looking the other way on the Davidson river on our Oct 17 North Slope hike

The number are kind of odd, and when I take a big bite like this (50 numbers), it is typically because of a whole slew sent to me that I didn’t get around to growing out. In this set, many were sent to me by Edmund Brown of Missouri in 1990 - he essentially sent me his whole collection. The envelopes were not in good shape, and germination was generally poor.

Here we go - quite a few of these will have little to no information - and, remember, I didn’t request them - they were sent unasked for.

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the following are all Edmund Brown, Missouri sent varieties.

Tomato #426 - Old German - reportedly a Mennonite heirloom from Virginia - large yellow tomatoes with red swirls. I’ve not grown it.

Tomato #427 - Mr. Underwood’s German Pink - large pink beefsteak type. I don’t know its history and haven’t grown it.

Tomato #428 - Grandma Oliver’s Green - reportedly a 1920s Indiana heirloom, medium sized green fleshed tomatoes with yellow skin. I’ve not grown it.

Tomato #429 - African Beefsteak - large pink beefsteak type, possibly released by Letherman seeds. I don’t know the history and haven’t grown it.

Tomato #430 - Early Rose Globe - donated to the SSE in 1981 by Reverend Morrow, it was in his family since his boyhood (he was born in 1914) and was his mom’s favorite canning variety. It is very possible that this is the same as the Livingston variety Globe, released in 1905. I’ve not grown it.

Tomato #431 - saved variety T90-48 (alternate numbering)

Tomato #432 - saved variety T90-49 (alternate numbering)

Tomato #433 - Valiant - introduced by Stokes in 1937, it is a single plant selection Stokes made from one of their created hybrids. It is a medium sized round red tomato that I’ve yet to grow.

Tomato #434 - Yellow Brimmer - This first appeared in my collection as tomato #28. I grew it - it is a large yellow tomato with red swirls and a peachy, mild, fruity flavor.

Tomato #435 - Moonglow - a medium sized nearly round orange tomato, I don’t know the history, and haven’t grown it.

Tomato #436 - Stone - this historic tomato is a Livingston introduction in 1891. I described it as tomato #88, and grew it.

Tomato #437 - Spark’s Improved Earliana - this is a 1900 release that I’ve not yet grown - it was reportedly the earliest maturing good sized scarlet tomato.

Tomato #438 - Watermelon Beefsteak - this large pink heirloom that reportedly comes from the 1800s - I’ve yet to grow it.

Tomato #439 - Giant Italian Red Heart - already described as tomato #418. I haven’t grown it.

Tomato #440 - White Wonder - a Jung seeds variety from 1922, I’ve yet to grow it.

Tomato #441 - Enterprise - no info available, never grown - still listed by the SSE yearbook.

Tomato #442 - Mexican Yellow - no historical info available but listed in the SSE yearbook - supposedly large and yellow - I’ve not grown it.

Tomato #443 - Sunburst - large yellow/red bicolor tomato, no historical info found, not grown.

Tomato #444 - Phil Tolli’s Roma - I’ve not grown it - seems to be one of the long fruited indeterminate red paste types. History - Phil Tolli brought it from Italy to Canada in 1919 - it then went to Cleveland, then Argentina, then New York - Mike Cannon (SSE) introduced it in the 1979 SSE yearbook.

Tomato #445 - Big Ben - already described as tomato #119.

Tomato #446 - Amish Brandywine - no info available, not grown - assumed to be a large pink, potato leaf variety.

Tomato #447 - Orange - too vague to get any specific background info - not grown.

Tomato #448 - Big White Pink Stripes - I did grow this one in 1991. Low productivity, a few large ivory globe shaped fruit with pink blush, flavor not impressive. It seems to have originated with either Don Branscomb or Glenn Drowns.

Tomato #449 - Azteca 11 - probably originally from Don Branscomb to Ed Brown - no information, never grown, assume it to be a determinate medium sized red.

Tomato #450 - ?? Yellow (couldn’t read the packet) - never grown, no way to know what this is.

Tomato #451 - Out of this World - I grew this in 1991 - notes day nondescript indeterminate medium red globe shape. I’ve no background info at all.

Tomato #452 - ?? yellow (another mystery) - never grown, a mystery forever.

Tomato #453 - Orange Oxheart - never grown, no historical info - although Yellow Oxheart is a 1920s era Livingston variety.

Tomato #454 - Childers - already described as tomato #420, never grown.

Tomato #455 - Orange - name is too random to know for sure what this is, never grown.

Tomato #456 - Three Pound - never grown, no historical info available.

Tomato #457 - Russian Pink - never grown, too vague to know for sure what this is.

Tomato #458 - Hunt Family Favorite - already described as tomato #84, this sample never grown.

Tomato #459 - Potato Leaf White - already described as tomato #235, this sample not grown.

Tomato #460 - DeWeese Streaked - large yellow/red beefsteak listed in the SSE yearbooks nearly from the start - never grown.

Tomato #461 - Amana Orange - A variety developed by Gary Staley (SSE tomato collector), which he named for the Amana colonies in Iowa - not clear what he used for breeding material, this is a large regular leaf orange which I finally grew in 2012 from a different source. I thought it was OK, not great.

Tomato #462 - Nepal - already described as tomato #31

Tomato #463 - Hunt Family Favorite - already described as tomato #84, this sample never grown.

Tomato #464 - Yellow Beefsteak - never grown, name is too vague - could be the one sent to me by Barbara Lund, but just as probably not.

Tomato #465 - Vita 9 - never grown - Don Branscomb variety still with an SSE listing, but no description.

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Here ends the Edmund Brown varieties! How, for some varieties with more interest

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Tomato #466 - Regina’s Yellow - this variety was sent to me by Robert Richardson in 1991. Though this was a favorite of Carolyn’s, I found it to be a typical large fruited yellow/red bicolor with the characteristic mild, fruity, peachy flavor that I just don’t particularly enjoy.

Tomato #467 - Orange Beefsteak #1 - sent to me by SSE member WV CO B in 1991. No historical info was included. It is still listed in the SSE yearbook. I grew it in 1991 - indeterminate, medium sized orange globe, mild flavor. I never regrew it. It is also listed as Tomato #136 - this grew crossed (small red fruit), which I named Caitlin’ Favorite.

Tomato #468 - Orange Beefsteak #2 - also from WV CO B, in 1991, this grew just like OB #1, also in 1991.

Tomato #469 - Homestead - I haven’t grown this yet. It is an older commercial variety bred by the Florida Ag Exp Station in 1952 - named for Homestead, Florida.

Tomato #470 - H 1289 - sent to be in 1991 by B. George, no info on this variety which I’ve not grown.

Tomato #471 - Purple Price - sent to me by Tad Smith of Virginia in 1991, this was quite a nice tomato that I hope to grow next year for the first time since 2004. In communication with Tad, this is the history. In 1987, Tad received a pink fruited potato leaf heirloom from a family in Willis, Virginia. He crossed it with Purple Calabash to create the hybrid - he then selected an F2 with potato leaf foliage and purple fruit. He named this tomato after the place he did the cross - Price Hall at Virginia Tech. He notes that he crossed it with Ozark Pink to make it smoother, but I think that ended up being Pale Perfect Purple. It could be that Purple Price, when sent to me in 1991, was not quite stable. I really enjoyed it, though - in 1991 it grew quite Cherokee Purple-like, except with potato leaf foliage.

Tomato #472 - Jefferson Giant - purchased from Heirloom Seeds in 1991. Reportedly from the late 1800s, this is another variety that has no historical information located in old seed catalogs. I grew it in 1991 - the wispy foliaged, regular leaf indeterminate plants produced good flavored medium to large pink hearts.

Tomato #473 - Hungarian - also from Heirloom Seeds, 1991. Likely considered an older heirloom type, it doesn’t seem to be listed anywhere these days. I grew it in 1991 - it is a regular leaf, large pink fruited indeterminate variety, but I didn’t enjoy the flavor at all, having that musty type of flavor many large pink heirlooms possess.

Tomato #474 - Golden Queen - also from Heirloom Seeds, 1991. I didn’t grow this particular sample, but did eventually get to Golden Queen when I obtained it from the USDA eventually.

Tomato #475 - Goliath - From Heirloom Seeds, 1991. It is supposedly a variety that dates from the late 1800s but I’ve never seen a listing in old seed catalogs. I grew it in 1991 and the regular leaf indeterminate plant produced large, oblate pink tomatoes with very good flavor. I liked it much better than Hungarian.

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The very best tomatoes of this huge set are Regina’s Yellow, Purple Price, Jefferson Giant and Goliath. Most of this collection were not grown, and the seeds are undoubtedly dead.