My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 15. Tomatoes #161-170

2022 garden coming along! Sugar snap peas against the fence, with iris and daylilies in front

This group of tomatoes makes up for some of the less impressive recent ones. There are some treasures here, still significant parts of my recent gardens.

Tomato #161 - Azteca 10 - Acquired from SSE member IL BA E in 1989, I have no distinct impression of this tomato, which I grew in 1989. I remember that it seemed determinate, was medium sized and red, and beyond that, rather ordinary.

Tomato #162 - Lillian’s Large Red Kansas Paste - I was sent this variety by Robert Richardson of New York, a SSE member, in 1989. It is one of two tomatoes he received from Lillian Bruce of Tennessee. The plant is extremely wispy/straggly, but the production of red long plum shaped scarlet tomatoes was fine, and the flavor exceptional. This is far better and juicier than a typical sauce or plum tomato. In 1989, I harvested first tomatoes in 70 days. The 45 tomatoes averaged 7 ounces, so the plant produced nearly 20 pounds of tomatoes - and garnered a solid A in flavor.

Tomato #163 - Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom #1 - This is a gem - also sent to me by Robert Richardson in 1989. He was sent this tomato by Lillian Bruce of Tennessee - she was given this tomato by her sons, who attended state fairs and brought her specimens of produce exhibited there. This is simply a stellar variety, perhaps in my top three of all of the tomatoes I’ve grown. The vigorous potato leaf plants can be quite late, and yield large oblate clear pale yellow tomatoes with a pale pink blush on the bottom. The interiors are very meaty, but juicy and succulent, and each fruit produces but a few seeds. The flavor is superior, outstanding, balanced, and has it all. In 1989, first fruit didn’t come in until day 103 (yes, it was very late!) - I harvested 11 tomatoes that averaged over one pound, so picked nearly 12 pounds of tomatoes from the plant. I sent this to several seed companies, dropping the “#1” from the name.

Tomato #164 - Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom #2 - Robert Richardson sent this to me as well - it is a mix up, as the tomato that resulted, also growing it in 1989, was the same as Lillian’s Large Red Kansas Paste.

Tomato #165 - JSS 361 F1 hybrid - Sent to me to trial by Johnny’s Selected Seeds in 1989, this determinate red slicing hybrid really surprised me with its high quality. I harvested the first ripe fruit in 62 days. I harvested 22 tomatoes that averaged 6 ounces, so the plant gave me a bit over 8 pounds. I rated the flavor as A-, certainly as good as a determinate as I’ve ever had.

Tomato #166 - Jumbo Tom F1 hybrid - I purchased this variety from Thompson and Morgan seed company in 1989. Included in my hybrid vs heirloom contest, first ripe fruit was picked in 80 days I harvested 15 tomatoes that averaged an impressive 19.5 ounces - a bit over 18 pounds from the plant, with slightly oblate scarlet fruit that were really very good - A- in flavor.

Tomato #167 - Yellow Oxheart - This 1989 purchased tomato (from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange) was described in quite glowing terms in the catalog. I concur - this is one impressive tomato. It was originally released by the Livingston Seed Company in 1929. I found that the very weepy plant (grown in 1989 - typical for heart shaped varieties) first harvested fruit in 79 days. I picked 16 tomatoes at an average of 10.9 ounces - nearly 11 pounds of tomatoes from the plant. They were strongly heart shaped and pale orange, and the flavor was quite outstanding, rating an A. This is really one of my favorite varieties and I still grow it on occasion.

Tomato #168 - Djena Lee’s Golden Girl - I got this variety in 1989 from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, but didn’t grow it until 1994. It is a family heirloom that dates as far back as the 1920s (perhaps further). It won first prize at a Chicago fair for 10 years in a row. For me, it was a late, large oblate orange tomato with very good flavor. I really should grow it again, as it is rare in being a truly excellently flavored orange fruited variety.

Tomato #169 - Yellow Bell - This 1989 purchased (from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange) variety is quite something. It is an old, rare, unique Tennessee heirloom that produces bright yellow Roma shaped fruit on an indeterminate plant. Grown in 1989, first fruit were harvested in 70 days. I picked an astounding 245 tomatoes at an average weight of 3 ounces, making this a 46 pound yield plant. I grew it last year and found similarly awesome yield. The flavor is really good for a paste type - I gave it an A-. This is a spectacular tomato for slow roasting or sauce.

Tomato #170 - Fritsche - This is a family heirloom that was sent to me by Rosie Trevallee of Wisconsin in 1989, and they maintained it from the 1940s. I grew it in 1989 and really liked it. I picked the first ripe fruit in 71 days, and harvested 56 tomatoes at an average weight of 5.8 ounces. The plant yield was a bit over 20 pounds. The pink tomatoes had a delightful sweet flavor that I ranked an A-.

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The two Lillian’s varieties (the red paste, and the yellow potato leaf), Yellow Oxheart, and Yellow Bell are superb varieties. I really liked Fritsche, JSS 361, and Djena Lee’s Golden Girl too, but never did grow them very often.

Our bleeding hearts are pretty spectacular this year!

Off The Vine, Volume 1, Number 3. "1994 Harvest Report. Assessing the USDA Accessions" by Craig

It’s azalea time in Hendersonville

I was really so into digging into old seed catalogs and searching for old varieties on the USDA GRIN database. It was so much fun that I requested many old tomatoes that I never even found in the old catalogs. Here is the first major report out of how they performed.

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1994 Tomato Harvest Report - Assessing the USDA Accessions

by Craig 

When I look into my garden, I see a typical January sight for North Carolina.  There is no snow, of course, and there are the frost-bitten, blackened remains of pepper plants, adorned with the brightly colored, dried ghosts of their fruits.  There are piles of grass clippings and leaves, and even a couple of stakes where vigorous tomato plants used to stand.  If I look really hard, I can visualize what things may look like this summer.  Even more distinctly, I can recall all of the activity that occurred there in the summer of 1994, including over 100 varieties of tomatoes.  Among all of those tomatoes were a large number of varieties that were obtained from the USDA germ plasm collection, many of which are historically significant, and presumed to be extinct.

This article describes the results from this fascinating growout.  As a person who was attracted to the Seed Saver's Exchange in large part due to the possibility of finding and growing old commercially produced tomatoes, I was humbled by the experience, and consider last year's garden to be the most memorable of my summer's efforts to date.  It was remarkable to be able to look at old seed catalogs, such as the 1900 Livingston that I have in my collection, then to step into my garden and see many of these historic varieties "in the fruit"!  We haven't found them all, and not all of them appear to have made their trek through the years unchanged, but it was rewarding nonetheless.

Just a note regarding the condition of the seed we received from the USDA.  In general, we were delighted to find that most of the varieties germinated quickly.  As Murphy would predict, it seemed as though the varieties that we most wanted to grow out were the most stubborn to germinate.  But, when all was said and done, we had at least one plant of each of the varieties that we wanted to grow.

What follows are one by one listings of the varieties, along with the history, if known, and descriptions as observed in my garden.  Carolyn grew these in her New York gardens also, and any differences that we observed will be mentioned, as well as discrepancies from the old tomato literature.  All varieties are indeterminate unless otherwise stated.

Livingston Introductions:

Beauty:  Introduced in 1886, and considered by Livingston to be one of his finest releases.  It appears that the original selection was from a field of Paragon.  This was used most commonly as a shipping variety, as when picked green it traveled in good condition and shelf ripened well.  This was one of the stubborn germinators, and I had the lone success in my garden.  Despite an awful start (the plant was on its deathbed for quite awhile), it recovered gamely and was quite vigorous and productive.  The fruits were medium sized (6-8 ounces), slightly oblate and smooth, with no green shoulders or preference to crack.  The ripe color was medium pink, and the flavor was very good - juicy, with a good balance of sweetness and tartness.  In terms of matching the catalog description, this was pretty much right on the money.

Livingston's Main Crop Pink:  We don't have any historical information on this variety, but have assumed from its name that it belongs in this section.  With very vigorous growth, this was one of the more productive types, and is a fine tomato.  The slightly oblate fruits were smooth and pink, perhaps a bit larger and more crack prone than Beauty, but otherwise similar, in flavor as well.

Golden Queen:  This was touted as the best yellow tomato in the early 1900's, having been introduced in 1882.  According to Livingston, this was derived from selections of plants that he grew from seeds obtained from a tomato that was displayed at a county fair.  The plant is vigorous and moderately productive, and the fruits variable in size, from 4 ounces to over 1 pound.  It is one of the most beautiful tomatoes I've seen, being bright yellow with a pale pink blush at the blossom end.  The flavor was very nice, again with a good balance of sweet and tart, and not having the blandness or unusual flavors occasionally associated with many of the yellow or orange tomatoes.  Once again, this tomato seemed to perform up to the descriptions in the old seed catalogs.

Magnus:  This was the most difficult variety to germinate, but Carolyn struck it rich with 2 plants (she sent me one via mail!).  This was the cover variety for the 1900 Livingston seed catalog, and it seemed to grow true to type.  It is unusual in being a potato leaf variety that does not afford huge fruits.  The vigor is good, and the tomatoes are nearly globe shaped, very smooth, 4-8 ounces and medium pink, with a good flavor.  This one will get another chance next year, as its position in the garden was not the best.

Favorite:  This tomato, developed in 1883 from a selection of a plant growing in a field of the variety Paragon, was another star performer in the garden.  It was originally bred for canners at that time.  Vigorous, prolific and delicious, the fruits were 6-8 ounces, very smooth oblate, and rich scarlet, and the tomato had a real old fashioned, tart flavor.  It's performance seemed to match that of the catalog description.

Paragon:  One of the true hall of fame varieties, this was released in 1870 as the first smooth red tomato.  It was with this variety that Livingston started the, at the time, new and radical method for developing new tomato varieties.  Rather than select particular fruits from plants to save seed from, he studied large fields of plants and selected tomatoes from a particular superior plant in that field.  Livingston surveyed his tomato gardens, and found one plant that had very smooth, though relatively small, tomatoes.  From seed saved from tomatoes from that plant, he grew a large number of plants each succeeding year, selecting for smoothness and larger size.  By 1870, he had Paragon, which at that time was the first smooth, large, scarlet tomato.  The weather was not kind to it this year, as it was the variety most likely to get blossom end rot.  It was vigorous and productive, and those fruits that I did get were in the 8 ounce range, oblate and scarlet, but the jury is out on this one.

Acme:  This is one of the varieties that obviously has been crossed over the years.  It was released in 1875 as the first smooth, large, early pink tomato (though in the early literature, this color was often referred to as purple).  Livingston used the same method to "breed" Acme as he did Paragon; namely, selection of outstanding plants from fields of roughly shaped pink tomatoes.  The accession that we grew out was vigorous, productive and gave medium to large oblate to flat scarlet fruit of good flavor.  It is a good tomato, but not what we hoped for.

Dwarf Stone:  Carolyn grew this one out, and it is her description that follows.  This tomato was introduced in 1902 as a Stone-type tomato on a dwarf plant.  What Carolyn found was true to the description, being an attractive,  stocky, short plant with dark green, rugose foliage, bearing medium sized scarlet tomatoes of good flavor but mushy consistency.

Lutescent:  I am making an assumption with this variety, based upon information gleaned in the conversation with Dr. Charlie Rick.  In 1897 Livingston released an unusual tomato named Honor Bright.  It appeared as a mutant or sport growing in a field of the variety Stone, which is a medium sized scarlet tomato released in 1891, and still widely grown today.  Honor Bright was described as distinct for its pale green (almost yellow) foliage and tomatoes that went through several color changes on their way to scarlet.  This is exactly what we see with Lutescent, as it is one of the weirder tomatoes that can be grown.  As a seedling, the foliage seems to want to turn yellow.  In the garden, it is actually yellow toward the bottom of the plant.  The flowers are nearly white, and the small to medium, globe shaped, firm fruits turn from pale green to snow white, to yellow orange, finally to deep scarlet as they ripen.  The variety is very productive, and the taste is surprisingly good for such a firm tomato.

Other Heirloom Commercial Varieties:

Alpha:  A relatively short growing potato leaf type that has small to medium sized, crack prone, green shouldered scarlet fruit of good, but not outstanding, flavor.  It was introduced in 1882, and is considered to be similar to Earliana.

Essex Wonder:  This is obviously not the Essex listed in the Michigan State Bulletin of 1938, as it produced small to medium scarlet, not pink, tomatoes.  It is an average tomato in all respects, and is most probably an old English commercial variety.

Early Ruby:  Described in the Livingston 1900 catalog as a new, scarlet early type, and probably a synonym for Atlantic Prize, released by Ferry in 1891.  It is a rather non-descript, medium sized scarlet tomato of no outstanding characteristics.

Excelsior:  This is probably a synonym for Earliana, which was released in 1900.  Again, nothing special here, as it is another medium sized average tasting scarlet tomato.

Landreth:  Listed as a synonym for Bonny Best, which was released in 1908, and resulted from a selection from Chalk's Early Jewel.  It is a medium sized scarlet tomato, but has a nice tart full flavor.

Early Large Red:  From the name, you can tell that this is an old one, and first showed up in seed catalogs in the 1860's.  We found the variety to be a typically non-descript, medium sized, oblate scarlet tomato that had good flavor.

Triumph:  Released in 1879,  this tomato is another of the small to medium sized, slightly oblate scarlet slicers of average attributes.

Optimus:  This variety was released by Ferry in 1885, and was derived from a tomato sent to them by a customer.  It is similar to Favorite and Stone, and we found it to be a vigorous, productive plant giving medium sized, oblate, scarlet fruit of very good flavor.

Green Gage:  First listed in U. S. seed catalogs in 1879, but probably much older, this variety yielded nice tasting small yellow plum shaped tomatoes.

Redfield Beauty:  This variety grew very similarly to Beauty, described above, and is likely a different seed company's strain of the same.  It performed very well for us.

Buckbee's Beefsteak:  Released in the early 1900's by Buckbee, this was a typical scarlet beefsteak type; large, vigorous plant, medium to huge, irregularly shaped fruit with some cat facing and cracking, and good rich flavor.

Dixie Golden Giant:  Reputedly an old southern variety, this one has been on the "missing" list for some time.  Growing on a very vigorous plant, the tomatoes, though not numerous, were very large, slightly oblate, and of a golden color, and the flavor was quite rich and sweet.

Alpha Pink:  Supposedly similar to June Pink, this variety, released in 1915 by Isbell, produced delicious, medium sized pink tomatoes on a relatively small plant.  The yield was quite early, and relatively heavy, and it is in all quite a good tomato.

Trophy:  This is considered to be the first smooth, large tomato.  It was developed by Dr. Hand in Baltimore by crossing an old large crumpled red tomato with a variety called Early Smooth Red.  When introduced in 1870, the seeds were sold for $5.00 for a packet of 20 seeds!   Our experience with the variety was of a vigorous, productive plant yielding medium to large, flat to oblate scarlet fruit of a rich, full, acid flavor.

Mikado:  Also known as Turner's Hybrid, this variety was developed and released by Henderson in 1889.  It is described as a large, smooth pink tomato on a potato leaf foliaged plant.  From the USDA seed samples, we obtained both potato leaf and regular leaf plants, but all gave large, irregularly shaped scarlet fruit, indicating that crossing has occurred through the years in this variety.

Abraham Lincoln:  An important release of Buckbee in 1923,  there has been a lot of controversy surrounding this tomato of late.  The Shumway catalog description is of a late, large (1 pound plus) tomato growing on a bronze foliaged plant.  This accession from the USDA is the first that I have grown that at least gets the fruit correct; the plant does not have bronze foliage, however.  The fruits were nearly globe shaped, large, scarlet and delicious.

King Humbert:  A very old European variety listed in Fearing Burr, this is reportedly similar to San Marzano.  Carolyn found it to be a vigorous scarlet paste tomato that matches the description in Burr's book.

Alice Roosevelt:  Reportedly a synonym for Earliana, Carolyn found this variety to produce medium sized scarlet fruit of little excitement.

Mikado Scarlet:  Not much is known about this one,  except that it is a scarlet, smaller version of Mikado released by an Italian seed company.  The seed we obtained produced a very vigorous, productive plant yielding medium to large, oblate to flat scarlet fruit with a rich acid taste.

Winsall:  Henderson released this variety in 1925 as an improvement on Ponderosa.  From a vigorous productive plant was obtained large, pink beefsteak type tomatoes of excellent, full flavor.

Other Varieties Obtained From the USDA:

Beauty of Loraine:  An unusual tomato, the scarlet fruit were lobed and partially hollow on the inside, with the seeds in a fleshy mass at the center of the fruit.  The flavor was not very palatable, being bland, with dry texture.

Banana Leaf:  Distinctly different from other potato leaf varieties in that the leaves were more narrow and smooth, this variety yielded very firm, small, scarlet fruit of little redeeming qualities.

Queen Mary:  A very prolific and healthy variety, we found this tomato to produce small to medium, globe shaped scarlet fruit in clusters of 4 to 6.  The flavor was quite good.

King George:  Very similar in all respects to Queen Mary,  the fruits of this one were a tad smaller.

White Flowered Marge:  Aside from the color of the blossoms, which were a yellow tinged white, this was an ordinary, productive, globe shaped, medium sized scarlet tomato of good flavor, but prone to cracking.

White Flowered Marglobe:  This variety was very similar, if not identical, to White Flowered Marge.

White Queen:  This was a pleasant surprise.  Of the many "white" tomatoes that I have grown, this may be the largest and whitest, as well as the best flavored.  Very productive and vigorous, the slightly ridged, oblate tomatoes were ivory to white colored, and several grew to over 1 pound. 

Queen of the Purples:  Obviously a victim of cross pollination,  the seed produced an ordinary, medium sized scarlet, globe shaped tomato of fair taste.

Royal Purple:  This variety looked very much like Beauty.  The fruits were medium sized, smooth, slightly oblate, pink and delicious.

Geswein's Purple Bonny Best:  This may have been the best flavored and most attractive of the pink varieties we obtained from the USDA.  The uniform, medium sized, smooth pink fruits had a nice sweet flavor.

For those who are interested in obtaining seeds of these varieties, all of them will be offered by Carolyn and me in the 1995 SSE Annual, which should be mailed out in a month or so.  We also hope to stimulate the interest of some seed companies with regard to carrying some of the better or more historically significant varieties in their seed catalogs.  By the way, the historical background information for this article was primarily obtained from three sources:  the book "Livingston and the Tomato", by A. W. Livingston, published 1893; the 1900 Seed Annual of the Livingston Seed Company, and Michigan State College Special Bulletin #290, "Tomato Varieties" by Gordon Morrison, published in April, 1938.

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What fun it was to grow these out and get a sense of what tomato growers in the 1870 to 1920 period experienced in their gardens. Rather than the big, colorful heirlooms of today, the goal back then was smooth, medium sized scarlet red tomatoes for the most part - with a few pinks and yellows and a white mixed in. While most were not exciting, it felt important to grow varieties that my grandparents may have had in their garden.

Waiting for some treats - Marlin, Betts (looking very casual) and Koda

My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 14. Tomatoes #151-160.

Foamflower at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville, April 19.

The race to get through the first 250 tomatoes in my collection continues apace. This next 10 is a rather curious bunch - read on and see!

Tomato #151 - Mission Dyke - I clearly raided the Gleckler catalog in 1989 - here is another I purchased. Information is very scant (I need to find my old Gleckler catalogs). All I have is that it is pink and good for hot humid areas. I never did get around to growing it.

Tomato #152 - Lemon Bush - you guessed it - bought from Gleckler in 1989. And I didn’t grow it. And I can’t find a thing about it - I recall even the Gleckler catalog had little to say.

Tomato #153 - German Head - this is the last of seeds purchased in 1989 from Gleckler, and once again, never did grow. It is a regular leaf, large, meaty beefsteak in the one pound range, and reportedly from Germany. From reports on the web, this is one I should add to my grow list some day. I would have to repurchase the seeds.

Tomato #154 - Prudens Purple - I got this from MD BE B in 1989, and grew it that year. I first added this to my collection as tomato #73 - refer to that blog for the background. I picked first fruit in 72 days - 18 tomatoes at an average weight of 13.6 ounces, so the plant provided a little over 15 pounds of tomatoes. I liked the variety very much - the potato leaf plant produced oblate pink tomatoes that rated an A- - I think of this as a Brandywine type that is a bit smaller and earlier, and a little less intense in flavor.

Tomato #155 - Mrs. Lindsey - This came from SSE member Thane Earle of Wisconsin in 1989, and I grew it in 1991. It is the same tomato as Yellow White, described in my blog for tomato #142.

Tomato #156 - Kentucky Heirloom - this is also from Thane Earl in 1989. I need to return to the SSE yearbook to get a description, though for Thane, info is typically very thin. Is this another name for Mrs. Lindsey, above, or a different variety? Nope - I didn’t grow it (yet). I tend to think it is the ivory colored one aka Yellow White.

Tomato #157 - Dona F1 hybrid - This is one of three hybrids (this and the next two), released by Shepherd Seeds in 1989. All are indeterminate, European medium sized red tomatoes. Any listing for Dona non-hybrid should likely be avoided, since seeds saved from a hybrid could lead to anything.

Tomato #158 - Carmello F1 hybrid - see the info for Tomato #157, above. This is another red hybrid that I’ve not grown.

Tomato #159 - Lorissa F1 hybrid - yet again, a tomato purchased from Shepherd in 1989 that is a red hybrid that I haven’t grown.

Tomato #160 - trial variety JSS 8737 hybrid (released as Valley Girl) - I was sent this variety by Johnny’s Selected Seeds in 1989 as a trial variety, along with JSS 361 hybrid. I grew it in 1989, and found it to be a productive determinate medium sized red whose flavor was not all that much to my liking. I harvested first fruit in 74 days, and harvested 52 tomatoes from the plant - it is very productive! - fruit averaged 6.7 ounces, so the plant produced nearly 22 pounds - but the flavor was only a B.

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Not too impressive, hey? Although I suspect some of these that I didn’t try are fine tomatoes. Only Prudens Purple, of the above 10 varieties, left a positive impression.

Trillium on April 19 at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville.

Off The Vine, Volume 1, Number 3. "Seed Sources" by Carolyn

Sweet Betsy trillium and Virginia Bluebells on April 19 at Botanical Gardens of Asheville

Here is an article that I’ve not read in a long, long time. It is very characteristically “Carolyn” for sure.

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Seed Sources

by Carolyn

There are two types of seed sources that I want to discuss. First, there are several commercial firms that carry a good variety of heirlooms and I’ll list them. Second, we have available for you some interesting F2 seeds you might wish to consider growing out.

Before listing the commercial firms I would again encourage you to consider becoming a member of Seed Savers Exchange (SSE). SSE is not a commercial firm and is not a seed company. It is an organization dedicated to the preservation of heirloom vegetables, fruits and grains. If preserving our genetic heritage is important to you, you might wish to consider membership. Additionally, membership will give you access to about 3000 heirloom tomato varieties; almost all of the varieties mentioned in Off the Vine are available to sSE members. Hoepfully you’ve read the material concerning SSE in our first issue and would, if you join, offer seed to others through the Annual Yearbook although that is most certainlyNOT a requirement for membership. Send $1 for information/brochure to Seed Savers Exchange, 3076 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101.

The following list of commercial sources is not inclusive; they are companies Craig and I hand others we know have dealth with and have been pleased with both the seeds and the service. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, P.O. Box 170, Earlysville, VA 22936 (catalog $2) is a treasure trove of heirloom histories and excellent open-pollinated varieties; there is a large selection of heirloom tomatoes including several that have been mentioned in Off the Vine. Jeff McCormack added German Red Strawberry, Druzba, Manyel and Marizol Gold to his catalog this year and also has Riesentraube, Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball and Green Grape along with many other excellent varieties. Gleckler’s Seedmen, Metamora, Ohio 43540 (catalog free) has a long list of heirloom varieties. Rob Johnston of Johnny’s Selected Seeds is enlarging his offerings of heirloom tomatoes and has several whose names you’ve read here such as Cherokee Purple, Cuostralee, Yellow Brandywine, Anna Russian and Tiger Tom. Craig and I have been sending seeds for trial to both Jeff McCormack and Rob Johnston for several years and are pleased that they have chosen to offer some of them to the public. Heirloom Seeds, PO.. Box 245, West Elizabeth PA 15088(catalog $1) is a small firm with an excellent selection of heirloom tomatoes. The following two companies carry both hybrids and heirloom tomatoes in their catalogs, which are free. Tomato Growers Supply Co. .O. Box 2237, Fort Meyers, FL 33902 and totally Tomatoes, P.O. Box 1626, Augusta, GA 30903. Linda Sapp at Tomato Growers Supply has greatly enlarged her offerings of heirloom tomatoes in the current 1995 catalog; craig and I are now sending seeds to Linda for trial and we hope that some of them will perform well enough to be offered through her catalog.

I think you could have a lot of fun with the F2 seeds we are making available to you. Stanley Zubrowski is an amateur Canadian hybridizer who has been trying to breed some taste (Brandywine) into some early varieties. We have F2 seeds of Brandywine X Kotlas, Brandywine X Stupice and Brandywine X Polish (red). The F1 plants of all three varieties gave fruit which was early, red or pink (should all be red; see discussion below) and with excellent taste; the Stupice, Polish and Kotlas F1 plants were potato-leafed. The foliage type will vary, as I’ll explain below, when you grow the F2 plants. Tad Smith, whose article about late blight is in this issue, gave us F1 seed from two crosses. Yellow Oxheart X Polish gave us huge pink hearts and Purple Perfect X Purple Price gave lovely dusky pink fruit with superb taste on a potato-leafed plant. The two parents of the “purple” cross have the same coloration as Cherokee Purple as do the F1 fruit. At the risk of incurring Craig’s wrath (Cherokee Purple is his “kid”), I must confess that I like Purple Perfect better than Cherokee Purple. If you send me a SASE (32 cents) I’ll send you 10 seeds of however many crosses of the five mentioned that you think you can handle. if you find a good one after stabilizing it for 20 years (I’m joking!) it would be a nice gesture to send me some seeds of your selection so I can forward them to Stanley and/or Tad. After all, they did the hybridizing and would like to know what the good offspring look like.

Now a few worlds about genetics so you’ll have some idea of what might happen when you plant the F2 seeds. The fruit which result from the initial hybridization of the two parents gives seeds which are referred to as F1 seeds. When planted, all the F1 plants and fruit of a particular cross will be identical. (In the Brandywine crosses mentioned above the F1 fruit should have been red because red is dominant to pink and Kotlas and Stupice and Polish are all red. The fact that Craig had pink fruit with the Kotlas and Stupice crosses suggests that some unplanned crossing occurred. Carolyn’s plants of the F1 Brandywine crosses gave all red fruit). It’s F1 seeds that you buy and plant if hybrid tomatoes are your preference. The fruit from the F1 plants gives seed referred to as F2 seed. When this seed is planted you’ll get a variety of different plants which might differ with respect to foliage type, fruit shape and color, earliness, etc. so if the F1 plants were potato-leafed, for instance the F2 plants may be regular or potato-leafed. If you find an F2 plant/fruit that you like, save the seeds and plant again the next year. These F3 seeds will also segregate out different characteristics so you’ll have to select again and re-plant. So how long does it take to genetically stabilize a variety? Well, how does 3-10 years sound? But it really is fun. As an example, let me tell you about an orange/red Brandywine that Craig and I are trying to stabilize. Three years ago Craig sent out some seeds of Yellow Brandywine. That fall he got back seeds from one person with a picture showing huge orange red fruit; clearly the seeds sent out by Craig had crossed with something else in his garden. Look, I’ve sent out crossed seeds too. You don’t like it to happen but it’s inevitable unless you grow varieties many feet apart (see article in first issue on isolation distances). So, the next Spring we planted the seeds. Craig got all regular leaf types with large so-so yellow tomatoes (not Yellow Brandywine type) and I got two potato-leafed plants (that’s what we’re after) that gave huge, delicious red/orange fruit and two-plants like Craig’s. I saved the seed from the potato-leafed/orange-red ones and planted them this past Spring. Well, the plants were all potato-leafed, so I was encouraged, but I got fruit which were pink, yellow and orange red. I saved the seeds from all three variants and will probably plant all o them this Spring even though I should only be planting the orange/red seeds. Craig grew out just one plant and it was potato-leafed with orange/red fruit. Some of the “rejects” are darn good and this stabilizing game really does start to grow on you. so if you have the room and the inclination, send me that SASE.

Lastly, I’ve received several requests and inquiries about my selling seed to the general public. Sorry, but I can’t, and I speak for Craig also. Our sole focus is to publish a newsletter which both educates and entertains with respect to heirloom tomatoes. Both of us are listed members of SSE and participate in related seed activities. When SSE requests start rolling in it is not unusual for us to spend 10-20 hours per week filling requests because we both list several hundred varieties with SSE. In addition, I deal with all the Off the Vine subscriptions and related matters which takes even more time. We aren’t retirees; both of us have demanding full time jobs. Craig is a chemist with Glaxo Pharmaceuticals and I am a college biology teacher. We both have other responsibilities; Craig has a lovely wife and two active daughters and I have an invalid mother who needs attention. I hope that also explains why we aren’t on a rigorous publishing schedule for Off the Vine; we’ll publish 3 issues per year but not necessarily on a rigid schedule. We have tried to enlarge the availability of some of our heirlooms to the general public by sending seeds for trial to Southern Exposure, Johnny’s, Tomato Growers Supply and now Pinetree Seeds; perhaps others will follow. After many years of friendship and a common passion for heirloom tomatoes Craig and I decided we wanted to share our enthusiasm and knowledge with others who have a similar interest, thus Off the Vine was “born”. And who knows, some day Craig and I might actually meet each other! Until then we “internet” it every few days unless a verbal exchange is necessary. And believe me, as those of you who know us personally already know, we are verbal!

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This issue really speaks for itself - homey, interesting, informative. And in some cases, a bit dated - addresses, people, companies, varieties - a testament that time passes, and things move on. Change is inevitable.

Sue near a native flame azalea in the Botanical Gardens in Asheville on April 19

General Garden Update

Avidly shrooming strawbales as of this morning. Future spot for tomatoes, peppers or eggplants

Tax Day. Easter Monday. One more frost threat. Less seedlings to manage. Lots of wildflower hikes undertaken, with many more to come. Azaleas, daffodils, tulips, redbud, magnolia.

There’s the list of what is going on in the garden, in the yard, in my life. It is astounding to think of my life at this time over the last 20 years. It was all about the seedlings - the dance in and out of the garage as frost threats were posted. It was endless transplanting, purchasing materials, writing labels, fretting their condition, and getting spaces at the Farmers Market - or scheduling visits to our driveway. One last frost threat has all of my seedlings huddled in my garage, to emerge on Wednesday mid morning.

The 2022 seedlings, just before being relocated to the safety of the garage

This year….pretty peaceful! I have just the plants I am going to grow plus the plants resulting from my typical overplanting. A few people will be coming by to pick up some of those extras - probably starting this coming weekend. (actually, it already started - two gardeners coming by for small but healthy plants in the last week).

The straw bales are now completely prepped and mushrooms and wheat are popping through everywhere. The cucumber, summer squash and bush bean bales are already planted (but not germinated yet - I am hoping the heat generated by the composting bales will preserve the seeds sitting just under the planting medium surface).

I will be making final decisions on tomatoes soon, and my planting goal is still somewhere around May 1. I am excited to ponder peppers and eggplants in straw bales. The location for my containers the past two years did not work for stellar results.

Here is a reminder that the tomato course Growing Epic Tomatoes (a collaboration between Joe Lamp’l and I) is still open to join - you have until the end of April if you are interested. I highly recommend it! Please email me with any questions you have about the course.

One final announcement - My weekly Instagram Live sessions are happening again, with the first last Thursday. As long as I don’t have a conflict, they will take place on Thursday afternoons at 3 PM eastern, with a duration of about 45 minutes. I will do some demos, updates and take questions. All previous ones can be found on my Instagram, @nctomatoman , found on the videos tab of my profile page. In last week’s kick off, I demonstrated planting seeds directly into straw bales, and also hunting dwarf tomatoes in the F2 generation.

I have three more Zoom workshops on my agenda - early May for garden organizations in Connecticut and Virginia, and in the fall for Orange County NC. If the workshops are open for all to attend, I will be sure to post the links on a blog, and on the Linktree in my Instagram profile.

Bleeding hearts in our side shade garden

Once the sun comes out and it warms up, on Wednesday, all of the seedlings and plants reemerge from the garage. I will resume transplanting seedlings to individual containers - I have plenty, so if you are close to Asheville/Hendersonville, get in touch with me to set up a time to get some. I have a Word doc list with details that I can send you. I have lots of yard work to dig into, particularly reworking some flower beds for daylilies and other perennials. I have seeds of some perennials started - Astilbe, Spider Wort, Coral Bells, Jacob’s Ladder, Baptisia - and more stratifying in my freezer.

Having a smaller garden and dealing with less seedlings is freeing me up - I love all kinds of gardening and hope to have the time this spring, summer and fall to fully dive in. But first, there are wildflowers to spot in the many wonderful trails nearby. You will find me and Sue and dogs there most mornings!

Bloodroot, found on a hike in DuPont yesterday

Off The Vine, Volume 1, Number 3. "Adaptation of Tomatoes" by John Rahart

I love growing Pansies from seeds - these were started in the fall of 2021 indoors, and are finally in bloom!

Here is another guest article, by Dr. John Rahart of Bosque, New Mexico, by invitation by Carolyn.

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Adaptation of Tomatoes

by John Rahart

Let me start by telling you about the tomato known as Myona. Brought to this country by an Italian immigrant shortly after the turn of the century, it was grown continuously in his garden. In the early 1980’s the man parted with some of his plants and a few of them made their way to my dad who lived nearby (Suffern, NY/Mahwah, NJ). People had always brought their favorites to dad and he had in his collection some impressive varieties, but Myona was equal to or better than the varieties he had previously grown. When I heard his glowing accounts I implored him to send me some spare seed, which arrived without a name. After checking back with the elderly man who had grown it those many years it was confirmed that I was called Myona and that it was the correct spelling. As the elderly man said in a heavily accented voice, “itza myona, itza gotta no nama, itza myona tomato! Ima already tolda you, watza damadda wid you annawayah!” Indeed, it was his tomato.

My greedy little fingers slipped the seeds out of their packet. I pressed my little trophies into the soil, watered, loved and bragged about them even before they flowered. Were these going to dazzle the neighbors or what? I could feel the fame and glory already. To shorten a lengthy narrative … they fizzled! The fruit were small, irregular and atypical compared to what they should have been. However, I had never seen “the real thing”.  So I saved seed and planted the next year. Ditto the next year. I wasn’t quite sure what my dad saw in them; they were OK but nothing to marvel about.

An amazing thing happened when the third generation plants matured their fruit. The tomatoes were very large 5 ½” by 4” wide oxhearts, uniform, solid, marvelous, stupendous tomatoes … nothing like the previous two years fruit. Elated at fostering a miracle I was still patting myself on the back when my dad back in New York laughed and said, “that’s the way they’re supposed to look”. I didn’t realize it at the time but I had just stumbled onto a coincidence. I lived in Wyoming: cool, arid, high ultraviolet (7000’ elevation), they lived in NY: hotter, humid, low UV at sea level.

Several years later I moved to New Mexico. After doing the traditional rave and brag dance about your most stupendous tomato I gave some seeds of Myona to a new friend who lived down the street. She carefully planted and grew them, and was NOT impressed! New Mexico: hot, very arid and high UV … it sounded familiar. In convinced her to do the three generation waltz with Myona.

Upon birth and delivery of the third generation of Myonas I was reestablished as a gardening star. How could I be so certain that the Wyoming experience was not just a fluke? The truth is that by then I had acclimated several other highly touted but low performing tomatoes and many of them responded in the same way that the Myonas had in Wyoming. I was not dealing with a cross-pollination problem but with plants which could not immediately respond to such drastic changes in growing conditions. By saving the seed each year and regrowing for several years (usually 3) I was able to get the plant acclimated to the new growing conditions and only then was the plant able to perform “as advertised”.

For people not satisfied with a new tomato which they feel has more potential than they observe, I’d suggest saving seed and growing out several generations before pronouncing it inferior, especially if the seed came to you from a non-similar climate or latitude. Why and/or how does this work? I don’t know; several theories are possible. First, all organisms carry dormant (non-expressed) genes in their chromosomes. It’s possible that stress activates these genes which are then passed active to the offspring enabling the offspring to better accommodate new situations. Second, climate, UV, elevation, photo-period and other stress agents probably affect gene expression as well as affecting the growing plant directly. Third, the presence of mycorrhizae might facilitate adaptation. Mycorrhizae are fungi which form a mutualistic relationship with over 80% of vascular plants. The endomycorrhizae (as opposed to the “ecto” type) are found, for example, in corn, wheat, tomatoes, beans and apples. The fungal hyphae actually penetrate into the plant tissue. In wet environments they can increase the amount of plant nutrients, especially phosphorus, and in arid environments they aid in water uptake. Perhaps adaptation is related to specific species of these fungi infecting the roots. If you absolutely must adapt a particular variety why don’t you ask the seed donor for some soil and mix that soil with your potting mix for that variety. It’s worth a try. Fourth, gnomes, devas and nature spirits … they probably hold back the growth of the plants until they thoroughly test everyone to see who really loves their tomatoes. Why not?

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This is really a fascinating article. It touches on a subject that I have lots of opinions on - whether a tomato can “adapt” to an area (as described above), or whether the particular variety is mixed - a hybrid - or early generation - and different results are from various genetic combinations showing themselves in small, random growing of seeds. So I republish this to share it with all of you - it is an opinion, an experience, and approach. Who can argue with that! Enjoy!

me and my pal Marlin, running errands this morning…waiting for Sue to be done with her shopping.

My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 13. Tomatoes #141-150

Spring in the yard - showing our prized American Redbud, a red leaf maple, lilac…and our straw bales (guarded by Koda).

Got lots of momentum now. Gardening season is starting to get really active, so I am thinking of taking this to tomato #250 and take a break until fall - gardening update blogs will become more prevalent once I take a tomato collection break. Let’s do this…two of the following are really good varieties. The rest are….interesting!

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Tomato #141 - Verna Orange - This tomato was obtained from SSE member IA CA D in 1989. I grew it several times, the first of which being 1990. It is typical for a heart shaped variety - very wispy foliaged plant, but quite early for its size and high yielding. It seems to be an Indiana heirloom, released by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in 1990. It is similar to the historic variety Yellow Oxheart, released in the 1920s by the Livingston seed company. The lovely pale orange hearts are very meaty, with a mild flavor - pleasant, but by no means a knock out.

Tomato #142 - Yellow White - This rare variety was sent to me by SSE member KY AN C in 1989. It is also known as Viva Lindsey’s Kentucky Heirloom. The lovely story associated with the variety is that seeds of the tomato were given to Viva Lindsey on the occasion of her wedding, in 1904, by the Martin family. It is a tomato I respect for its wonderful story, more than crave eating. I first grew it in 1989. The very tall, indeterminate plant produces very pretty ivory colored tomatoes that are quite large, and have a faint pink blossom end blush on some of the fruit. They are quite firm fleshed and have a mild flavor that is on the sweet side. My 1989 experience with this variety showed first ripe fruit in just 70 days. I harvested but 13 tomatoes from the plant, at an average weight of 17.6 ounces - really large for a white tomato - giving the plant a yield of 14.3 pounds. I rated the flavor as B+, so I clearly enjoyed it more than I thought I did!

Tomato #143 - Banana Legs - I acquired this variety from SSE member ONT RE M in 1989, which is the first year I grew it. It is unusual in being a determinate variety, though the 3-4 foot bushy plant is a tomato machine. It is a Tom Wagner-bred variety, first sold by his Tater-Mater seed company, likely as a selection from a cross of various varieties with the red paste variety Long Tom. The fruit are slender paste types that have yellow skin with faint lighter stripes. The flesh is firm and somewhat dry, probably a better roasting or sauce than fresh eating tomato. My 1989 trial showed a first ripe fruit pick in only 59 days. The plant produced 43 tomatoes at an average weight of 3 ounces, so 8 pounds for the plant with a flavor rating of B (which seems generous).

Tomato #144 - Big White - I acquired this tomato from Glenn Drowns, as a SSE transaction, in 1989, and first grew it in 1991 (it was also the last time I grew it). It appears to be a collection from the large collection of Californian Don Branscomb. My records, and recollection, on this variety are very scant. My guess is that it was a medium sized oblate ivory colored tomato of no great flavor interest - not uncommon in most “white” varieties.

Tomato #145 - German Garden Time - From SSE member MI KL R in 1989, this is one obscure tomato that I grew one time - in 1989. My recollection is that it was a rather large ivory tomato on a tall, vigorous indeterminate plant with fully unexceptional flavor. In its 1989 trial, first ripe fruit was harvested in 80 days, making it quite a late ripener. I picked 23 tomatoes at an average weight of 14.6 ounces (another quite large white variety), so the plant yield was nearly 21 pounds. The flavor rating was, alas, B- - the worst rated tomato for flavor in 1989.

Tomato #146 - Sutton - Yet another in a group of white tomatoes (which I clearly had an interest in during this period of my seed collecting), I received this tomato from Dorothy Beiswenger, SSE member, in 1989, and my single experience with it was also in 1989. There is essentially no information about the variety, but some speculation it is from the Sutton Seed Company in the early 1900s. I remember the plant being quite short for an indeterminate, with first fruit in 58 days. I harvested 44 fruit from the plant with an average weight of 8 ounces. The plant yield was an impressive 22.4 pounds, with a B+ flavor rating. I remember thinking it was the best flavored of those early tested white varieties.

Tomato #147 - Sweet Million F1 hybrid - What a tomato machine this variety is! Purchased from Stokes in 1989, I grew it that same year and others as well, due to its incredible productivity and pleasant flavor. It was developed as an improvement on the very popular Sweet 100 hybrid. In 1989, first fruit was harvested in 59 days, and I harvested - get ready for this (and yes, I counted them!) - 1,045 tomatoes with a half ounce average weight. I picked over 32 pounds of tomatoes - and it got an A for flavor. How’s that for impressive!

Tomato #148 - Yellow Stuffer - Curiously, this variety was also purchased from Stokes in 1989, but I never got around to trying it. The original source is unclear, but stuffing tomatoes (firm walls, shaped like a bell pepper, relatively hollow with the seeds in a cluster in the center) have been known for a long time and are available in various colors.

Tomato #149 - Dutchman - This famous tomato was first carried by Gleckler seed company in 1958, and I obtained it from them in 1989. The history is known, but it is assumed to be very old - it is a large, oblate regular leaf pink tomato that I’ve yet to grow.

Tomato #150 - Watermelon Beefsteak - A famous variety first carried by the Gleckler seed company, I obtained it directly from them in 1989. Gleckler introduced it in 1958 - little is known about its history except it seems to have originated in West Virginia in the late 1800s. It is a regular leaf, large oblate pink beefsteak type that I have yet to grow.

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Well, we are now at 150. Pretty good milestone there, and it is still 1989 in my collection. I was madly accumulating at this point, but it was pretty scattershot, and of the above, although some well regarded varieties have yet to be grown, there are a few winners. Verna Orange, Sutton, Sweet Million hybrid and Yellow-White are the tops of this ten varieties.

Seedlings waiting for consistent warmer weather!

Off The Vine, Volume 1, Number 3. "Tomatoes to Die For", by Craig

Reflections in a creek, WNC Arboretum, April 4 hike.

I will re-read this once I copy and paste it in, below. It will be interesting to see how my tastes and preferences from back then match my perceptions today.

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Tomatoes to Die For

by Craig

I’ve been gardening for about 14 years, but it has only been since around 1986 or so that the unusual, old and unique has graced my gardens each year.  If one were to ask what my favorite tomato was, it would be a long conversation because I have many favorites!  But, since Carolyn answered this question for you all (I should say “y’all” now that I reside in the South), it is time for me to reveal the varieties that I would not want to be without!

One thing that I have noticed is that many of my favorites are among the first heirlooms that I tried.  Either I was lucky in my first choices, or there is a romantic attachment to the varieties that got me hooked on growing them!  In order to make this easier to go through, I will adopt Carolyn’s method of listing and describing by color. 

Among the great red tomatoes that I have grown are Believe it or Not, Big Sandy, Bisignano #2, German Red Strawberry, Lillian’s Red Kansas, Nepal, Opalka, and Reif’s Italian Red Heart.  Believe it or Not is the largest tomato I have grown, yet was quite uniform, didn’t crack much, but had an old fashioned, full flavor.  Big Sandy, which I received from Charlotte Mullens, a West Virginia tomato enthusiast, grew red, not pink for me; it was also quite large, but unlike the creased typical irregular beefsteak, was quite smooth.  The flavor was outstanding.  Two heart shaped, large tomatoes come next - German Red Strawberry, which is very meaty and sweet, and Reif’s Italian Red Heart, which though similar in shape and size is much juicier and seedier.  Lillian’s Red Kansas and Bisignano #2 are elongated (nearly deep globe) types that have very full flavor, and would be great for either slicing or sauce.  Nepal was the first OP tomato I grew, and the best flavored of my 1986 garden, which contained popular hybrids such as Better Boy, Gurney Girl, Whopper, and Big Girl and Boy.  It is medium to large, nearly globe shaped, smooth and richly flavored.  Rounding out the reds is Opalka, my favorite example of the long, pepper shaped sauce tomatoes that are also so delicious eaten fresh, unlike the Roma types that are so bland.

Now comes my favorite category - the pink colored varieties.  Actually, the only difference between the red, or scarlet tomatoes described above and the pinks is the skin color.  In the red tomatoes, the skin is yellow; in the pink tomatoes, the skin is clear.  There is no difference in the acidity of tomatoes with respect to color, either (that is just folklore).  Anyway, the list of excellent pinks that I have grown would include Belgian Beauty, Brandywine, Burcham New Generation, Eva Purple Ball, Fritsche, Goliath, Gregori’s Altai, Mortgage Lifter, Nicky Crain, Anna Russian, Pink Sweet, Polish, Prudence Purple, Stump of the World, Tappy’s Finest, Ukrainian Heart, and Wins All.  To simplify things, I will lump them into general categories of similar types.  First, Belgian Beauty, Burcham New Generation, Goliath, Gregori’s Altai, Pink Sweet, Tappy’s Finest, Wins All and Mortgage Lifter are examples of regular leaf large smooth slightly oblate beefsteak types that may run from eight ounces (Gregori’s) to over two pounds (Mortgage Lifter and Burcham).  They are all firm, juicy, and very sweet, with a very full and rich flavor.  Next come the potato leaf versions of the oblate beefsteak, such as Brandywine, Polish, Prudens Purple and Stump of the World.  These are my flavor favorites, having some tartness to go along with the outstanding sweetness and fullness.  Brandywine has become a tomato legend, as many seed savers call it their favorite tomato; if forced to come up with one favorite, I would have to agree.  Two tomatoes that are distinct for their regular roundness are Eva Purple Ball and Fritsche, being perfect, 6-8 ounce globes, with great juiciness and flavor.  Finally come some outstanding heart shaped varieties, the relatively early Anna Russian, and the much larger Ukrainian Heart and Nicky Crain.  All are productive, delicious and attractive.  One common problem is the lack of vigor in the young seedlings (they are very spindly and fragile looking); even the mature plants have relatively small foliage and poorer leaf cover than other varieties.

Two tomatoes that are unique for their unusual color are Cherokee Purple and Price’s Purple.  Each are very dark pink, nearing brownish purple.  The interiors are brick red, with green gel surrounding the seeds.  Cherokee Purple is a regular leaf, large oblate variety, while Price’s Purple is a large potato leaf type.  Both have intensely rich flavors, and tend to be controversial, probably due to the color, which some find rather unappetizing!  Not me or my family, though!

Now we move on to shades of yellow and orange.  In this family are Golden Oxheart, Hugh’s, Dr. Wyche’s Yellow, Lillian’s Yellow, Madara, Persimmon, Potato Leaf Yellow, Sun Gold, Spark’s Yellow, Yellow Bell, Yellow Brandywine, and Yellow Oxheart.  Hugh’s (regular leaf) and Lillian’s Yellow (potato leaf) are pale lemon yellow, very large and late, and deliciously sweet.  Golden Oxheart (round, not heart shaped, actually!) and Dr. Wyche are medium to large, golden orange varieties with rich taste.  Persimmon can grow to 2 pounds, and is a unique pale orange tomato that is so meaty it is nearly seedless.  Potato Leaf Yellow, Spark’s Yellow, and Yellow Brandywine are similar in that they are vigorous, potato leaf varieties yielding large, oblate fruit of over a pound, and with very rich flavor that has more tartness than most tomatoes in this color family.  Finally, Yellow Oxheart is a beautiful, large deep yellow heart shaped tomato with nice flavor, although the plant is quite spindly looking early in the season.  Madara (yellow) and Sun Gold (orange, and the only hybrid that I routinely grow) are prolific, sweet cherry tomatoes.  Yellow Bell is a canary yellow tomato of the Roma shape, yet very juicy and delicious, not like typical paste tomatoes.

The most beautiful of tomatoes are the red/gold bicolors, which are streaked inside and out.  Though numerous, I have found the best flavor and color in Georgia Streak, Ruby Gold, and Robinson’s German.  Typically, these varieties grow very large on vigorous deep green leafed plants.  The globe to oblate fruit are yellow to golden yellow with a red blush or splash on the blossom end, and the extent of red varies from fruit to fruit.  When cut, the red coloration bleeds through to the flesh, giving a marbled effect.  They are very sweet and juicy, and in my mind are the perfect cheeseburger tomato!

Now come the real oddities... Green tomatoes inside and out, of which I like Dorothy’s Green the best; red/gold striped Tiger Tom, the ivory colored White Queen and Yellow White, also known as Viva Lindsey’s Kentucky Heirloom.  Dorothy’s Green is a medium to quite large oblate variety that is the smoothest of the green types in my experience.  When ripe, the exterior color is an amber green color; the real surprise is seeing the emerald green interior when cut!  And the flavor is rich and delicious, and among the best I have grown, no matter what the size or color.  I love to use these in salsa recipes, as people are unprepared for the sweet flavors!  Tiger Tom is the size, shape and smoothness of a large ping pong ball.  The tomatoes have skin that is scarlet with jagged gold stripes, and the interior seeds are often surrounded by green gel.  The flavor is snappy, tart, and full, and it is one of the best flavored early tomatoes that you can grow.  Finally, White Queen is a large, ribbed, slightly irregular tomato that is creamy white in color, and surprisingly full in flavor.  Yellow White is even more beautiful, being smoother in contour, and with a gorgeous pearly pink blush on the blossom end. 

It is encouraging to see seed companies developing an interest in unusual tomatoes.  Among the ones we highly recommend are Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  Carolyn and I have been sending these companies samples of our favorites for a few years now, and they are now carrying  a number of these in their seed catalogs.  I hope that this, and Carolyn’s, listing of some of our favorite tomatoes will encourage to do some exploring in your own gardens! 

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It is quite remarkable to see how little has changed over the many years. Tomatoes that I cherish now for the most part are found in the list above. I included some varieties in this article that I think I overrated a bit. Some varieties are not lost to me - my saved seed no longer germinates. I really need to find some of these to grow again, such as Big Sandy, Reif’s Italian Red Heart, Belgian Beauty, Fritsche, Pink Sweet, Ukrainian Heart, Price’s Purple, Potato Leaf Yellow and Dorothy’s Green. Among those I now feel were overrated are Eva Purple Ball, Pruden’s Purple, Dr. Wyche’s Yellow, Persimmon, the three bicolored beefsteaks, and White Queen. They are fine tomatoes, but not in the top tier of flavor for my palate.

Sue about to pass the very first native azalea to bloom in the WNC Arboretum

Three New Items and a quick garden update

26 Straw bales - these, and some grow bags and containers will be the 2022 garden

First news item - The Joe Lamp’l (joegardener)/Craig LeHoullier (me! nctomatoman) collaborative, self paced, all video course, Growing Epic Tomatoes, has been reopened throughout the month of April for new students. Just click this link to register.

Second - Patrina (my Dwarf Tomato Project co-lead and co-creator) and I will be presenting on our project via Zoom in an event hosted by the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) on April 13 at 7 PM Eastern. All who are interested can join - the Zoom link for you to attend is here.

Finally, I’ve decided it is a good time to restart my regular (weekly, unless indicated otherwise, typically a conflict on my end) Instagram Live sessions - 30-45 minutes of me discussing whatever is going on in my garden, including plenty of time for your questions. These will begin on Thursday April 14, at 3 PM Eastern. If all goes well, I should be able to do a video demo of spotting dwarf tomato plants in the F2 generation of an indeterminate X dwarf cross.

As far as what’s happening in the garden: All of the straw bales (26 of them) have been purchased and situated in my yard, and treatment has started. By April 15, all will be ready for planting. I will probably go for direct seeding of squash, cukes and beans around that date, and wait until May 1 for planting tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Updates on all of this will be part of my weekly IG live sessions.

All of my seedlings are up, and I’ve started to transplant into individual pots. Aside from tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, I have spinach, lettuce (several types), petunia, zinnia, snapdragon, lunaria, basil (several types), and salvia in various stages of growth. For the most part, seedlings are hardened off and spending most of the time outdoors, being brought in only when frost is likely.

There is no formal seedlings sale this year in the Hendersonville area. I do overplant, and there will be some extras for folks that are interested, but the variety list is far smaller than prior years. Plants will be available for a donation of the plant recipients’ choosing. Availability will be late April to mid May. In future blogs, I will outline exactly what will be in my garden. Any folks living near me who are interested can drop me an email - nctomatoman@gmail.com - and I will send further seedling details. Those in the Raleigh area have two good seedling options, listed in my March 26 blog entry.

That’s it for now - keep reading my Off The Vine and my Seed Collection blogs. The next in each series will post soon.

The rare and beautiful Oconee Bells, spotted during an April 4 walk in the WNC Arboretum, Carolina Mountains trail.

My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 12. Tomatoes #131-140

Waterfall at Pearson’s Falls in Saluda NC, taken on a late March wildflower ramble

The journey continues. The last 10 was not particularly stellar. This set has a few notable varieties.

Tomato #131 - Una Hartsock’s Beefsteak - Obtained from Iowa SSE member IA EA S in 1989, I grew it in 1990. I recall it being a large oblate pink tomato that was a bit too firm and dry for my liking - it was also one of those pink beefsteak type tomatoes that were not only too mild, but had a bit of an off putting flavor characteristic I think of as “musky”.

Tomato #132 - German Johnson - from SSE member OH CA L in 1989, I never grew this particular batch, though did get around to trying it several times much later on. It is actually thought to be one of the very few authentic North Carolina heirlooms. I will provide a full report when I reach the seed of this variety that I did grow out.

Tomato #133 - Magellan Burgess Purple - I got this variety from Ben Beloit, Maryland, 1989, and grew it in both 1990 and 1991. I recall little about it except that the plant was particularly prone to “crud” as a young seedling. The fruit were large pink beefsteak types that shared the someone unpleasant texture and flavor of Una Hartsock, described above.

Tomato #134 - Sochulak - obtained from ME LA L in 1989, I finally tried it in 1994. It produced medium sized long, rounded plum type pink tomatoes that were mid-late season, on a plant with wispy foliage. I rated the flavor B+, and it was on the sweet side. It is quite unusual in being a pink plum type tomato.

Tomato #135 - Stump of the World - this interestingly named tomato came to me from SSE member Jim Donovan of California in 1989. It has become a real favorite. There is some confusion of whether this is the same as “Big Ben”, and whether it should be potato or regular leaf. All I know is that it is superb, providing lots of large oblate pink tomatoes on a potato leaf plant. It is very similar in flavor to Brandywine. It yields a bit more consistently season to season, and the fruit shape is a bit more oblate. I just love this tomato!

Tomato #136 - Orange Beefsteak - I was sent this by SSE member WV CO B in 1989. I grew it in 1990 and found that it has crossed. It ended up producing a red saladette tomato with a nice sweet flavor. I named it Caitlin’s Favorite, but if it was indeed a hybrid, it would have been very variable. I clearly wasn’t as disciplined or knowledgeable at this stage of my gardening endeavors.

Tomato #137 - Yellow Beefsteak - This also was from WV CO B, in 1989, and I grew it in 1991. It produced pale yellow oblate beefsteak fruit, some with a pale pink blush, that were very bland.

Tomato #138 - Brown’s Yellow Giant - This came from SSE member Don Sparks of Kentucky, in 1989, and I never did get to try it. I assume it to be a large, oblate, golden yellow beefsteak type.

Tomato #139 - Ester Hess Yellow Cherry - received from SSE member Glenn Drowns, also owner of Sandhill Seeds, in 1989, and grew it in 1989. What a tomato machine this was. Starting at 67 days after transplant, I harvested 739 tomatoes at an average weight of .6 ounces - the plant produced over 27 pounds of cherry tomatoes! The fruit were bright yellow - alas, I rated the flavor a B - very mild, not unpleasant, but nothing to write home about. I’ve not grown it since. There is little historical info available aside from it being an Iowa heirloom.

Tomato #140 - Magellan Burgess Yellow - This was also sent to me by Ben Beloit of Maryland, SSE member, in 1989, and grown in 1990. The plant produced large gold colored tomatoes that were very mild in flavor.

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This was a curious set of tomatoes. I was obviously moving into different colored varieties, focusing on listings in the SSE yearbook. German Johnson is probably the most famous, and for me, Stump of the World is the most beloved, a tomato that I grow often in my garden. It is a special variety.

Spring in the back yard - early April