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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Isolation Distances for Tomatoes (by Jeff McCormack, PhD)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Selected references:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My tomato collection tour - part 4. Tomatoes 31-40

Inside back cover of 1987 SSE yearbook, spotlighting and extraordinary person

We are just finishing up a truly picturesque snowstorm. Shoveling done, gas logs lit, seems a perfect time to keep pushing ahead on my seed tour blogs - so I am moving faster than my weekly target (for the moment - taking advantage of a nice slow day listening to WNCW and watching snow drifting down)

I’ve started using tags and categories so it is easier to find the two series of blogs I am working through. The seed collection tour blogs are tagged with the term “seed collection” so you can view them as a group if you wish - find the tag list to the right of the blog. The Off The Vine reposts are tagged with “Off The Vine”.

Strap in, and let’s continue the journey.

Tomato 31 - Nepal - this unassuming medium sized red tomato is THE tomato hero in my collection. Purchased from Johnny’s in 1987 (lured by the description mentioning superb flavor), it pretty much single-handedly converted me from dabbling in hybrids to focusing on heirlooms. It excelled in my 1987 garden and excelled last year in my 2021 garden….as well as many of my gardens in between. It began to bear ripe tomatoes in 82 days, and I picked 60 tomatoes at an average weight of 7 ounces, for a plant yield of 26.5 pounds. I rated it an A in flavor; it was the best tomato in my garden that year.

Tomato 32 - Sugar Lump (aka Gardener’s Delight) - I purchased this from Johnny’s in 1987, seduced by the description of excellent flavor. Alas, it was pretty ordinary to my palate. It started to bear fruit in 72 days, so was an early/midseason variety. I picked 580 tomatoes with an average weight of half an ounce, giving the plant a yield of 18 pounds, quite good for a cherry tomato. I rated the flavor B+, so clearly didn’t dislike it and I may have graded it a bit softly, as I never did grow it again.

Tomato 33 - Jet Star F1 hybrid - this is the second of the renown Harris tomato hybrid trio, and it was purchased from them in 1988 (along with Moreton and Supersonic). Oddly, I never did end up growing it until many years later, in 2004. It didn’t particularly distinguish itself, but we will get to that eventually - I had to repurchase seeds, and we’ll revisit it when I make it to tomato number 1468!

Tomato 34 - Supersonic F1 hybrid - this is the third, and last, of the Harris tomato hybrid superstar trio, also purchased from their catalog in 1988. This was the Harris answer to Better Boy and Ultra Boy and Whopper, a large fruited scarlet hybrid. As with Jet Star, I didn’t grow it in 1988 - and in fact didn’t revisit it until 2004, when it grew along side Moreton and Jet Star. I do believe that I grew it from a nursery purchased plant in 1986 and it was indeed very much like Better Boy and Whopper - a fine large scarlet tomato.

Tomato 35 - Ultra Sweet F1 hybrid - the Stokes catalog really raved about this relatively new hybrid variety and I purchased and grew it in 1988. They noted that it ripened internally quite early, which gave it a better, sweeter flavor. I didn’t find anything particular noteworthy about it, however. It did come in relatively early, starting to yield tomatoes in 67 days. I picked 44 tomatoes from the plant at an average size of 6.7 ounces. The total plant yield was 18 pounds. I found the tomatoes too firm, and lacking intensity, and it earned a B grade. I never grew it again.

Tomato 36 - Calypso - I was sent this variety as a bonus pack from the Tomato Seed Company in 1988. From a Google search, it appears to be a medium sized scarlet variety that does well in heat and humidity. Alas, I never did grow it, so have no opinion of the variety.

1987 SSE yearbook page for the variety Sabre, below

Tomato 37 - Sabre - SSE member Charles Estep sent this variety to me upon request in 1988. It was described as being particularly attractive and having a “sharp” flavor. It grew a regular leaf plant for me, but a search about indicates there are potato leaf “versions” out there as well (not an uncommon circumstance for many heirloom varieties). The variety seemed to originate with SSE member Don Branscomb, a collector of many varieties, particularly from the USDA germplasm collection. I grew Sabre in my 1988 garden. I was relatively late, coming in at 82 days. I harvested 34 tomatoes of an average weight of 10 ounces; the plant yield was 21 pounds. The oblate pink tomatoes were not wonderful, with a bit of the unusual “musky” overtones that quite a few pink heirlooms seem to possess (the most notorious, for me, being the NC heirloom German Johnson, a locally popular tomato that is simply not one I enjoy eating). It achieved a B rating. I did save seeds, but didn’t grow it again.

Tomato 38 - Wayahead Improved - selected from the Jung seed catalog in 1988, and grown in that year’s garden, this was described as one of their most popular tomatoes, with high quality despite being quite early. The “Wayahead” name graced various early tomatoes from this or that seed company for decades. Market gardeners found profit in getting high quality tomatoes as early as possible in the season, which made tomatoes with early-indicating types of names very popular. Sadly, this tomato was a pretty big let down, seemingly diseased. I grew it in my 1988 garden and it was situated in the front row. The growth habit was determinate. It was quite early, starting to bear ripe fruit in 66 days. I picked 35 scarlet tomatoes that averaged but 2.5 ounces in weight, and possibly due to disease issues (I speculated Tomato Mosaic Virus at the time), only 5.6 pounds of fruit came from the plant. It also ranked low in flavor, with a B-, at the bottom of my 1988 tomato efforts. I never gave it another chance. Seeds were not saved.

Tomato 39 - Gurney Girl F1 hybrid - I received a lot of seed catalogs each year starting in 1986, and became familiar with all sorts of companies that were new to me, such as Jung, Field and Gurney. When selecting varieties for my three year heirloom vs hybrid contest, I chose this variety, lauded in the Gurney catalog, to include, purchasing the seed from them, and growing it, in 1988. First harvest occurred in 67 days from transplant, and the 34 harvested fruit averaged 6.5 ounces, giving a plant yield of 14 pounds. I rated the flavor a solid A, clearly one of the best tasting scarlet red, medium sized hybrids. I never did grow it again.

Tomato 40 - Czech’s Excellent Yellow - this is another tomato variety included in a request by SSE member Jim Halladay from Pennsylvania in 1987. Jim noted that it was developed by a Czech tomato breeder and initially collected in the US by Ben Quisenberry in the mid 1970s. It was just a lovely experience to grow, earning a place in my 1987 garden, and so was one of the varieties instrumental in converting me to heirloom varieties. The foliage was a particularly deep shape of bluish green. The tomatoes began to come in at 71 days from transplant. I harvested 140 tomatoes of an average weight of 3 ounces - perfectly smooth, round bright yellow globes. The plant yield was an impressive 26.5 pounds. I found the flavor sweet and mild, a solid B+, lacking a bit of a tart snap for me to provide balance. I haven’t grown it often and suspect that saved seeds are too old to germinate. I would love to have it in my garden again some day.

There you have it - that was a pretty mixed set of varieties, mostly red, with one superstar (Nepal) that I still enjoy in recent gardens. Have a good week - I’ll be back with #41-50 soon, with a few historically important ones and another long time favorite heirloom.

1987 SSE yearbook - you can read the Czech’s Excellent Yellow entry

Let's Continue. "Off The Vine" Volume 1, Issue 1. Carolyn and Craig Introduce Themselves

Off The Vine Volume 1, Issue 1 front cover

First, Carolyn Male

After talking about this newsletter for a couple of years I’m delighted we’re able to send you the first issue.  Craig and I are each writing a short description of where we’re coming from and where we’re going.

I’m writing this as I sit on the porch of the farmhouse where I was raised.  As I look out over the fields I remember when I was a kid knocking Colorado Potato Beetles off the tomatoes into a can of kerosene.  My father would get mad at me because I couldn’t bring myself to squash the orange eggs on the leaves; I still won’t do it unless I have gloves on.  Valiant, Rutgers, Marglobe and Fireball are some of the tomato varieties I remember from childhood and we picked them in 3.4 bushel baskets (HEAVY!).  My grandfather had purchased our farm in 1921 from the Shakers, a religious sect founded by Mother Ann Lee in Watervliet, NY, which is a few miles from our home.  My family has lived here since the 1880’s and my widowed mother, age 80, still lives here but I live in an apartment a few miles away.  Trust me, it works better than way.  We raised all sorts of vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, peas, beans, etc., and huge peach orchards kept us busy in the Fall.  My grandparents raised a lot of fruit, of which only a few clumps of renegade red raspberries survive.  My grandmother had beautiful perennial flower gardens and I still have her single hollyhocks and various kinds of old fashioned peonies.

I have most of the summer to tend my gardens full time because I’m a college teacher.  After graduating from Cornell I received my PhD in Microbiology from the U. of Rochester Medical School.  For many years I taught medical students in Denver but in 1982 I moved back East to care for my elderly parents; my father died in 1985.  I currently teach at a private college and teach anything and everything related to biology, although my own special expertise is in the area of human infectious disease.

Flowers will always be a prime love with me.  I have extensive perennial and herb gardens and I fool around at hybridizing miniature roses and daylilies.  I’m a charter member of the new American Dianthus Society; the Dianthus group includes pinks, carnations, and sweet Williams.  And I also belong to the American Hemerocallis and Rose Societies.

The Creator/Creatress did not make me perfect.  I’m organized but messy, and I file by pile.  I’ve inherited arthritis from my mother and the extra 60 lbs on my 5’10” frame doesn’t help.  On the other hand I don’t easily fade into the background.  I’m 54 and single.  I had two cat “kids” but both of them, age 16, died last year, one from heart disease and the other of kidney failure.  I see an Irish Wolfhound in my future, along with more cats, but not until I retire to my anticipated log cabin in the woods.  Of course, there will be gardens of all types, fruit orchards, and a swimming hole!

In the meantime I grow almost every kind of vegetable you can imagine, but I concentrate on heirloom tomatoes and to a lesser extent peppers.  Although I haven’t counted lately, I must now have seed for about 600-800 varieties of tomatoes, of which I grow out about 100-130 (300-400 plants) each summer.  I feel quite strongly about genetic biodiversity and preserving the genetic material of heirloom vegetables.  With respect to tomatoes I am, quite frankly, fascinated by the diversity of shape, size, color and taste of the fruit and the various patterns of foliage.  I’m absolutely shameless in pursuit of new heirloom varieties, especially from foreign students and faculty at the college where I teach.

I want to do everything I can to help preserve heirloom vegetables an educate the public about their virtues.  I give talks and workshops locally but I see our “Off The Vine” as an important vehicle to teach a larger audience with respect to accomplishing these goals.

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Here’s Craig’s intro

Most of you that have been reading the blurbs under my name in the address section of the SSE Winter Yearbook have probably noticed that I always have some sort of “project” that I am planning.  Those will all be updated in this introductory column;  this newsletter is the first of my “project wish list“ that has made it off the ground!  I must thank Carolyn for helping to motivate me in this regard, as I am quite good at procrastination...but, here we are, and this is a good time to give a little information about what I hope for this newsletter, why we are doing it, and some information that will tell you all a little about how I became involved with the SSE, and, especially, heirloom tomatoes.

 First, I suppose I should provide a little background about myself (mostly because Carolyn asked me to!).  I am 38 years old, married with two girls (Caitlin, 8, and Sara, 12), and am constantly having to reassure my family that I have not “lost it” when they see me planting 97 varieties of tomatoes in my garden, or appear excited about numerous cups of foul smelling, fermenting, fruit fly infested tomato pulp.  My roots are in New England, as I grew up and did my undergraduate education in Rhode Island, and received my PhD.in chemistry from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. We then spent a year in Seattle, which must be the best place to live anywhere...then reality set in, it was time to go to work, and that is how we got to Pennsylvania, and now North Carolina.  When I am not gardening, I am a chemist, first at SmithKline, now at Glaxo pharmaceuticals.  It certainly pays the bills, but chemistry is not the first thing that passes through my mind when I think of relaxation and happiness...

 My love for gardening was “planted” (forgive the pun...) as a young child, maybe 6 years old or so, during the hours I spent with my grandfather in his huge garden.  I recall seeing amazing dahlias, strawberries, sweet peas, squash, and, of course, tomatoes.  In fact, I hated tomatoes until I had eaten the ones that he grew for us.  My interest in gardening became dormant for many years as school took its toll on my time and attention.  It was not until graduate school and marriage to Sue that we decided that it would be fun to grow our own vegetables, and we had several beautiful gardens in a community plot in the early 1980’s.

 Being a scientist, I am naturally curious, and was always interested in trying lots of varieties of everything. Trips to the local nursery were frustrating, however, as all one finds there are plants of the “top ten” or so, and growing Better Boy hybrid or Roma was becoming boring. Ordering seeds from catalogs and starting everything ourselves was an improvement, but there was still a certain sameness about the experience.  Then, my gardening life changed when I learned of the Seed Saver’s Exchange in 1986 from a gardening magazine.  Everything has mushroomed from there, and now I find myself introducing many people and organizations each year to the joy of growing heirloom vegetables.  I am sure that this story is very familiar to many of you, and you may have experienced similar things.

 So, enough background.  Oh, yes, I wanted to update you on my projects.  First there is this newsletter, and here we are with that.  I may write occasional articles for Bob Ambrose’s “Tomato Club” newsletter, which some of you may be familiar with.  I continue to grow out new (to me) heirloom tomatoes each year, as well as some of my favorites which have held their own against new competition in the trials. And, I was asked to write a tomato book by a publisher, and am about to get started on that rather daunting but exciting project (I may be asking some of you for input for the book).  There are other projects that are on the horizon, such as examining germination enhancement procedures, sorting out the tomato section of the SSE winter yearbook (looking for errors, synonymous varieties, etc.).  Finally, my trip to the SSE campout this year was truly inspiring, and my efforts for genetic preservation are newly focused, and energized.

 For my part, I will try to express my goals for this newsletter.  First and foremost, I would like it to be a forum for all tomato enthusiasts in the SSE to share information and concerns with each other, whether it is a special growing technique, search for a lost variety, sharing of historical information, alert for a particularly delectable variety, or even concerns regarding the SSE in general.  We will try to provide our own expertise and experience each time, but we will require more than just the input of two tomato gardeners.  There may be some proposed projects that many of you would like to take part in.  Who knows...this is the starting line, and it’s a race that goes on infinitely, so lets get started!

 Welcome to all of you, and thanks for your interest.  I hope that it will be informative, and fun!

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It was really nice to revisit Carolyn’s words about herself. It is as hard to read what I wrote there as it is to listen to myself on podcasts, or watch myself on video (cringe!!!!). But, for better or worse, there it is!

Collage of Off The Vine newsletter hardcopies

My tomato collection tour - part 3. Tomatoes 21-30

1987 SSE Yearbook, from which I ordered some of the tomatoes below. Yes, I did have a phone chat with Kent Whealy way back then (hence the phone number, which was the general SSE phone number)

I’m finding some nice momentum on my blogging, aided by having two running series - this one, and posting of all articles from “Off The Vine”. These will post on Sundays, the other on Tuesdays.

Let’s resume the tour!

Tomato 21 - Bellstar, seed obtained in 1986 from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. The description - a super productive determinate paste with larger fruit - is what enticed me, and I am still in my pre-heirloom, mostly red tomato phase. I only grew Bellstar this one time. It was certainly prolific and the paste tomatoes were larger than Roma. But….fresh eating a determinate paste tomato was, and still isn’t, a very memorable thing to do. I am glad I grew it, made lots of sauce from it, and put it in my rear view mirror.

Tomato 22 - saved seed from Bellstar (Tomato 21) which I never did grow further. At age 36, it is very doubtful this seed would germinate.

Tomato 23 - Better Bush F1 hybrid, obtained from Parks Seeds in 1986. It is interesting to realize that I actually grew a dwarf tomato this early on. It didn’t impress, however. The compact plant was a shy yielder, if I remember correctly, with medium sized tomatoes of no flavor distinction. I didn’t save seeds and never did grow it again. Why did I choose to grow it? I suppose that the catalog description of having a more compact growth habit provide a high yield was of interest, and clearly I was just picking a bit of this and that to try out.

Tomato 24 - Burpee VF F1 hybrid - The Fred DuBose tomato book raved about this older, less fancy, certainly more ordinarily named hybrid. I purchased the seed from Burpee in 1986, and grew it in my 1986 garden as one more scarlet red tomato. The Burpee seed catalog had a very glowing description (I think the wording was a variation of “a favorite of Burpee employees”). It was a good tomato, not a great tomato, producing a decent yield of medium sized scarlet tomatoes. I didn’t think that they were as good as my go-to hybrids of those days, Better Boy or Whopper. I didn’t save seeds and didn’t grow it again. By the way, the “VF” designation was for bred-in tolerance to Verticillium and Fusarium wilts.

1987 SSE Yearbook page showing Persimmon and the various members that made it available

Tomato 25 - Persimmon - now we’re talking; a return to colorful heirlooms and resumption of the varieties that I grew in my 1987-1989 heirloom vs hybrid “contest”. Though I first read about the variety in the Seeds Blum seed catalog, I ended up acquiring it from SSE member NY ET J in 1987 (the SSE code means that the SSE member, a New York gardener, had a first name that started with “J”, and a last name with the first two letters “Et”. - her name is Josephine Ettlinger of Deer Park). When I was a Pennsylvania SSE member, my code was PA LE C - here in NC, my code is NC LE C. You can see the listing in the 1987 SSE Yearbook, above. Persimmon was one of the stars of my 1987 garden. The indeterminate plant was quite enormous. A relatively late ripener, coming in at 86 days, the total plant yield was 33 lbs, with average fruit weight of 13.5 ounces. Many fruits were well over one pound. The pale orange tomatoes were very meaty and solid with a relatively low quantity of seeds. The flavor was on the mild and sweet side but very pleasant. I saved seeds, and Persimmon has graced my gardens several times, being grown, in addition to 1987, in 1991, 1994 and 2001. It’s pretty shocking to me that I’ve not grown it in 21 years, and probably should find a place in my garden soon. I chose to acquire and grow Persimmon to add an orange tomato to my early heirloom explorations, and can still recall the excitement of watching this, and other differently colored, tomatoes ripen in my garden. As far as its history, one reference lists it as dating to the 1880s, but orange tomatoes were not present in seed catalogs in that date range. It is most likely a variety that emerged in someone’s garden through a mutation or cross, and was traded locally, eventually finding its way into an heirloom seed catalog and a SSE listing. A Russian variety that was collected by the SSE in the early 1990s, Russian Persimmon, is not related to Persimmon. Russian Persimmon is determinate and a smaller, smoother deeper orange tomato.

Tomato 26 - Mortgage Lifter - acquired from SSE member Jim Halladay of Pennsylvania (see the pic below with the very interesting historical hint - a tomato grown by the Halladay family, when living in Kentucky, for three generations. How does this link to the two known Mortgage Lifters, Ester’s from Barboursville WV in the late 1920s, and the Radiator Charlie/M C Byles version from Logan WV in the early 1940s?). I didn’t grow this tomato until 1991, my last in Pennsylvania - and I really enjoyed the sweet full flavor of the very large pink fruit. Aside from 1992, Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter was also in my 1996, 2002, 2013 and 2014 gardens. It seems like a perfect time to return to it. I didn’t actually request this particular Mortgage Lifter; it was included in my request for Pineapple and Tiger Tom, 2 varieties not yet discussed. The plants for this variety are truly monstrous and challenging to keep pruned and under control. Quite a few locally named Mortgage Lifters showed up in the 1987 SSE yearbook, as shown below.

1987 SSE Yearbook listing for various Mortgage Lifters

Tomato 27 - Mortgage Lifter, Pesta Strain - I was sent this variety by Missouri SSE tomato collector Edmund Brown in 1987 and 1988. He received it from West Virginia gardener George Pesta. I grew it in 1989, and again in 1993. I really can’t believe that it has been nearly 30 years since I hast grew it. I know nothing of its history, and wonder if it was a color sport from Mortgage Lifter as grown by Mr. Pesta. It was included in the third and final year of my heirloom X hybrid contest. I was surprised to read that first fruit ripened in 75 days; it must have been a warm summer, since this type of tomato is typically a later ripening variety. I harvested 17 tomatoes from the very tall, vigorous indeterminate plant, but they averaged 22 ounces each, so the plant yield was a bit over 23 lbs. The fruits were oblate, smooth, and colored varying swirls of yellow and red - just like Ruby Gold, and ones I will discuss below, Yellow Brimmer and Pineapple. My feeling is that this is a general “type” of tomato that popped up in gardens throughout the country over the years. I would love to know the genetics of these types to see how many actually distinct varieties there are.

Tomato 28 - Yellow Brimmer - I acquired this tomato from SSE member Charles Estep in 1987. He acquired it from a North Carolina gardener, and I would have to do a bit of digging to see if I can find out who it was (the code, NC DE F, is not in the 1987 yearbook). I first grew it in 1988, then again in 1991 and 1998. Since there is a large pink tomato variety called Brimmer that was introduced by the Woods Company of Virginia in 1907, one possibility is that Yellow Brimmer is a bicolored mutation of Brimmer. In my 1988 garden it was very late, with first fruit at 101 days. I harvested only 8 tomatoes which averaged 16 ounces, giving a plant yield of 8 lbs. Everything written about Ruby Gold and Mortgage Lifter, Pesta Strain holds true for Yellow Brimmer. The size, color and flavor are essentially the same - meaty, juicy, mild, and sweet with a flavor and texture reminiscent of peaches. I really went pretty big for the big yellow red bicolors early on in my heirloom adventures, that’s for sure!

Tomato 29-1 - Sun Gold F1 hybrid (this number was later reassigned once the Sun Gold seed ran out) - My record keeping fails me, as it lists my first purchase as Johnny’s Selected Seeds in 1993. My memory tells me that I purchased this the same year as sister tomato Sun Cherry F1 (already described as tomato #3 in my collection). So, I was tempted to grow Sun Gold in 1991, and it made an amazing impression, finding a place in pretty much every garden I’ve grown since. Johnny’s called the flavor “unique, tropical in nature”. Sue and I call it remarkable. The one thing to keep in mind is to pick them as soon as they reach a medium orange color, as watering or rain will make them quickly crack. I won’t write much more about it, because I suspect most tomato lovers have tried it. Sadly, being a hybrid, we don’t know which parents were used to breed it. Saved seeds are fun to play with, but as far as I know, no one has achieved an open pollinated selection with the unique excellence of the hybrid.

Tomato 29-2 - Brandywine - This is it - this is the one! Obtained from SSE member Roger Wentling of PA in 1987, this tomato, grown often throughout my gardening endeavors, is at the very pinnacle of tomato flavor. I’ve grown at least 50 plants in my gardens that lead back to this acquisition. Oddly, the first year I grew it, 1988, the plant struggled with disease. With the first ripe fruit coming in at 89 days, I picked 16 tomatoes at an average weight of 11 ounces, but the flavor was excellent. Future grow outs met much more success, and Brandywine (from this seed source) is often the best flavored tomato in my garden. It is far superior to the “strain” purchased from The Tomato Seed Company (described as Tomato #10). The potato leaf plants are tall and vigorous, and fruit typically range from 12-16 ounces with a complete flavor - intense, perfectly balanced, and memorable. Roger Wentling got the seeds directly from Ben Quisenberry; Ben got it from Dorris Sudduth. Every gardener, every tomato lover, needs to try this tomato at least once.

Tomato 30 - Pineapple - This variety was also sent to me by SSE member Jim Halladay of Pennsylvania in 1987. History indicates that it was offered by the Gleckler Seed Company in the 1950s. I’ve grown it off and on over the years. I grew it in 1987, the same garden that was my first real dip into heirlooms, alongside another bicolor, Ruby Gold. A late tomato, coming in at 85 days, I harvested 23 tomatoes that averaged 14.6 ounces each, giving a plant yield of 22.3 pounds. Ruby Gold was a bit larger and a bit heavier yielding. It was big, oblate, and swirled yellow and red, with that characteristic mild, sweet peachy flavor. I can’t way I will ever love this type of tomato, but it is gorgeous and does find its uses in the kitchen. You can see a picture showing the listing of Pineapple in the 1987 SSE Yearbook, below.

1987 SSE listing for Pineapple

Here We Go! "Off The Vine" Volume #1, Issue #1. Carolyn and Craig's "Welcome" articles

Finally meeting Carolyn when Sue and I brought her plants on a swing by her home in New York while visiting family - May 20, 2011.

NOTE - I am pasting in our original articles exactly as written. There will be some awkward grammar, some misspellings - and I cringe a bit when I see some of what we wrote.

How this will go: Each week I will paste in an article from our newsletter. At the end, I will share some thoughts after reading the article for the first time in decades! I hope you enjoy reading some material written in the middle of the heirloom gardening boom stimulated by formation of the Seed Savers Exchange.

Carolyn Male’s Welcome -

Welcome to Off The Vine

We’re delighted to finally publish our first issue of “Off The Vine”!  In future issues we expect to present articles about home hybridization, history of tomatoes in the Americas, use of heirlooms in commercial breeding programs, feature articles on selected growers, tomato folklore, and “favorite” heirloom tomatoes.  We want “Off The Vine” to be interactive with our readers so in each issue we will pose a question or two and ask for your responses.  Please include your phone number in your letter so we can obtain your permission should we publish what you write.

We are both enthusiastic members of the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) and since the original announcement for this newsletter appeared in the SSE 1993 Yearbook, our first question relates to the SSE.  Both of us are concerned that the yearbook has become, or is becoming, a seed catalog rather than primarily a mechanism for the preservation of heirlooms.  In our experience the majority of seed requests we receive are from unlisted members, most of whom are not reoffering seeds in subsequent yearbooks.  To us, this is a troublesome situation.  At most, seed from about 5% of the varieties sent out is being reoffered.  So, our first question is:  What ways can you think of that might increase the rate at which members reoffer seed?  Please send your responses to Carolyn at the address below; she will be handling most of the “paper work”.

We also welcome your ideas and suggestions for future articles and questions to the readers.  If you’ve liked this first issue, and the future goals and plans we’ve outlined, we welcome your subscriptions.  We are low budget, low key, and amateurs! 

We expect most issues to be 4 to 5 pages double sided. 

Finally, there are several people who have been supportive of our efforts to publish an heirloom tomato newsletter and we’d like to mention a few names.  Jeff McCormack of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange graciously offered to mention “Off The Vine” in his current catalog.  Kent Whealy of SSE voiced his support to Craig at the 1993 Campout and Steve Demuth of the SSE staff did our first layout.  Andy Smith, whose fascinating book on the history of tomatoes in the Americas up to 1840 will soon be published, has also been very encouraging to us.

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Craig’s welcome

The Birth of “Off the Vine” 

After two or three years in the incubation period, Carolyn Male and I are about to publish the first issue of a newsletter entirely devoted to heirloom tomatoes.  We have decided to call this newsletter “Off the Vine”, an idea that Carolyn came up with.  (We won’t discuss the options that I was able to concoct!).  In case some of you are wondering who we are and what we have in mind for the newsletter, here is some information for you.

First of all, we are members of the Seed Saver’s Exchange.  I joined in 1986, and Carolyn got bitten by the heirloom bug in 1989.  Actually, we have never met!  I can recall that one of my first seed request letters of 1989 was from Carolyn, and I was immediately taken by her friendly tone, sense of humor, and dedication to the cause.  We shared many varieties of heirloom veggies over the following years, and talked frequently on the phone.  Some of this talk led to the eventual direction that our hobbies were taking us.  And, one of our ideas was to fill the huge gap in gardening literature, regarding the lack of any tomato newsletters. 

Now for a bit of background on each of us.  Carolyn tends her gardens at the farm she was raised, near Albany, New York.  She grew up with farming and gardens as an integral part of her life; some things do not change!  When she is not watering, weeding or picking, she teaches biology-related courses at the college of St. Rose.  Carolyn enjoys growing everything, apparently, though she confesses that flowers are a special passion.  Somehow, she has found herself the proud owner of somewhere around 800 varieties of tomatoes, and each year must make the difficult yet delightful decision of what to grow! 

As for me, I have taken a roundabout route toward landing in North Carolina.  Originating in Rhode Island, where I gardened with my grandfather, I have spent time in New Hampshire, where I received my degree in chemistry, Washington (Seattle must surely be what heaven is like), and Pennsylvania.  Now, as a pharmaceutical chemist for Glaxo, I need to ensure that my gardening time does not get in the way of the many other interests that I pursue, not the least of which is my family!  After joining the SSE, my gardening experience became a real part of my life.  And, each year I also must decide between about 800 varieties of tomatoes. 

As for our newsletter, we envision a forum for gardeners that have a particular interest in heirloom tomatoes.  Among the topics we hope to address are gardening concerns, such as isolation distances, particular varieties, including their various merits or detriments, history, or apparent demise, and interviews with notable heirloom tomato collectors.  It should be a lot of fun, and we hope that some of you give it a try.

If you would like to subscribe, please send $5.00 (US) to “Off the Vine”, c/o Carolyn Male, 21-2 Latham Village Lane, Latham, NY  12110.  This fee will get you three issues per year (if all goes well...), each issue being 5-7 double sided pages.  Please remember that this is a very grassroots-style effort.  It won’t be glossy, but it will always be interesting!  We look forward to hearing from you.

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Well, reading that took me back. The world lost Carolyn on June 14. 2019. Our gardening friendship lasted 30 years, complete with many ups and a few downs (certainly expected for two opinionated people!).

Obviously, the addresses and subscription info listed above is long obsolete. It is included for completeness. It is remarkable to ponder how far each of us had already embedded into growing heirloom tomatoes. This newsletter came out about 7 years after I joined the SSE, and for Carolyn, about 5 years.

Carolyn, listening to Sue during our visit on May 20, 2011

My tomato collection tour - part 2. Tomatoes 11-20

Here’s an oldie - me with a watering can age age 2 or so, from a digitized slide

It’s Friday night, and it seems a good time to create part 2 of this series of blogs in which I will take you on a trip though my seed collection. Sue and I just had a nice dinner at Sierra Nevada in Mills River (lucky us - a great, major brewery just 20 minutes from our house!) with gardening friends Charlie and Mary.

Before I dig into my seed log and memory and cover my next 10 tomatoes, let me update you all on what I’m up to (when not blogging , or hiking with Sue and the dogs). My main recent activity has been filling seed requests. The good news is that I am nearly done, and it is exciting to ponder gardens filled tomatoes from my saved seeds. I tend to do the “easy” ones first, and leave to the end the big and complex requests, many of which contain Dwarf Tomato Project seeds. The flip side is that I have to call an end to this work - any new requests will have to wait until late in 2022. After seed sending comes a restart to a new book on the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, and reengagement with Joe Lamp’l in preparation for the relaunch of our on-line tomato course, Growing Epic Tomatoes. It is also time to get serious about planning what I will grow this coming year. So….we may have just flipped the calendar to 2022, and it may be 20 degrees outside (really!) - but things are now busy again. Holiday vacation is over!

Who doesn’t love Sun Gold!

Here we go!

Tomato 11 - Abraham Lincoln, seed obtained in 1987 from Shumway. Abraham Lincoln is a very important tomato variety, developed and released by the Buckbee Seed Company of Rockford, IL in 1923. A scan of the cover of that catalog, showing their new release, is here. I decided to give this one a try based on the entry in the book The Total Tomato by Fred DuBose. He ranked it highly and noted that it had a unique trait of having “distinctly bronze tinted foliage”, as well as large scarlet red delicious tomatoes. I grew Abraham Lincoln in my 1987 garden in Berwyn, Pennsylvania as part of my Heirloom vs Hybrid study. What a disappointment this was. The plant appeared to be determinate, topping out at 3 feet tall, The foliage was typically green, with no bronze tinge. It yielded quite heavily, producing 22 lbs of tomatoes of an average size of 5 ounces. The flavor was quite good, rating a B+. It was very early, coming in at 63 days from transplant. A few phone calls and letters indicated that the true Abraham Lincoln variety was lost, and this was offered as a replacement. Buckbee actually became Shumway over time, so it is sad that perhaps their most important tomato variety was no longer available in the form released in 1923. I did save seed, but never again returned to this “strain” of Abraham Lincoln.

Tomato 12 and Tomato 13 - Ruby Gold, acquired as one of my very first Seed Savers Exchange requests in 1987 from James Halladay of Indiana (who sent me two separate packets, hence the two numbers). Ruby Gold, it turns out, is quite a historic tomato, sold by Childs Seed Company in 1921. The descriptive listing is here, and color plate here. At some point, it acquired an alternate name, Gold Medal. Ruby Gold was one the tomatoes that were grown by Ben Quisenberry (a mid west seed seller best known for introducing Brandywine to the tomato growing world after acquiring it from Dorris Sudduth). I was so excited to grow this tomato because of it’s described large size, and unique coloration - yellow flesh swirled with red. I never did use the seeds that are Tomato 12 in my collection, but did grow Tomato 13 twice, in 1987 and 1991. The variety performed beautifully in my 1987 garden (and all years since). It was quite a late tomato, coming in at 83 days from transplanted seedling. I harvested 30 tomatoes from the plant for a total weight of 31 pounds, giving an average fruit size of 16.6 ounces. I can’t say that I loved the flavor, as it is quite sweet and fruit-like, resembling a peach in texture, color and flavor. The big slabs worked best, to my taste, on a cheeseburger, or for a grilled cheese and tomato. Few tomatoes are as impressive looking as the yellow/red bicolored beefsteaks, perfectly typified by Ruby Gold. I consider it one of my core varieties, due to its historical significance, beauty and as part of the early years of my heirloom tomato immersion.

Tomato 14 - Super Marmande - The Fred DuBose book influenced me to try this variety, raving about the yield and flavor of this French variety. It also provided a true determinate variety to add to my trials. The description in the seed vendor that I used, Thompson and Morgan, also swayed me, and I ordered the variety in 1987. I didn’t find the variety particularly distinctive or exemplary, except in yield. First ripe fruit were picked in 79 days from transplant. I harvested 81 tomatoes from the plant, the oblate scarlet fruit averaging 5.5 ounces, giving a total plant yield of an impressive 28 pounds. I rated the flavor as B+ - a nice tomato, but with all of the interesting colored heirlooms being explored at the same time, I was already leaving scarlet tomatoes behind even in 1987! Surprisingly, I decided to not save seeds, and never returned to it again. Super Marmande is open pollinated (not a hybrid).

Tomato 15 - Lemon Boy hybrid - I ordered this variety from Parks in 1987, enticed by the chance to add a yellow fruited tomato to the selection of hybrids in my heirloom vs hybrid contest. When asked which hybrid tomatoes I like to grow, Lemon Boy is a frequent suggestion for folks that have issues with open pollinated types. It was quite late in my 1997 Pennsylvania garden, starting to bear fruit at 89 days. The vigorous indeterminate plant really cranked them out, the 58 harvested tomatoes averaging 6.9 ounces, an impressive 25 lbs of fruit for the plant. I really enjoyed the well balanced flavor as well, and it rated a solid A. Now that I’ve tasted many more tomatoes in the years since, I would probably take it down just a bit in flavor, but still rate it as an excellent choice for gardeners seeking a nice smooth bright yellow slicing tomato. I really must grow it again, save seeds from it and explore the F2 array of possibilities as a way to guess what may be the parents of this variety. As a hybrid that has been available for 35 years or more, one wonders when its availability will come to an end.

Tomato 16 - Supersteak hybrid - Since I had Ultra Boy in my garden, how could I not add Supersteak. The clear trend in naming hybrids back in the 1980s shows so clearly. This variety was ordered from Burpee in 1987, and the catalog description for it was loaded with superlatives. Supersteak ended up being one of the more clear disappointments in my 1987 garden. A late tomato with a first ripe picking at 85 days from transplant, I harvested but 13 tomatoes from the vigorous indeterminate plant, with an average of 13.5 ounces per fruit, giving a total of 11 pounds. The oblate, scarlet tomato had quite good flavor, B+, inferior to the similar Ultra Boy hybrid in all respects, and far inferior in yield and interest to most of the heirloom types included in my 1987 garden. I didn’t save seeds and never did return to it.

Tomato 17 - Big Girl F1 hybrid - This was another 1987 Burpee purchase, and a balanced garden dictated having both boys and girls represented! This variety graced my 1988 garden, one of 7 hybrids grown that year. It really was nothing all that particularly special, being an indeterminate plant producing scarlet tomatoes averaging 6.6 ounces. It was a midseason ripener, starting to bear fruit at 73 days. The plant yielded quite heavily, with 57 tomatoes, giving a total plant weight of 23.5 pounds. I rated the flavor a B - relatively ordinary, a serviceable red slicing tomato of no particular outstanding merit. I didn’t save seeds and never did return to it.

Tomato 18 - This is actually the original designation for my very first saved tomato seed, in 1986 - tomato 18 is the same as T86-01 in my collection (it took until 1991 before I modified my numbering system). T86-01 is actually from a volunteer in my 1986 garden that I suspect was Roma. The determinate growing bush produced typical plum shaped scarlet tomatoes.

Tomato 19 - This is the original designation for my second saved variety in 1986, Baxter Bush Cherry - T86-02. See the next entry.

Tomato 20 - Baxter Bush Cherry - I didn’t purchase this tomato; it came as a free packet of seeds in my 1986 seed order from Burpee. I decided to include it in my 1986 garden (this is the year prior to the beginning of my heirloom vs hybrid contest). I remember planting it in the front left corner, at a place that wasn’t receiving much water when we went on a vacation; when we returned home the plant looked half dead. It made a comeback when care resumed and produced a very heavy yield of typical scarlet cherry tomatoes. It had determinate growth habit, thus quite a concentrated fruit set. Alas, we didn’t find it particularly flavorful. I am surprised to see that Burpee continues to sell the variety! It could be that flavor would be better in a climate different from the one I tested it in. I did save seeds but never did grow it again. The seeds were labeled Tomato 19 (see just above), but it has since been relabeled saved tomato T86-02.

Happy reading - I do enjoy doing these. The next installment - Tomatoes 21-30 - will have some real heavy hitters, a set of tomatoes that are important to me to this day.

Marlin watching me as I blog. He sure knows how to pick his spots.

More time traveling, this time to the debut of the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project

Early July view - the driveway garden is in full swing in 2006!

Looking through old gardening pictures is great fun, and daunting (particularly with the ease of digital, and the way that they can really pile up!). It helps to have a focus. Last blog I covered my debut with a digital camera, 2002, and showed some of my first “tomato glamour” shots.

Here in 2022, I am embarking upon the 16th year of the Dwarf Tomato Breeding project. That is hard for me to fathom - time does fly when one is having fun (and eating well from the garden). The project had to start somewhere, and this blog is where it begins. The driveway in 2006 was where the initial set of indeterminate X dwarf hybrids made by Patrina in Australia were grown out for seed saving (it is with the saved seeds that dwarf hunting began, in 2007). I will stick to pictures to keep this blog of manageable length - the captions on the pictures will describe the variety and its lineage.

Pay no attention to the septoria and early blight attacking the foliage. These are the hybrid tomatoes on Bashful - the hybrid resulting from crossing Orange Strawberry with Golden Dwarf Champion. Patrina noted that she thinks it was not a clean cross, which subsequent offspring proved. This is why an orange X a yellow gave a red hybrid. Nothing of excellence emerged from this cross, probably due messy genetics because of rogue pollen. The tomatoes were in the 3 ounce range, round, red and very average in flavor, which really is of no consequence….the whole point is in moving forward to see what the flavors show in the dwarfs to be found.

If Doc looks a lot like Bashful, it is because there was a strong resemblance - medium sized round scarlet tomatoes of no great distinction flavor-wise. Doc was created by crossing Kellogg’s Breakfast with Budai Torpe (a small red fruited dwarf). The problem was that Kellogg had already apparently been crossed with Aker’s West Virginia - another dirty cross, so another mini project that didn’t work out as hoped. All dwarf plants resulting from growing out seed from these tomatoes was scarlet and ordinary in size and flavor.

Here is Dopey F1 hybrid, which represents a cross between the bicolored heart Orange Russian #117 with Golden Dwarf Champion. The hybrid fruit is medium sized, slightly oblate and a medium orange in color. Though quite a bit of work went in to exploring the dwarfs that resulted, only one was deemed good enough to stabilize, name and release - Dwarf Russian Swirl, a very nice medium to large oblate red/yellow swirled bicolor. For some reason, the heart shape from the indeterminate parent never made an appearance.

Here is Grumpy F1 - do you notice a trend? Many of our hybrids ended up giving medium sized scarlet fruit. Grumpy originated with Patrina’s cross between Black from Tula (a really nice Russian indeterminate purple tomato, similar in many respects to Cherokee Purple in outward appearance) and Budai Torpe. The scarlet color was as expected (red flesh and yellow skin being the dominant traits). The tomatoes were plentiful, nearly round, scarlet in color and fair to good in flavor. Grumpy ended up being a bit of a gold mine for early compact dwarfs, with the following as named, released varieties - Sleeping Lady, Dwarf Arctic Rose, Yukon Quest, Bundaberg Rumball, Iditarod Red, Clare Valley Red and Clare Valley Pink - releases out of one cross. Fruit size tends to be medium small to medium, maturity date is among the earliest of our dwarfs, they are quite prolific and flavor is just fine - not among the best, but very nice indeed.

Happy was one of the larger fruited of our new indeterminate X dwarf hybrids, which is not surprising. The parents are Paul Robeson (a good sized chocolate colored beauty) and New Big Dwarf (the largest fruited of the dwarfs to date, and pink in color, as well as delicious. I first read about it from a 1915 Isbell seed catalog from my collection, but a garden friend, Dave, noted it is from 1909 - see the link in his comment after this post). The scarlet color is actually not a surprise - the yellow skin of Paul Robeson over the red flesh of New Big Dwarf. Both parents tend to be irregular and oblate, and that is what the hybrid showed. The real surprise is in the flavor - this was one of the worst tasting of our starting hybrids, but led to some really delicious releases. An important lesson was therefore learned with this family. Releases from the Happy family are Tasmanian Chocolate (oblate medium sized early chocolate), Perth Pride (mid season medium small very tart purple), Boronia (medium sized tasty oblate purple), and Sweet Adelaide (medium to medium large smooth delicious pink). A few others never were completed, such as Tasmanian Red and Tasmanian Pink. My guess is that there are still nice things to be found from this cross.

Ripening Sleazy A on the plant

Sleazy A sliced - I had to show both, because this was one big tomato, as well as one delicious hybrid! The hybrid was created by Bruce Bradshaw (a California gardener) by crossing the purple indeterminate Carbon with New Big Dwarf (he actually messed up on one pollination, which resulted in Sleazy B - a smaller pink hybrid that used Dwarf Champion as the dwarf parent). The hybrid, as shown, came in at one pound or more, with delicious oblate pink tomatoes. Only one named variety made it to the finish line, but what a tomato it is - Dwarf Wild Fred, a truly delicious medium large purple with flavor very similar to Cherokee Purple. No releases emerged from Sleazy B.

Here’s Sleepy hybrid, another unimpressive medium sized red tomato that ended up being a real bonanza for some of our favorite dwarf releases. It also provided a color mystery. Sleepy came from Patrina’s cross between Stump of the World (a big potato leaf pink beauty with superb flavor) and the red dwarf Budai Torpe. Despite the boring scarlet hybrid, the joy emerged once we started dwarf hunting. Sleepy ended up leading to Rosella Purple (many people’s favorite tasting dwarf, a Cherokee Purple dead ringer), Rosella Crimson (whose flavor can often approach Brandywine), and Wilpena (a large red potato leaf variety that isn’t as well known as it should be). We have some named types that never did get finished up. The mystery - crossing a pink with a red….where did the purple come from! This represents the magic of tomato breeding and the chance of unlocking the genetics and having a recessive trait show itself when least expected!

Here is a pic of Sneezy F1 hybrid on the vine

And this is Sneezy cut open. The bright yellow tomatoes (with a bit of outer pink blush when very ripe) were in the 6-8 ounce range, smooth, nearly round, and just absolutely delicious. Sneezy came about when Patrina made the lucky decision to cross the spectacular potato leaf green slicer Green Giant with historic Golden Dwarf Champion. Out of this emerged a most remarkable set of some of our best flavored dwarf releases - the green fruited Dwarf Kelly Green, Dwarf Beryl Beauty, Dwarf Jade Beauty, Summertime Green and Dwarf Emerald Giant; the yellow fruited Dwarf Sweet Sue, Summer Sunrise, Summertime Gold, Barossa Fest and Summer Sweet Gold, and white Dwarf Mr. Snow - all in all, 11 of our creations came from this cross, and all are a joy to grow and eat.

Last comes Witty hybrid, bred by Patrina by crossing Cherokee Green with Budai Torpe - a yellow skinned, green fleshed indeterminate slicer with a small fruited red dwarf. The hybrid actually was one of the better tasting, with smaller, round scarlet tomatoes. Several of our underappreciated but really worthwhile releases came from Witty - the smaller, round fruited Kangaroo Paw Yellow, Kangaroo Paw Green and Kangaroo Paw Brown (Kangaroo Paw Red remains elusive - it keeps changing colors on us after we think it is stabilized), and the lovely slicing tomato Sean’s Yellow Dwarf, which I often suggest to people new to the dwarfs, for its reliability, earliness, flavor and beauty.

I hope you enjoyed going down Dwarf Tomato Project memory lane with me. The picture quality isn’t great and I didn’t have nearly as many prime shots as I hoped for. But they did serve the purpose in laying out how this all began.

Time traveling a bit - some garden pics from 2002, using my first digital camera

late June 2002 view of my garden - this was our 10th garden in Raleigh, prior to moving most of the tomatoes to the driveway.

I’ve never been a particularly good photo-documenter of my gardens. Prior to digital photography, there simply isn’t much at all that was captured. It really is a shame, particularly for the 1987-1990 stretch when I really took the deep dive into heirloom varieties.

2002 saw the very beginnings of growing in the driveway - this shows mostly peppers and eggplants.

The Nikon Coolpix purchased in 2002 meant more pictures, but not always the most timely and best organized. I didn’t always use the best size (meaning lower resolution), but in taking a tour through my 2002 pics, there are a few worthwhile things to share.

The real Red Brandywine - regular leaf, scarlet fruit, medium sized, nice smooth form

In 2002, my garden held 78 different varieties. Looking through the varieties, it is clear that many grown then continue to be my favorites - Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Chocolate, Ferris Wheel, Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Red Brandywine, Aker’s West Virginia, Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, Speckled Roman, Stump of the World, Lucky Cross, Nepal, Black from Tula, the Livingston varieties Favorite, Magnus and Golden Queen, Peak of Perfection, Burpee’s Matchless, and Anna Russian. Seeds saved that year are now 20 years old and I will likely try my hand at germinating some, though they are 4 years older than the oldest seeds I’ve managed to germinate.

Black from Tula

My first good picture of Cherokee Purple showing all of its characteristics

Druzba, a highly underrated, fine medium sized red tomato from Bulgaria

Livingston’s Favorite, from the 1890s, a very popular medium sized historic red variety rescued from the USDA germplasm collection

Ferris Wheel, from 1894, a Salzer variety I also rescued from oblivion, hiding in the USDA germplasm, now one of my favorite tomatoes.

The spectacular Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, potato leaf, late, showing its characteristic pink blush - core variety in my gardens since 1990.

Livingston’s Magnus - from 1900, showing exactly as shown in the old seed catalog - potato leaf, pink, medium sized, sweet and delicious. I grew it this year and loved it just as much.

Mexico Midget showing its tiny, pea sized fruit

Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter - this one was around 2 lbs, very characteristic.

Yellow Brandywine (which is actually orange) - big, oblate, and delightfully tart

That was fun to do - going down tomato memory lane, 20 years ago. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it!