Final article from "Off The Vine", Volume 1, Number 1. "Fax Facts" - an interview of Faxon Stinnett by Carolyn

Back page of our first issue of Off The Vine. With this blog, the entire issue is now posted.

This may be where the true treasures in Off The Vine reside - the interviews Carolyn and I did with prominent tomato folks. Faxon Stinnett was one of those foundational SSE members that brought so much character, and so many wonderful varieties, into the annual SSE yearbooks which ended up in so many gardens. Here’s Carolyn’s interview.

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Fax Facts

Carolyn

Fax Stinnett is one of our pioneer SSE tomato growers.  When I interviewed him by phone in late July he had just come inside from tending the 85 varieties (about 200 plants) he’s growing this year and was prepared to settle in by the air conditioner for the rest of the hot Oklahoma afternoon.  I had talked with Fax before and we had exchanged a few letters, but on that Saturday morning in July we had a chance to talk in more detail.

Fax was born in Arkansas in 1907, named Faxon after a hero in a novel, and he and his family moved to Oklahoma in 1910.  He is the oldest of eight brothers and sisters, five of whom are still alive.  Taking after his grandmother and father Fax became a teacher.  He passed his teacher certification exam after graduating from high school and initially taught in rural one room schools.  By the time he retired in 1971 he was the Principal of the local high school.  He and his wife Mary celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 25, 1993; they raised 2 boys and a girl, all now in their 50s.  Their daughter lives “within shouting distance” from them on the 10 acre plot he and Mary have occupied for the last 51 years.

Gardens have been a part of Fax’s life for 81 of his 86 years!  He clearly remembers responding to an “ad” for the SSE in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix in 1978 and attended the first SSE Campout in 1981 when Diane and Kent were still in Missouri.  There were seven SSE members present.  Fax remembers Dale Anderson (from Indiana), Auburn Cooper and Virgil Johnson (both from Kansas), Russell Crow (from Illinois), Tom Knoche (from Ohio) and Al Razor of Iowa.  He and Mary are still in touch with some of those folks and it’s clear that to them, the SSE friends they’ve made over the years are very special friends.

The first “Yearbook” or SSE Annual that Fax received listed each member’s offerings next to his/her name.  His first offering was Little Yellow, a small yellow tomato that appeared as a volunteer.  His tomato collection grew over the years to about 400 total varieties of which he was offering about 100 per year in the yearbook.  In the past few years he’s planted less (200 plants is less?) because of “advancing” age.  But other than an occasional aspirin and eye drops for glaucoma he says his health is pretty good.  Recently he’s made a master list describing in detail all 400 or so of his varieties.  He gave copies to a few close tomato friends and also to the SSE which has samples of all of his varieties.  He enthusiastically praised Beth Rotto of the SSE for her efforts.  A few years ago he started the transfer of his collection to a man whom Fax expected would grow and reoffer the seeds through the SSE.  This has not happened and clearly Fax is disappointed.

Other tomato friends he spoke of often during our conversation were Gary Staley (Florida) and Thane Earle (Wisconsin), both still active in the SSE, and Don Branscomb, who has not been a member for 2 years and whose present location is not known.

Of course I had to ask Fax for his favorites.  He prefers pinks and immediately mentioned Brandywine and Arkansas Traveler as two of his favorites.  Fax is not an heirloom tomato “purist”.  He grows some hybrids, like Better Boy, because they are good, and experiments with newer ones to see how they do in his garden.  He grows some of his plants in metal cages but most of them are tied up along both sides of a metal fence (hog wire) 3 ft apart along the fence and 1 ft apart on opposite sides of the fence; the opposites are of the same variety.  He fertilizes with 10-20-10, usually twice, and also uses a foliar feed.  He and Mary can tomato juice and whole tomatoes but I have a hunch they give away a lot of produce, tomatoes included!  While Fax tends the vegetables, Mary grows a wide variety of flowers; I’ll bet they are spectacular.

Fax says that their association with the SSE over the years has been wonderful and I know I speak for many SSE members in thanking Fax and Mary for part contributions and wishing them continued good health and happiness in the years ahead.

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Craig’s thoughts upon reading this for the first time on a long time

Here are a few thoughts and a bit more information after reading this interview for the first time in a very long time. His full name was Orville Faxon Stinnett, born in Reed, Arkansas on August 28, 1907. Fax died in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on May 25, 2004, at the age of 96. His wife, Mary Elizabeth, died in 1996.

I requested seeds from Fax twice - in 1989, requesting Big Ben, Greater Baltimore and Long Tom, and 1994, requesting Mexican Beefsteak and Mexican Beefsteak Pole. I also had a nice correspondence with him about Abraham Lincoln, the authentic version of which he was also searching for. It was he that notified me that a conversation with someone at Shumway confirmed that the true strain was lost to the company.

A few years after joining the SSE I made the trip to Decorah to attend the summer Campout. Though I didn’t get to meet Fax, I did get to make acquaintance with quite a few other SSE members that joined quite early on and had impressive seed collections. It was such a special event, and was very important to all that transpired in my gardening world since.

Since this blog post is the conclusion of the article-by-article blog series of Volume 1, Issue 1, I hope that those of you who are reading these are getting as much joy from them as I am, being reunited with our printed words and thoughts from decades ago. I will begin posting articles from Volume 1, Issue 2 next week!

Mid February sunset from our deck in Hendersonville

40 Years Ago! A peek into the 1982 SSE Yearbook

Very unique, very quaint!

Having access to all of the Seed Savers Exchange yearbooks (1975 up to the one that just arrived in my mail a few days ago) is something I treasure. Divining all of the amazing horticultural history from them could keep one busy for many lifetimes.

The yearbooks were packed away for our move from Raleigh to Hendersonville, and I just found the box that had the real oldies inside. The very first yearbooks didn’t have a separate list of varieties - just the special name and location code, alphabetically by state, followed by the various things offered.

I just noted that the 1982 SSE Yearbook added an index of seeds by type. This is also, fortuitously, exactly 40 years ago. In 1982, the SSE was 7 years old, and the gardening public was 33 years removed from the launch of Burpee’s Big Boy tomato, the very first highly popularized and widely grown hybrid tomato. In a way, its popularity paved the way for an increasing focus on hybrid varieties and a parallel reduction in non-hybrid listings in American seed catalogs.

I thought it would be fun to poke through the tomato listings to see what sorts of things were being traded about in 1982. The focus will be on (now) well known family heirlooms that likely owed their continued existence to the creation of the SSE.

Big Ben (or Stump of the World), Brandywine, Bulgarian Triumph, Dinner Plate, Dutchman, Dwarf Champion, Evergreen, German Giant, German Johnson, German Pink, Giant Belgium, Glesener’s, Golden Dwarf Champion, Goldie, King Excel, Mammoth German Gold, Mortgage Lifter, Peron, Pineapple, Ruby Gold, Sabre, Stone, Tasty Evergreen, Watermelon Beefsteak, White Princess, Winsall and Yellow Ponderosa.

Leroy Schmidbauer of New Jersey was looking for two very old varieties now thought to be extinct - Fejee and Cook’s Favorite.

There was a pretty hefty list of “No Name” varieties, sometimes with colors indicated - 9 of them. 8 tomatoes started with the word “German”.

In all, about 260 tomatoes were listed - either as available, or as varieties being searched for by SSE members.

part of the dense, heavily coded tomato section of the 1982 SSE Yearbook

As far as listed members, some pretty familiar names grace the pages, such as Gary Nabhan (Arizona), Tom Butterworth (Connecticut), Glenn Drowns (Idaho), Russell Crowe (Illinois), Dale Anderson (Indiana), Howard Cory (Iowa), Clarice Cooper (Kansas), Will Bonsall (Maine), Dorothy Beiswenger and Frank Morrow (Minnesota), Virgil Johnson (Missouri), Jim DeWeese (Ohio), Tom Knoche (Ohio), Barbara Lund (Ohio), Alexander Pal (Ohio), Carl Barnes (Oklahoma), Faxon Stinnett (Oklahoma), John Rahart (Wyoming), Lars-Olov Rosenstrum (Sweden). Since joining the SSE in 1986, I’ve had the pleasure of correspondence with some of these wonderful gardeners, requesting and sending seeds. Yellow Brandywine, one of my very favorites, came from Barbara Lund.

The yearbook has more than just member info and seed listings. The early years of the SSE saw the yearbooks being used for brief articles on all things seed. It is a fascinating read. A few examples are found below.

More than anything else, reading through this reminds me of simpler times. There was no social networking, no email - just hand written (or typed, but definitely mailed) letters. (((sigh)))

My tomato collection tour - part 7. Tomatoes 71-80

Fully loaded Red Robin from 2006

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!

Yellow White, from 2005, very likely what White Beauty looks like. I wanted to show a white when ripe tomato.

More from "Off The Vine", Volume 1, Number 1. "Saving Seeds" by Carolyn

The article on seed saving by Carolyn, transcribed below, with comments prior to and after by me

The next two articles to be posted are by Carolyn Male. The first, in this blog, transcribed below, details her methods for saving tomato seeds. Reading it is just like having a phone chat with her, something we did often. Those that know her - and me - probably only imagine the length of those phone calls!

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Saving Seeds

Carolyn

When filling SSE requests the three most common questions I’m asked are (1) cross-pollination and isolation distances (see Jeff McCormack’s article in this issue) (2)  how to save seeds (see this article), and (3) my favorite tomatoes (future articles!).

Step 1 in saving seeds is to cut your fingernails!  I know this may sound odd but the seeds can get caught under your fingernails and then get washed off into the next variety you are processing thus contaminating the seed you’re processing.  Select firm, ripe fruit from several vines of the same variety and be sure to include a range of fruit sizes; don’t save just the “big” ones.  It’s OK to process fruit that is a bit “over the hill”.  If frost is expected and you MUST save seed from some varieties remember that a tomato that has any color on it will have mature seed.  If you are saving seed just for yourself I don’t see any problem with just scooping out some seeds and drying them.  But if you’re going to offer seed to other SSE members it would be best to process them by fermentation because (1) you get a lot of seed, (2) you eliminate viruses and bacteria which cause tomato diseases, and (3) you end up with fuzzy, squeaky clean seeds which are free of skin, pulp and dirt.

I’m going to describe the method which works best for me; feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you.  I buy 1 lb clear plastic deli containers from the local supermarket; clear containers are best because you can monitor the fermentation process.  Label a container with tape stating the variety name.  Squeeze enough pulp/seeds into the container until it is ¾ full.  Wash your hands thoroughly between filling each of the containers so you don’t carry over seeds and contaminate the next batch.  Place the open containers out of the sun either indoors or out where “critters” won’t tip them over and where fruit files and the anticipated “ripe” odor won’t bother anyone.  Depending on the tomato variety and temperature you’ll usually see a mat of white wrinkled fungus form on the surface of the pulp within a few days and you’ll see bubbles forming under the fungus which indicates the fermentation process has started.  Some folks stir each mixture daily (beware of the contamination between containers), but I don’t stir.  Fermentation is a process which occurs beset in the absence of oxygen and I feel that stirring induces oxygen.  The acid conditions developed from the fermentation are felt to kill most of the virus pathogens and fungus is felt to produce antibiotics which kill most of the bacterial pathogens.  After about 3 to 5 days the seeds have separated from the pulp and have sunk to the bottom or are only loosely attached to the pulp.

Now I’m ready to process this mess! First I directly label (no tape) paper plates with the variety name; Styrofoam plates are not good because they don’t absorb water well from the wet seeds you’ll be putting on the plates.  Then I sit down with a large bucket between my legs and a hose with a pistol grip handle by my left hand (I’m right handed).  Pour off the top layer of pulp and fungus into the bucket; yes, you’ll lose some seeds.  Now spritz some water into the container while swirling with your right hand.  The good seeds will sink and you can pour off the pulp, skin and other debris.  You’ll need to sprtiz, swirl and decant several times until the water is clear.  Drain off the water and dump the seeds onto a labeled paper plate, spreading the seeds around with your finger so there’s only one layer of seeds.  Seeds dumped in a pile may germinate if the weather is damp because fermentation also removes a germination inhibitor.  For heavens sake don’t site under the maple tree with plates of seeds on a windy day or off they’ll go into the wild blue yonder!  Trust me, I’ve done it!  The amount of seed  you get is most dependent upon the variety of tomato, seedy or not, but is also dependent on how efficient the fermentation process was in releasing seeds from their gel capsule and the pulp.  For a tomato like Opalka, a long paste type, I may have to do 3 or 4 containers because the variety has so few seeds.

Dry the seeds in a protected area away from the sun.  I use an empty bedroom which becomes decorated with plates.  I almost forgot, don’t stack the plates with wet seeds because the seeds stick to the plate above them.  The seeds usually are dry in a week or so.  And you should know that mice LOVE tomato seeds so beware!  After the seeds are completely dry, I put them in small screw cap vials.  I use a different color take each year to label the vials.  Jeff McCormack has given some additional ideas for how to keep the seeds under low humidity conditions, which is important if you’ll be keeping the seeds for several years.

That’s how I save my tomato seeds. Some folks use a sieve to separate the pulp from the seeds after fermentation; that method has not worked well for me, but it has worked well for Craig.  Fermentation of seeds is a bit messy and smelly, but if you’re going to share seeds with others it would be nice to share clean disease-free seeds.  I would estimate that in any given year 90% of the seed I receive has been fermented.  I hope the above will be helpful to the many SSE members who have been hesitant to list varieties and become listed members because of not knowing how to ferment the seed.  In 1993 I sent out over 1000 packets of seed.  I know from experience that less than 5% of that seed will be reoffered.  If that trend continues, much of the SSE collection will end up being reoffered by a very few members; that is not a desirable situation.  But we will discuss that issue elsewhere in this newsletter.

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Craig’s comments upon reading - the 2022 view

There is so much wisdom, and some accurate prognostication, going on in Carolyn’s article. She pleads for everyone growing OP varieties to save seeds - it isn’t difficult, is extremely rewarding, and provides lots of seeds to share, donate to seed libraries, and grow on into the future.

The other huge point is the very last bit - the extremely low of seed reoffer rate in the SSE yearbook from seeds sent out. When we were doing this newsletter, Carolyn and me, a few others such as Gary Staley, Calvin Wait, Edmund Brown, Glenn Drowns, Will Bonsall (not an exhaustive list!) held significant tomato variety collections offered through the SSE yearbooks, and just speaking for me, the number of requests were overwhelming, yet rewarding. However, I confirm what Carolyn said - there was a very low reoffer rate. The way I put this into context is to realize that the SSE has been going since 1975…sitting here in 2022, that’s 47 years. In all that time, the maximum number of SSE members offering back seeds in the yearbook was barely over 1,000. Heirloom tomato growing, seed saving - this type of gardening will likely always be a niche activity. It is also vital to keeping these treasured varieties alive and growing and being shared and loved.

I use SSE yearbooks to raise my laptop for Zooms and podcasts! Definitely multi-use, treasured items!

The snow is melting, and my 2022 garden planning continues...

Marlin and Koda - looking at Marlin’s ghostly doppelganger, perhaps?

Let’s take a break from my Seed Collection and Off The Vine blog series and get serious about my 2022 garden plans. I will be starting seeds in a month, so this is certainly timely.

Here goes! To put this in perspective, I had 109 tomato plants and dozens of pepper and eggplants. The plan below represents the first major reduction in garden size in decades.

10 straw bales for tomatoes, 2 tomatoes per bale (not specific as to which tomato in which bale yet!).

The 20 indeterminate tomatoes.

Cherokee Purple - flavor favorite

Cherokee Chocolate - flavor favorite

Cherokee Green - flavor favorite

Polish - flavor favorite

Lucky Cross - flavor favorite

Captain Lucky - been on my list for years - a find from Lucky Cross sent by a friend

Estler’s Mortgage Lifter - searching for the real deal, trying seed from Neil Lockhart

Yellow Family heirloom, sent to me this off season

“Mary’s Heirloom” - family heirloom sent to me off season

“World War II” - family heirloom sent to me off season (maybe)

JD Special C Tex, potato leaf variant, sent to me off season (maybe)

Glory F1 hybrid which I created on film last year - Dester X Dwarf Gloria’s Treat

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom F2 - potato leaf selection (3 of them)

Blue’s Bling X Polish F2, potato leaf variegated selections (2 of them)

Blue’s Bling X Little Lucky F2, potato leaf variegated selections (3 of them)

The two with “maybe” above could end up substituted with other varieties. We shall see.

5 gallon grow bag - 1 in front of each of the 15 bales - 15 tomatoes

Lilly family (Lillian’s Yellow X Speckled Heart) F2 dwarf selections, potato leaf (3 plants)

Lucky family (Lucky Cross X Buddy’s Heart), F2 dwarf selections, potato leaf (2 plants)

Blingy family (Blue’s Bling X Dwarf Mocha’s Cherry), F2 dwarf selections with variegation and antho (2 plants)

Moby family (Cancelmo Family X Moby’s Cherry) - F2 dwarf selection (1 plant)

Crossy family (Lucky Cross X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (1 plant)

Plummy family (Lillian’s Yellow X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (2 plants)

Donny family (Don’s Double Delight X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (2 plants)

Misty family (Mr. Snow X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (if I can find it!) (1 plant)

Dwarf Coastal Pride (my garden friend Mike thinks this needs to be in my garden - so, here it is!)

Again - substitutions could happen depending upon germination results. It is clear that the focus this year is on finding interesting things from recent crosses.

5 gallon grow bag - 2 next to the bean and squash bale group - 4 tomatoes

Suzy F4 dwarf with fuzzy pink fruit (1 plant)

Fuzzy purple fruit (1 plant)

Fuzzy pink fruit (1 plant)

Variegated Micro (1 plant)

The last three above may be switched out - they can go into grow bags in a different location.

5 gallon pots near the driveway area fence - these are all cherry types, most sent by garden friends as unusual finds - 8 tomatoes

Egg Yolk potato leaf

Egg Yolk red fruited variant

Fruit yellow cherry

Fruity orange cherry

Suzy’s Wild Red

Suzy’s, orange variant

Sun Gold hybrid - flavor favorite

Egg Yolk - flavor favorite

The above adds up to 47 tomatoes - 28 indeterminate, 16 dwarfs and 3 ???

Five straw bales for eggplants and peppers (5 of each)

I will focus on my Orient Express and Islander selections for these.

This will prove to be a very interesting set of plants. There will be less sure things, however!

Marlin looking for attention in the morning (as usual)

My tomato collection tour - part 6. Tomatoes 51-70

This is where I jumped deeply in to the SSE - my treasured 1986 Yearbook

Let’s proceed. The numbers look funny because quite a few in this span were used for saved seed - it will be clear which. Read on!

Tomato 51 - Better Boy F1 hybrid - This was probably the first tomato I grew in my gardens, back in 1981, in West Lebanon New Hampshire just after marrying Sue. I purchased the seedlings at a local plant nursery. The plants grew well, and the large scarlet tomatoes were delicious. Big Boy was the first famous hybrid, created by Burpee and first sold in 1949. John Peto was a breeder for Burpee, but he left to start his own company, Petoseeds, and Better Boy emerged out of that new company. Supposedly Big Boy arose from a cross between a large regular leaf pink heirloom type and a popular red tomato of the mid 1940s, such as Rutgers. Better Boy may have arose from a similar cross, a large pink with a medium or large red. I never did grow out saved seeds to see what I would get. All I know is that it was essential to include it in my heirloom vs hybrid competition, and I grew it in my 1988 garden from seeds purchased from Crosman as a packet at the nursery. Interestingly, Crosman has been a seed company since 1838. Their current website shows a selection of only 7 tomato types, including old standbys Beefsteak, Marglobe, Rutgers and Jubilee. For a large tomato, Better Boy yields quite early; in my case, fir fruit were picked in 67 days. I harvested 47 tomatoes at an average weight of 7.1 ounces, for a total weight of 20.8 pounds. Of course, it was delicious, and did rate an A. Perhaps it was the nostalgia of my first gardens. I do wish I had purchased it from a more reliable source, as the fruit seemed smaller than they should have been. Oddly, as much as Better Boy was a foundational variety for my gardening adventures, I’ve not returned to it since.

Tomato 52 - Trip - L - Crop - This was purchased as a Crosman packet in 1987. I’ve no idea why I decided to buy it, except it was described as an enormous yielder in a few of the tomato books I used for reference. Historically, there is a lot of conflicting info. Burgess, in 1938, lists a new variety, “Climbing Tomato”, regular leaf, large fruited and red. It was first called “Climbing Trip-L-Crop” in 1939. It was listed as “crimson”, so is likely a pink tomato. It is often listed as potato leaf, but also noted as a selection from their tomato “Colossal”, itself likely a selection of “Ponderosa”. Clear as mud, right?

Tomato 53 - Super Italian Paste - I ordered this from Seeds Blum in 1988. Sadly, I never did grow it. From looking at descriptions and pictures, it seems like an Opalka-type tomato - a long, frying pepper shaped scarlet tomato. I suspect I purchased it because I’d not yet grown one of the long paste types.

Tomato 54 - Beefsteak - I didn’t purchase this, but it arrived as a “gift” seed packet from National Gardening Association, which gardening magazine I subscribed to. This dates way back to the early 1900s, the typical irregular scarlet colored (rather than pink)) variety that often exceed one pound. I didn’t grow this particular seed.

Tomatoes 55-64 are the numbers used for saved seed from Tomatoes Persimmon, Abraham Lincoln, Czech’s Excellent Yellow, Sugar Lump, Tiger Tom, Yellow Cherry, Ruby Gold, Brandywine, Nepal, and Pineapple.

Tomato 65 - Oregon Spring - This variety was purchased from Johnny’s selected Seeds in 1988, and was in my 1988 garden. Bred by Dr. Jim Baggett in Oregon and released in 1984, the selling point was good fruit set across a wide temperature range, with seedless tomatoes resulting on occasion depending upon the temperature at which the fruit set (the only parthenocarpic variety of my gardening experience). The plant was quite compact and productive, but I found it lacking in flavor. As to the numbers, the first picked tomato was in 70 days from transplant. I harvested 63 tomatoes at an average weight of 3.2 ounces, so the compact determinate plant provided 12.8 pounds of tomatoes. I rated the flavor a B - it was a home grown tomato. I never did grow it again.

Tomato 66 - Early Cascade F1 hybrid - Also from Johnny’s in 1988, and part of my 1988 garden, this very productive, medium small variety was described in fairly glowing terms in the seed catalog. First fruit coming in at 66 days (among the earliest in my garden that year), I picked 90 tomatoes with an average weight of 3.3 ounces. 18.8 pounds of a smaller tomato is pretty impressive. Alas, the flavor was rated B-. Upon reflection it is likely a better tomato for skewering and grilling and roasting than fresh eating.

Tomato 67 - Valencia - a Johnny’s Selected Seeds specialty that I purchased from them in 1988. Apparently a selection of Sunray, itself a selection of Jubilee, this medium sized, lovely bright orange tomato did fairly well. Jubilee is a Burpee bred variety from the early 1940s that they stabilized from a cross between Marglobe and Tangerine. Sunray arose from introducing some disease tolerance into Jubilee. Statistics on Valencia from my 1988 trial - first ripe in 74 days from transplant. I harvested 33 tomatoes at an average weight of 8.2 ounces, giving a total plant yield of 16.9 pounds. I liked, didn’t love, the flavor - but the B+ it received is not too shabby at all.

Tomato 68 - Firebird F1 hybrid - yet another new (at the time) introduction by Johnny’s and purchased from them - and grown - in 1988. I really liked Firebird, and it was one of the best hybrids of my 3 year contest. It began bearing slightly oblate, smooth pink tomatoes early, in 68 days from transplant. Average fruit size was 6 ounces, but I harvested 50 tomatoes from the plant - that’s 18.8 pounds. The flavor and texture were fine - I gave it an A-. I’ve not found it listed any longer, so Firebird is an example of how fleeting hybrid varieties can be in terms of longevity. Once the developer decides it isn’t a hot selling “in” variety, they simply stop making the crosses to produce the seeds. It disappears from seed catalogs. And because the parents of hybrids are kept secret, the only way to grow it again is if the original creator decides to produce it once more.

Tomato 69 - Pink Grapefruit - I purchased this old Gleckler variety from the Tomato Seed Company in 1988. At times, it was thought to have been lost. I grew it in my 1991 garden and found it to be quite unique and delightful. Little is known about its origin. What made it unique is the bright yellow, round tomatoes that possess a lovely soft pink core. When I grew it in 1991, my record keeping wasn’t great and it predates digital cameras. I recollect a high yield of round 4 ounce bright yellow tomatoes on a regular leaf plant - the center pink core is very attractive. The flavor was mild and on the sweet side. I have to check my seed collection to see if any of my saved seeds are likely to germinate. This variety was thought to be lost at various points in time, but it is comforting to note a few gardeners offering seeds in the SSE exchange.

Tomato 70 - Caro Rich - I actually purchased seeds of this tomato twice - from the Tomato Seed Company in 1988, and Seeds Blum in 1990 (perhaps it was sent as a free sample). Alas I never did grow the variety. It was bred from Caro Red - itself bred at Purdue to create a tomato with elevated beta-carotene levels. Whereas Caro Red was…well, red! - Caro Rich was orange. Various reports on its flavor were highly mixed, and that is likely what made me put it on the back burner. Little did I realize that the back burner was permanent!

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And on we move, through my tomato collection. The next 10 - numbers 71-80- include the first white and first green tomatoes in my collection. See you next week!

This picture shows my very first SSE acquisition - Fowler, still a favorite bush green bean, sent by George McLaughlin, then living in Indiana.

Continuing with "Off The Vine", Volume 1, Number 1. Craig’s article “Tomato History”

The page that holds the article - it will be easier to read transcribed, below, where I add a preface and ending analysis and commentary from where I sit today.

One thing that will become apparent when seeing the articles I enjoyed writing for Off The Vine is that I love tomato history. I think it goes back to wanting to find out which types my grandfather, Walter, grew in his garden, because they were the tomatoes that I first ate and loved, and his garden was the one that first captivated me. The rest is…well, history! And about that title - this really only represents but a small slice of tomato history - with the US lens applied.

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Tomato History (by Craig)

As all of you know, the SSE Winter Yearbook contains descriptions of a few thousand tomatoes.  All told, the SSE Heritage Farm holds seed samples of more than 3500 named varieties.  One wonders how many of these are truly different, as there has certainly been far less than that number actually “developed” by seed companies or other plant breeders.  Since the SSE lists only open-pollinated, or non-hybrid, varieties, and little breeding work on these types has been carried out since the advent of hybrids (probably in the 1950’s or so), many of the SSE listed types are probably mutations or sports, garden crossings, selections, and local or family renaming of known varieties. Untangling this web of variety confusion would be a daunting, if not impossible, task.

 The point of this article, however, is to look at some of the significant tomatoes that have been developed and decide whether they still exist.  A major sources for this information is a Michigan State agricultural bulletin from 1938 that described various tomato varieties available at that time.  Old seed catalogs from the late 1800’s/early 1900’s provided additional information.  One thing to keep in mind is that bees can cross tomatoes, and there is evidence that in areas where sweat bees are prevalent, this can become a problem.  What this means is that it is likely that the old commercially released tomatoes, such as Stone or Acme, may not be exactly the same as they were when developed and released, since it is unlikely that any variety has been grown in isolation for the last 100 years or so.

 Aside from the smaller fruited cherry, currant, plum and pear tomatoes, which have been known since the mid 1800’s and earlier, this article will focus upon larger, or slicing, tomatoes which were specifically developed by breeders or observant gardeners or farmers.  A. W. Livingston was paramount in these early efforts, and he in fact released a number of named varieties between 1870 and 1900.  These resulted primarily from noticing a distinctly different variety growing in a field or plot of another, such as one plant bearing red fruit in a plot of a pink variety.  He also developed some of his varieties from seed that various customers sent to him.

 Starting in about 1900, new varieties were created by crossing or hybridizing varieties, which is the method currently being used to create the many hybrids that populate the majority of today’s seed catalogs.  The main difference is that rather than release the F1 generation (hybrid) seed, the process of growing out, selecting and, therefore, stabilizing open pollinated varieties was used. This is the manner in which Rutgers and Marglobe were derived.  This process is used today for the development of new OP’s.

 As I stated earlier in this article, the vast majority of tomatoes in the SSE collection were never commercially developed or available, being local or family developments or renamings.  The following tomatoes were actually developed, named and offered in various seed catalogs, and are offered in the SSE Winter Yearbook.  Listed will be the tomato name, color, and approximate date of introduction: Acme (pink, 1875), Golden Queen (yellow, 1882), Stone (red, 1889), Peach (fuzzy, pink, 1891), Ponderosa (pink, 1891), Dwarf Champion (pink, 1892), Earliana (red, 1900), Chalk’s Early Jewel (red, 1905), Livingston Globe (pink, 1905), Greater Baltimore (red, 1905), June Pink (pink, 1907), Bonny Best (red, 1908), Early Detroit (pink, 1909), Gulf State Market (pink, 1921), Abraham Lincoln (red, 1923), Cooper’s Special (pink, 1923), Winsall (pink, 1925), Marglobe (red, 1925), Break O’Day (red, 1931), Pritchard’s Scarlet Topper (red, 1931), Oxheart (pink, 1932), and Rutgers (red, 1937). In addition, there are tomatoes in the SSE collection that fit the description, but do not have the same name, as the following:  Early Large Smooth Red (1868, like Large Early Red); White Apple (1887, like Transparent); Mikado, or Turner’s Hybrid (1889, like Brandywine); and Honor Bright (1898, perhaps like Lutescent).

Among those that are either extinct or otherwise renamed are:  Large Yellow (1868), Tilden’s (1868), Large White China Sugar (1868), Large Red Fegee (1868), Keyes’ Early Prolific (1869), General Grant (1871), Hubbard’s Curled Leaf (1872), Trophy (1872), Canada Victor (1874), Hathaway’s Excelsior (1876), Early Conqueror (1876), Triumph (1879), Paragon (1880), Essex Early Hybrid (1891), Golden Trophy (1879), Alpha (1882), Favorite (1883), Optimus (1885), Beauty (1887), Cincinnati Purple (1887), Ignotum (1891), Royal Red (1893), Buckeye State (1895), Magnus (1901), and Dwarf Stone (1905).

 It is interesting to note that some of the tomatoes that have persevered are rather unremarkable, such as Stone and Chalk’s Early Jewel, being rather ordinary red varieties.  Some, such as Abraham Lincoln, no longer seem to match the descriptions originally used in the old seed catalogs.  And, still other varieties that are so popular in the SSE, such as the bicolor beefsteaks (Ruby Gold, Big Rainbow, Georgia Streak, Marizol Gold, etc.) and long plum types (Long Tom, Opalka, Super Italian Paste), never appeared in the old catalogs; they may be imports from Europe, or varieties that were bred by home gardeners, or even mutations that showed up along the way.

 I am constantly accumulating information on older varieties, and do not consider the above lists in any way complete.  But, it gives us a place to start in trying to make sense out of the tomatoes that we have, and are missing from, the SSE collection.  I hope that this article will encourage many of you to write to us and share some of your experiences with the varieties that you have collected or brought to the SSE, especially in their history.

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This book, purchased at a used bookshop in Pennsylvania in the 1980s, is a real treasure. It covers the status of pretty much every crop grown in the US. Of course, I found the tomato section particularly fascinating!

My comments, January 2022

That was a pretty odd read for me. There are some things that are not quite correct, which is not surprising - I was at the very beginning of my tomato sleuthing. Since writing this article, my seed catalog collection has grown substantially and some that I thought were lost have been found (though of course we can’t say if they are exactly as they were when released).

A few date corrections - in paragraph 5, listing the introduction dates of tomatoes listed in the SSE, Oxheart was introduced by Livingston in 1926. In the next paragraph, listing tomatoes that seem to have been lost (or otherwise renamed), we found seed sources for Trophy, Early Conqueror, Triumph, Paragon, Alpha, Favorite, Optimus, Beauty, Buckeye State, Magnus and Dwarf Stone. Aside from Buckeye State, which was made available to Victory by a Ohio source, all varieties were located by searching the UDSA Grin database. Seeds of all were obtained, and most are now commercially available again through one or more seed catalogs. I grew most of them in my gardens, and it has been fascinating to see what the goal of tomato size was in those early US tomato breeding days. Of all of those that we “rescued”, my favorites are Favorite, Optimus and Magnus - not huge, not flashy, but really, really good! Trophy was a real game changer, from 1870 - descriptions in old seed catalogs were always quite imprecise, but the medium sized scarlet tomato I grew from USDA seeds were very likely quite different from the original release, which was likely a larger, less regular, oblate tomato. Early Conqueror was quite distinct in being quite lobed and quite oblate, a shape and form that fits nicely into the 1880 or so time frame. We’ve used Dwarf Stone for the dwarf parent in our Dwarf Tomato Breeding project. Alpha was a really odd variety - a quite short growing potato leaf with medium small red tomatoes.

I really am glad that republishing Off The Vine is allowing me to read thing I wrote so long ago. What is fascinating is that this article captures me at the very beginning of my dip into tomato genealogy. The other benefit (aside from finding all those assumed-to-be-lost tomatoes) was that as I was doing this in North Carolina, Mike Dunton was doing the same in Oregon. Our intersecting quest for the Lost Livingstons allowed us to meet through emails and, later, phone calls. Mike of course founded and runs Victory Seeds. He and I cherish the friendship that was catalyzed by a similar quest, separated by 3000 miles.

A particularly interesting pair of pages from that 1937 Ag yearbook

My tomato collection tour - part 5. Tomatoes 41-50

We’ve enjoyed the 10 inch snowfall from last Sunday. Now, let it melt!

We forge ahead! This is a pretty interesting set of 10.

Tomato 41 - Tiger Tom - this absolute gem came in the same packet as Czech’s Excellent Yellow, sent by SSE member Jim Halladay of Pennsylvania in 1987. As with that variety, it was bred by a Czech tomato breeder and made its way into the Ben Quisenberry collection - then more widely distributed in the US. I love this tomato, and it found a place in my 2021 garden, as it had been some time since I grew it. I often recommend Tiger Tom to gardeners looking for a tomato with a refreshingly tart note to the flavor. The golf ball sized scarlet tomatoes show irregular vertical golden stripes. The flavor is intense and delicious. The main fault of Tiger Tom is that it cracks when fully ripe, or watered when approaching ripeness, it rains when ripe fruit are on the plant. It was quite a star in my 1987 garden. With the first ripe fruit coming in at 64 days, it was in the early category. I picked 170 tomatoes, at an average weight of 2 ounces, giving a plant yield of 21.5 pounds - in flavor it rated an A-, quite excellent.

Tomato 42 - Delicious - it is hard for me to believe that although I had this seed since 1987 (purchased at a garden center in a Page Seed Company packet), I’ve never grown it. Released by Burpee in 1964, it is best known for producing enormous scarlet red tomatoes. It originated from a Burpee-created cross between Jubilee and a large pink, from which they selected this huge scarlet tomato. Its claim to fame is that it was until fairly recently the variety that was grown by Gordon Graham to produce a 7 pound, 11 ounce fruit, the world record at the time. Prior to Gordon, the record was held by Clarence Dailey of Wisconsin with a 6 pound, 8 ounce specimen. I’ve never been a gardener interested in the earliest, or largest, tomato. I love tomatoes with stories and tomatoes that are delicious. Anyone trying to win tomato size/weight contests would be wise to try this.

Tomato 43 - Fireball - This was once an important commercial tomato, appearing in the 1950s, created by Harris Seed Company, as a determinate medium sized scarlet tomato with good yield and early ripening. Stokes and Harris and other companies really focused on scarlet determinate types beginning in the 1950s, probably because of ability to grow on short stakes, which allowed machine harvesting, used as tomatoes picked at barely breaker stage and gassed with ethylene to promote ripening. I grew Fireball in 1987 from a Page Seed Company packet purchased at a nursery. Starting to bear fruit in 68 days, I harvested a total of 58 tomatoes from the relatively compact, determinate plant, average weight being 5.6 ounces, giving a plant yield of 20.6 pounds. All I can say about the flavor was that it was a home grown tomato, garnering a B-.

Tomato 44 - Rutgers - This historic variety was a long time backbone of the tomato industry. Created by selecting from a cross between the famous tomato Marglobe and a Campbell Soup variety called JTD, made in 1928, Rutgers was released in 1934, aimed at New Jersey tomato processors (canners, sauce and ketchup makers). It has been further selected and improved over time, but my 1988 garden held the original type, which I purchased as a Page Seed Company packet from a nursery in 1987. Though some describe it as determinate or semi determinate, it certainly was indeterminate in my garden. It was quite late, beginning to bear ripe fruit in 87 days. The 33 tomatoes harvested averaged 9.8 ounces, 20 pounds for the plant, with the scarlet, slightly oblate fruit having a very good balanced flavor - quite “old fashioned” - and it received a B+. It is clear why Rutgers became such a popular, widely grown tomato.

Tomato 45 - Wolford Wonder - This was a specialty tomato introduced by Henry Field in 1987, supposedly sent to them by a customer named Max Wolford, who won a big tomato contest with a specimen. I purchased the seed from Field in 1988. This was my first experienced with heart shaped varieties, meaning my first look at the tall, wispy foliaged indeterminate growth that never really looks all that happy. Since then, I’ve learned to ignore the weak growth characteristics of paste and heart types. I suspect that this is a local selection of the 1920s Livingston variety Oxheart, itself possibly a mutation of the old pink beefsteak Ponderosa. In my garden, Wolford Wonder harvested quite early for the fruit size, 67 days. In my growing of the variety in 1989, I picked 28 tomatoes at an average weight of a pound, so the plant yielded an impressive 28 pounds of fruit. Alas, the texture and flavor didn’t wow me at all. The flesh was very solid, tending to dry, and the flavor mild tending to a bit bland. It would make a superb sauce tomato due to its meatiness and likely tendency to intensify flavors when cooked. I gave it a solid B. Seeds were saved but I never did grow it again.

Tomato 46 - Ponderosa - This is a truly historic variety, the very first named widely available large pink tomato, released by Peter Henderson company of New York in 1891. I purchased seeds for my trial from Harris in 1988, and that was the year I grew it. Alas, poor Ponderosa struggled with health, as a few plants were suspected of getting infected with Tobacco Mosaic Virus that year. I harvested my first tomato in 80 days, typically late for this size and type of tomato. The irregular oblate pink tomatoes were not plentiful, and I harvested 22 tomatoes at an average weight of 8 ounces, a mere 11 pounds of fruit from the struggling plant. This was another pink beefsteak type whose flavor was not to my liking, and it received a B. I never did grow it again, though seeds were saved. I love large pink beefsteak types as a rule and there are a lot that are truly delicious in my seed collection. Ponderosa is not one of them.

Tomato 47 - Abraham Lincoln - Continuing my search for the real Abraham Lincoln, I turned to the Tomato Seed Company in 1988. The result, that same year, was essentially identical to the 1987 version obtained from Shumway. The short indeterminate (I thought of them as semi determinate) plants produced in 67 days, far too early from the authentic version. I harvested 57 tomatoes at an average weight of 6 ounces, 18.7 pounds from the plant, with a flavor score of B+, pleasant enough, but not what I was hoping to find. The search for the real Abraham Lincoln thus continues. This imposter certainly is a pleasant, productive, good tasting medium sized, relatively early red tomato. I saved seeds but did not regrow it.

Tomato 48 - Goldie - I purchased this from the fascinating (and sadly, no longer in business) Gleckler Seed Company in 1988. They described it as a “150 year old” variety, which I really don’t buy. It is also thought to be synonymous with Dixie Golden Giant (we will come to that eventually), and another noted that it is a “yellow version of Giant Belgium”. I did grow it in 1989 and found it quite similar to Persimmon. It is a light orange, not yellow, tomato. For a large tomato it began to bear ripe tomatoes quite early, at 70 days. I harvested 27 tomatoes from the plant, average weight an impressive 14.9 pounds, giving a plant yield of 25.2 pounds. I found the flavor very good, not great, with a bit of a characteristic I find in some pink and yellow tomatoes also - musty, funky, dusty taste. It certainly is on the sweet and mild side - it did get a B+. I saved seeds but never did return to it.

Tomato 49 - Giant Belgium - Some day I will grow this tomato. A podcast host considers this his favorite tomato. Could it be this year? Next year? We shall see. I purchased it from the Tomato Supply Company in 1988. There really is no authentic history about the variety. It was listed in the Gleckler collection for years. It is unclear where they obtained it. Large pink tomatoes dating from the mid 1800s were Fejee (considered obsolete), Ponderosa (from 1891), Ferris Wheel (from 1894), and Buckeye State (Livingston, 1898). Giant Belgium could be one of these, or related to it, or could have come from Europe or elsewhere. Sadly, I never did grow those 1988 purchased seeds. Even after doing this for nearly 40 years, adventures await!

Tomato 50 - Better Girl F1 hybrid - Why of course there is a Better Girl - the presence of Better Boy made this mandatory! Interestingly, I’ve not managed to find any history at all of the variety. Even my seed source, Northrup King (as a packet, in 1987, from a plant nursery), is a bit spurious, they being known far more for box store packet sales than plant breeding. I did include this in my heirloom vs hybrid competition for my 1987 garden. First fruit came in at 65 days, making it on the early side, and it yielded very well, the 49 harvested tomatoes averaging 6.5 ounces. A plant giving me 19.7 pounds of fruit was a winner in my book and I found the flavor to be excellent, rating a solid A. Oddly, I’ve never grown Early Girl hybrid. Despite the excellence of Better Girl, it never did find a place in future gardens.

Another 10 tomatoes checked off the list - building momentum now! Each set of tomatoes has some really relevant, interesting ones to chat about. Until next time…

Walking by icicles on the Blue Ridge Parkway (closed in this section) a few days before the big storm.

Next Article - "Off The Vine" Volume 1, Issue 1. Guest Article by Dr. Jeff McCormack on Tomato Isolation Distances

This is the illustration that Jeff’s guest article refers to - see below

Off The Vine had occasional guest-written articles. This is the first - written by founder of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Dr. Jeff McCormack. It’s a great read and provides lots of things to consider for tomato seed savers that strive to prevent bee-induced crossing in their gardens.

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Isolation Distances for Tomatoes (by Jeff McCormack, PhD)

Most seed saving guides lack specific information about the minimum isolation distance for predominantly self-pollinated crops such as tomatoes.  Published isolation distances for tomatoes vary considerably.  Some sources say no isolation is necessary while other sources recommend distances up to 150 feet.  Some seed saving guides omit this information entirely because of its controversial nature.  The matter is controversial because isolation distance depends on a number of variables.  In addition, the importance of each variable is modified by conditions specific to each growing site.

Tomato isolation distance requirements depend on the intended use of the seed.  Thus isolation requirements are different for seed companies, breeders, seed savers exchanging seed, and for seed savers saving seed for only their own use.  Tomato breeders may separate modern tomato varieties by as little as 10 feet, partly to avid mechanical mixing of the seed crop.  Large commercial plantings are often made in areas that are bee-poor due to pesticide use of lack of suitable habitat.  Therefore modern varieties planted in a bee-impoverished environment may require only 10 feet isolation.  Most seed companies isolate tomatoes anywhere from 10 feet to 150 feet or more.  The isolation distance also depends on the purity of the seed grown (certified seed, stock seed, etc.)  Other factors affecting isolation distance are the variety and number of plants being grown.

I have heard reports that tomatoes being exchanged by members of the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) have significant purity problems.  One experienced member of the SSE reports that 10 to 15% of the tomato varieties show evidence of crossing to some degree.  Clearly, many seed savers are not isolating their tomato varieties adequately.  How can a seed saver determine the required isolation distance for tomatoes without making a study of the subject?  Some general guidelines are needed.

Natural cross-pollination (NCP) of tomatoes frequently occurs when two or more varieties are grown in close proximity in a garden under certain conditions.  Even a small percentage of NCP over a number of years could eventually cause the loss of one or more characteristics that are unique to a particular open-pollinated variety.  If there is a 5% crossing each year, what will be the compounded effect of this crossing in 10 years?

Prompted by these concerns, I am suggesting some guidelines for isolation distances specifically suited to seed savers who wish to exchange seed with others.  In preparing these guidelines I reviewed the scientific literature on tomato pollination, talked with tomato breeders in different areas of the country, and talked with gardeners who have saved their family heirloom seed for many years.  In addition, I have made my own observations and photographed several different species of bee pollinators active on tomato blossoms.

Most tomato seed results from self-pollination, a process that is enhanced by gentle breezes that vibrate the blossom.  Although cross pollination by the wind is possible, the actual amount of such cross pollination is of little significance.  I have observed tomato pollen being blown for a distance of at least 8 feet.  Similar observations have also been made by several of our seed saving customers, but the chances of wind pollination are so small as to be inconsequential.

Home gardeners tend to plant row crops of many varieties in a small space.  These crops are frequently visited by wild bees (halictid bees, such as sweat bees) and bumblebees in search of pollen.  These insects may contribute to a high frequency of NCP in bee-rich areas in crops that are primarily self-pollinated.  The amount of NCP tomatoes is a function of a number of variables:  (1) wind movement; (2) variety characteristics such as style length; (3) environmental variables affecting style length such as light intensity, day length and carbon-nitrogen ratio; (4) type of bee pollinators; (5) pollinator behavior on the flower; (6) isolation distance; and (7) the presence of other pollen-producing plants in the area of the seed crop.

Tomato varieties having long style (pollen-receptive organs) are more likely to be cross-pollinated by bees than varieties with short styles.  If the length of the style exceeds the length of the anther cone (pollen producing organ), NCP be bees is more probable, and probability increases as the style length increases. (see Fig 1).  Gardeners attempting to preserve old varieties need to be aware of this point because many older varieties have generally longer styles than modern varieties.  Most modern varieties have styles equal in length, or shorter than, the anther cone (see Fig. 2).  Our modern varieties were derived originally from wild tomato ancestors (primarily from Ecuador and Peru) which relied on bee pollination to a large degree.  As these wild types were transported out of their center of origin to new geographic areas, the absence of their usual bee pollinators resulted in selection for variants that had shorter styles and an increased capacity for self-fertilization.  Although style length is genetically determined, environmental conditions may cause style length to increase, thereby affecting the probability of cross-pollination.  Generally, small fruited cherry type varieties, and current tomatoes have a long style that extends beyond the anther cone (exserted stigma).  Large fruited Ponderosa type varieties have a large stigmatic surface which in some older varieties extends at least 1-2 mm beyond the anther cone.  Some seed savers claim that potato leaf varieties cross more readily than normal leaf varieties; however, I have not observed this to be the case.  Many potato leaf varieties do bear large Ponderosa type fruits that develop from a flower structure that is more susceptible to crossing.  To my knowledge there is no correlation between foliage type and NCP>

Another factor affecting NCP is insect activity.  Generally tomato flowers are not attractive to bees if other pollen sources are available; however, in some bioclimatic regions of the US, bee visitation of tomato flowers may be quite common even in the presence of other pollen sources.  Such a situation exists, for example, in regions of California and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.  In parts of Virginia I have observed and photographed bumblebees and sweat halictid bees such as sweat bees collecting pollen from tomato flowers.  Bumblebees tend to vibrate the flowers while halictid bees appear to chew the anthers to get at the pollen.  In terms of their behavior and position on the flower, halictid bees seem more likely to cause cross-pollination than the bumblebees, but this has not been fully investigated.

Controlled studies of cross pollination in inter-planted tomatoes have yielded values of 2-5% NCP; however, factors such as style length, frequent visitation of tomato flowers by bees and suitable environmental conditions may produce much higher NCP values.  Various studies have reported values of 12, 15, 26, and 47% NCP values in inter-planted tomatoes.  The wide range of results reflects the influence of different methods and variables used in these studies.  Clearly, NCP values can be very high under the right conditions. 

What does all this mean for gardeners wishing to save their own open-pollinated tomato seed where there is high bee activity on tomato blossoms?  Modern tomato varieties (style length equal or less than the anther length in most cases) should be separated by a distance of approximately 10 feet to give a high degree of purity.  Large fruited older varieties, small cherry type tomatoes, and currant tomatoes require 25-75 feet isolation distance (for our location in Virginia).  These recommended isolation distances give average purity values of approximately 99-99.5% or better.  Because occasional out-crossing may occur at large distances, plants used for stock seed may require an isolation distance of 75-150 feet or more.  At the minimum, seed savers (who exchange seed) should separate tomato varieties by at least 10-12 feet.  For large fruited varieties or varieties wish an exserted stigma the isolation distance should be increased to at least 20-25 feet.  These are general guidelines for minimum isolation distance.  Factors that call for an increase in isolation distance include: (1)  an increased number of plants of each variety; (2)  an increased number of varieties; (3) a large pollinator population, especially bumblebees and sweat bees.  Factors that allow a decreased isolation distance include: (1) presence of alternate pollen sources actually utilized by the potential pollinators; (2) collection of seed from the center of the block planting; (3) collection of seed during the period of peak production rather than at the start of production; (4) presence of tall barrier crops; (5) isolation in time rather than space.  Certain flowers are especially attractive to bumblebees and halictid bees.  These include bee balm, coneflower, hollyhock, and sunflower.

The relationship between isolation distance and NCP is geometric rather than linear.  Thus as isolation distance increases, the amount of NCP falls off rapidly.  A study by Currence and Jenkins (1942) illustrates this point very well.  It is evident that even a separation of a few feet between varieties in a small garden will greatly reduce NCP of tomatoes even though minimum isolation distances cannot be achieved.  NCP can also be reduced or eliminated by taking advantage of different blooming times of early and late varieties (provided early planted tomatoes are pulled out before the late planted varieties bloom).

Seed savers should not be discouraged from saving their own seed because of the probability of NCP.  Though a small amount of NCP could eventually improve a variety, it could just as easily cause the loss of quality of a variety.  If you are trying to preserve a variety in its purest form, then isolation distance becomes very important.  Although a small amount of NCP may not be a problem one year, its effects are additive and detrimental to preservation efforts in the long run.  The goal is not just to save the variety from year to year, but for generations to come.  Toward this end I’ve recommended that seed savers grow larger amounts of plants of each variety in order to produce more seed.  That way it will not be necessary to grow out as many varieties each year provided your seed is properly fermented (stirred at least twice daily), dried with silica gel and stored in an airtight container (preferably frozen); you’ll have enough seed to exchange for years.  I’m sure you’ll want to grow some varieties every year.   Why not set aside an areas for these to be planted side by side for edible harvest only?

Copyright 1993 by Jeff McCormack, Ph. D., Director, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (revised and updated from the 1984 Seed Savers Exchange Harvest Edition).

Selected references:

Bennet, J.  1983.  A tomato blossom for all seasons.  Horticulture Volume 61, page 53.

Currence, T. M., and Jenkins, J. M., 1942.  Natural Crossing in Tomatoes as related to distance and direction.  Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci, Vol. 41, pg 273-276.

Rick, C., M. 1949. Rates of natural cross-pollination of tomatoes in various localities of California as measured by the fruits and seeds set on male-sterile plants.  Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. Vol 54, pg 237-252.

Rick, C. M., 1950.  Pollination relations of Lycopersicon esculentum in native and foreign regions.  Evolution Vol. 4, pg. 110-122.

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I’ve been fortunate to be a friend of Jeff for many years, though it has been quite a few since we’ve had a chance to see each other or talk. I have an enormous amount of respect for his intellect and gardening knowledge. As I’ve told folks who ask about my seed saving when planting many varieties quite closely together, I use timing for my seed saving, focusing on the first few clusters of flowers, as I’ve noted bee activity is absent in my area early in the season. The one tactic that Jeff does not cover is bagging blossoms for those gardeners who wish to, or need to, guarantee that crossing cannot occur. Loosely shrouding a cluster of unopened flowers with a light, airy material, such as Reemay, creating a barrier to bee visits, works well. After the flowers open and small tomatoes are observed, that cluster can be marked and used for seed saving with complete confidence that the variety will be uncrossed. It was good to read that article again. It is amazing to think that Jeff wrote the first version of this topic back in 1984 - nearly 40 years ago.

Sue and Koda looking at High Falls in DuPont forest on our Jan 19, snowy hike

Watching the snow blow, the dogs nap - and thinking of 2022 in the garden

Hendersonville winter wonderland, morning of Jan 17, after 10 inches of snow

My blog has been busy, with two series running in parallel - a “reprinting” of Off The Vine, the newsletter Carolyn Male and I published way back in the early 1990s for three years, and a review of my seed collection, starting with tomato number 1, 10 tomatoes at a time. I hope to one each weekly.

In between, I will be using this blog more frequently as a sort of garden diary/log. Each year in the garden is, of course, very different. Working through my gardening history through my seed collection and that newsletter gives me the impression of my gardening experiences as a big arc. I dabbled, starting in 1981, then things really ramped up with the growth of my collection, and garden size, due to excitement in joining the Seed Savers Exchange. The steep part of the arc, the upward slope, also included dipping into the USDA seed collection, selling seedlings, the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, writing and publicizing (though many traveled-to workshop and podcasts) Epic Tomatoes and Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales, culminating with the work with Joe Lamp’l on the all video on-line course Growing Epic Tomatoes, work with Seedlinked (the collections), and using Instagram Live to take folks “into my garden” with me.

A few days from turning 66, settled into Hendersonville in a more rural setting with more outdoor activity possibilities, and having great satisfaction of all of the wonderful fellow gardeners I’ve met and tomato varieties I’ve grown, it seems a perfect time for the arc of my efforts to be on the downward slope. Things already seem simpler; departing from Facebook and Twitter, ending my newsletter, and focusing on Instagram and my blog (and of course, email) really take the load off of my communication efforts. The time saved will be dedicated to finishing the Dwarf Tomato Project book, and, perhaps, further books, titles and topics to be determined (these are the types of things I ponder as I hike in the beautiful surrounding parks).

As far as the garden in 2022, much of the Dwarf Tomato Project remaining heavy lifting will be done by those who expressed interest and now have seeds to grow, as well as those long time volunteers who still have the fire to continue. The course, Growing Epic Tomatoes, will relaunch soon, but with most of the filming done last year, the demands will be much lighter. My garden will be significantly smaller and simpler, as I am happy to garden vicariously through the efforts of others, recipients of so many seed samples over the last few months.

My ideal present and future will have less obligations, less dates in the calendar, more freedom for Sue and I do drop what we are doing and go for a hike, or a day trip. I am really lucky - I’ve never regretted any endeavor I’ve taken on (post my less than wonderful 25 years in the corporate world!). In fact, everything associated with gardening throughout my life has been an absolute delight, and I expect that to continue, because it will be highly targeted for particular objectives. For me, it has always been about learning, teaching, and sharing. It always will be.

I’ve begun thinking about what I want to grow this coming gardening season. There will be straw bales with summer squash and bush snap beans. There will be straw bales with tomatoes, and perhaps, bell peppers and eggplants - but less than in previous years. There will be less containers, less plants to keep track of. Each plant will have a reason behind growing it that I will make clear in this year’s blogs and Instagram posts. It’ll be lots of fun - we’ll have a blast!

Jan 17 AM view off the back deck - flower garden is under a snow blanket