Two more articles to go, and ones no one has ever seen. I guess I was doing my typical writing for Off The Vine Volume 4, but for whatever reason, Carolyn and I decided it was time to stop. For this first one, I focused on tomatoes that I really enjoyed growing and eating but seemed way too obscure and relatively unknown.

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Why Don’t More People Grow These?

by Craig

Maybe I did not write a catchy enough description in the SSE yearbook. Or, perhaps the name of the tomato isn’t memorable. Whatever the reason, there are many tomatoes that have performed splendidly in my gardens, yet remain consistently unpopular. Not only do very few seed savers request the seed, but even fewer reoffer it in following years. So, here is my list of the Rodney Dangerfields of the tomato world, at least in my opinion. They don’t get much respect. But they deserve it...at least I think so! It must be remembered that I have grown only a fraction of the tomatoes in the SSE collection, so my experience is relatively limited. But after reading this, will you decide that one or several of them are actually the next Brandywine, Riesentraub, or Aunt Ruby’s Green? They might be, but only if gardeners try them and find them to be as good as I do.

When I think about growing great red tomatoes, a few that wind up in my garden more often than not are Adelia, Aker’s West Virginia, Buckbee’s New Fifty Day, Gallo Plum, Giant Syrian, Livingston’s Favorite, Lillian’s Red, Old Virginia, Rasp Large Red, Reif Italian Red Heart, and Maule’s Success. Some of them are not huge or flashy, but are what I consider to be “old reliable”, tomatoes that yield well and taste good year after year. In this category are Adelia, Buckbee’s New Fifty Day, Livingston’s Favorite, and Maule’s Success. They all set fruit quickly and reliably. They all run from 6 to 8 ounces, and all are relatively smooth and crack-free. They are probably a good indication of what was exciting at the turn of the century with respect to progress in tomato breeding. Up until that time, tomatoes were generally large and very rough in shape. Favorite and Success, among others, were very smooth and consistent in shape and quality. They also have a snappy, “old time” tomato flavor, with more seeds and pulp and less sugary sweetness than the larger beefsteak types. Rasp Large Red is nearly globe shaped and closer to a pound in weight, and also very tasty. Two of my red list are truly huge; Old Virginia and Aker’s West Virginia. I know nothing of their history, but both came to me as family heirlooms. Both can exceed 2 pounds in weight, but are very fine flavored. Old Virginia was a light yielder, but Aker was very productive. Giant Syrian and Reif Italian are both very large heart-shaped tomatoes that grow on wispy but vigorous vines. Both are more juicy and seedy, and more tart, than the very popular German Red Strawberry. Finally, Lillian’s Red is a medium sized tomato of variable shape, running from nearly globe to elongated. The flavor is outstandingly rich, amongst the best flavored of tomatoes. Unfortunately, the plant is extremely spindly and weak as a seedling, though it really gains steam and vigor as the season progresses. Gallo Plum is another of the pepper shaped sauce tomatoes, of which Opalka may be the best known. Gallo is its equal in productivity and flavor, though. I received it along with many other family heirlooms from a West Virginia person named Charlotte Mullens nearly 10 years ago.

The stars of the pink tomato family of low respect are Alpha Pink, Belgian Beauty, Fritsche, Livingston’s Beauty, Gregori’s Altai, Livingston’s Magnus, Mikarda Sweet, Nicky Crain, Polish, Tappy’s Finest, and Wins All. Like the reds, they fit into different categories. Alpha Pink is probably very similar to Acme, the first of the smooth pink tomatoes, from the 1870’s. It is very early, amongst the first tomatoes to ripen, but is productive and possessing a nice sweet flavor. Fritsche is similar in size, but is a remarkably prolific yielder of smooth 6 ounce slightly flattened globes, with a delightful flavor and juicy texture. Livingston’s Beauty and Magnus are similar in size and flavor, but Magnus is potato leaved. Gregori’s Altai is slightly larger and rounder, and a bit crack prone, but may be the sweetest tomato I have grown. Belgian Beauty, Wins All, Polish and Tappy’s Finest are all large pink beefsteak types that are very sweet and delicious. Polish differs in being potato leaved, and perhaps of superior flavor. Mikarda is a unique pink pepper shaped tomato on a very wispy plant, but is very sweet and delicious, as well as prolific. Nicky Crain is very large and heart shaped, and of the very best of flavor.

Other great different colored but unrespected tomatoes are Big Yellow, Galina’s, Czech’s Excellent Yellow, Golden Queen, Golden Monarch, Yellow White, Lillian’s Yellow, Madara, Potato Leaf Yellow, Yellow Bell, Coyote, and Dorothy’s Green. Big Yellow and Potato Leaf Yellow are both very large gold, slightly oblate beefsteak types that differ in leaf shape, and sweetness (Big Yellow is clearly on the sweet mild side, Potato Leaf Yellow very tart and rich). Galina’s, Madara, and Coyote are cherry tomatoes, with Galina’s being potato leaved and firm, Madara very juicy, and Coyote nearly white in color and much smaller. In fact it grows wild in Mexico. Czech’s Excellent Yellow is about golf ball sized and very tasty. Golden Queen and Golden Monarch are very similar; both are medium sized, smooth, slightly oblate bright yellow tomatoes with a pink blush on the bottom of some of the larger fruit. This is the real Golden Queen as developed and described by Livingston in the late 1800’s, not the recent determinate orange introduction that is usually offered under that name. Lillian’s Yellow is a superbly flavored but tricky to grow canary yellow, large beefsteak on a potato leaved plant, making it truly unique. What makes it tricky in my hands is that it is very variable in yield and quite crack-prone. The flavor and beauty are worth the effort, however. Yellow Bell is a bright yellow Roma shaped tomato of superb flavor and productivity. It tastes great in salads, not just as sauce. Yellow White, which also has the name of Viva Lindsey’s Kentucky Heirloom, is a large nearly globe shaped tomato that is just on the yellow side of ivory. It is not ravingly delicious, but is mild, sweet, and beautiful. Taking up the rear is a tomato I called Dorothy’s Green, but it was sent to me as simply “Green”. I think that it is just as good a tomato as Aunt Ruby’s Green to eat, though it is slightly more irregular in shape. It yields like crazy, though, and those who taste it are blown away!

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In looking through the above list…which ones have risen in popularity? Aker’s West Virginia, Giant Syrian, Livingston’s Beauty, Magnus, Polish, Winsall, Galina, Golden Queen, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom and Coyote are better known now than they were when I wrote this in 1997. There are quite a few on the list that remain obscure, and I must get fresh seed to give them a try here in Hendersonville!