Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 3. "Seed Sources and Free Seeds" by Carolyn

Sue and Koda on a lovely chilly morning in DuPont - our last November hike for 2022 - on the Tarkiln and Tom’s Cemetary trails.

Here’s a nice long article by Carolyn - in fact, sadly, this is the last article written by her for Off The Vine, so enjoy. It captures her love of new creations, doing garden research, and saving and sharing seeds. After this, just three more articles to go. We will be done by Christmas for sure.

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Seed Sources and Free Seeds

Carolyn Male

I’d first line to mention that Craig and I are not a source of tomato seeds for Off The Vine subscribers.  We both are active listed members of the Seed Savers Exchange SSE, see below), and participate in their seed activities, but do not feel it is appropriate for us to offer seeds for sale.  I’m going to discuss both commercial sources and the special seeds we are offering through Off The Vine, but I’d first like to encourage all of you to consider membership in the 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 support SSE by becoming a member.  Membership will give you access to about 3000 tomato varieties!  Almost all of the varieties mentioned in OTV are available through the SSE.  It is hoped that you would multiply seed obtained through SSE and reoffer it to others as a listed member although that certainly is not a requirement for membership.  It’s pretty late in the season to obtain the current seed listings in the 1997 Yearbook, but by sending in $25 now, you might get it this Spring.  It gets very busy at the SSE in the spring and there is usually a big backlog.  They now publish a brochure which contains a few selected vegetable and flower varieties which are available to everyone, but the tomato offerings are limited.  The address is 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, or others we know have dealt with and have been pleased with both the service and the seeds.  The catalog ($2) of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, PO Box 170, Earlysville, VA, 22936 is a treasure trove of heirloom histories and excellent open pollinated varieties.  There is a large selection of heirloom tomatoes including many that have been mentioned in Off The Vine (too many to mention separately).  Vince and Linda Sapp at Tomato Growers Supply have made a large commitment to heirloom tomatoes and now carry a superb collection.   Again, many of the varieties have been mentioned here and are too numerous to mention individually.  Their catalog is free and the address is Tomato Growers Supply Co., PO Box 2237, Fort Meyers, FL  33902.  Rob Johnston of Johnny’s Selected Seeds has an excellent, but limited selection of heirloom tomatoes.  Again, many have been mentioned here in OTV.  The catalog is free and the address is Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Foss Hill Road, Albion ME, 04910.  Tom Hauch has a small catalog which features many excellent heirloom tomatoes.  The catalog is $1 and the address is Heirloom Seeds, PL Box 245, West Elizabeth, PA, 15088.  Craig and I have been sending seeds for trial to the first three companies and we are pleased that they have selected some of our varieties to offer in their catalogs.

We are also making available to you a selection of 9 very special seeds, of which you may request any five varieties.  These seeds are special because they are the result of either natural or deliberate cross pollination and the grow outs from some of these should be especially interesting.  We need to discuss a little about tomato genetics before I describe the varieties.

The fruits which result from initial cross pollination (natural or deliberate) of two parents gives seed which is referred to as F1 seed (or F1 hybrid).  When planted, all of the plants and fruit of F1 seed should be identical (but see the comments later about the Brandywine crosses).  Seed isolated from the fruits of F1 plants is referred to as the F2 seed.  When this seed is planted you’ll get a variety of different plants which might vary with respect to foliage type, fruit shape and color, earliness, etc.  So if the F1 plants were potato leaf, for instance, the F2 plants may be regular leaf or potato leaf.  And if the F1 fruit was red, you could get red, orange, or pink fruit, or whatever, in the F2s, depending on the parents.  If you find an F2 plant that you like, save the seeds and plant again next year.  These F3 seeds will also segregate out different characteristics so you’ll have to select again and grow out the next year to see the F4s.  So how long does it take to genetically stabilize a variety?  Well, how does 3-10 years sound?  But really it is fun, and remember that every authentic family heirloom tomato was grown out and stabilized by someone until it came true every year!  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, give it a try…I think you’ll love it!

The first series of seeds were hybridized by Stanley Zubrowski, an amateur Canadian hybridizer who has been trying to combine flavor (Brandywine) with a variety of early season varieties.  All F1s are potato leaved and the fruit are about 4-6 ounces with a variety of fruit shapes and the color is red or pink (should all be red because Brandywine is pink and each of the four varieties it was crossed to are red; red is dominant to pink).  These crosses are Brandywine X Stupice, Brandywine X Polish, Brandywine X Glacier, and Brandywine X Outdoor Girl.  Seed offered is F2 seed.  Tad Smith, author of our late blight article and a hybridization article in previous issues, is offering two crosses.  The first is Yellow Oxheart X Ukrainian Heart (red).  The F1 plants are wispy, as one often seeds with oxheart foliage and fruit are large pink hearts.  Tad knows the Ukrainian Heart parent was red and is at a loss to explain the pink offspring.  Seed offered is F2 seed.  Tad’s other cross is Purple Perfect X Purple Price.  These parents have the same coloration as Cherokee Purple, as do the F1 fruit.  I happen to love Purple Perfect, the one parent, and several folks reported from last year that they got some excellent selections.  Seed offered is the F2 seed, and seed amount is limited.  I’m offering two crosses.  The first is White Queen X unknown.  White Queen is the best white I’ve ever grown, is oblate (flattened) with very good taste.  The F1 fruit are large red and bomb shaped with excellent taste; could be some interesting ones that come out of this because I don’t know what the other parent is, other than it’s red.  Seed offered is F2 seed.  My other offering is OTV Brandywine, and this is a great tomato.  The OTV reflects the fact that this cross originated in Craig’s garden between Yellow Brandywine and unknown, and I’ve stabilized it out to the F4, and now F5 generations.  While pink, yellow and red/orange large beefsteak type fruit have appeared in the F2 and F3 generations, I’ve been selecting for the large red/orange potato leaf type and last summer all 8 plants were true.  Seeds offered are either F4 or F5.  OTV Brandywine is also being offered to members of SSE this year.

All of the above seeds were offered last year also, and I did receive some reports back from folks, and some reports were quite detailed, with color photos and seeds of the selections.  I will share some of these reports with you in the next issue, but in general I’d say that everyone who contacted me praised OTV Brandywine very highly, found the range of fruit colors and shapes to be most extensive with the White Queen cross, like the Purple Perfect selections they got, and had varied comments about the Brandywine X “early red variety” crosses (my own impression is that the Brandywine X Stupice cross has the most potential).  No one mentioned results with the Ukrainian Heart (red) X Yellow Oxheart cross, but we have no seeds to offer this year.

We have two new crosses to offer this year; both are from Steve Draper in Utah, and they are really interesting combinations.  These are crosses Steve did himself.  The first is Galina X Black Krim.  Galina is a deep yellow cherry tomato with potato leaf foliage.  Black Krim is one of the black/red types and is medium sized with a blackish red exterior and a brick/red/chocolate interior, and regular leaf foliage.  Galina has just superb taste…Dr. Carolyn is an ivory mutant of it.  Steve sent me his only four F1 seeds to grow out last summer.  The plants are robust with regular leaf foliage and about 3-4 oz round fruit in clusters; the color is really deep red with darker undertones, and the taste is just superb!  Considering the colors in this cross, the F2 growouts should be very interesting.  Steve’s other cross is Banana Legs X Regina’s Yellow.  Banana Legs is yellow and about 3-4 inches long by about 1 inch wide, and I don’t think anyone says its taste is outstanding.  But Steve wanted to get some taste and color into it and so used Regina’s Yellow which is a large gold/red bicolor with vigorous regular leaf foliage; the taste of Regina’s is excellent, as is experienced with most bicolors.  The F1 fruit in Steve’s garden was top shaped, the flesh soft like Banana Legs, and when fully ripe showed faint striping.  Flavor was mild and all plants were vigorous like Regina’s, not scrawny like Banana Legs.  Again, the F2 growouts should be very interesting.  Seeds offered for both of Steve’s crosses are F2 seeds.  There is plenty of seed of the first cross, but only enough for about 15 folks for the Banana Legs cross.  Steve is moving from Utah to Washington State this month, and will not be able to grow as much in the Pacific NW.  He hopes that you will let him know about his crosses because only through you can he find out what his efforts will have produced.  I’ll post his address, perhaps, in the next issue of OTV.

These are experimental crosses.  Please do not share them or list them with the SSE.  The exception is OTV Brandywine, which already is listed with the SSE.  You may select any five varieties; approximately 10 seeds of each variety will be sent out.  Send your request to Patrick Millard, 1126 Justin Ridge Way, Waynesville, Ohio, 45068 and enclose a SASE with a 32 cent stamp; we would ask non-US folks to please enclose one dollar and not put stamps on the self addressed envelopes.  Please do not send seed requests to either Craig or me, only to Pat, who has graciously agreed to once again send these seeds to you.  Thanks so much, Pat, from all of us…we truly appreciate your time and efforts.  I am writing this article on March 19, 1997; tomorrow I give the copy to Mike to do the layout.  I should be able to send the laser copies to Craig next Tuesday.  Hopefully he can send out the OTVs around Easter.  That will still be enough time to request seeds and get them planted.  Those of us in zones 4 and 5 can plant seeds up to mid-April and those of you in warmer zones have no problem because you have a longer growing season.  I just know you’ll have lots of fun with these seeds.  Remember, you may request five varieties, please enclose a SASE (US folks; envelopes with one dollar for non US folks) and send only to Pat Millard at the address above!

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I never really kept up with the fate of the various crosses that Carolyn mentioned. It is hard to believe that these are from 1997 - 25 years ago!

Typical lazy afternoon array - Sue with Betts, Koda and Marlin having a nice snooze.

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 3. "Saving Seeds - You Can Make a Difference" by Jim Tjepkema

Here’s a pic from 2019 - just before we were on our way from Raleigh to Hendersonville - when a former foster pup, Scout (previously known as Betts) paid us a visit - Marlin was so thrilled.

This is our final guest article. This one is written by a former SSE member and friend of Carolyn. I love these early thoughts on, essentially, citizen science! Jim as a SSE legacy donor - an article about him can be found here. Two articles remain for Volume 3, Number 3 - then the two never before published that I wrote for partial issue Volume 4, Number 1. Four more articles, four weeks until Christmas - it will happen!

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Saving Seeds:  You can make a difference!

Jim Tjepkema

The first seed savers played an important role in the origins of agriculture and modern seed savers have become important contributors to the advance of agriculture at its current stage of development.  The first gardeners and farmers, who were the first seed savers, could be thought of as the original plant breeders.  These ancient seed savers discovered and developed practically all of the domesticated plant species now in existence.  Modern plant breeders have improved domesticated plants, but have had little success in developing new domesticated plant species.  In this article I will discuss the role seed savers can and do play in agricultural science today.

I have seen advice from gardening publications warning gardeners against saving their own seeds.  Those giving advice against saving seeds may think that gardeners should not get involved in aspects of gardening that are better left to scientists and technologists.  In fact, some procedures used by professional seed producers may be beyond the means of the average seed saver and, therefore, the work of these professionals is important.  However, many seed savers, who are not professionals, have found that they can do a good job of saving the seeds of many kinds of vegetables, and other plants without too much effort.

I believe that professional scientists and technologists should welcome the help of non professionals and that science and technology should not be completely dominated by professionals.  In agriculture, which is my field of study, some scientists have tended to take a top down approach where they are almost completely in control of the most important research programs and the educational agenda associated with this research.  However, this top down approach to research and education is losing some of its support partly due to the advocates of sustainable farming who are questioning many of the conventional practices used in agriculture.  In sustainable farming there is a tendency for farmers and agricultural specialists to work together as partners in research and education.

I find that many gardeners are very independent and may not pay too much attention to specialists who do not respond to their needs.  However, I believe seed saving may be an important way for gardeners to become more involved in the science of gardening.  Of course, there are always people around who like to experiment in their gardens, but the work of backyard scientists tends to be isolated and may be completely ignored.  Newsletters like Off The Vine and organizations like the Seed Savers Exchange bring the isolated efforts of backyard scientists together and encourage more people to join this activity.

Some of the best seed savers have developed their own very extensive programs for collecting and maintaining rare plant varieties that are as good or better than programs developed by many plant scientists.  Also, other projects are sometimes taken on by seed savers such as plant breeding and variety performance trials.  For example, Off The Vine has made some efforts to get data on plant disease resistance from seed savers and has circulated seeds from a plant breeding project to be checked for performance by seed savers.

Many seed savers may approach gardening as an art and are not interested in making scientific observations or getting involved with research projects.  However, those who think they might like to do some scientific work might find that this work is very rewarding.  I have worked with farmers on research projects and have found that they can benefit in many ways from doing research.  By doing research farmers gain a better understanding of how scientific research is done and increase their access to information and specialists while becoming more confident in their own ability to improve their methods of farming.

Gardeners may not get the same benefits from doing research that are achieved by farmers.  However, I think that in some ways the benefits to gardens from research activities are very similar to those of farmers.  First of all, scientific studies may be simply looked upon as very interesting activities that are enjoyable.  Scientists who are doing research as part of their job may lose sight of the fun side of science, but there is no reason a seed saver should let research become a chore that is not personally rewarding.

If we leave research primarily in the hands of professionals we sometimes feel that they may be taking science in a direction that is against our interests.  When scientists work along, without any nonprofessional partners, they may overlook many important things that could have been brought to their attention by such partners.  For example, many people now think that the scientific community should do more to protect our genetic heritage of domesticated plants.  Much understanding of the importance of our plant genetic heritage has come through people getting involved in seed saving and not leaving the preservation of rare plants entirely in the hands of professional scientists.  If plant scientists had worked more closely with seed savers in the past, they might already have developed better programs for saving rare plants.

Use of science by gardeners can start at a very simple and practical level.  Practices such as keeping good records of gardening activities and recording the unique characteristics of rare varieties can have both scientific and personal value.  Carolyn Male indicated to me she appreciates the careful observations on the characteristics of rare tomatoes made by some seed savers and would like to see other rare tomato growers take more time to observer the traits of their tomato plants.  Likewise, by selecting for desirable traits of varieties when saving seeds, gardeners, can help preserve rare varieties, gain more insight into the science of seed saving, and have improved varieties for their own use.

I think even very small contributions to plant science and to the work of preserving rare plants can be rewarding.  You can learn a great deal by saving just one rare plant variety.  Likewise there are always plenty of new activities for even the most advanced seed saver such as setting up controlled experiments to verify the presence of superior traits discovered in rare plants.  The resources of the professional scientific community are limited and they should welcome help from people outside their community, including seed savers.  Seed savers have without doubt made important contributions to modern plant science and have the potential for making even greater contributions in the future.

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Reading this and other guest articles, as I’ve republished Off The Vine, reminds me of how valuable and enjoyable it was to provide a forum for other gardeners interested in heirlooms. I found a letter to the editor, written in 2021, to a Minnesota newspaper by Jim - it is good to know he is still doing his thing on this earth!

Sue doing her treat thing with Koda, Marlin, and visiting Scout (with the pretty ears, on the left).

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 3. "Another Year, More Decisions" by Craig

One of my favorites from Ocracoke 2009, with Mocha and Buddy

On we go, moving into the content of the last Volume/Numbered issue. It is always interesting to revisit my grow lists - this looks like it was a busy year. In 1996 I saved seeds from 87 varieties. The focus was clearly on heirlooms.

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Another Year, Another Garden, More Decisions!

by Craig

Can it possibly be time to start the tomato seedlings? Why does it seem as though Christmas was just a few weeks away? The view out of my window at work tells me that spring is indeed just around the corner. It is the second week of March, and the ornamental cherry trees are in full bloom. I just received my seed  potatoes from Ronniger’s, the Seed Saver Exchange seed requests are arriving each day, and I think that I finally decided what to grow this year. As you read in the last issue of OTV, 1996 was full of the challenges of nature, from hungry critters to destructive storms. Hopefully, 1997 will be delightfully uneventful. Soon, my arsenal of deer repellents will arrive, and I will continue my ongoing and annual battle with the ever increasing population of hungry Bambi look-alikes.

In 1994 and 1995, my tomato choices were mostly historical commercial varieties liberated by Carolyn and I from the USDA collection. Last year saw a return to heirlooms, most of which were grown in my garden for the first time. This year will be less ambitious both in the number of plants as well as new varieties. I decided that it was high time to eat and enjoy my tomato crop, and will therefore focus upon those types that I love and, even more important, seem to grow well in North Carolina. There are also a few new additions to my collection, and some that I have had for years and now feel compelled to try.

My red tomatoes will be Bisignano #2, Lillian’s Red, Abraham Lincoln, Red Brandywine, Rasp Red, Livingston’s Favorite, Buckbee’s New Fifty Day, Maule’s Success, King Humbert, Nepal, Dinner Plate B, Reif Red Heart, Niemeyer, and Turkey Chomp. Pink tomatoes include Big Junn, Brandywine, Tappy’s Finest, Tap regular leaf, Tap potato leaf, Anna Russian, Ukrainian Heart, Wins All, Sandul Moldovan, Middle Tennessee Low Acid, Eva Purple Ball, Big Junn, German Johnson, and Geswein’s Purple Bonny Best. Bicolored tomatoes will consist of Regina’s Yellow and Selwin Yellow. Yellow and Gold tomatoes include Sun Gold hybrid, Yellow Brandywine, Potato Leaf Yellow, Simpson’s Big Yellow, Azoychka, Dr. Carolyn, Orange, Brown’s Yellow Giant, and Golden Beauty. Finally, the odd colored tomatoes include Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Brick Red, Green, and Aunt Ruby’s Green.  Oh, yes, the mystery tomatoes of 1997 will be Mikado (I am still looking for the pink potato leaf version) and Nina’s Heirloom (continuing my search for the regular leaf bicolor).  I am not sure about the colors of York, West Virginia, Russian Sweet #2, Sterling Old German, Hart’s Delite, D’Amato, or Maria Dondero Early.

Many of the above tomatoes were described in past issues of OTV. Here is some information on those that may be new to you. Bisignano #2 was one of the first tomatoes ordered when I joined SSE, and I first grew it in 1988. It is unusual in that it is not uniform in shape, with oblate, round, and long tomatoes all appearing on the same plant. It is originally from Italy, being obtained from a Mr. Bisignano by a SSE member in the mid 1980’s. Mr. Bisignano won the Victory Garden award some years back, and this tomato was one he grew in his garden that year. Lillian’s Red was sent to me by Robert Richardson of New York in 1989, and has been a favorite of mine ever since. It is not very easy to grow due to the plant’s relatively low vigor. The medium sized oval tomatoes are outstanding in flavor, however, and the plant is very productive. Mr. Richardson obtained it, as well as one of my all time favorites, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, from a Tennessee woman named Lillian Bruce.  Dinner Plate B was in a collection of tomatoes sent to me in 1990 by a New York gardener named Roger Bennett. I grew it once, in 1991, and was surprised to find that such a spindly, weak plant could produce such delicious, elongated medium sized tomatoes. It is time to try it again to see how well my memory serves me, and to see how well it does in my sultry climate. By the way, Dinner Plate A, an oblate slicer, was just as fine flavored, but it will have to wait until next year to be tried again. Turkey Chomp is one of numerous tomatoes sent to me in 1990 by the elusive and mysterious tomato collecting former SSE member, Don Branscomb, of California when last he was heard from. I grew out a number of that set in 1991, and Turkey Chomp stood well apart from the rest, giving me delicious smooth large fruit. Tappy’s Finest, obtained from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in 1989, was a star performer in my garden that year, yielding uniform, smooth, large pink slicers with outstanding flavor. King Humbert is one of the tomatoes that was obtained from the USDA collection. It is an old, Italian sauce tomato that I will finally get to testing this year. I tried to grow Niemeyer last year, but the plant died from wilt before I harvested any tomatoes from it. The same goes for Middle Tennessee Low Acid and Big Junn. Hopefully, this year will be more successful for these three varieties.

I am trying the microwave/potassium nitrate soak rescue program on some old seed that I have yet to grow out. These are York, German Johnson, Brown’s Large Yellow, West Virginia, Russian Sweet #2, and Sterling Old German, as well as a stubborn sample of Dr. Carolyn (the seed is stubborn, not Carolyn)!  Some new seeds recently sent to me, and to be grown this summer, are Maria Dondero Early, D’Amato, Bronze Leaf Abraham Lincoln, Heart’s Delite, and Simpson’s Big Yellow. If my rescue program does not work, I have already decided on my back up tomatoes. This list includes OTV Brandywine, Magnus, Old Virginia, Nicky Crain, Bridge Mike’s, Paragon, Trophy, Beauty, Royal Purple, Cream City, Redfield Beauty, Orange Strawberry, and German Red Strawberry. So, if all goes well, the next issue will include my first look at the 50 or so varieties of tomatoes that I have chosen to grace my table this year. I can hardly wait!

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I grew some great varieties in 1996 - it was the year I confirmed Cherokee Chocolate as a stable variety rather than a cross. I was pretty delighted with some that were new to me such as Sandul Moldovan, Old Virginia, Zogola, Red Brandywine, Taps, Azoychka, Curry, Rasp Large Red, Russian 117, Bridge Mike’s, and Selwin Yellow.

Mocha, fetching a stick at Springer Point, Ocracoke, in 2009

A Black Friday sale! Seed sending News. An upcoming Instagram Live. It's general update time.

At least we have flowers inside! We’ve lived here for three years and our African violets finally seem happy

I am pleased to share announce that the all on-line, video, self-paced tomato course created by Joe Lamp’l and me - Growing Epic Tomatoes - will be available for a significantly reduced price - $197.00 - from Monday November 21 until midnight Sunday November 27.

Please take advantage of this big saving on this very popular, very well received course! All you need to do is to go to this link and put in the code FALLSALE22 at check out. Please note that this course is “evergreen” - once you purchase, you can jump right in!

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For those of you who requested tomato seeds throughout the growing season, watch your mailboxes over the coming week. I completed half of the requests today, and should get the rest completed by the weekend. I am very low on a lot of varieties now, so can’t accept any additional requests at this time. I look forward to hearing about how the various varieties do for you next year!

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I will probably do an Instagram Live this coming Friday at 3 PM eastern just to say hello and catch folks up on a few things - the GET course discount, seed sending, and touch upon early thoughts for next year. It seems ages since I’ve done one - time just seems to fly these days.

Our other current bloomer

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 3. "Heirloom Values" by James Weaver

My dad and I working in the West Chester PA garden - late 1980s when I was just dipping into heirlooms

Here is one of the guest articles that Carolyn discussed in her C and C’s column, by a Mennonite farmer she met when speaking at Rodale. It is charming, and still relevant today. Enjoy!

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Heirloom Tomatoes, Heirloom Values

James Weaver

The interest in heirloom vegetables, and specifically heirloom tomatoes, has grown phenomenally in the last few years.  Gourmet chefs from upscale New York restaurants ask for heirloom tomato varieties by name at the Union Square Greenmarket.  Heirloom seed catalog offerings are diversifying and becoming more colorful.  Likewise, farmers markets sell expanding lines of name-brand heirloom tomatoes and home gardeners are tilling under strips of lawn to make room for those “can’t be without ‘em” varieties.

How did all of this get started?  Why the renewed interest in heirlooms?  Just what is an heirloom vegetable?  An heirloom seed is not the same thing to everyone.  The dictionary tells us that an heirloom is a piece of personal property that has been in a family for a long time.  A reporter that came out to our farm three years ago to do an article on our heirloom tomatoes said she had been sent because they heard of a guy out by Kutztown who “had tomato seeds 100 years old”.  To the keepers of large seed banks, heirloom vegetable seeds are a hedge against possible massive crop failure due to plant diseases in the closely related hybrid seed lines.  To seed saving organizations, heirloom seed proliferation promises the continuation of wonderful old varieties that are in danger of extinction.  To third world and to former Iron Curtain countries, the unavailability of hybrid seed dictated a continuation of the old-time practice of saving seed.  For ethnic people and older generations, heirlooms have associations with former places or people, associations which ensure continuation of these heirloom varieties.  To home gardeners, heirlooms make it possible to grow an amazing diversity of taste, shape and color.

For many farmers, heirlooms hold no promise.  They are felt to be disease prone and low on yield.  There’s no money to be made on them.  They can’t be shipped.  “We need a modern tomato for modern times!” they demand.  But for market farmers like myself, heirlooms are a drawing card, providing an opportunity to offer something new.  “Such color, such shape” the customers comment.  “How pretty!  How ugly!”  They are fascinated.  “Ach, look”, says a Pennsylvania Dutch lady, “my grandmother grew that tomato but called it the apple tomato.  It is gute”.  An Italian man says excitedly, “oh looka!  The sausage tomato.  My Uncle bring it over from Italy”.  After some prompting, even the more timid customers dare to try them.  They are pleasantly surprised.  And before too long, they are convinced that there is nothing better.  The rewarding variety of tastes…rich, winey, mellow, mild, full, fruity, plumy, lemony.  The visual reward is a kaleidoscope of shape and color.  The mother of Tim Stark, a friend of mine who also grows heirloom tomatoes, calls his tomato patch the magical garden.  Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Uncle Ike’s Big Red, Grandma Mary’s, Radiator Charlie’s, Italian Long, Large Pink Bulgarian, Russian Persimmon, Tiffen Mennonite, Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball, Striped German, Black Krim.  The list goes on and on.

The most enduring reward to me of growing heirloom varieties is the rich variety of people they attract to my farm stand; people with a common interest in gourmet and exotic food or in saving seeds.  If my heirloom varieties have enriched the lives of others, the new and interesting people I have come in contact with at the farm stand, and the enduring friendships that have resulted, have enriched my life.

How did we, here at Meadow View Farms, become interested in heirloom varieties?  Well, the fact of the matter is, in our old order Mennonite community, the practice of saving seed never did quite died out, a fact to which many of the heirloom varieties like Tiffen Mennonite and Amish Paste will attest.  I can remember as a boy how my mother would always let her sugar peas stay on the vine until they dried, then collected the seed for the following year.  She received those seeds from her parents and still plants them.  When we opened our greenhouse for business in 1987, we offered transplants of an oxheart type tomato that my aunt has grown for  years.  My 80 year old mother in law kept seeds of a sugar pea variety that she received from home when she married in the 1930s.  They are very tender, with blossoms that have a pink tinge.  Although they have no name and she has no idea how old they are, she always keeps them isolated from all of the other peas.

My sister’s mother in law passed down a yellow tomato that she got from her parents.  She plants them in her market garden next to the Rodale Institute’s Experimental Farm near Kutztown.  No name, no age.  An elderly widow in the community has kept sugar pea and neck pumpkin seed for y ears.  She also speaks of a huge pink beefsteak tomato with wonderful flavor.   Is it Large Pink Bulgarian?  German Johnson?  Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter?  Who knows.

Seed saving in the Mennonite community was done for several reasons.  The main reason had to do with economics.  Why purchase seed that you can have for free with a little additional effort?  But with the glitz (“glitzern” in the PA Dutch dialect we speak means to glisten, glitter, twinkle) and glitter of seed catalogs and the change of economics down on the farm, we have adapted to the higher yield/improved disease resistance philosophy of hybrid varieties.

The second reason, after economics, is a strong sense of family.  With four generations living together on one farm, the generation gap automatically becomes narrower.  My 99 year old grandmother lives with my parents here on the farm.  She is senile and hard of hearing, so I was unable to ask her about seed saving.  But she insists on helping do the dishes after every meal and spends her time reminiscing about her childhood home in Lancaster County, PA.  With Grandpa, dad and boys going out to pick heirloom tomatoes, the term extended family takes on a new dimension.  Perpetuating Uncle John’s Indian corn evokes a sense of continuity.  Saving the seeds of Grandpa’s sugar peas creates a feeling of belonging.  Planting Grandma’s favorite tomato perpetuates a tradition that goes back to an earlier, simpler time.

Becoming involved, or reinvolved, with heirloom varieties was a natural development. Having never deviated much from basic self-sustaining concepts such as crop rotation and natural fertilizer application, it was easy.  Introducing our greenhouse and farm market customers to these wonderful old varieties was a pleasant experience in addition to our own renewed discovery of them.  Recently, we created a line of hot pepper jellies in the farm kitchen.  The highlight of the growing season is our Chili Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Field Day, when folks from all over get an opportunity to stroll through our fields and learn about heirloom tomatoes, chili peppers, eggplant, squash and Indian corn.  The caring and sharing of information between amateur and professional alike is exciting to see.

But then again, maybe there are other reasons for our interest in heirlooms.  In light of the general trend away from the “bigger is better” hybrid varieties and toward the “back to basics” lifestyle that we have always supported, it seems to me that our community itself is an heirloom of sorts.  Mennonite roots go back to the reformation of Renaissance Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands in the early 16th century.  A holdover from the church of the apostles from the first century AD, their philosophy survived in fragmented, secluded groups through the dark ages.  Their rebirth as radically conservative Anabaptists caused them much suffering through exile, martyrdom and economic sanctions.  Brushed aside by mainstream Protestant reformers and the state religion, they clung to their newfound faith in isolated villages and farmsteads.  With the hope of religious freedom, they packed up their important belongings (seeds included) and immigrated to North America.  After a settling in period during colonial times, these hard working, thrifty people contributed to the agrarian fabric of American with their well kept farms.  With the advent of the agricultural and industrial revolutions they resisted those large scale changes that were perceived as destructive of their ways of life.  Some modern farm machinery was viewed as a detriment to the togetherness by which the farm was traditionally worked.  The increased mobility of the automobile, it was feared, would pull family and community apart.  While industrial society at large was changing at break neck pace, merging one and all into a world-wide community, there was no abiding consensus among the various Mennonite settlements scattered throughout North America, resulting in the emergence of many different “sects”, each of which was in its own unique way resistant to the general trends of modern society.  And because they interpreted the divine injunction “let your light shine” to mean “to enlighten or radiate warmth” by example rather than by lecture, they became “the quiet in the land”.  Perhaps, as the heirloom tomatoes of a former age add to the current quality of life, the Mennonites may continue to contribute to present day society.  And so, I have discovered, the people in my community, with our horse and buggy and our old-fashioned ways, manage to draw the same kind of curious and fascinated glances as do the peculiar shapes and colors of my heirloom tomatoes.

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We are now into the content articles of this Volume. Thanksgiving is in just a few weeks. The year is flying by - and so are the Off The Vine articles. Though I wish we kept it going for much longer, all we have is what we have. Just a few more to go.

with Sara and Caitlin in front of one of our Berwyn PA gardens - this is likely 1987 or so.

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 3. "C & C's Column" by Carolyn

Looking up through our backyard maple, November 8 2022

Well, here it is - the last of Carolyn’s introductory columns. Given we were still looking for renewals, it seems that the decision to end Off The Vine was pretty sudden - I don’t recall why we pulled the plug after just another handful of issues. Anyway - enjoy the last of Carolyn’s stream of consciousness, wonderful, unique introductory articles that she penned for each issue.

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C and C’s Column

Carolyn Male

We’re almost back on schedule with this issue of Off The Vine, after a very rocky six months or so!  Hopefully events are smoothing out in my life…and the same for Craig.

It’s time to renew your subscription if your mailing label has a 33 next to your name (33 means Volume 3, number 3).  Separate renewal notices will not be sent out, so if you wish to stay with us, please send your renewal check, clearly marked renewal, to my Latham address.  The cost of subscriptions and my address are given in the Masthead on page 2 of this issue.  Checks are cash are preferred, and if you send a money order could you please send a US Postal money order?  I have no way to cash other types of money orders.  Our Canadian friends can send a check if it is a US based account, US cash, or a Canadian Postal money order made out in US funds.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Identical sets of mailing labels were made when issue 32 was sent out, so if you recently renewed, or had an address change, you will need see no change on the label.  The mailing labels will be updated for the 41 issue which should go out in late May or early June.  Please have your renewals to me by May 1 so I can update the computer list.  And if there is a problem with your mailing label termination date, or whatever, please contact me by email or phone; that information, again, is given on the Masthead on page 2.  A number of you have requested back issues and in a handwritten note in issue 32, which you just received a few weeks ago, I said that I expected to start sending those out in mid-March.  It now looks like it will be late March.  Between trying to fill SSE seed requests and answer a whole slew of letters which I received as a result of the article in Organic Gardening’s March issue on heirloom tomatoes, I’ve gotten behind again, time-wise.  Organic Gardening gave my address in the article, but did not give the price for OTV.  I have been inundated with folks wanting seeds mentioned on that article; I don’t know why they did that because the sources for the tomatoes were listed in the resource box.  Some of those letters are marvelously inventive!  And I received loads of letters about OTV, but since OG didn’t mention the cost, many thought it was free, or wanted information.  For all of those letters I have to write individual replies, and it is taking a lot of time.  What a mess!

We have two guest authors in this issue.  Jim Weaver I first met about two years ago when I was invited to give a seminar on heirloom tomatoes at the Rodale Research Institute in Kutztown, PA.  As I was preparing my talk I looked out the up the driveway came a bicycle rider with a neat straw hat!  Only later did I find out that Jim is a Mennonite farmer and, as he explained it to me, he doesn’t take the horse and buggy unless the distance from his home is over ten miles; the distance from his home to Rodale was 9.5 miles, so he rode his bike!  Jim’s infectious enthusiasm and wit was a breath of fresh air, and I laughed myself silly when he confessed that he really doesn’t like tomatoes…to eat.  I had an opportunity to visit Jim’s 70 acre farm and since he didn’t expect me that night, I was hosted by his lovely wife Alma; Jim and his kids were out in the fields (he and Alma have 7 children).  What I remember most was Alma’s flower garden…a square garden planted to resemble a quilt.  Various sections were blocks of flowers and the juxtaposition of different colors and flower forms was absolutely spectacular.  And I remember the fat cats, but none of them had names.  Alma said, “Oh, we just call that one the orange cat, or that one the black cat”.  I guess that surprised me.  They have a greenhouse and a roadside stand where they specialize in heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, Indian corn and winter squash.  And Alma prepares all sorts of pepper jellies and other goodies, which they also sell.  One of the mail highlights of their year are their annual Chili Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Field Days, which this fall are scheduled for September 5th and 6th.  I know Jim is growing about 125 hot pepper varieties, but I don’t know how many heirloom tomato varieties.  When I was at his farm he had prepared box after box of the most gorgeous heirloom tomatoes I’ve ever seen, to be delivered to Emmaus the next day for Organic Gardening’s taste testing.  The results were written up in an article by Rob Cardillo.  If you expect to be in the Kutztown area around September 5th and 6th, 1997, I know you would have a great time at their place.  Jim’s phone number is 610-682-6094 if you need directions and the like.  I’m so glad he was able to share with us in his article a bit about the Mennonites and their tradition of seed saving and their history.

And while I was staying at Rodale I looked through the guest book at the home where I was staying and recognized many names; one of them was Jim Tjepkema, whose name I recognized as a listed SSE member.  Two years ago Jim called me and asked if I would grow out some Bulgarian peppers he had obtained on a trip to Bulgaria and offer them through SSE.  I said I would, and we got to know each other a bit better.  Jim has been a member of SSE for 14 years and currently offers over 100 different varieties of seed.  He is a self-employed crop consultant to vegetable growers and has a particular interest in sustainable agriculture.  His 1994 trip to Bulgaria was under the auspices of the Volunteers for Overseas Cooperative Assistance.  And I’m glad he has written about a very important topic…that of what the individual home gardener can do to preserve rare plants.

Craig has written an article about his tomato selections for this growing season and an article about the top heirloom tomatoes as determined by numbers of listings in the 1997 SSE Annual Yearbook.  While I have written the article on seed sources and our OTV seed offerings for 1997 and the C and C’s column, as I usually do.

We recently mentioned that our tomato friend Any Smith, who has written several articles  for us, has a new book out on Ketchup (don’t remember if he used that spelling), and we gave all the information.  And now we have another OTV subscriber with a new book, William Woys Weaver is a food historian and has written several books about Pennsylvania Dutch Cookery.  I am especially eager to see his latest effort….a book about heirloom vegetables.  It is called Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, published by Henry Holt and Co, and the ISBN number is 0-8050-4025-0.  The book is expected to reach bookstores in late May, or thereabouts.  There will be many color pictures and line drawings, and having seen some of Will’s past efforts, I expect this book to be a treat.

I usually write an article about my selections for the summer season, but this year I don’t know what I’m doing!  Mother is doing well in the adult home, but her home, where all my gardens are, has been sold.  I will have access to my gardens and field for my tomatoes this summer, but I don’t yet know if water from the house will be available.  Without water I can’t go ahead and plant; that’s much too risky in this climate.  The heat was left on in the house all winter, and I need to confirm with the new owners that the water system made it through the winter OK, but I just haven’t done that yet.  If I don’t have my tomatoes I will be very upset, but I have faith that I’ll find a spot somewhere.  What I do know is that if I do plant, I will be cutting way back on the number of varieties I plant.  I simply can’t continue harvesting the seed from 150-200 varieties, let alone taking care of all of them.  I’m not getting younger and the arthritis is not getting better.  Another consideration is that I now feel that I have become a mini-seed company for SSE members.  A very low percentage of the seed I send out is being reoffered through the SSE Annual Yearbook.  And the whole purpose of preserving varieties is for folks to receive the seed and increase it and relist it in the SSE.  So, I have decided to not grow out my 1992 seed for increase.  I have been on a five year cycle for growouts, where it is now time to do the 1992 seed plus any other varieties that I am low on.  So, I will slowly decrease my offerings in SSE as the years progress, as varieties are not grown out.  Of course I will still plant those varieties that I personally love, and new varieties that I have discovered.  Right now I have some seeds of a Bulgarian tomato that Andy Smith’s son sent from Bulgaria.  And I have some seeds that Adrianna Heckiert got for me from Poland when she went back over Christmas break to work as a ski instructor at her parents’ ski resort in Poland.  Adrianna is a student of mine.  She was so upset after Christmas because the seeds were confiscated from her at Newark Airport when she went through customs.  Now that is ridiculous because it is perfectly legal to import into the US small amounts of clean seeds.  But what really got her steamed was the confiscation of her Polish beer that she was carrying with her!  Not to worry, her grandmother obtained more seeds and sent them along.  And I have a few other new types.  For the past few years a friend in England, Ulrike Paradine, facilitates my getting new varieties from two French seed companies…but nothing has arrived yet because they are late in sending varieties over her.  So I will report in the June OTV issue what happened with the water situation, and if I’m growing, I’ll tell you some of the varieties I’m growing.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Craig and his wife for helping out with OTV by sending out issues 32 and 33 from Raleigh, NC.  I’ve done it for the past three years, but this time I graciously accepted his offer to help because this time of year is just plain crazy for me.  I often spend up to 20 hours per week just on SSE requests, and it’s very difficult to meet my academic teaching obligations plus deal with SSE and OTV at the same time.  So thanks so much you guys….I really appreciate it.  Also, we’ve had an offer for someone to do a web page for us, and I’ll update you on that in the next issue.  And finally, someone has approached us, very tentatively, about the possibility of converting Off The Vine to a magazine about heirloom vegetables and/or tomatoes.  This would definitely not be the low cost Xeroxed affair you are now receiving.  If you have any thoughts about this possibility, please share them with us.

Craig and I hope all of you have a wondrous spring and that the tomatoes are all winners.  If you wish to correspond with either of us, our email addresses are given in the Masthead on page 2, as well as our home addresses.  I also list my phone numbers.  It’s best to reach me at my work number until summer, when either number will do.

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I wish there were dozens more of these - I wish we had continued for many more years. But - alas, we didn’t, so we are now on the home stretch. Seven articles remain to be posted after this one. I am so happy we did this newsletter, and even happier that I decided to make it available for all to read!

View from our firepit, looking out over the space our annual gardens populate - this is from November 8 on a gorgeous, warm afternoon.

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 2. "The Great Competition" by Craig

Sue and I in front of Triple Falls in DuPont, Nov 4, 2022

Here is the result of my three year “hybrid vs heirloom” competition - it is actually published as an appendix in my book Epic Tomatoes. For completeness, I’ve included it here - after all, it is an article published in Off The Vine! Also - this is the last article in Volume 3, Number 2. All that remains will be the six articles in Volume 3, Number 3 - and two from the never issued, never completed Volume 4, Number 1. So - after this one - 8 more articles to go!

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The Great Competition

 by Craig

Those of us who enjoy growing open pollinated (non-hybrid) vegetables are constantly bombarded with doom and gloom warnings of the disasters that will inevitably strike our gardens. The words shriek at us from articles in newspapers, seed catalogs, nurseries, and even some of the popular gardening shows on television. “To have reliable yields, high quality and the best flavor, you must grow hybrids!” “It is foolhardy, and a total waste of time, to grow open-pollinated varieties in your gardens, since they have been surpassed by such obviously superior hybrid varieties!” Alas, it must be true. Just go to the local nursery and see what sort of tomato seedlings, or even seed packs, they carry. Or, take a trip to the local farmer’s market in the summer, and check out all the carbon copy, perfect looking red globes that are masquerading as tomatoes! They can fill a basket with ‘em, and days later, even the bottom ones are as shiny, pretty and perfect as can be!

But, as is the case with many things that are pleasurable to the eye, it is what you cannot see that counts the most. Buy some of those prize winning tomatoes, bring them home, slice them down (you should get a sharp knife), and take a bite! What sorts of adjectives come to mind? The ones that I use most frequently are dry, bland, tasteless, worthless, and even dangerous (I am sure that, if hit with one of those hybrid commercial tomatoes, severe damage would occur!). Well, this was my mind set back in 1986, when I finally grew tired of my hybrid-infused garden plot. Sure, there are good hybrid tomatoes available, ones that are more succulent than the types that the local farmers and other commercial growers seem to need to grow. Remember, though, that the farmers have to sell them to a public that has been programmed to expect its tomatoes scarlet, round, firm and perfect. But, this did not satisfy my yearning for better tasting, more interesting looking vegetables.  Isn’t it ironic, then, that it is the distant past, not the high technology future, that provided the answer to my search. It was when I joined the Seed Saver’s Exchange, and started to dabble in the multitude of treasures that were accessible, that my gardening experience became one of fulfillment, wonder and excitement. Needless to say, I jumped right in with total abandon; no looking back for me. Ah, but there were all of those warnings to be concerned with. Could I possibly grow these disease-prone, obsolete, low yielding varieties successfully? Would I have anything to show for my efforts, besides some blemished, misshapen fruit on spindly, disease-ridden vines?

Being a scientist, I felt that the best way to approach this issue was to carry out an experiment. So, in 1987, I grew, side by side, some of the most popular hybrid tomatoes and a few of the more highly regarded and “famous” heirlooms. Records were kept with regard to maturity dates, yields, fruit size, flavor, and observations about how each variety held up to disease. When all was said and done at the end of the growing season, I could compare the total number of tomatoes and total weight of fruit per plant, and develop a sense for the performance of each variety with regard to flavor and visual interest. The results were so fascinating that my original one year experiment with a limited number of varieties was expanded to three years, and eventually involved many different tomatoes of all sizes, colors, and shapes. The best way to judge the results is to look at where my garden efforts have become focused, as I have now moved almost exclusively into growing open pollinated varieties. There is simply very little, if any, reason for the home gardener to restrict themselves to hybrids.

Since I have never shared the results of this experiment with anyone (except my family), I feel that this is a good time to do so, in hopes that it will have several effects on the readers. If you had doubts about delving into the world of heirloom tomatoes, maybe this will persuade you to join in the fun. If you are already a convert, then this will just confirm what you already have discovered. And, it also gives you a good idea about what to expect from many tomatoes that you may have been interested in, but have never grown.

I grew the tomatoes on stakes or cages, if they were not indeterminate. The plants were pruned to two or three main stems, and allowed a few suckers to develop as well. The determinate varieties were not pruned at all. The experiment was carried out for three years, 1987-89. In general, 1987 and 1989 were excellent tomato growing years, and 1988 was relatively poor.  This fact was reflected in the performance of the plants. It is interesting to see that the hybrids did relatively better in 1988. A recent conversation with Rob Johnson affirmed that hybrids tend to be more consistent despite variable growing conditions.

In 1987, I grew 13 heirlooms/open pollinated tomatoes, and 5 hybrids. Yellow Cherry yielded over 750 tomatoes. From Tiger Tom I picked 170 fruit, and from Czech’s Excellent Yellow, 140 fruit, weighing over 26 pounds. The plum tomato Veeroma gave me 220 fruit, nearly 35 pounds worth! That’s a lot of tomato sauce. The large heirloom beefsteaks made up in size what they lacked in number. Pineapple, Persimmon, and Ruby Gold did yield 25 or more tomatoes, but at an average weight of 1 pound. The best hybrid was Lemon Boy, with nearly 60 fruits, 25 pounds total. Two notable disappointments were the well-known hybrids Moreton, with small fruit and boring flavor, and Supersteak, only 13 large fruit, 11 pounds total.

In 1988, among the 13 OP’s and 8 hybrids, the best heirloom performers were Bisignano #2, with 45 fruit, 23 pounds total, and Sabre, 34 fruit, 21 pounds total. Some heirlooms did quite poorly due to uneven weather and an outbreak of tobacco mosaic virus in one part of the garden. It was a very difficult year for Brandywine and Yellow Brimmer, especially. Among the hybrids, Big Pick, Whopper, Better Boy, Firebird were all around the 18 pound mark with 6 to 7 ounce average fruit. A few gave very good yields, but were not a flavor favorite. Both Early Cascade and Big Girl were flavor failures. Though relatively light yielding, I discovered that Gurney Girl hybrid was quite delicious.

Finally, in 1989, the heirlooms sang once more. There were 29 heirlooms and 4 hybrids in the garden. Ester Hess yellow cherry produced an amazing 730 tomatoes; that is nearly 30 pounds! The real eye openers were Yellow Bell, with 245 tomatoes and a total weight of 46 pounds, and Hugh’s, 35 tomatoes with an average weight of 20 ounces, over 40 pounds total! Many other heirlooms performed outstandingly, such as Fritsche, Viva, Anna Russian (this was the year that I fell in love with that tomato), Polish, Believe it or Not, and Pesta’s Mortgage Lifter. Among the small number of hybrids, Sweet Million produced an astounding 1000 tomatoes. Valley Girl yielded well, but was very ordinary on the palate.

The idea was not to show necessarily that all heirlooms or open pollinated tomatoes are superior in all respects to hybrids. In truth, the data shows that there are excellent and average examples in both categories. In fact, the data shows perhaps how variable the open pollinated varieties are when compared to the somewhat more consistent (in terms of yield) hybrids. This, along with the fragile, relatively higher perishability, is probably why hybrids will always be more popular to commercial growers. Home gardeners do not have these concerns, however.

Here is what I learned from my three year experiment. The open pollinated tomatoes, including all of the heirlooms, did not show any more likelihood of succumbing to disease as the season progressed. The condition of the foliage throughout the year between the heirlooms and the VFN disease resistant hybrids was remarkably similar all year long. Finally, there are some really good hybrids out there, but there is a sameness between them all (except for the unique and excellent Lemon Boy). It is a lot more fun to explore the huge range of colors, shapes, sizes and flavors available with heirloom tomatoes. Are you convinced yet?

This is the first page of the table in my article

second part

third part

final part

High Falls, DuPont - from a Nov 4 2022 hike

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 2. "A Poor First Impression", by Craig

This is a rare picture of my grandfather, Walter Gibbs, taken in his youth. He is the person who best inspired the love of gardening in me. This pic is probably from the early 1920s

Here is a short little article I contributed discussing some tomato disappointments. I will comment after the article on whether I feel the same way today!

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A Poor First Impression

by Craig

I have grown many tomatoes in my gardens since 1986. Most of them were open pollinated, and most of those were heirlooms. The grocery store tomatoes of winter catch a lot of criticism (rightfully so, I will add), but does that mean that every tomato that is grown in gardens is a winner?  Absolutely not! In fact, if I was to think about all the tomatoes that I have tasted, and tested,  over the years, quite a few fit into the middle of the road. There are a couple of dozen or so shining stars, tomatoes that will be in my garden every year, forever. The flipside, of course, are those tomatoes that I would not grow again; well, I cannot say never, because some varieties are finicky about geographic preference and weather. Or, maybe I was unlucky enough to get a plant that came from crossed seed? The problem is, though, that with so many options available (just look at the number of listings in the Seed Saver’s Exchange Winter Annual!), there are not a lot of opportunities for second chances.

Here is a story of unfortunate tomatoes that were not a hit in my garden. These are the losers, the tomatoes that tend to rot on the vine because no one wants to put the effort into picking them! If any of the readers has had a very different, very positive experience with any of these, please write to us and tell us about it. Who knows, maybe I will be persuaded to give them another try!

Starting with red, or scarlet colored, tomatoes, two varieties come to mind as being particularly horrendous! I was sent seeds for Muchamiel by J. D. Green (of Cherokee Purple fame) a few years ago, and had a devil of a time getting any of the seeds to germinate. Finally, after doing the microwave/nitrate soak routine, I was rewarded with a healthy seedling. In retrospect, it would have been better if the seed was dead. The tomatoes that grew on the plant were cracked, hollow, and had a very tough skin, as well as a poor flavor. Last year I grew Heterosis, which I obtained from the USDA collection. Halitosis would have been more appropriate, since the tomatoes really stunk! They actually looked like a smaller version of the dreaded Muchamiel. My experience with Jung’s Wayahead was actually way behind my expectations. Bellstar, touted as a Roma type of larger size, would make a good substitute for a baseball, being hard and flavorless, and perhaps, dangerous! One year Burpee sent me a free sample of a new cherry tomato called Baxter. If Bellstar were a baseball substitute, Baxter would be the golf ball substitute, being hard and without any noticeable flavor. Other reds that were not memorable in any way were Sasha’s Altai, Perestroika, Oregon Spring, Wayahead, and the old commercial varieties Essex Wonder, Excelsior, Early Ruby, and Beauty of Lorraine. Finally, I found Cuostralee to be very disappointing with yield or flavor. Many seem to like it, so perhaps it was a bad year for it.

Moving on to the pink tomatoes, I find that some of the heart shaped varieties are just not juicy or sweet enough to make them worth growing. In this category are Wolford Wonder and Dinner Plate. Beefsteak types that suffer from the same texture and flavor problem are Sabre, Una Hartsock’s, Magellan Burgess Purple, and Frank Williams.  They look great, but do not deliver on the palate. The old favorite Ponderosa really struggled in my garden, with very low yield, weird shapes, and an off flavor. Another well-liked tomato, Grushovka, did nothing for me as well, being dry and hard in my garden.

As for the rest, I cannot decide why Banana Legs is so popular. I found it to be very tough skinned and bland. Verna Orange, a large gold heart shaped tomato, was very successful in Pennsylvania, but has been terrible in North Carolina. It has a lot of hollow spaces, and is very dry here. Elberta Girl wins my award for the prettiest awful tomato. The foliage is a beautiful silvery, fuzzy green and the fruits are red with gold stripes. This is, however, the hardest tomato I have ever grown, and actually would hurt someone if it were thrown at them. Oh yes, the flavor is not very good either! It is a good candidate for the flower garden, actually, as it is a better ornamental than edible.

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This really just scratches the surface, but at least gives you a good idea on what I do not like in a tomato! But, your favorite may be somewhere in this list. And my favorite may be on your list of never-again-in-my -garden! Isn’t gardening fun! After reading the varieties I didn’t speak kindly about, I was likely too tough on Cuostralee (it just may not have liked my garden conditions - a friend, Lee, calls it his favorite) and Verna Orange (if not the greatest for fresh eating, it would make a great sauce tomato).

Here is my dad, Wilfred, in his boy scout uniform - this is probably from the mid 1930s. He is the other main influence on my love of gardening.

My tomato collection tour, part 26. Tomatoes #476 to #500

Sue kayaking at Ocracoke Island at sunset in 2010.

We made it to #500 - this is a great set of tomatoes, including some key varieties from Carolyn Male, as well as the first releases from High Altitude. 500 is a nice round number - I think I’ll pause this series (which is a lot of fun and provides great memories) and pick it back up early in 2023.

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Tomato #476 - Nepal - the seed source for this was Heirloom Seeds in 1991. I never did grow this version - Nepal was extensively discussed as tomato #31 in this blog series.

Tomato #477 - Soldacki - Carolyn Male sent me seeds for this family heirloom in 1991. I am sure that she wrote about it in her book - it is supposedly a Polish family heirloom originally from Krakow Poland, who came to Cleveland Ohio in 1900. This was one of Carolyn’s favorite tomatoes. I grew it in 1991 - my description is of a smooth large pink oblate tomato on an indeterminate plant with potato leaf foliage - the flavor was excellent.

Tomato #478 - Parker Hatlee - this was also sent to me by Carolyn in 1991. Appears to be an Italian heirloom from Parker Hatlee to Carolyn. I grew it in 1991 and found a long, red paste type similar to Opalka and Gallo Plum.

Tomato #479 - Opalka - This is one of Carolyn’s best obtained heirlooms, given to her by co-worker Carl Swidorski - it originated in Poland. I actually got to meet a family member, Chet Opalka, interviewing for a job in Albany many years ago! It is probably the best of the long scarlet plum tomatoes that look more like a frying pepper. It is quite delicious for a paste type, and very productive, growing on an indeterminate regular leaf plant with very wispy foliage.

Tomato #480 - Cancer - This is one of the Branscomb varieties that he sent to me and I sent to Carolyn - she grew it out. It is listed in the SSE - all I’ve got for info is that it is pink.

Tomato #481 - Anna Russian - This sample is from Carolyn Male, sent in 1991. I didn’t grow out the seed she saved from what I sent her - the variety is described in full earlier in my seed sample review.

Tomato #482 - Tiny Tim - this was from Ted Telsch in 1991. This 1945 New Hampshire bred variety is one of the first micro dwarf types - a red cherry on a very short plant. I never grew this from the Telsch seed sample.

Tomato #483 - Row Pac - this is also from Ted Telsch in 1991. All I know is that it ended up in the SSE yearbook in the 1980s. I know nothing about it.

Tomato #484 - Rutgers - sent to me by Ted Telsch in 1991. I didn’t grow this from the Telsch sample - it is historically important, produced by crossing Marglobe with JTD and selecting for medium red fruit of high quality.

Tomato #485 - San Marzano - also from Ted Telsch in 1991. I didn’t grow this, but it is the classic Italian indeterminate paste tomato.

Tomato #486 - McClintock - from SSE member MT EV J in 1991. I did grow it in 1991 and found the medium sized red tomatoes on an indeterminate plant to be quite good. It was developed by Edith McClintock in Montana in the late 1960s.

Tomato #487 - Landry’s Russian - also from SSE member MT EV J in 1991. I described this variety earlier - it is a Canadian variety bred for earliness with medium red fruit on indeterminate plants. I never grew it.

Tomato #488 - Carnival - sent to me by Barney Laman in 1991. It appears to be an older commercial variety that has medium red fruit. I never did grow it.

Tomato #489 - Jackpot - also from Barney Laman in 1991, I assume this to be a red commercial variety - perhaps even a hybrid. I never grew it.

Tomato #490 - Springset - from Ted Telsch in 1991, I assume this to be a red commercial variety. I never did grow it and can find nothing about it.

Tomato #491 - Glasnost - here begins the start of a series of acquisitions from the new High Altitude Seed company of Bill McDormand, which I believe is now known as Seeds Trust. This is another of such releases with an apparent identity or stability problem. This was supposed to be quite large and delicious, but my trial showed an indeterminate plant with medium red, firm, bland tomatoes.

Tomato #492 - Perestroika - Yup - a 1991 High Altitude release from Siberia - it is described as a medium or larger tomato but my trial showed an indeterminate plant with small, seedy red fruit that didn’t taste particularly good. There clearly are some stability issues with this one.

Tomato #493 - Gregori’s Altai - this is my favorite of the 1991 High Altitude releases. From the Altai region, it is an indeterminate plant that bears medium to large pink fruit quite early in the season. The flavor is particularly sweet. I must give it a try again soon.

Tomato #494 - DeBarrao - There is an additional spelling of this - De Barao - but it seems to be the same tomato, acquired from 1991 from High Altitude. It is a typical red determinate paste type - prolific, but not great eating qualities to my palate.

Tomato #495 - Mikarda Sweet - here is a High Altitude 1991 introduction that I actually like quite a lot. It is an indeterminate, wispy leaf variety with medium sized long pink paste fruit, quite firm, but quite sweet as well. There is no further historical info. Victory seeds sells it, thanks to me!

Tomato #496 - Galina - a High Altitude 1991 introduction, this unique variety is a potato leaf indeterminate bright yellow cherry with very good flavor. Aside from its Siberian origin, there isn’t much additional background info. It is one of the better High Altitude tomatoes.

Tomato #497 - Grandpa’s Cock’s Plume - another High Altitude 1991 intro from Siberia, this one did quite well for me. It was a spindly indeterminate plant with large pink hearts that had a typically sweet, mild flavor. Recent listings show that it may no longer be stable.

Tomato #498 - Grushovka - a High Altitude 1991 introduction, this grew for me as a determinate variety with medium small pink egg shaped tomatoes with a very bland flavor. No extensive history except it is from the former USSR - and is another overrated introduction.

Tomato #499 - Sasha’s Altai - another of the initial set of Siberian tomatoes introduced by High Altitude in 1991. The story on this one is that it was collected in Itkutsk from a woman named Sasha who claimed it to be the best tomato in Siberia. I grew it in 1991 - it seemed to be a short indeterminate tomato providing small oblate red tomatoes with average flavor at best. Much ado about nothing for this one.

Tomato #500 - Hunt Family Favorite - sent to me by SSE member MI RA R in 1991 - I’ve discussed this several times in my collection. This particular sample gave me a medium to large oblate red with good flavor - nice, but not the pink tomato I hoped for.

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There are two sets of important tomatoes here - a few from Carolyn, and the new releases from High Altitude Seeds. Soldacki and Opalka are the most distinct and interesting from the first set. Gregori’s Altai, Mikarda Sweet, Galina, Grandpa’s Cock’s Plume and Grushovka are the best of the latter grouping.

Here ends the first part of my tomato collection review - the first 500 varieties, which takes me deep into 1991 acquisitions. I probably won’t carry this through for every tomato going forward (starting in early 2023), but will likely select the most important or interesting ones to focus on for future blogs.

Sue kayaking at Ocracoke surrounded by cormorants in 2010

Off The Vine Volume 3, Number 2. "Be Careful What You Say...and How You Say It" by Craig

Colors - now in DuPont Forest, seen on an Oct 28 hike to Lake Julia

It is interesting to ponder that the run of Off The Vine also coincided with the use of the Internet as an effective (sometimes!) communications tool. We know where we are now - but this is an interesting peek at where we were then.

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Be Careful What You Say...and How You Say It!

by Craig

The Internet is a powerful communication tool. Just recently I discovered the garden message board of America Online. Located in that area is a folder named “tomato”, and, of course, I could not resist checking it out. Sure enough, there are numerous messages from gardeners all over the United States discussing every aspect of selecting, growing and eating tomatoes. Perhaps 10 years ago the message board would have been quite different from today due to the lack of selection available to home gardeners. Hybrids were extremely popular back then, being the relatively “new thing”. And, to be fair, they were indeed better than the open pollinated tomatoes that were commonly available then, such as Fireball, New Yorker, Bonny Best, Rutgers and Marglobe. So, I am sure the discussion would have centered around how people’s Big Boy, Better Boy and Whopper tomatoes were doing in their garden.

Since the mid 1980’s, and the efforts of seed preservation organizations such as the Seed Saver’s Exchange, the variety of open pollinated tomatoes has exploded. The majority are family heirlooms that have found their way into the collection. Availability to the general gardening public has also increased due to the efforts of open minded, forward thinking (in a way, backward thinking!) seed companies such as Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seeds Blum and Tomato Growers’ Supply Company. I even noticed some 6 paks of heirloom tomato plants at some local gardening centers this spring.

The results of all of these choices are evident when reading the posts in the tomato folder of the AOL gardening message center. People are trying and talking about heirlooms with nearly the same frequency as hybrids. Over the past 10 years, Carolyn and me have gained much first hand knowledge about heirloom tomatoes, having trialed perhaps as many as 800 between the two of us. We also have done extensive reading on the subject, digesting old seed catalogs, gardening books, and other publications that give a glimpse of the gardening past of the United States. We have been freely sharing our knowledge on the message board, giving advice when requested, pointing people in the right direction for further experimentation, and generally serving as heirloom tomato resources.

A month or so ago, an heirloom novice who was trying a couple of varieties for the first time sent a message that asked whether the heirlooms are best used for cooking or canning. The person did not state which varieties they were growing, so it was not possible to make a specific comment. I did send a response that suggested that among the heirlooms are some of the best tasting tomatoes available, with fresh eating the clearest indication of the quality. My follow up comment was that it is many of the hybrids, developed for disease resistance and shipability, that are probably best used for processing or cooking. I also made the unfortunate choice of connecting hybrids with the term “commercial variety”.

The response to this posting from another on line gardener was remarkable in its vitriol! Sent in all capital letters, it completely disputed my claims, called me (and aimed at Carolyn by inference) essentially self serving and “humbug”, and indicated that we heirloom enthusiasts are brainwashing the gardening public away from hybrids for our own personal gain. Of course, I sent a response that I will not detail in this article, which caused escalation of the matter. All is now peaceful, as Carolyn sent a long retort that smoothed the situation, essentially requesting room for all opinions, which is how it should be.

The exchange was enlightening to me for a number of reasons. People in general seem to become very passionate about their specific gardening likes and dislikes, and take it personally when something that they value does not translate to others. I confess that when Carolyn states her relative dislike for Brandywine or Cherokee Purple (two of my favorite tomatoes), my first reaction is that she has one heck of a nerve criticizing my favorites! My second reaction is that she must have different strains, that they have crossed and she has not experienced the flavors that I have. What it really comes down to, however, is that taste is truly a personal parameter, and her senses just do not process those two tomatoes with the same favor that mine do. Goodness knows, there are plenty of tomatoes that she enjoys that I have found ordinary, and I will be willing to bet that she has the same complex responses to this information as I do.

The value of variety is that with such a wide choice, everyone should be able to find their gardening favorites. Obviously, I struck a nerve with the AOL hybrid supporter. Perhaps my love of heirloom tomatoes has somewhat blinded me to their shortcomings, of which there are plenty. Maybe I should grow a Better Boy or Whopper next year and see if my memory no longer serves me accurately. But, I must also remember that gustatory pleasure is not the only reason for growing heirloom tomatoes. Carolyn and I had an interesting phone conversation this morning, and we were discussing these issues. It came to me that Big Boy (which is the favorite variety of the militant hybrid lover) is the result of a simple cross between two tomatoes. Carolyn has discovered that one of the parents is a very fine heirloom tomato (she has talked to its creator). Long ago, in the days of the Livingston Seed Company heyday, tomatoes were developed from observing chance mutations or crosses in large fields of single varieties of tomatoes. A bit later, new tomatoes came from selections from specific crosses. That is how Rutgers and Marglobe came into being. Marglobe originated in a cross between a perfectly round pink tomato, Livingston’s Globe, and a disease resistant red tomato, Marvel. The F1 generation was grown (it is not listed anywhere what it looked like, but it can be assumed to be a round, red tomato with disease resistance), seed saved, and a large number of the F2 generation grown the following year. Both pink and red tomatoes showed up in the second generation. The red tomato was saved, future generations selected and grown for a number of years until a stable, open pollinated representative was named and released as Marglobe.

Somewhere along the line it was recognized that it would be far more profitable for a seed company to create the hybrid, keep its parents secret and sell the hybrid seed. It would fetch a higher price due to the labor involved in doing the crosses. It would also cause the gardening public to return to the seed company each year to purchase the hybrid seed, since saved seed would segregate and not grow true to type. If this realization would not have occurred, then Burpee would have taken their new tomato, Big Boy, and, instead of releasing the hybrid (in 1949), spent time growing out seed saved from the hybrid and creating an open pollinated version that would essentially be just like Big Boy, and allow the gardener to save seed and regrow it each year. As you have probably realized, this is exactly what we can all do in our gardens, however. It takes time and effort, but it is not impossible to take a hybrid tomato that we like and, within a few years, create an open pollinated approximation of it. We can also give it a name, since it is in fact a new tomato, created with our specifications in mind. No two people would probably select for the same traits, since, as I said above, taste is a very individual thing!

So, where are we after this long discussion? My opinion is that those who love hybrids and do not favor heirlooms are entitled to think this way, just as those of us who favor heirlooms are perfectly justified to hold this opinion. There really is not a whole lot of difference between the two, however. It just could be that the heirloom that creates such loathing in the garden is the mother or father of your favorite hybrid!

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My comments on this? I completely forgot the vitriolic exchange, so it is interesting to read about how my love of heirlooms offended a lover of hybrids. We’ve come a long, long way since the early days of garden discussions on the internet, that’s for sure!

More DuPont color