Off The Vine Volume 1, Number 2 - first article - "C and C's Corner"

Page 1 of Off The Vine, Volume 1, number 2

Volume 1, Issue #2 is when we started a regular article in each newsletter called “C and C’s Corner” (for Carolyn and Craig, of course). We laid out the issue contents and also addressed some feedback and comments from prior issues. It surprises me, in reading these newsletters, how much ground we covered, and how much we packed in to each issue. This will be a fun and informative set of articles for you all to read (me too!)

__________

C&C’s Corner

(written by Carolyn with input from me, likely via some phone calls)

What a wonderful surprise to find so many folks interested enough in heirloom tomatoes to subscribe to our Off the Vine! As of mid-August we have about 150 subscribers. Since it should be fairly obvious that we have no budget for advertising, we thing that’s great. About 75% of you are SSE members and the rest of you responded after seeing Craig’s article in The Carolina Gardener, Carolyn’s article in a lovely new magazine called The American Cottage Gardener, the article in the Heritage Seed Magazine (Canada), both of our articles in The Tomato Club Newsletter (unfortunately no longer in business), or the announcement in Southern Exposure Exchange Seed Catalog. We’d like to have enough subscribers to be able to print the newsletter instead of xeroxing, but not too many such that we can’t handle it. We now have enough money to get Off the Vine computer typeset near Carolyn’s tomato patch and someone has offered to attempt the address labels, in the future, by computer. Thank Heavens for both of those development since Carolyn’s computer skills are limited to very basic WordPerfect for Windows!

It’s become clear from your letters that many of you are “new” to the fun of growing heirloom tomatoes and are asking for guidance relative to good varieties to grow, reassurance about saving your own seed, knowing how to tell when a seed sample is “pure”, how to hybridize tomatoes, what varieties do best where and all sorts of other topics. We hear you and will try to oblige. We expect our third issue to be out in December and have already decided on most of the articles. Again, we encourage you to let us know what you want to know and we encourage any of you who might wish to write an article to discuss it with us first to see if it “fits” with what we have in mind for Off the Vine. No, we don’t pay for articles and we don’t give free subscriptions; we want to remain on a friendly, low-key basis and have this newsletter be written by all of as equals in the name of THE TOMATO.

Let’s discuss the contents of this issue first, and then discuss the responses received to the question about reoffering of seeds through SSE, which was posed in the first issue. Our featured “tomato” person for this issue is Dr. Charles Rick of the University of California at Davis. His name will be new to many of you, but after reading Craig’s article about him I think it will be quite clear why we want you to know about him. We just hope, that when we reach our 80’s, we will still be going into the office every day as does Dr. Rick. Andrew F. Smith (aka Andy) is the author of a brief summary article on the early history of the tomato. Andy runs an educational consulting company and has written several books on various topics. I know many of you will be interested in his new book entitled The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture and Cookery, which will be available from the University of South Carolina Press this October. Seven year in the writing, this informative book can be ordered from the Press (1-800-768-2500 toll free). The ISBN number is 1-57003-000-6, and the price is $24.95 plus $3.50 for shipping. Carolyn has seen part of the chapter dealing with the purported medicinal qualities of the tomato and enjoyed and learned from it immensely. Andy has already started work on the sequel which will start with the period after the Civil War. Craig has written an article on the historically important varieties we obtained from the ISDA through the PC:GRIN program. Since some of these varieties were previously thought to have been extinct, and so stated in Craig’s article on historic varieties in Vol.I#1, we are both terrifically excited about this summer’s growouts. Since Carolyn’s garden is about one month behind Craig’s garden, we won’t have the final observations for you until next issue. As promised in the last issue Carolyn has written an article on her current favorites. This article was adapted and expanded from one that she wrote for the Tomato Club Newsletter which, unfortunately, is no longer being published. Many of the varieties cited are available only through SSE and that might pose a problem for some of our non-SSE members. Since future issues, we’re sure, will also mention varieties only available through SSE, we’ll have to give some thought to this problem. We would encourage any of you who have strong feelings about the preservation of heirloom fruits and vegetables to join SSE. An informational brochure is available for $1 (include SASE); membership is $25/year (Seed Savers Exchange, 3076 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101). There are also commercial sources for some of the varieties to be mentioned and we will give you a source list in the next issue.

In our first issue we discussed the fact that very few people were reoffering in the SSE Annual seeds that they had acquired from listed SSE members and that if that trend continued only a few listed SSE members would be preserving the bulk of heirloom varieties … not a good situation. A word of explanation to our non-SSE subscribers about the structure of SSE would be in order. All members of SSE pay $25 per year. About 1000 members elect to list and offer seeds through the Annual; they are called listed Members. About 8000 members do not offer seeds and they are called unlisted members. Currently, for tomatoes, listed members can order from each other for 50 cents per pack (bargain of the century!) and unlisted members can order from listed members for $1 per pack (bargain of the century!). In our experience the bulk of requests, obviously, come from unlisted members who, for a variety of reasons are not reoffering the seed and becoming listed members. Many seem to be using the Annual simply as a seed catalog and have no intention of becoming listed members. To those of us germinating, transplanting, planting, fertilizing, weeding, picking, fermenting seed and spending hours filling requests this is not a good situation. But there are many reasons why someone might not reoffer seed. We received several letters in response to our question and would like to share some of the responses with you.

Many folks said that they had not even considered reoffering seeds, didn’t realize it was a problem and planned to do so in the future. John Chambers of CA was equally forthright in stating that he didn’t have the time to do it. He’s retired from teaching, is active as a judge in the Odyssey of the Mind program, has extensive gardens and raises several thousand irises each year as a part of his breeding program. Denise Rifenbert of NY echoed a common theme in stating that she was concerned about purity of seed that she might send out. (We’ll address this issue soon. Eds.) Denise also mentioned that she DOES reoffer extra seeds in packets to others, so that, in a way they do get reoffered. Beth Crowder of NM suggested that it might make sense for Off the Vine readers to designate certain varieties as the ones to save in a certain year … an interesting idea. Summarizing the major themes it appears that the following are barriers to reoffering seed: 1) Not knowing about the option of reoffering, 2) Not realizing the importance of reoffering, 3) Concern about the isolation distances, 4) Concern about the purity of seed, 5) Not knowing how much seed to save and 6) Concern about seed isolation techniques. Numbers 1 and 2 might be addressed by a discussion in the SSE Annual; I (CJM) have written a letter to SSE asking that this be considered. Numbers 4 and 5 we can address in an upcoming article and #6 was addressed in our first issue.

Let me share with you some of the thoughts others had about increasing the reoffer rate. Jeff Fleming of MI was one of several who suggested that unlisted members pay a price for seeds considerably higher than that of listed members, thus increasing the incentive to be a listed member. This has been brought to the attention of SSE in the past by others. So far the price differential has remained the same; no doubt there is a reluctance to possibly discourage new and renewing memberships. It is our understanding that the pricing structure is currently under review. Chuck Wyatt of MD, a retired military man, suggested that instructions for seed saving be included in packets of seed sent out. That is certainly “doable”: What do you think? Would it help?

I (CJM) must confess that there was one response I favored. I won’t use the gentleman’s name, because I couldn’t reach him on the phone to obtain permission. In addition to starting that he “devoured” our first issue, and expressing concern about determining purity of saved seed, he went on to say that I sounded, “incidentally like my kind of wild woman, although you are ever so slightly more substantial than my wife of X years. If she ever dumps me (not likely), I’ll look you up.” I was flattered! His optimism in sending money for several years worth of Off the Vine was both encouraging and daunting at the same time!

Our NEXT QUESTION FOR YOU TO RESPOND TO deals with sharing with OTV readers WHAT your favorite heirloom tomatoes are and WHY they are your favorites. Lots of folks would like some guidance in this area of pickling good ones and you, the growers, are the logical ones to respond. Some readers have suggested doing this by geographic area, but I don’t think we have a large enough base to make that feasible at this time. So, write to Carolyn (address at the end of this article) and let us know what your FAVORITE LARGE PINK AND LARGE RED heirloom tomatoes are, why they are favorites and where seed can be obtained. We’ll get around to the other colors/shapes in a future issue. Since Carolyn’s phone bill is going out of sight (no, the tomato calls are not factored out and charged to OTV), we will feel free t publish what you write unless you state otherwise. Remember we want to make this newsletter interactive so YOUR RESPONSES ARE CRITICAL TO OUR GOAL OF SUBSCRIBER INVOLVEMENT!

Lastly, we’d like to give you an update on our summer 1994 growouts as of mid-August. Thus Craig has seen most, but not all of his varieties and Carolyn’s are just starting to ripen. Carolyn doesn’t plant out until after Memorial Day because of the inability to protect so many plants from frost and indeed, this year, there was a killing frost and indeed, this year, there was a killing frost on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. She is growing 152 varieties this year, and 33 kinds of peppers. But, practically nothing else got planted because of her encounter with three kidney stones, blockage and concerns about kidney failure. She underwent Lithotripsy (bursting up the stones with directed ultrasound) on an outpatient basis, and had an uneventful recovery. But the whole problem started in early May, the stones weren’t confirmed until after several ER visits in early June and lithotripsy was done at the earliest possible date on June 23. Nevertheless, crawling along the rows to plant, sometimes in less than good shape, she got them all in. on the other hand there were no carrots, beets beans, squash or anything else. Actually all she has are tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and melons. Oh well, there’s always next year. The growing season for her has been great, no irrigation needed since early June, and the “big ones” are turning now. of course prime interest is being paid to the USDA varieties mentioned elsewhere, but there are many new varieties she’s obtained from Latvia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia through contacts at work. She’ll have to defer discussion of her heirlooms until the next issue.

A report on Craig’s garden will be found in a separate article in this issue.

__________________

Craig’s comments on reading the above

Wow! There is a lot of information packed into the introduction column that Carolyn penned. It is so - well, HER - Carolyn’s personality, approach, points of view are never in doubt when one reads her writing. I was surprised to be reminded of the number of our subscribers (not bad at all!). I was surprised to be reminded of how “out there” each of us already were, in publications, seed catalogs, etc. I think that I have all of the the issues of Bob Ambrose’s Tomato Club newsletter somewhere, and may consider reproducing them in future blogs, once the Off The Vine articles are all posted.

I found it all really interesting. What a treat to be reading through these again! For those of you who subscribed, I hope you are enjoying these as well. For those who never heard of Off The Vine, or were hoping to get to read them some day - enjoy! And please, don’t pay much attention to addresses and costs of things above (as something that would be accurate today!).

Color appearing this morning - February 17 - and these crocus were not planted by us. I think that the squirrels and birds have been doing some of their own gardening in our yard.

I will be speaking at an event in Marion, NC on March 12 - see below for details

A local event! Be sure to register and join us on March 12

I know, I know - I’ve quit the road. Well, it turns out I’ve quit the road for getting onto planes and traveling to events. But this great opportunity arose, a chance to be among gardeners again, and share my tomato stories, an hour or so from my home - in Marion, NC. And so I will be there, for an event on March 12 (really! I messed up the day in my first shot at this blog - the poster above is correct!)- my tomato talk will be at 10:30. I will have my books, and some seeds.

After two years of Zooming and Instagram Live-ing, this will be a really nice change for me, the opportunity to share knowledge with gardeners, in person!

You can find out more here

And register here

For those in western NC or other intrepid souls from elsewhere that wish to make the sojourn…I hope to see you there!

Lake Julia, DuPont Forest, on February 12

My tomato collection tour - part 8. Tomatoes 81-90

A specimen of Polish, described below, tomato #89 in my collection

Tomato #100 from my collection is in sight! Let’s continue the trip through my seed numbers, vials and packets. Going down memory lane sure is interesting for me - hope it is for you as well.

_______________

Tomato 81 -Bisignano #2 - This is one of the stars of my tomato collection, obtained by SSE member Elaine Reidy of Massachusetts in 1988. She claims that the seeds came from a Mr. Bisignano, a finalist in the Victory Garden TV contest of 1984 (a show I used to watch often - Jim Crockett’s books were a foundation of my early garden library). They are supposedly from Italy in the 1950s. It was a star in my 1988 garden, with first ripe fruit in 67 days, a total harvest of 45 tomatoes averaging half a pound. The plant produced 23 pounds and the flavor was really excellent. A unique aspect is that the fruit shape varies from oblate/beefsteak to heart/plum, on the same plant. I love this one so much it was featured in my book, Epic Tomatoes. This is a tomato that although balanced in flavor allows the tartness to show. It’s perfect for slicing and eating as well as cooking/sauces.

Tomato 82 - Egg - This not particularly creatively named tomato was obtained from Gleckler in 1988 but I never did get around to growing it. It is a variety they carried since the late 1950s. The Gleckler catalog stated “Something altogether different than the ordinary tomato. An extremely heavy fruit setter, the size and shape of a medium-size chicken egg, and having only a very tiny stem scar. Fruits possess extremely high solids of blood-red color, with a very sweet delicious flavor. Maturity is mid-season, but bearing and ripening over a very long period. The fruits resist both cracking and sunburn, almost completely. This strain is one of the longest keeping tomatoes after ripe that we have ever seen. Medium size, indeterminate vines with quite heavy foliage. The old saying, "good thing come in small packages," certainly applies to this tomato.”

Tomato 83 - Winsall - This historic tomato has elevated itself in relevance to my hobby. It is a variety that was released by the Henderson Seed Company in 1924 with the name “Number 400”, with a contest launched to give it a name. It was supposedly a selection from their 1890s release Ponderosa (itself released as “Number 400” prior to a customer providing the eventual name). It is a curious name that I think would be more appropriate as “Wins All”, but it was their decision. When we sold seedlings in the late 1990s in Raleigh, it was one of the varieties we carried. An elderly gentleman was transfixed when he noted the plant tag, telling us that he thought the tomato was long gone, not having seen it since he was very young and gardening with his father. He came back to obtain seedlings from us for several years. I told this story at the outset of the 2016 taped Growing a Greener World episode, by Joe Lamp’l, and through that, I am often asked for seeds. I first grew it in 1993 and really enjoyed it - not my favorite regular leaf pink type (that would be Dester), but certainly better in flavor and performance than German Johnson. I grew it last year in a straw bale so it could be featured in the tomato course Growing Epic Tomatoes. It did just wonderfully, with a great yield of one pound average smooth oblate pink fruit - I rated it a solid 7.5.

Tomato 84 - Hunt Family Favorite - Obtained from SSE member Edmund Brown of Missouri in 1988, alas, I’ve never gotten to experience the true Hunt Family Favorite, described as a large pink tomato. I grew it in 1989, and though obviously crossed (it was an oval scarlet tomato), it was a garden standout. First fruit coming in at 57 days, the plant produced 57 tomatoes with an average weight of half pound - 29 pounds from that one plant, and the flavor was really full and special, receiving an A. I never did return to it again, and didn’t resume my search for the authentic pink strain. It supposedly dates to the Hunt family of Missouri in the early 1900s.

Tomato 85 - Valiant - I was sent this historic, early US commercial variety by Florida SSE member Gary Staley in 1988. Alas, I never did grow it. It is a Stokes Seed Company 1937 introduction. From that catalog description it is a determinate variety with relatively sparse foliage and maturity in season with Earliana. It is noted for being quite solid, nearly round, scarlet in color and averaging 6 ounces. It clearly was bred to be a commercially farmed variety to supply the tomato industry.

Tomato 86 - Purple Smudge - This rather weird-o tomato, which I never grew out, also came from Gary Staley. The name came from a phenomenon similar to what we see in the recent anthocyanin-rich varieties, the presence of a purplish pigment on the shoulders of fruit exposed to the sun. The seed was originally obtained from USDA germplasm, into which it was donated in 1962. The parentage is quite complex, but the purple shoulder smudge apparently came from one of the parents, a Lyco. Peruvianum - a different species of the tomato.

Tomato 87 - Golden Oxheart - The third of the Gary Staley tomatoes sent to me in 1988, this was actually a tomato I really enjoyed in my early tomato gardening. I grew it in 1989, and the first tomatoes were harvested in 77 days. The plant was on the compact side, and I picked 27 tomatoes at an average weight of 9 ounces, giving a plant yield of 15 pounds. I enjoyed the full, balanced flavor and rated it an A. The fruits were typically smooth and round. Gary got the seeds from Fax Stinnett of Oklahoma in 1982. I didn’t see a heart-shaped nature in the fruit, and the plant didn’t have the weepy foliage characteristic of heart shaped varieties. The closest tomato in color and shape of my knowledge is the Jubilee/Sunray types. No matter, the tomato was delicious. Writing this reminds me to seek it out again so that I can experience it again. The last time it was in my garden was 1993, and it is doubtful nearly 30 year old seed will germinate.

Tomato 88 - Stone - This tomato was also sent to me by Edmund Brown. Stone is a historic variety, released by the Livingston Seed Company in 1889. I didn’t get to grow it until 1991. I recall an indeterminate plant with radial-crack-prone scarlet fruit that were on the small side - 3-4 ounces. My expectations of Stone. Victory Seeds reports tomatoes in the 6-8 ounce range from seed I sent Mike - it is time to get some seed back and give it another try. Another source would be the USDA germplasm collection, which does carry a sample. I have no recollection of the flavor from that 1991 attempt.

Tomato 89 - Polish - Here is a true superstar tomato. This really is about as good as a tomato can be, and I’ve always considered this to be as flavorful as Brandywine, but with a more consistent performance year to year. I requested the variety from Bill in 1989 and grew it in that year’s garden in Pennsylvania - and many others in between, in Raleigh - and the last two years here in Hendersonville. First, the 1989 performance data…first fruit harvested in 73 days, with 23 tomatoes at an average weight just under one pound, nearly 23 pounds from the plant with a solid A in flavor. A few things set Polish apart. When the first true leaves emerge, they are the most distinct, rounded, potato leaf form I’ve seen. It is such a happy, vigorous seedling. The variety seems to be happy with a range of conditions, excelling in all of my gardens. Bill obtained a seedling of this variety from a roadside stand in Trenton, New Jersey. The seeds came from Agnes Lynn of Conyngham, Pennsylvania, and was said to have originated in Poland. Though a pink tomato (red flesh, clear skin), I actually found it listed in the “red” section of the SSE yearbook. Many gardeners use the terms “red” and “pink” incorrectly, and I am convinced different people see those two colors quite differently. As for the flavor…it has it all - it has everything - tartness, sweetness, intensity, complexity, as well as the most enticing juicy texture.

Tomato 90 - Old Brooks - This was another Edmund Brown sourced seed in 1988. I have some data on my 1989 grow out of the variety in my West Chester, PA garden. Producing first fruit in 69 days, I harvested 19 tomatoes at an average weight of 11 ounces. The 12.7 pound plant yield is on the low side, and I recall this being quite a small plant. The scarlet oblate tomatoes did have a nice, balanced flavor and received an A-. It seems to have entered the SSE in 1984 by a member with the name code MS FO C.

___________

Some real favorites emerged from this group. Only a few went ungrown. I also learned about the possibility of receiving crossed or incorrect seeds, with my result from Hunt Family Favorite. But….Polish! I can’t imagine a summer going by without this gem in my garden. Thanks, Bill Ellis!

The next set, which will take us to Tomato #100 (actually it will take us to #102, because a few numbers in this set were used for saved seed), has a few really important ones, such as Whopper hybrid, the historic Chalk’s Early Jewel, and the spectacular yellow monster Hugh’s.

Once I reach that century mark, I will take a pause and do a highlight post to summarize my feelings about reviewing the first 100 tomatoes of my now out-of-control, huge, seed collection.

Marlin and Betts resting after their hike at DuPont

Final article from "Off The Vine", Volume 1, Number 1. "Fax Facts" - an interview of Faxon Stinnett by Carolyn

Back page of our first issue of Off The Vine. With this blog, the entire issue is now posted.

This may be where the true treasures in Off The Vine reside - the interviews Carolyn and I did with prominent tomato folks. Faxon Stinnett was one of those foundational SSE members that brought so much character, and so many wonderful varieties, into the annual SSE yearbooks which ended up in so many gardens. Here’s Carolyn’s interview.

____________

Fax Facts

Carolyn

Fax Stinnett is one of our pioneer SSE tomato growers.  When I interviewed him by phone in late July he had just come inside from tending the 85 varieties (about 200 plants) he’s growing this year and was prepared to settle in by the air conditioner for the rest of the hot Oklahoma afternoon.  I had talked with Fax before and we had exchanged a few letters, but on that Saturday morning in July we had a chance to talk in more detail.

Fax was born in Arkansas in 1907, named Faxon after a hero in a novel, and he and his family moved to Oklahoma in 1910.  He is the oldest of eight brothers and sisters, five of whom are still alive.  Taking after his grandmother and father Fax became a teacher.  He passed his teacher certification exam after graduating from high school and initially taught in rural one room schools.  By the time he retired in 1971 he was the Principal of the local high school.  He and his wife Mary celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 25, 1993; they raised 2 boys and a girl, all now in their 50s.  Their daughter lives “within shouting distance” from them on the 10 acre plot he and Mary have occupied for the last 51 years.

Gardens have been a part of Fax’s life for 81 of his 86 years!  He clearly remembers responding to an “ad” for the SSE in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix in 1978 and attended the first SSE Campout in 1981 when Diane and Kent were still in Missouri.  There were seven SSE members present.  Fax remembers Dale Anderson (from Indiana), Auburn Cooper and Virgil Johnson (both from Kansas), Russell Crow (from Illinois), Tom Knoche (from Ohio) and Al Razor of Iowa.  He and Mary are still in touch with some of those folks and it’s clear that to them, the SSE friends they’ve made over the years are very special friends.

The first “Yearbook” or SSE Annual that Fax received listed each member’s offerings next to his/her name.  His first offering was Little Yellow, a small yellow tomato that appeared as a volunteer.  His tomato collection grew over the years to about 400 total varieties of which he was offering about 100 per year in the yearbook.  In the past few years he’s planted less (200 plants is less?) because of “advancing” age.  But other than an occasional aspirin and eye drops for glaucoma he says his health is pretty good.  Recently he’s made a master list describing in detail all 400 or so of his varieties.  He gave copies to a few close tomato friends and also to the SSE which has samples of all of his varieties.  He enthusiastically praised Beth Rotto of the SSE for her efforts.  A few years ago he started the transfer of his collection to a man whom Fax expected would grow and reoffer the seeds through the SSE.  This has not happened and clearly Fax is disappointed.

Other tomato friends he spoke of often during our conversation were Gary Staley (Florida) and Thane Earle (Wisconsin), both still active in the SSE, and Don Branscomb, who has not been a member for 2 years and whose present location is not known.

Of course I had to ask Fax for his favorites.  He prefers pinks and immediately mentioned Brandywine and Arkansas Traveler as two of his favorites.  Fax is not an heirloom tomato “purist”.  He grows some hybrids, like Better Boy, because they are good, and experiments with newer ones to see how they do in his garden.  He grows some of his plants in metal cages but most of them are tied up along both sides of a metal fence (hog wire) 3 ft apart along the fence and 1 ft apart on opposite sides of the fence; the opposites are of the same variety.  He fertilizes with 10-20-10, usually twice, and also uses a foliar feed.  He and Mary can tomato juice and whole tomatoes but I have a hunch they give away a lot of produce, tomatoes included!  While Fax tends the vegetables, Mary grows a wide variety of flowers; I’ll bet they are spectacular.

Fax says that their association with the SSE over the years has been wonderful and I know I speak for many SSE members in thanking Fax and Mary for part contributions and wishing them continued good health and happiness in the years ahead.

____________

Craig’s thoughts upon reading this for the first time on a long time

Here are a few thoughts and a bit more information after reading this interview for the first time in a very long time. His full name was Orville Faxon Stinnett, born in Reed, Arkansas on August 28, 1907. Fax died in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on May 25, 2004, at the age of 96. His wife, Mary Elizabeth, died in 1996.

I requested seeds from Fax twice - in 1989, requesting Big Ben, Greater Baltimore and Long Tom, and 1994, requesting Mexican Beefsteak and Mexican Beefsteak Pole. I also had a nice correspondence with him about Abraham Lincoln, the authentic version of which he was also searching for. It was he that notified me that a conversation with someone at Shumway confirmed that the true strain was lost to the company.

A few years after joining the SSE I made the trip to Decorah to attend the summer Campout. Though I didn’t get to meet Fax, I did get to make acquaintance with quite a few other SSE members that joined quite early on and had impressive seed collections. It was such a special event, and was very important to all that transpired in my gardening world since.

Since this blog post is the conclusion of the article-by-article blog series of Volume 1, Issue 1, I hope that those of you who are reading these are getting as much joy from them as I am, being reunited with our printed words and thoughts from decades ago. I will begin posting articles from Volume 1, Issue 2 next week!

Mid February sunset from our deck in Hendersonville

40 Years Ago! A peek into the 1982 SSE Yearbook

Very unique, very quaint!

Having access to all of the Seed Savers Exchange yearbooks (1975 up to the one that just arrived in my mail a few days ago) is something I treasure. Divining all of the amazing horticultural history from them could keep one busy for many lifetimes.

The yearbooks were packed away for our move from Raleigh to Hendersonville, and I just found the box that had the real oldies inside. The very first yearbooks didn’t have a separate list of varieties - just the special name and location code, alphabetically by state, followed by the various things offered.

I just noted that the 1982 SSE Yearbook added an index of seeds by type. This is also, fortuitously, exactly 40 years ago. In 1982, the SSE was 7 years old, and the gardening public was 33 years removed from the launch of Burpee’s Big Boy tomato, the very first highly popularized and widely grown hybrid tomato. In a way, its popularity paved the way for an increasing focus on hybrid varieties and a parallel reduction in non-hybrid listings in American seed catalogs.

I thought it would be fun to poke through the tomato listings to see what sorts of things were being traded about in 1982. The focus will be on (now) well known family heirlooms that likely owed their continued existence to the creation of the SSE.

Big Ben (or Stump of the World), Brandywine, Bulgarian Triumph, Dinner Plate, Dutchman, Dwarf Champion, Evergreen, German Giant, German Johnson, German Pink, Giant Belgium, Glesener’s, Golden Dwarf Champion, Goldie, King Excel, Mammoth German Gold, Mortgage Lifter, Peron, Pineapple, Ruby Gold, Sabre, Stone, Tasty Evergreen, Watermelon Beefsteak, White Princess, Winsall and Yellow Ponderosa.

Leroy Schmidbauer of New Jersey was looking for two very old varieties now thought to be extinct - Fejee and Cook’s Favorite.

There was a pretty hefty list of “No Name” varieties, sometimes with colors indicated - 9 of them. 8 tomatoes started with the word “German”.

In all, about 260 tomatoes were listed - either as available, or as varieties being searched for by SSE members.

part of the dense, heavily coded tomato section of the 1982 SSE Yearbook

As far as listed members, some pretty familiar names grace the pages, such as Gary Nabhan (Arizona), Tom Butterworth (Connecticut), Glenn Drowns (Idaho), Russell Crowe (Illinois), Dale Anderson (Indiana), Howard Cory (Iowa), Clarice Cooper (Kansas), Will Bonsall (Maine), Dorothy Beiswenger and Frank Morrow (Minnesota), Virgil Johnson (Missouri), Jim DeWeese (Ohio), Tom Knoche (Ohio), Barbara Lund (Ohio), Alexander Pal (Ohio), Carl Barnes (Oklahoma), Faxon Stinnett (Oklahoma), John Rahart (Wyoming), Lars-Olov Rosenstrum (Sweden). Since joining the SSE in 1986, I’ve had the pleasure of correspondence with some of these wonderful gardeners, requesting and sending seeds. Yellow Brandywine, one of my very favorites, came from Barbara Lund.

The yearbook has more than just member info and seed listings. The early years of the SSE saw the yearbooks being used for brief articles on all things seed. It is a fascinating read. A few examples are found below.

More than anything else, reading through this reminds me of simpler times. There was no social networking, no email - just hand written (or typed, but definitely mailed) letters. (((sigh)))

My tomato collection tour - part 7. Tomatoes 71-80

Fully loaded Red Robin from 2006

Hey - we are fast approaching the first 100! Let’s continue.

_______________

Tomato 71 - Peron - This tomato received a glowing description in the Gleckler catalog (they are the company that introduced it). They described it as a “sprayless” tomato, meaning tolerant or resistant to issues that trouble tomatoes - hence no need to spray! The Gleckler 1958 seed catalog states “A miraculous variety developed by Prof. Abelardo Piovano at the National University of Argentina. Medium size semi-determinate bushy vines are very resistant to fungus diseases common to tomatoes. Foliage is semi-dense. A very heavy yielder of large size, slightly flattened globular fruits of the most extraordinary quality. Interior of fruits very solid and meaty, without any core. Very small and numerous seed cells, form a perfect fruit structure. Ripens to a beautiful deep red color over the entire fruit without green or yellow shoulders. Its tough, velvety-smooth skin is very crack resistant and easily peeled without immersing in hot water, a rarity not found in other varieties. Flavor is mildly acid and of a most delicious taste. Fruits keep exceptionally long after ripening. The Peron tomato is called sprayless because it will produce a normal crop of quality fruit in most areas without any disease control. No other tomato was ever introduced that received so many voluntary complimentary reports and we have them by the hundreds. No other tomato ever introduced has shownsuch wide adaptability. These reports have come from practically every state, in areas where they were unable to grow any other strains. It performs wonderfully in the tropics where fungus diseases get out of hand. From Alaska we have a report it is wonderful in the greenhouse. Its drought resistance is terrific”. I did grew Peron in 1988, seed purchased directly from Gleckler. What is odd is that I completely forgot that I grew it - the data I have is that it started to ripen in 74 days from transplant, I picked 17 tomatoes at an average weight of 7.5 ounces, giving a total plant weight of only 7.9 pounds. I seemed to like the flavor, giving it an A-, but I do wonder if the plant had disease issues. I’ve not grown it since.

Tomato 72 - Glesener - Also known as John-Vesta (after John and Vesta Glesener), I requested this variety from SSE member MA LY W - William Lyons of Massachusetts - in 1988. It is one of the potato leaf pink beefsteak types. Glesener was a member of my 1988 garden, providing first ripe fruit in 85 days from transplant, making it a late tomato. I harvested 25 oblate pink fruit at an average weight of 9.9 ounces. The plant yield was therefore 15.6 pounds. I liked the flavor, giving it an A-. I’ve seen the SSE listing having the original source as John Glesener of Iowa in 1979. I’ve also seen the variety listed as Glesener 1912. Like all large pink potato leaf varieties, they likely originated with the late 1800s variety Mikado, introduced by the Henderson Seed Company.

Tomato 73 - Prudens Purple - I grew this variety several times, the first of which in my 1989 garden, which contained a lot of heirlooms. With tomatoes coming in at 72 days, it is indeed a fairly early variety for such a large tomato. I harvested 18 fruit at an average weight of 13.6 ounces, so the plant yielded a little over 15 pounds of nice tomatoes that received a flavor score of A-. There is no clear history for this variety, and a listing in the 1986 SSE yearbook spells this out. George McLaughin obtained seeds from an elderly man in Charleston Illinois in a packet labeled “Prudence Purple”. It is thought to be a misspelling. It seems to have also been made available via a Gardens For All (a defunct gardening magazine) ad. As with Glesener, this is a tomato that may have originated in the late 1800s with the Henderson variety Mikado.

Tomato 74 - Roma - I purchased the seeds from Burpee in 1988, but the variety never did make it into my garden. This is probably the classic determinate growing paste tomato. San Marzano was one of the parents that went into the breeding in the 1950s. The 1958 Gleckler catalog states “A very important new tomato development at the Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland. Final selection came from progenies of crosses of San Marzano, Pan American and Red Top. Vine and fruit characteristics resemble Red Top, but much more productive and slightly larger San Marzano type fruit. There has been great need in the past for a wilt resistant paste tomato in areas where infestations of fusarium wilt has been a problem. Roma fruit ripens evenly to a deep red color. Interior is extremely high in solids, making it excellent for processing whole, for manufacture of pulp or fortifying soup stocks. The mild flavor, few seeds and solid paste type flesh make Roma fine for home use in fresh eating and salads.” I have to disagree with that past part about it being fine for fresh eating. It’s simply too dry, and too bland for my taste.

Tomato 75 - Long Keeper - Another Burpee purchase in 1988, and another variety I’ve yet to grow. Varieties with long shelf life have been listed in US catalogs under various names for many years. The Burpee version apparently came from a customer who used amateur breeding in their garden to create this variety and submitted a seed sample to Burpee in the 1970s. Reports are that the flavor isn’t particularly impressive, but the long shelf life means that at least fresh tomatoes from the garden of some sort can be consumed long after harvest. I think I’ll pass!

Tomato 76 - Red Robin - Seed was purchased from Stokes in 1988. This was my first experience with growing a so-called micro dwarf variety, happily producing small scarlet cherry tomatoes even when grown in 6 inch containers. I grew it in 1998, and at various times in my gardening years. It is a novelty, cute, reasonably productive, but flavor is fair at best.

Tomato 77 - Big Pick F1 hybrid - This fine tomato received its trial in my 1988 garden. With first tomatoes harvested at 72 days, I picked 44 nearly globe shaped scarlet tomatoes at an average weight of 6 ounces. The total plant weight was therefore 16.4 pounds, and I really liked the flavor, giving it an A - one of the better flavored hybrids of my three year hybrid vs heirloom trial.

Tomato 78 - Thessaloniki - I purchased this variety from Gleckler in 1988, it being one of their specialties. I’ve yet to grow it. The listing in the 1958 Gleckler catalog is as follows: “A wonderful new strain recently developed at the Ministry of Agriculture Experiment Farm in Greece. A cross of early Thessaloniki and late Thessaloniki, mid-season in maturity. Vine growth indeternimate heavy, with dense foliage. Plant health throughout the season is very good, carrying considerable resistance to fungus diseases. Most amazing is its characteristic of producing practically all uniform size, deep globular fruits about the size of a baseball. Very beautiful, smooth, with perfect blossom ends. Small and rough-shaped fruits are a rarity. Skin is very tough, highly resistant to cracking, Ripens to a beautiful scarlet color, uniformly over the entire fruit. Its solid fleshy interior is mildly flavored and fruits keep very well after ripening. Adapted for staking and we value it a very important market or home garden strain. Reports of trials with Thessaloniki say "nothing more could be asked for in tomatoes”

Tomato 79 - Evergreen - This is one unique tomato that is truly delicious. I purchased the seed from Gleckler in 1988, but did not get to grow it until 1991. I don’t have the detailed records of those tomatoes grown between 1986-1988, so this is stretching my memory. Evergreen is a medium sized very oblate tomato that has very thick, vigorous growth. The fruit have a tendency to produce odd shapes and catface. The flesh is a true medium green, and the skin yellow when the fruit is ripe. The flavor is just delicious, as most green fleshed types seem to be. Ben Quisenberry had a tomato called Tasty Evergreen in his collection, which found its way into SSE trades in the late 1970s/1980s. Gleckler listed the tomato Evergreen in the 1958 catalog. It is a variety well worth growing, for sure.

Tomato 80 - White Beauty - Here is a tomato I purchased twice, yet haven’t managed to grow it yet. White tomatoes were listed as far back as the 1860s (Large White Sugar), but there is an actual listing for this variety in the 1920 Isbell catalog stating “Albino or White Beauty tomato. Wonders of wonder, at last a white tomato! For years it has seemed impossible to propagate a pure white tomato of good quality, but the impossible has now been accomplished. The new White Beauty contains absolutely no acid and so will make tomatoes agreeable to thousands of people who heretofore had to avoid them. It is of ivory white color, and the flesh is almost paper white. It grows about as large as Stone”. USDA studies disproved the statement about the low acid; the mild flavor is due to elevated sugars. I purchased seed from both Gleckler and Seeds Blum. As we will see, I did eventually grow a white tomato obtained from the USDA collection - White Queen.

___________

So, we are now only 20 from covering the first 100 varieties in my collection. The next 10 have some real long time favorites. Stay tuned and keep reading!

Yellow White, from 2005, very likely what White Beauty looks like. I wanted to show a white when ripe tomato.

More from "Off The Vine", Volume 1, Number 1. "Saving Seeds" by Carolyn

The article on seed saving by Carolyn, transcribed below, with comments prior to and after by me

The next two articles to be posted are by Carolyn Male. The first, in this blog, transcribed below, details her methods for saving tomato seeds. Reading it is just like having a phone chat with her, something we did often. Those that know her - and me - probably only imagine the length of those phone calls!

_______________

Saving Seeds

Carolyn

When filling SSE requests the three most common questions I’m asked are (1) cross-pollination and isolation distances (see Jeff McCormack’s article in this issue) (2)  how to save seeds (see this article), and (3) my favorite tomatoes (future articles!).

Step 1 in saving seeds is to cut your fingernails!  I know this may sound odd but the seeds can get caught under your fingernails and then get washed off into the next variety you are processing thus contaminating the seed you’re processing.  Select firm, ripe fruit from several vines of the same variety and be sure to include a range of fruit sizes; don’t save just the “big” ones.  It’s OK to process fruit that is a bit “over the hill”.  If frost is expected and you MUST save seed from some varieties remember that a tomato that has any color on it will have mature seed.  If you are saving seed just for yourself I don’t see any problem with just scooping out some seeds and drying them.  But if you’re going to offer seed to other SSE members it would be best to process them by fermentation because (1) you get a lot of seed, (2) you eliminate viruses and bacteria which cause tomato diseases, and (3) you end up with fuzzy, squeaky clean seeds which are free of skin, pulp and dirt.

I’m going to describe the method which works best for me; feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you.  I buy 1 lb clear plastic deli containers from the local supermarket; clear containers are best because you can monitor the fermentation process.  Label a container with tape stating the variety name.  Squeeze enough pulp/seeds into the container until it is ¾ full.  Wash your hands thoroughly between filling each of the containers so you don’t carry over seeds and contaminate the next batch.  Place the open containers out of the sun either indoors or out where “critters” won’t tip them over and where fruit files and the anticipated “ripe” odor won’t bother anyone.  Depending on the tomato variety and temperature you’ll usually see a mat of white wrinkled fungus form on the surface of the pulp within a few days and you’ll see bubbles forming under the fungus which indicates the fermentation process has started.  Some folks stir each mixture daily (beware of the contamination between containers), but I don’t stir.  Fermentation is a process which occurs beset in the absence of oxygen and I feel that stirring induces oxygen.  The acid conditions developed from the fermentation are felt to kill most of the virus pathogens and fungus is felt to produce antibiotics which kill most of the bacterial pathogens.  After about 3 to 5 days the seeds have separated from the pulp and have sunk to the bottom or are only loosely attached to the pulp.

Now I’m ready to process this mess! First I directly label (no tape) paper plates with the variety name; Styrofoam plates are not good because they don’t absorb water well from the wet seeds you’ll be putting on the plates.  Then I sit down with a large bucket between my legs and a hose with a pistol grip handle by my left hand (I’m right handed).  Pour off the top layer of pulp and fungus into the bucket; yes, you’ll lose some seeds.  Now spritz some water into the container while swirling with your right hand.  The good seeds will sink and you can pour off the pulp, skin and other debris.  You’ll need to sprtiz, swirl and decant several times until the water is clear.  Drain off the water and dump the seeds onto a labeled paper plate, spreading the seeds around with your finger so there’s only one layer of seeds.  Seeds dumped in a pile may germinate if the weather is damp because fermentation also removes a germination inhibitor.  For heavens sake don’t site under the maple tree with plates of seeds on a windy day or off they’ll go into the wild blue yonder!  Trust me, I’ve done it!  The amount of seed  you get is most dependent upon the variety of tomato, seedy or not, but is also dependent on how efficient the fermentation process was in releasing seeds from their gel capsule and the pulp.  For a tomato like Opalka, a long paste type, I may have to do 3 or 4 containers because the variety has so few seeds.

Dry the seeds in a protected area away from the sun.  I use an empty bedroom which becomes decorated with plates.  I almost forgot, don’t stack the plates with wet seeds because the seeds stick to the plate above them.  The seeds usually are dry in a week or so.  And you should know that mice LOVE tomato seeds so beware!  After the seeds are completely dry, I put them in small screw cap vials.  I use a different color take each year to label the vials.  Jeff McCormack has given some additional ideas for how to keep the seeds under low humidity conditions, which is important if you’ll be keeping the seeds for several years.

That’s how I save my tomato seeds. Some folks use a sieve to separate the pulp from the seeds after fermentation; that method has not worked well for me, but it has worked well for Craig.  Fermentation of seeds is a bit messy and smelly, but if you’re going to share seeds with others it would be nice to share clean disease-free seeds.  I would estimate that in any given year 90% of the seed I receive has been fermented.  I hope the above will be helpful to the many SSE members who have been hesitant to list varieties and become listed members because of not knowing how to ferment the seed.  In 1993 I sent out over 1000 packets of seed.  I know from experience that less than 5% of that seed will be reoffered.  If that trend continues, much of the SSE collection will end up being reoffered by a very few members; that is not a desirable situation.  But we will discuss that issue elsewhere in this newsletter.

__________________

Craig’s comments upon reading - the 2022 view

There is so much wisdom, and some accurate prognostication, going on in Carolyn’s article. She pleads for everyone growing OP varieties to save seeds - it isn’t difficult, is extremely rewarding, and provides lots of seeds to share, donate to seed libraries, and grow on into the future.

The other huge point is the very last bit - the extremely low of seed reoffer rate in the SSE yearbook from seeds sent out. When we were doing this newsletter, Carolyn and me, a few others such as Gary Staley, Calvin Wait, Edmund Brown, Glenn Drowns, Will Bonsall (not an exhaustive list!) held significant tomato variety collections offered through the SSE yearbooks, and just speaking for me, the number of requests were overwhelming, yet rewarding. However, I confirm what Carolyn said - there was a very low reoffer rate. The way I put this into context is to realize that the SSE has been going since 1975…sitting here in 2022, that’s 47 years. In all that time, the maximum number of SSE members offering back seeds in the yearbook was barely over 1,000. Heirloom tomato growing, seed saving - this type of gardening will likely always be a niche activity. It is also vital to keeping these treasured varieties alive and growing and being shared and loved.

I use SSE yearbooks to raise my laptop for Zooms and podcasts! Definitely multi-use, treasured items!

The snow is melting, and my 2022 garden planning continues...

Marlin and Koda - looking at Marlin’s ghostly doppelganger, perhaps?

Let’s take a break from my Seed Collection and Off The Vine blog series and get serious about my 2022 garden plans. I will be starting seeds in a month, so this is certainly timely.

Here goes! To put this in perspective, I had 109 tomato plants and dozens of pepper and eggplants. The plan below represents the first major reduction in garden size in decades.

10 straw bales for tomatoes, 2 tomatoes per bale (not specific as to which tomato in which bale yet!).

The 20 indeterminate tomatoes.

Cherokee Purple - flavor favorite

Cherokee Chocolate - flavor favorite

Cherokee Green - flavor favorite

Polish - flavor favorite

Lucky Cross - flavor favorite

Captain Lucky - been on my list for years - a find from Lucky Cross sent by a friend

Estler’s Mortgage Lifter - searching for the real deal, trying seed from Neil Lockhart

Yellow Family heirloom, sent to me this off season

“Mary’s Heirloom” - family heirloom sent to me off season

“World War II” - family heirloom sent to me off season (maybe)

JD Special C Tex, potato leaf variant, sent to me off season (maybe)

Glory F1 hybrid which I created on film last year - Dester X Dwarf Gloria’s Treat

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom F2 - potato leaf selection (3 of them)

Blue’s Bling X Polish F2, potato leaf variegated selections (2 of them)

Blue’s Bling X Little Lucky F2, potato leaf variegated selections (3 of them)

The two with “maybe” above could end up substituted with other varieties. We shall see.

5 gallon grow bag - 1 in front of each of the 15 bales - 15 tomatoes

Lilly family (Lillian’s Yellow X Speckled Heart) F2 dwarf selections, potato leaf (3 plants)

Lucky family (Lucky Cross X Buddy’s Heart), F2 dwarf selections, potato leaf (2 plants)

Blingy family (Blue’s Bling X Dwarf Mocha’s Cherry), F2 dwarf selections with variegation and antho (2 plants)

Moby family (Cancelmo Family X Moby’s Cherry) - F2 dwarf selection (1 plant)

Crossy family (Lucky Cross X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (1 plant)

Plummy family (Lillian’s Yellow X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (2 plants)

Donny family (Don’s Double Delight X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (2 plants)

Misty family (Mr. Snow X Mocha’s Plum), F2 dwarf with potato leaf and antho (if I can find it!) (1 plant)

Dwarf Coastal Pride (my garden friend Mike thinks this needs to be in my garden - so, here it is!)

Again - substitutions could happen depending upon germination results. It is clear that the focus this year is on finding interesting things from recent crosses.

5 gallon grow bag - 2 next to the bean and squash bale group - 4 tomatoes

Suzy F4 dwarf with fuzzy pink fruit (1 plant)

Fuzzy purple fruit (1 plant)

Fuzzy pink fruit (1 plant)

Variegated Micro (1 plant)

The last three above may be switched out - they can go into grow bags in a different location.

5 gallon pots near the driveway area fence - these are all cherry types, most sent by garden friends as unusual finds - 8 tomatoes

Egg Yolk potato leaf

Egg Yolk red fruited variant

Fruit yellow cherry

Fruity orange cherry

Suzy’s Wild Red

Suzy’s, orange variant

Sun Gold hybrid - flavor favorite

Egg Yolk - flavor favorite

The above adds up to 47 tomatoes - 28 indeterminate, 16 dwarfs and 3 ???

Five straw bales for eggplants and peppers (5 of each)

I will focus on my Orient Express and Islander selections for these.

This will prove to be a very interesting set of plants. There will be less sure things, however!

Marlin looking for attention in the morning (as usual)

My tomato collection tour - part 6. Tomatoes 51-70

This is where I jumped deeply in to the SSE - my treasured 1986 Yearbook

Let’s proceed. The numbers look funny because quite a few in this span were used for saved seed - it will be clear which. Read on!

Tomato 51 - Better Boy F1 hybrid - This was probably the first tomato I grew in my gardens, back in 1981, in West Lebanon New Hampshire just after marrying Sue. I purchased the seedlings at a local plant nursery. The plants grew well, and the large scarlet tomatoes were delicious. Big Boy was the first famous hybrid, created by Burpee and first sold in 1949. John Peto was a breeder for Burpee, but he left to start his own company, Petoseeds, and Better Boy emerged out of that new company. Supposedly Big Boy arose from a cross between a large regular leaf pink heirloom type and a popular red tomato of the mid 1940s, such as Rutgers. Better Boy may have arose from a similar cross, a large pink with a medium or large red. I never did grow out saved seeds to see what I would get. All I know is that it was essential to include it in my heirloom vs hybrid competition, and I grew it in my 1988 garden from seeds purchased from Crosman as a packet at the nursery. Interestingly, Crosman has been a seed company since 1838. Their current website shows a selection of only 7 tomato types, including old standbys Beefsteak, Marglobe, Rutgers and Jubilee. For a large tomato, Better Boy yields quite early; in my case, fir fruit were picked in 67 days. I harvested 47 tomatoes at an average weight of 7.1 ounces, for a total weight of 20.8 pounds. Of course, it was delicious, and did rate an A. Perhaps it was the nostalgia of my first gardens. I do wish I had purchased it from a more reliable source, as the fruit seemed smaller than they should have been. Oddly, as much as Better Boy was a foundational variety for my gardening adventures, I’ve not returned to it since.

Tomato 52 - Trip - L - Crop - This was purchased as a Crosman packet in 1987. I’ve no idea why I decided to buy it, except it was described as an enormous yielder in a few of the tomato books I used for reference. Historically, there is a lot of conflicting info. Burgess, in 1938, lists a new variety, “Climbing Tomato”, regular leaf, large fruited and red. It was first called “Climbing Trip-L-Crop” in 1939. It was listed as “crimson”, so is likely a pink tomato. It is often listed as potato leaf, but also noted as a selection from their tomato “Colossal”, itself likely a selection of “Ponderosa”. Clear as mud, right?

Tomato 53 - Super Italian Paste - I ordered this from Seeds Blum in 1988. Sadly, I never did grow it. From looking at descriptions and pictures, it seems like an Opalka-type tomato - a long, frying pepper shaped scarlet tomato. I suspect I purchased it because I’d not yet grown one of the long paste types.

Tomato 54 - Beefsteak - I didn’t purchase this, but it arrived as a “gift” seed packet from National Gardening Association, which gardening magazine I subscribed to. This dates way back to the early 1900s, the typical irregular scarlet colored (rather than pink)) variety that often exceed one pound. I didn’t grow this particular seed.

Tomatoes 55-64 are the numbers used for saved seed from Tomatoes Persimmon, Abraham Lincoln, Czech’s Excellent Yellow, Sugar Lump, Tiger Tom, Yellow Cherry, Ruby Gold, Brandywine, Nepal, and Pineapple.

Tomato 65 - Oregon Spring - This variety was purchased from Johnny’s selected Seeds in 1988, and was in my 1988 garden. Bred by Dr. Jim Baggett in Oregon and released in 1984, the selling point was good fruit set across a wide temperature range, with seedless tomatoes resulting on occasion depending upon the temperature at which the fruit set (the only parthenocarpic variety of my gardening experience). The plant was quite compact and productive, but I found it lacking in flavor. As to the numbers, the first picked tomato was in 70 days from transplant. I harvested 63 tomatoes at an average weight of 3.2 ounces, so the compact determinate plant provided 12.8 pounds of tomatoes. I rated the flavor a B - it was a home grown tomato. I never did grow it again.

Tomato 66 - Early Cascade F1 hybrid - Also from Johnny’s in 1988, and part of my 1988 garden, this very productive, medium small variety was described in fairly glowing terms in the seed catalog. First fruit coming in at 66 days (among the earliest in my garden that year), I picked 90 tomatoes with an average weight of 3.3 ounces. 18.8 pounds of a smaller tomato is pretty impressive. Alas, the flavor was rated B-. Upon reflection it is likely a better tomato for skewering and grilling and roasting than fresh eating.

Tomato 67 - Valencia - a Johnny’s Selected Seeds specialty that I purchased from them in 1988. Apparently a selection of Sunray, itself a selection of Jubilee, this medium sized, lovely bright orange tomato did fairly well. Jubilee is a Burpee bred variety from the early 1940s that they stabilized from a cross between Marglobe and Tangerine. Sunray arose from introducing some disease tolerance into Jubilee. Statistics on Valencia from my 1988 trial - first ripe in 74 days from transplant. I harvested 33 tomatoes at an average weight of 8.2 ounces, giving a total plant yield of 16.9 pounds. I liked, didn’t love, the flavor - but the B+ it received is not too shabby at all.

Tomato 68 - Firebird F1 hybrid - yet another new (at the time) introduction by Johnny’s and purchased from them - and grown - in 1988. I really liked Firebird, and it was one of the best hybrids of my 3 year contest. It began bearing slightly oblate, smooth pink tomatoes early, in 68 days from transplant. Average fruit size was 6 ounces, but I harvested 50 tomatoes from the plant - that’s 18.8 pounds. The flavor and texture were fine - I gave it an A-. I’ve not found it listed any longer, so Firebird is an example of how fleeting hybrid varieties can be in terms of longevity. Once the developer decides it isn’t a hot selling “in” variety, they simply stop making the crosses to produce the seeds. It disappears from seed catalogs. And because the parents of hybrids are kept secret, the only way to grow it again is if the original creator decides to produce it once more.

Tomato 69 - Pink Grapefruit - I purchased this old Gleckler variety from the Tomato Seed Company in 1988. At times, it was thought to have been lost. I grew it in my 1991 garden and found it to be quite unique and delightful. Little is known about its origin. What made it unique is the bright yellow, round tomatoes that possess a lovely soft pink core. When I grew it in 1991, my record keeping wasn’t great and it predates digital cameras. I recollect a high yield of round 4 ounce bright yellow tomatoes on a regular leaf plant - the center pink core is very attractive. The flavor was mild and on the sweet side. I have to check my seed collection to see if any of my saved seeds are likely to germinate. This variety was thought to be lost at various points in time, but it is comforting to note a few gardeners offering seeds in the SSE exchange.

Tomato 70 - Caro Rich - I actually purchased seeds of this tomato twice - from the Tomato Seed Company in 1988, and Seeds Blum in 1990 (perhaps it was sent as a free sample). Alas I never did grow the variety. It was bred from Caro Red - itself bred at Purdue to create a tomato with elevated beta-carotene levels. Whereas Caro Red was…well, red! - Caro Rich was orange. Various reports on its flavor were highly mixed, and that is likely what made me put it on the back burner. Little did I realize that the back burner was permanent!

____________

And on we move, through my tomato collection. The next 10 - numbers 71-80- include the first white and first green tomatoes in my collection. See you next week!

This picture shows my very first SSE acquisition - Fowler, still a favorite bush green bean, sent by George McLaughlin, then living in Indiana.

Continuing with "Off The Vine", Volume 1, Number 1. Craig’s article “Tomato History”

The page that holds the article - it will be easier to read transcribed, below, where I add a preface and ending analysis and commentary from where I sit today.

One thing that will become apparent when seeing the articles I enjoyed writing for Off The Vine is that I love tomato history. I think it goes back to wanting to find out which types my grandfather, Walter, grew in his garden, because they were the tomatoes that I first ate and loved, and his garden was the one that first captivated me. The rest is…well, history! And about that title - this really only represents but a small slice of tomato history - with the US lens applied.

__________________________________

Tomato History (by Craig)

As all of you know, the SSE Winter Yearbook contains descriptions of a few thousand tomatoes.  All told, the SSE Heritage Farm holds seed samples of more than 3500 named varieties.  One wonders how many of these are truly different, as there has certainly been far less than that number actually “developed” by seed companies or other plant breeders.  Since the SSE lists only open-pollinated, or non-hybrid, varieties, and little breeding work on these types has been carried out since the advent of hybrids (probably in the 1950’s or so), many of the SSE listed types are probably mutations or sports, garden crossings, selections, and local or family renaming of known varieties. Untangling this web of variety confusion would be a daunting, if not impossible, task.

 The point of this article, however, is to look at some of the significant tomatoes that have been developed and decide whether they still exist.  A major sources for this information is a Michigan State agricultural bulletin from 1938 that described various tomato varieties available at that time.  Old seed catalogs from the late 1800’s/early 1900’s provided additional information.  One thing to keep in mind is that bees can cross tomatoes, and there is evidence that in areas where sweat bees are prevalent, this can become a problem.  What this means is that it is likely that the old commercially released tomatoes, such as Stone or Acme, may not be exactly the same as they were when developed and released, since it is unlikely that any variety has been grown in isolation for the last 100 years or so.

 Aside from the smaller fruited cherry, currant, plum and pear tomatoes, which have been known since the mid 1800’s and earlier, this article will focus upon larger, or slicing, tomatoes which were specifically developed by breeders or observant gardeners or farmers.  A. W. Livingston was paramount in these early efforts, and he in fact released a number of named varieties between 1870 and 1900.  These resulted primarily from noticing a distinctly different variety growing in a field or plot of another, such as one plant bearing red fruit in a plot of a pink variety.  He also developed some of his varieties from seed that various customers sent to him.

 Starting in about 1900, new varieties were created by crossing or hybridizing varieties, which is the method currently being used to create the many hybrids that populate the majority of today’s seed catalogs.  The main difference is that rather than release the F1 generation (hybrid) seed, the process of growing out, selecting and, therefore, stabilizing open pollinated varieties was used. This is the manner in which Rutgers and Marglobe were derived.  This process is used today for the development of new OP’s.

 As I stated earlier in this article, the vast majority of tomatoes in the SSE collection were never commercially developed or available, being local or family developments or renamings.  The following tomatoes were actually developed, named and offered in various seed catalogs, and are offered in the SSE Winter Yearbook.  Listed will be the tomato name, color, and approximate date of introduction: Acme (pink, 1875), Golden Queen (yellow, 1882), Stone (red, 1889), Peach (fuzzy, pink, 1891), Ponderosa (pink, 1891), Dwarf Champion (pink, 1892), Earliana (red, 1900), Chalk’s Early Jewel (red, 1905), Livingston Globe (pink, 1905), Greater Baltimore (red, 1905), June Pink (pink, 1907), Bonny Best (red, 1908), Early Detroit (pink, 1909), Gulf State Market (pink, 1921), Abraham Lincoln (red, 1923), Cooper’s Special (pink, 1923), Winsall (pink, 1925), Marglobe (red, 1925), Break O’Day (red, 1931), Pritchard’s Scarlet Topper (red, 1931), Oxheart (pink, 1932), and Rutgers (red, 1937). In addition, there are tomatoes in the SSE collection that fit the description, but do not have the same name, as the following:  Early Large Smooth Red (1868, like Large Early Red); White Apple (1887, like Transparent); Mikado, or Turner’s Hybrid (1889, like Brandywine); and Honor Bright (1898, perhaps like Lutescent).

Among those that are either extinct or otherwise renamed are:  Large Yellow (1868), Tilden’s (1868), Large White China Sugar (1868), Large Red Fegee (1868), Keyes’ Early Prolific (1869), General Grant (1871), Hubbard’s Curled Leaf (1872), Trophy (1872), Canada Victor (1874), Hathaway’s Excelsior (1876), Early Conqueror (1876), Triumph (1879), Paragon (1880), Essex Early Hybrid (1891), Golden Trophy (1879), Alpha (1882), Favorite (1883), Optimus (1885), Beauty (1887), Cincinnati Purple (1887), Ignotum (1891), Royal Red (1893), Buckeye State (1895), Magnus (1901), and Dwarf Stone (1905).

 It is interesting to note that some of the tomatoes that have persevered are rather unremarkable, such as Stone and Chalk’s Early Jewel, being rather ordinary red varieties.  Some, such as Abraham Lincoln, no longer seem to match the descriptions originally used in the old seed catalogs.  And, still other varieties that are so popular in the SSE, such as the bicolor beefsteaks (Ruby Gold, Big Rainbow, Georgia Streak, Marizol Gold, etc.) and long plum types (Long Tom, Opalka, Super Italian Paste), never appeared in the old catalogs; they may be imports from Europe, or varieties that were bred by home gardeners, or even mutations that showed up along the way.

 I am constantly accumulating information on older varieties, and do not consider the above lists in any way complete.  But, it gives us a place to start in trying to make sense out of the tomatoes that we have, and are missing from, the SSE collection.  I hope that this article will encourage many of you to write to us and share some of your experiences with the varieties that you have collected or brought to the SSE, especially in their history.

———————————-

This book, purchased at a used bookshop in Pennsylvania in the 1980s, is a real treasure. It covers the status of pretty much every crop grown in the US. Of course, I found the tomato section particularly fascinating!

My comments, January 2022

That was a pretty odd read for me. There are some things that are not quite correct, which is not surprising - I was at the very beginning of my tomato sleuthing. Since writing this article, my seed catalog collection has grown substantially and some that I thought were lost have been found (though of course we can’t say if they are exactly as they were when released).

A few date corrections - in paragraph 5, listing the introduction dates of tomatoes listed in the SSE, Oxheart was introduced by Livingston in 1926. In the next paragraph, listing tomatoes that seem to have been lost (or otherwise renamed), we found seed sources for Trophy, Early Conqueror, Triumph, Paragon, Alpha, Favorite, Optimus, Beauty, Buckeye State, Magnus and Dwarf Stone. Aside from Buckeye State, which was made available to Victory by a Ohio source, all varieties were located by searching the UDSA Grin database. Seeds of all were obtained, and most are now commercially available again through one or more seed catalogs. I grew most of them in my gardens, and it has been fascinating to see what the goal of tomato size was in those early US tomato breeding days. Of all of those that we “rescued”, my favorites are Favorite, Optimus and Magnus - not huge, not flashy, but really, really good! Trophy was a real game changer, from 1870 - descriptions in old seed catalogs were always quite imprecise, but the medium sized scarlet tomato I grew from USDA seeds were very likely quite different from the original release, which was likely a larger, less regular, oblate tomato. Early Conqueror was quite distinct in being quite lobed and quite oblate, a shape and form that fits nicely into the 1880 or so time frame. We’ve used Dwarf Stone for the dwarf parent in our Dwarf Tomato Breeding project. Alpha was a really odd variety - a quite short growing potato leaf with medium small red tomatoes.

I really am glad that republishing Off The Vine is allowing me to read thing I wrote so long ago. What is fascinating is that this article captures me at the very beginning of my dip into tomato genealogy. The other benefit (aside from finding all those assumed-to-be-lost tomatoes) was that as I was doing this in North Carolina, Mike Dunton was doing the same in Oregon. Our intersecting quest for the Lost Livingstons allowed us to meet through emails and, later, phone calls. Mike of course founded and runs Victory Seeds. He and I cherish the friendship that was catalyzed by a similar quest, separated by 3000 miles.

A particularly interesting pair of pages from that 1937 Ag yearbook