the 6 ounce area. The fruit is very meaty, firm, with a balanced flavor that I quite enjoyed; in fact this is the best antho variety I’ve tried. Seed is saved as T23-3.

Abraham Brown

Abraham Brown - #7863 -This is a variety that was created by Millard Murdock of Flat Rock, NC via a cross with his variety Black Magic. It is a very prolific potato leaf variety producing smooth, nearly round chocolate colored tomatoes that are consistently in the one pound range. The texture and flavor is excellent. First ripe fruit was harvested in 88 days, making it one of the later tomatoes to ripen in my garden. This is a highly recommended variety that belongs in more gardens. Seed is saved as T23-4.

Polish - #T22-7 - I’ve grown Polish often, so won’t go into great detail. It is a variety sent to me by Bill Ellis in 1988 that has been a favorite in my gardens many times. The vigorous potato leaf plant was very productive, with first fruits ripening in 84 days. The slightly oblate pink tomatoes are in the 1 pound range. Flavor was just delicious, as always. Seed is saved as T23-5.

A very ugly, first havested World War II top center

World War II - 7222 - This variety may be the biggest surprise of my 2023 garden. Seeds were sent to me a few years ago by Geny Laroche of New Hampshire - its origins are from Europe, following World War 2, when it made its way to the US. With first fruits ripening in 79 days, the regular leaf plant was one of the most vigorous in my garden and was the heaviest yielder. It was also the last tomato to provide tomatoes, maintaining its health until I cleared out the garden. The tomato size ranges from 8 to 16 ounces or a bit larger. The pink fruit are delicious, with a nice texture and well balanced flavor. It is one of the best regular leaf pink tomatoes I’ve eaten. I hope to get seeds to Victory Seed Company for future listing in their catalog. Seed is saved as T23-6.

Big Sandy upper and lower right (two different seed lots used). Two tomatoes on the left will be part of the Vet Farm updates

Big Sandy - #T12-10 - It was so nice to grow this variety for the first time in many years. A West Virginia heirloom shared with me in 1990 by Charlotte Mullens, it is a classic scarlet red medium large tasty beefsteak type which would make a great main crop, standard variety. The regular leaf plant was vigorous, healthy, and prolific. Tomatoes average 12 ounces, and are quite smooth and regular. The flavor is classic well balanced scarlet beefsteak. There is some thought that “Big Sandy” stands for “Big Sandwich”, meaning slices cover the bread. I’ve seen it listed in some tomato texts as a pink tomato, but this one is definitely scarlet red. First ripe fruit was produced in 81 days. It is also one of those tomatoes that does not show a dark green shoulder, so is nicely uniform in color when it fully ripens. Seed is saved as T23-7.

Lucky Cross - #T11-19 - In 2011, I grew four different selections of Lucky Cross, with T11-19 rated as the best flavored (as in superb). I grew the other three selections at the Veterans Healing Farm and will report on those in a future blog. My reason for doing this was recent unhappiness with how my more recent selections were performing. The vigorous potato leaf plant that came from T11-19 was very productive for Lucky Cross. Color was excellent - rich yellow with lots of red marbling. Fruit size was in the 12-16 ounce range. I loved the flavor, so I consider this reselection work to be a great success. Seed is saved as T23-8.

Bisignano #2 - #T14-67 - This is another favorite variety I’ve had since 1987 that hasn’t fared very well in recent Raleigh grow outs. I was happy to find that it excelled in my 2023 Hendersonville garden. The plants are very fast growing and typically weepy/floppy and spreading, typical for indeterminate paste types. Fruit set was excellent, and the mostly plum shaped scarlet red fruit were in the 6-8 ounce range. It was a late tomato, with first fruit in 97 days from transplant. Flavor is rich, intense and just excellent. This is as good a salad tomato as it is a sauce tomato. The variety was originally brought to the US in the 1940s from Italy by Mr. Bisignano. My SSE source obtained the seeds from him. I was delighted with this tomato in 2023. Seed is saved as T23-9.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - #T11-47 - I returned back to 2011 saved seed to grow one of my favorite tomatoes this year. It didn’t disappoint, with a vigorous healthy potato leaf plant providing a very good yield of large oblate pale yellow tomatoes with a typically superb flavor, starting 93 days from transplant. There’s nothing more that needs to be said about this most incredible tomato. Seed saved as T23-10.

Ferris Wheel X Striped Sweetheart - F2 selection - #T21-2 - potato leaf - In 2020 I took pollen from Ferris Wheel and applied to a blossom on Striped Sweetheart. I grew out seed from the tomato that resulted in 2021. Last year I finally started exploring the possibilities and chose to grow one each of a potato leaf and regular leaf seedling. This entry discusses the potato leaf plant results. Harvest began in 88 days from transplant, with the fruit varying in size from 3 to 8 ounces, very oblate, pink and somewhat irregular in shape, completely devoid of stripes. Flavor was really excellent, but there was really nothing in this selection worth pursuing. Seed is saved as T23-11.

Ferris Wheel X Striped Sweetheart - F2 selection - #T21-2 - regular leaf - See the entry above for the story behind this mini project. The regular leaf plant produced very attractive pink nearly round tomatoes strongly striped with gold, starting in 88 days from transplant. Sadly, the tomatoes were quite small, in the 2-3 ounce range, and had a tendency for blossom end rot. Flavor was very good and it was very productive. Yet, because of small fruit size, this may not be worth any further effort. Seed saved as T23-12.

Brandywine

Brandywine - #T11-60 - I decided to go back to old seeds to get Brandywine back into my garden. It was a great decision. Brandywine is always a flavor favorite and it didn’t disappoint. It was very late for me this year - 97 days from transplant. The one pound average pink tomatoes produced on the potato leaf plant were superb to eat. Seed is saved as T23-13.

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom F4 selection - #7808 - Continuing the story from the entry above, my friend Lance Turner also grew seed saved from the hybrid and grew out a regular leaf seedling. The plant produced very large pale yellow oblate tomatoes that had a hint of pink in the center, and few seeds. Lance sent me some seed, in my collection as 7808, which I grew this year - the regular leaf plant produced its first ripe tomato in 84 days. This very productive selection produced pale yellow tomatoes with a trace of pink in the core. I found the flavor to be excellent - well balanced, with good intensity, and I rated it a solid 8. I believe that this is a selection that warrants more work, toward a future release. The seed is saved as T23-14.

Cherokee Green X Earl - F1 hybrid - #7788 - My friend Alex tried his hand at crossing pollen from Cherokee Green onto the superb variety Earl. Alex sent me some hybrid seed to grow from the cross. The regular leaf plant yielded very heavily, first fruit in 81 days from transplant. The oblate scarlet red fruit were in the 12-16 ounce range with excellent flavor. This should be a fun cross to play with in the F2 and beyond. Seed is saved as T23-15.

Green Giant - #T20-20 - No surprise here. The vigorous, prolific potato leaf plant produced 12-16 ounce smooth fruit that stays green when ripe (it is a clear skinned green when ripe). Flavor was typically excellent. Fruit started ripening in 80 days from transplant. This is simply a great, unique tomato. Seed is saved as T23-16.

Cherokee Purple (left, center) and Cherokee Chocolate (right)

Cherokee Purple - #T11-11 - I love to go back to grow Cherokee Purple from seed lots that are as close as possible to seed I received from J D Green in 1990. T11-11 is from T01-3, which is from T93-2, which is directly from #287, seed sent by Mr. Green. It is always interesting to see how relatively compact Cherokee Purple is when compared to most indeterminate varieties. It is also fascinating to see how attractive and regular the tomatoes are, as shown in the picture above. The first ripe fruit was harvested in 79 days from transplant. Productivity, plant health and flavor were all typically superb. Seed is saved as T23-17.

Cherokee Chocolate - #T11-18 - Similar to with Cherokee Purple, I like to go back in time for my Cherokee Chocolate plants. T11-18 is from T96-9, which is from T95-47, the initial appearance of the chocolate colored selection. Typically taller than Cherokee Purple, the fruit is slightly more oblate, very prolific, with first fruit in 83 days from transplant. Flavor was wonderful, as expected. Seed is saved as T23-18.

Dorothy’s Green showing the often irregular blossom ends - yellow skin, green flesh

Dorothy’s Green - #7746 - Here is another variety that I really enjoyed when growing in Raleigh that I ended up forgetting to regrow before the seed died. I asked for and received a seed sample from Neil Lockhart over the winter and looked forward to seeing how it did. It is the same color as Cherokee Green (yellow skin, green flesh), but far more irregular and oblate, with most fruit having distorted blossom ends. It is wildly productive, with first fruit in 81 days from transplant. Flavor was very good, not excellent. It was also one of the few plants to suffer disease issues, with apparent pith necrosis taking it down in the middle of the season, but not until it produced a lot of tomatoes. Seed is saved as T23-19.

Earl - #T21-5 - I just love this tomato. It is vigorous, prolific, with first ripe fruit in 83 days from transplant. Fruit size is in the 12-16 ounce range, but can grow larger. The smooth, oblate pink fruit have some green shoulders, and the texture and flavor are both superb. It has the flavor of Brandywine but is more reliable in yield. Seed is saved as T23-20.

Little Lucky - #T20-18 - I am always happy when Little Lucky is in my garden. It produces a lot of tomatoes that are best suited for use in salads, due to the 3-4 ounce size. The yellow/red bicolored tomatoes are full flavored and delicious. First fruit were harvested in 81 days from transplant. This was an excellent performance for Little Lucky this year. Seed is saved as T23-21.

Cherokee Green - #T19-17 - This variety has given me some trouble over recent years, occasionally showing up as crossed seed (scarlet or chocolate colored tomatoes). This year it was fine - tall and vigorous with first ripe fruit in 79 days from transplant. Fruit size varied from 10-16 ounces, with smooth oblate shape and delicious green flesh. The skin is yellow. This was another of the very few varieties in the garden that seemed to suffer pith necrosis, and was the first plant to die, following a heavy yield. Seed is saved as T23-22.

Lillian Rose from Vet farm, lower right - and from my garden, Lucky Cross from my garden upper left, Lillian’s Yellow lower right, upper left.Uluru Ochre (upper right) and Summer Sunrise (lower right) part of other updates.

Lillian Rose F4 selection #T22-15 - This is part of the Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom project, with this the sole named variety from this cross to date. Lillian Rose last year in my garden was a potato leaf, medium large pink fruit shaded with yellow and with superb flavor. I grew two plants this year, one in my garden, one at the Veterans Farm greenhouse (which was the best of the two). For the selection in my garden, first fruit was harvested in 96 days, so it was quite a late variety to ripen. The plant is quite compact for an indeterminate. It was very productive, and the fruit were quite large - 16 oz average - smooth, oblate and a lovely pink color (as seen in the picture above). The flavor was excellent, similar to the ChP X LYH hybrid, except on a potato leaf plant. This isn’t THE Lillian Rose candidate, but deserves to be released with a different name after a bit more work. It is actually very similar to the pink ChP X LYH that Justin sent me, as described in one of the earlier entries in this blog. The high quality of all of these selections from the cross should not be a surprise - two great parents should produce great offspring! Seed is saved as T23-23. This

Bing upper left, Polish upper right, Lucky Bling lower right (Yellow Brandywine lower left, part of the Vet Farm Greenhouse update to come

Little Lucky X Blue’s Bling - F4 selection = #T22-13 - Potato leaf, variegated leaf - this and the tomato below are continuations of work out of a hybrid I created by crossing Blue’s Bling with Little Lucky. I was very pleased with the plant health and production - the tricolored tomatoes (yellow with red and green) started to ripen 93 days from transplant, making this quite a late a variety. Fruit size ranged from 12-16 ounces, smooth oblate in shape with no issues with catfacing or blossom end rot. The seeds exhibited green gel, interior fresh medium yellow with some red marbling, and superb, complex, full flavor which I rated 8.5 out of 10. The working name for this selection is Lucky Bling - Alex Moring, among others, grew out this selection. Saved seed is T23-24.

Little Lucky X Blue’s Bling - F4 selection - #T22-16 - Regular leaf, variegated leaf - this is related to the work above - working to finish a regular leaf selection with variegation. The plant health and production were fine - the tomatoes tended toward a typical bicolor (yellow with red swirls outside and in). The pleasant, balanced flavor didn’t quite have the “zing” that the potato leaf selection described above possessed. Still, it is a selection worth pursuing - the working name is Rufus Rainbow, named for my friend, fellow gardener, former NC politician Rufus Edmiston. I need to acquire the feedback from others who grew this one out. Saved seed is T23-25.

Cherokee Green X Caitlin’s Lucky Stripe - F2 selection - #T21-11 - potato leaf plant - In 2020 I applied pollen from Cherokee Green into a blossom on Caitlin’s Lucky Stripe. I grew seed from the fruit that came from the cross in 2021, and it is that seed I planted this year, looking at possibilities of this cross for the first time. I was just delighted with the result. Starting in 84 days from transplant, loads of round 3-4 ounce smooth tomatoes were produced. The tomatoes had yellow skin with faint stripes, the flesh was bright green, and flavor superb. It is a bit small, but the flavor demands that work continues on this as an attractive future release. What a delightful surprise! Seed is saved as T23-26.

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - F4 selection - 7785 - This is the third and final part of the story of selections from this cross started above. Another garden friend who received F2 seeds, Mary Revelle, discovered a regular leaf, yellow fruited tomato that she really liked, and sent me seeds which are in my collection as 7785. I grew one plant, regular leaf, from that seed and was delighted with the result. The first fruit harvested in 82 days after transplant, The tomatoes from this plant were more round than oblate, smooth, large to very large, some in the 24 ounce range. The bright yellow tomatoes showed a faint pink blush in the center. Flavor was outstanding - among the best flavored tomatoes of the season. This is certainly a candidate for further work and a future release. The seed is saved as T23-27.

Don’s Double Delight X Cancelmo Family Heirloom F2

Don’s Double Delight X Cancelmo Family Heirloom - F2 selection - #T21-8 - In 2020, I applied pollen from Don’s Double Delight onto a blossom on Cancelmo Family Heirloom. I saved seeds from the resulting tomato, and grew it in 2021, saving lots of seeds. I finally got around to exploring the possibilities, and grew a potato leaf seedling in my garden. It was quite unusual in not producing flowers until quite high up the plant, and the flowers were of varying size. First fruits were not harvested until 94 days from transplant, making it one of the latest varieties I grew. It was well worth waiting for; the tomatoes were strongly heart shaped and strongly striped - crimson pink background with gold stripes. Size varied from 4 to 16 ounces, with most in the 8-12 oz range. The tomato was quite meaty, with an excellent, full flavor balanced toward the sweet side. It reminded me very much of Don’s Double Delight in flesh color and texture and flavor. This is a keeper and well worth pursuing as a new released variety. The seed is saved as T23-28.

Cherokee Chocolate X Stump of the World F4 selection sliced

Cherokee Chocolate X Stump of the World - F4 selection - #7795 - In 2020 I took pollen from Cherokee Chocolate and applied it to a flower on Stump of the World. I grew out the hybrid and sent saved seed around to some friends. Eddie Lambert grew out a number of F2 generation and really liked a green fleshed selection with deep amber skin. He sent me seeds and I grew one of the plants from those seeds this year. The regular leaf plant was very vigorous, producing a heavy yield of tomatoes very similar to Cherokee Green (perhaps a bit smaller in size, but identical in color). First fruit were harvested in 83 days. An early tendency for blossom end rot eventually vanished. Flavor was excellent. The plant did come down with disease in the mid season (seemed to be afflicted with pith necrosis). I liked the variety, but don’t consider it to be appreciably different, or better, than Cherokee Green. Seed saved as T23-29.

Purple Price (aka Price’s Purple) - #7800 - This is another former favorite variety that was lost to me (due to older seed that lost its viability). I requested a sample from Seed Savers Exchange, which allowed me to grow it again at last. I first received the variety from a fellow amateur tomato breeder named Tad Smith. This variety is the result of one of Tad’s first tomato breeding efforts. Tad crossed a pink potato leaf heirloom from Virginia with Purple Calabash. Once we achieved a purple colored tomato on a potato leaf plant, he worked to smooth out the fruit a bit, so did a cross with Ozark Pink. He did the breeding work at Price Hall at Virginia Tech, hence the name. What I remember is that Purple Price was a Cherokee Purple - colored tomato on a potato leaf plant, with excellent flavor. This year I confirmed my previous assessment. The 12 ounce oblate purple tomatoes were very tasty. First fruit was harvested in 80 days. Productivity was excellent. The only issue was that it was the first plant in the garden to become afflicted with septoria leaf spot. Removing blemished leaves kept it well in control. Though not in the same arena flavor-wise as Cherokee Purple, it is a variety well worth growing. Seed saved as T23-30.

Purple Dog Creek - #7816 - I acquired seed of this as a favor to my friend Adam, who enjoys growing local heirlooms. I decided to give it a chance in my garden. It is a Kentucky heirloom that originated in the community of Dog Creek, near Munfordville, Kentucky, obtained by Randy Sine of West Virginia. This plant was one vigorous monster, and was one of the most productive varieties in the garden. I harvested one fruit that was over 2 pounds, but most were in the 1 pound range. Fruit shape is quite smooth oblate, quite regular for the size - crimson pink in color. First ripe fruit was harvested in 76 days, making it quite early for a really big tomato. I liked the flavor and texture; it was a typical pink heirloom type in flavor, similar to but a bit better than German Johnson. Seed saved as T23-30.

Bing - #7333 - I decided to give Bing another chance this year, as I really enjoyed the size and flavor when I grew it a few years ago. The growth habit is a bit atypical, being highly branched and a bit “floppy” and hard to keep under control - it is a very avid sucker producer. The tomatoes are also unusual in being nearly round, quite large (up to and a bit over one pound in some cases), yet don’t have dark green shoulders as they develop. They are quite firm in texture with a very good or slightly better flavor - a very typical scarlet red beefsteak type flavor. It is quite a late variety, first fruit harvested in 92 days. The variety seems a bit disease prone in comparison to most other varieties. It didn’t perform as well this year as it did the first time I grew it. I still wonder if it could be a close relation to the historic variety Abraham Lincoln, released by the Buckbee Seed Company in 1923. Seed saved as T23-32.

Though labeled “Webber”, this is actually Parrish.

Parrish - #7864 - The seeds were given to me with the name “Webber” by my friend Adam Kirk - he acquired them from an elderly seed saver. It was a fairly unusual variety in having the palest green foliage of all of the plants in my garden and very round tomatoes with no dark green shoulders. The tomatoes ripened scarlet red and remained very smooth and very round - productivity was excellent and the flavor quite nice. First fruit was harvested in 83 days. Fruit size is very uniform in right around 8 ounces. I suspect this is a variety derived from red commercial open pollinated varieties in the 1920-1940 period, such as Rutgers or Marglobe. Adam did manage to find Webber in his growouts, which showed as a typical large yellow/red bicolor. I think that Parrish would work out as a fine canning tomato due to its productivity and smoothness. Seed saved as T23-33

The spectacular interior of Captain Lucky

Captain Lucky - #T22-9 - Captain Lucky did it again! It was the best tasting of the 2022 garden, and accomplished the same thing (to my palate) in 2023. It is a Millard Murdock variety that he created from an accidental cross between Lucky Cross and another variety. The potato leaf plant produced very well and was vigorous and healthy all season. The tomatoes started to ripen in 79 days from transplant and averaged 12 ounces. With a green and reddish purple exterior, the interior is mostly green, with a bit of crimson bleeding in. The flavor is magnificent - full, balanced, intense - just delicious. It’s not often that fairly recently acquired varieties end up in my overall top 10 list, but Captain Lucky managed to do so! Seed saved as T23-34

Zena’s Gift upper right, Little Lucky X Blue’s Bling regular leaf F4 - Rufus Rainbow - lower right.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Zena’s Gift - F1 hybrid - #7622 - This hybrid was created by my UK friend Lance Turner (of Tomato Revolution seeds). Zena’s Gift is an uncommon heirloom variety that produces large pink hearts. The hybrid that I grew was regular leaf (as expected) and very prolific, First ripe in 83 days, the tomatoes had a tendency to very slight heart shape and ran very large, up to a pound or more. The color was pink - the interior had faint hints of yellow. Seeds were few, the texture was firm and flavor pleasant and mildly sweet. When crossing heirlooms, the aim is not typically the quality of the hybrid - the “good stuff” happens when growing out saved seeds. This is likely a start point for some interesting leaf/shape/color/flavor combinations. Seed saved as T23-35.

Potato Leaf Yellow - #7799 - I was reminded why I loved this tomato so much when I first grew it in 1990. I received it from Barbara Lund of Ohio, SSE member, who sent it along with Yellow Brandywine. For some reason, I didn’t grow it very often (it seemed to struggle in Raleigh, whereas it flourished in West Chester PA). All of my saved seed lots were too old to germinate, so I requested it from the Seed Savers Exchange. They likely sent me seed from me years ago that they had frozen (this also happened when I requested the snap bean Marbel from them - kind of a perfect circle, really!). Potato Leaf Yellow was one of the best performers of my 2023 garden. The first ripe tomato was harvested 79 days from transplant. Yield was excellent - the pale orange oblate tomatoes were in the rage of 8-22 ounces, with most in the 1 pound range. My wife thought it was the best flavored tomato of the year - intense, refreshing, and well balanced. Though similar in color to Yellow Brandywine, it is clearly a different tomato in flavor and performance. Yellow Brandywine as a bit darker orange in hue, and is a bit more tart on the palate. I am so happy to have Potato Leaf Yellow as a living part of my collection once more. Seed saved as T23-36.

Potato Leaf yellow

That completes the first part of a four part 2023 tomato review. Next will be Dwarf Tomato Project varieties grown in 5 gallon grow bags in my back yard.

Array of ripe tomatoes sitting on the counter on August 1