My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 20, and the last one until the gardening season ends. Tomato #241 - #250

Looking down the bale rows on June 8

Well, that was quite a marathon - but lots of fun to do. Talk about going down memory lane! It is remarkable to notice how rapidly my tomato collection grew. From tomato #1 in 1986, we are only in 1990 for tomato #250. Let’s see if there are any gems in this set. In a way, this is the Charlotte Mullens (a WV seed saver who sent me loads of great seeds) set of varieties, some of which have become garden staples for me.

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Tomato #241 - Mortgage Lifter, Mullens - all of the tomatoes to follow except #250 were sent to me, unasked for, by a West Virginia gardener named Charlotte Mullens. She found me participating in seed swaps in various gardening magazines and shared so many treasures with me, a few having become regular stars in my garden. Charlotte told me, in a letter, that her parents (in their 70s and 80s) favored this above all other types. I have a suspicion that this is the Estler strain based on location and dates. The plant is enormous, the tomatoes the same - big to huge pink things, delicious and sweet. I am growing this year. One oddity is that a few chartreuse foliaged plants seem to always show up in a planting. They produce huge pink tomatoes, but the plant “stretches” even taller than the parent strain. This tomato is spectacular.

Tomato #242 - West Virginia - I actually did grow this tomato out once, in 1997. The regular leaf plants produced large golden orange oblate tomatoes with a typically mild flavor - it was similar to Goldie, Dr. Wyche’s Yellow and Persimmon. I’ve not grown it since - and I don’t know its history.

Tomato #243 - Transparent - This oddball was sent by Hester Haitez to Charlotte Mullens - I suspect is is one of the old “Peach” type tomatoes. The indeterminate plants produce lots of round, golf ball sized slightly fuzzy, matte skinned tomatoes with a very sweet, mild flavor. It is more of a curiosity than anything else. I suspect it is “Yellow Peach”, listed for many years in American seed catalogs of the 1800s.

Tomato #244 - Big Sandy - I feel so badly that I’ve not grown this in many years. Though some catalogs list it as a large pink, for me, the regular leaf plants produced very large, smooth oblate scarlet red tomatoes with a delightful old-fashioned flavor. I suspect that this is essentially similar to the old “Crimson Cushion” or “Beefsteak” tomatoes offered in the late 1800s. I need to contact some SSE members and obtain some live seeds so I can grow it once more.

Tomato #245 - Belgiam - clearly a misspelling happened somewhere along the line. I grew it once, and the large regular leaf indeterminate plant produced large oblate pink tomatoes with a mild flavor that I did not fall in love with. I’ve no idea of its history.

Tomato #246 - Bilder - Apparently, this variety originated in the 1800s in Asia - ended up in the hands of Dick Deason of Michigan, who received it from his neighbor, Jack Bilder. When I received it from Charlotte, it has crossed - the regular leaf plant gave variably shaped, medium scarlet tomatoes of no great assets. I did receive it from someone else years later, and it did give the proper potato leaf plant with large pink fruits.

Tomato #247 - Armenian - Charlotte received this from someone in Armenia - then passed it along to me. The regular leaf plants produced typical large oblate yellow/red beefsteaks with the expected peachy texture and flavor. I noted it as very similar to Ruby Gold.

Tomato #248 - Gallo Plum - I really love this tomato, a very similar type to Opalka. Charlotte received seeds from Joe Horan, then passed them on to me. The tall indeterminate plant has very wispy foliage typical of the plum types. The tomatoes look more like long frying peppers - 2 inches wide, 6 inches long, scarlet, meaty and very tasty. This is probably my second favorite indeterminate sauce type, just behind Speckled Roman.

Tomato #249 - Giant Syrian - This tomato was a star in my 2021 garden. Charlotte received seeds from Harold DeRhodes of Ohio. What makes this tomato special is that it is a rare scarlet red oxheart type. The wispy foliage makes the plant look unhealthy and weak, but it is just the genetics of the variety at play. The tomatoes can reach more than 2 pounds, and are simply delicious.

Tomato #250 - Pink Delight - Barney Laman sent me some F2 seeds from the hybrid Pink Delight. I grew one plant and found it to be regular leaf, indeterminate, with medium sized pink tomatoes that didn’t have outstanding flavor or other merits.

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What a nice set of tomatoes this is, and a fine way to end the first part of my tour - we will pick it up again this fall. I can’t imagine many gardens without Mullens Mortgage Lifter, Giant Syrian or Gallo Plum!

When we return to my seed collection tour, probably in September, some highlights to come are Mexico Midget (#251), Pink Sweet (#274), Cherokee Purple (#287), Potato Leaf Yellow (#332), and Yellow Brandywine (#333).

First half of the garlic harvest, curing on June 7

Off The Vine, Volume 2, Number 1. "The Man Behind the World of Unusual Seeds" - interview of George Gleckler by Craig

A variegated potato leaf F2 selection in my garden this year - Blue’s Bling X Polish

It wasn’t colorful, it only had a few pages, but there was a lot of magic in Gleckler’s seed catalogs. I really enjoyed my phone call with the company leader, George Gleckler.

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The Man Behind the World of Unusual Seeds - An Interview with George Gleckler of Gleckler’s Seedmen

by Craig

The first time that I flipped through a Gleckler’s seed catalog, back in the mid-1980’s, it struck me that my gardens up to that point were much too normal! Not for long, though. That catalog was my entry into life beyond Burpee and Parks, outside of the realm of the dark purple eggplant, green bell pepper and red round tomato. The pages of the unassuming, modest (and free!) catalog printed in green ink on white paper, with the pictures of Peron sprayless tomato and Aconcagua pepper on the front cover, held such wonders as purple artichokes, red carrots, pink celery, white cucumbers, and a rainbow of unique and unusual eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. Some of the first open pollinated vegetables that I tried came from Gleckler’s Seedmen. It was right at that point when I took the plunge headlong into heirlooms and involvement in the Seed Saver’s Exchange. A few weeks ago, when pondering the next OTV interview victim, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to speak with George Gleckler, who currently runs the business in Metamora, Ohio, and ask him some questions about the company, the varieties and his philosophy on gardening.

George and I enjoyed a wide-ranging hour and a half telephone conversation, and covered lots of territory. Mr. Gleckler came across as a man of high ethics who, because of his love for gardening, continues the business of offering the rare and out of the ordinary that his father Merlin started in 1947. Prior to that, Gleckler Sr. was a contract grower for large seed companies such as Burpee. For example, he would grow acres of a particular tomato variety and sell the seed to the large companies. Believe it or not, he would get paid 3 dollars per pound of tomato seed back then in the 1940’s! Due to such underwhelming financial recompense, the logical step from there was to enter the business, which is what he did. One thing to note is that he was not particularly fond of eating tomatoes; however, he did find it a very interesting crop to grow, due to the large visual variation, and in addition, tomatoes were, and still are, perhaps the most widely grown home garden vegetable, resulting in a large and captive audience.

In the 1980, Merlin Gleckler suffered a stroke, after which he understandably lost interest in his seed company. George decided to take over his father’s business, but was dismayed to find that many of the varieties could not be propagated, due to loss of viability of the seed. Eventually, thanks to donations from long time customers, and even some members of the Seed Saver’s Exchange who had been maintaining the varieties (Pink Grapefruit is a good example), George managed to get the majority of the tomatoes and other crops back in good shape, and the company persevered. Interestingly, two tomatoes that were listed years ago but were considered lost are Lutescent and Stick. Both of these were located in the USDA seed repository, and are (or will be next spring, in the case of Stick) available in the Seed Saver’s Exchange collection to members of the organization. When asked about the sources of the various tomato varieties listed in the Gleckler catalog, the response was that, in many cases, various gardeners sent the company their favorites over the years. Others, such as Peron, were bred in Argentina especially for Gleckler, in the 1950’s. It was supposedly bred with wild tomato in its ancestry, leading to its remarkable disease and insect resistance (hence the nickname Sprayless). San Pablo and 506 Bush were also bred there. Gleckler’s grows the vast majority of their tomato seed, which is something that cannot be said for the lion’s share of other seed companies, both large and small. 

Many of you are aware, and disappointed, that there was no 1995 Gleckler catalog. You will be happy to know, however, that there will be a new catalog next year. (Gardening enthusiasts should send their catalog request to Gleckler’s Seedmen, Metamora, Ohio, 43540.) Business remains good, but it is more of a hobby for George, as he also works in construction. Gleckler also spends time contract growing seed for such companies as Totally Tomatoes and Tomato Grower’s Supply Company. He takes pride in the purity and quality of the tomato seed that he supplies, and expressed alarm at how unscrupulous some of the other, larger, companies are in terms of substituting varieties without telling the customer, or offering seed that may not be pure, or even fabricating plant variety histories for more colorful catalog descriptions, to increase sales and interest in the variety. Obviously, even the garden seed company is not immune from the weaknesses of people!

We talked about heirloom tomatoes for a while. We did not talk much about the SSE, since George, although he is supportive of the organization, is concerned about the fact that all sorts of gardeners, even inexperienced ones, are offering seeds, which could lead to crossing problems. One of the issues that George brought up was that many heirlooms of different names may be the same tomato.  A good example is of the bicolored beefsteaks, such as Georgia Streak, Pineapple, and Marizol Gold. The only way to determine without a doubt if they are different would be to do genetic analysis. Another group of tomatoes he noted as possibly the same are the German pink skinned tomatoes, such as Mortgage Lifter, Watermelon Beefsteak, and Giant Belgium. It makes a lot of sense, actually, when you consider that despite the fact that there are over 3000 named tomatoes in the SSE collection, no more than 250-300 open-pollinated tomatoes have been actually “developed” throughout the years.  When asked what his favorite eating tomato is, he replied that he loves the flavor of Evergreen, because it has “real tomato flavor”. I asked him about the tomato Great White, since it just appeared out of the blue in his catalog a few years ago, and no one seems to know the history of it. It turns out that in 1987 or 88, a woman sent George seeds of an orange and a yellow oxheart. George planted all of the seeds of each variety, and in the grow out, one plant of a white beefsteak tomato showed up. George called the woman and asked if there was any way a white tomato could have been sent accidentally, but she replied that she did not grow white tomatoes. So, whether it is a cross or a mutation, what resulted is one of the best white tomatoes around. I asked about specific histories of other famous Gleckler tomatoes, such as Goldie and German Head, but he confessed that he did not know the exact origin of these, repeating that many of these have been sent to him by other avid growers of heirloom tomatoes that are anxious to share their good fortune.

One of the things that interests George is growing out hybrids to get distinctive, stable, open pollinated varieties. The issue of hybrids turned out to be a rather hot topic with him, as he does not see any real need for hybrids outside of the profit that they generate for seed companies and the creators of the varieties. He noted that many gardening magazines and seed company catalogs warn against growing non-hybrids due to the potential for disease problems, but stated that the origin of disease resistance in plants comes from open pollinated varieties. And, these heirlooms have been around quite a long time, which is a testament to their ability to survive. George once grew Big Boy hybrid next to Peron, and found that there was no comparison. Peron was superior to the hybrid in all respects. He also told of the outrageous prices for hybrid seed. Gleckler once carried a hybrid tomato from the 1950’s called Mandarin Cross. The seed, which was developed by and purchased from a Japanese company, cost one thousand eight hundred dollars per pound! And, he said that some of the Japanese hybrid cherry tomato seed costs three to four thousand dollars per pound! To anyone who has noted the enthusiasm with which cherry tomatoes self seed and volunteer, this seems outrageous. And, those volunteer cherry tomatoes are more often than not just as good as the hybrids from which they originated!

Finally, I asked George which tomato is the weirdest that he has seen. His response was at first Green Zebra (not an heirloom, but a fairly recent creation by Tom Wagner of the former Tater Mater seed Company), but then followed with the answer that I expected, Purple Calabash. However, this tomato, which is closely related to wild tomatoes in his opinion, is quite popular with many of his customers, though he considers it as “worthless”! I have not yet grown Purple Calabash, but I suppose that one day it will find a place in my garden. One thing is for sure, though. If you are a tomato enthusiast, please order a catalog from Gleckler’s Seedmen and try some of the wild, weird and wonderful varieties that he offers. And, while you are at it, be sure to try some of his unique eggplant, and peppers, and melons. The gardening community should do all that it can do to ensure that seed companies like this one survive. 

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I really admire many of George Gleckler’s opinions - this is the first time I’ve read this interview in a long time. Now I must go through my basement boxes and find my Gleckler catalog collection!

The 2022 garden tomatoes are off to a good start - two Cherokee Chocolates in this straw bale - one caged and unpruned, one staked and pruned to have only one sucker. Dwarf in a grow bag in front.

My Tomato Collection Tour, Part 19. Tomatoes #231-#240

Megacluster of blossoms - at least 25! - on Cherokee Purple in early June

Now we are on the home stretch toward the summer break, once I hit tomato #250. At that point, I will keep going with the weekly Off The Vine republish posts and have more frequent gardening updates. Once the garden for 2022 is largely done, I will reconvene with the tomato collection tour. I will pick a number at which I will stop doing it in an unabridged manner (including them all), and switch to the most interesting or significant ones beyond #500. For this set, below, there are a few biggies - and quite a few snoozers.

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Tomato #231 - Black Krim - It is fascinating to have requested this tomato from a Swedish SSE member in 1990. My 1990 garden had this, and also the unnamed tomato which became Cherokee Purple - having the first two “purple” tomatoes in the same garden was unique, and no one else could claim this amazing occurrence! I requested Black Krim simply because of the name - there was little to no description. The indeterminate plant produced smooth dusky pink rose (purple) tomatoes. It and Cherokee Purple looked very similar. But - the flavors were entirely different. Black Krim had a very flat, nearly salty flavor that Sue and I didn’t really like very much. Black Krim has become a very popular tomato, and I don’t think it is the same as when I first grew it. There is a lot of Black Krim out there that is not, just as with Cherokee Purple, where incorrect seed sources run fairly rampant.

Tomato #232 - Elberta Girl - Acquired from David Cavagnero of Iowa, this tomato is a Tom Wagner creation, the plant has a greyish dusty miller look to it due to the fuzzy leaves. The tomatoes are medium sized, round, scarlet with gold stripes. The flavor and texture are nothing to write home about - this is a novelty only, to my mind. It may also be interesting to use as a breeding partner.

Tomato #233 - Pearly Pink Cherry - also from David Cavagnero, there is little info on this tomato’s origin. The indeterminate plants produce oval, large pink cherry tomatoes. I never did grow it.

Tomato #234 - Campbell #146 - Also from David Cavagnero, this is a variety bred by Campbell (yes, the soup company) for their particular needs and released in 1956. It was considered the flavor standard of all of Campbell’s releases. I’ve not grown it. The tomatoes are supposedly scarlet red and medium sized, globe shaped, on a relatively compact plant (probably a determinate variety).

Tomato #235 - White Potato Leaf - Acquired from a Wisconsin SSE member in 1990, I did grow this variety in 1991. It apparently was introduced into the SSE in 1985 by Don Branscomb, but its history is a mystery. The indeterminate potato leaf vines.produced medium sized oblate ivory fruit of average flavor at best.

Tomato #236 - Zapotec - Sent to me by SSE member Mark Futterman of California in 1990, I never did grow this variety. An heirloom originating in Mexico, the tomatoes are reportedly pink, very ruffled/ribbed, and flat in shape. It is more of a novelty than a superb eating experience, according to reports.

Tomato #237 - Green Grape - Also from Mark Futterman, I grew this several times. The plants are very determinate and prolific, and the slightly oval, large cherry tomatoes have green flesh and yellow skin. It was bred by Tom Wagner, who released it in 1978 - Evergreen is in its parentage. I am not terribly fond of the flavor.

Tomato #238 - Hunt Family Favorite - Sent to me by Charles Estep of California, SSE member, in 1990, this is yet another attempt at obtaining the correct strain. One again it seemed crossed, producing medium to large red large oblate fruit of average flavor (not the hoped for pink).

Tomato #239 - Lutescent (Honor Bright?) - This bizarre tomato was sent to me by Bill Ellis, SSE member, in 1990, and I grew it in 1994. This is most likely Honor Bright, released by the Livingston Seed Company in 1897, and one of the oddest tomatoes ever released by a seed company. It is clearly a mutation - the foliage of the plant turns yellow (even though healthy), the flower anthers are nearly white, and the medium sized tomatoes pass through a pale green, to white, to orange, to scarlet red color shift. I’ve grown it several times and it makes interesting breeding partners for creating new varieties with yellow foliage.

Tomato #240 - Double Rich - Obtained in 1990 from a Wisconsin seed saver, this tomato was bred in North Dakota and released in 1953. The specific goal was to create a tomato that was higher in Vitamin C than other tomatoes. The determinate plants produce medium sized round scarlet red tomatoes with a markedly tart flavor. I’ve never grown it.

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Of the above, Black Krim, Elberta Girl, White Potato Leaf, Green Grape and Lutescent stand out for their relevance in my tomato education. Of these, none of them reach the pinnacle of tomato flavor for my palate.

dwarf tomato and eggplant - grow bag and strawbale

Off The Vine, Volume 2, Number 1. "Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen", by Carolyn

Husker’s Red penstemon in bloom in our flower garden, end May 2022

I really love reading through Carolyn and my garden updates in these old OTVs. It reminds me, again and again, of how we really were true explorers of the many varieties coming into the SSE yearbooks, but also how we ended up being the source of varieties into the yearbooks as well. Read on to find out how Carolyn made her challenging choices of what to squeeze into her tomato garden.

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Many are Called; Few are Chosen

by Carolyn

It could be worse. I could be addicted to heroin, crack or alcohol; as it is I’m addicted to heirloom tomatoes! The major agony of early March is to decide which seeds get planted and which get to stay in their little packets, passed over once more.

To put the situation to perspective, I have seed for about 1000 varieties of which I’ve grown out maybe 5-600 varieties. Since I much prefer to grow out something new, something not listed in the SSE Annual, it means that it will be a long time until I get to some of those others. Let me explain, by going through my mental reasoning this year, how I select which varieties to grow.

I have before me my grow out list as a reference. The first 40 were a snap, so to speak. I like to recycle the seed I’m offering through SSE every five years so I had to look at the 1991 varieties and decide which ones to keep going and which ones weren’t requested. Not a problem. Then I had to inventory the 1992, 1993, and 1994 seed to see which varieties were depleted. Magnus was planted for a closer look (up and giving both potato and regular foliage), Orange Strawberry and Hillbilly Potato Leaf to see if they are true, Cuostralee Pink to confirm it really is a single mutant of the red variety, which was also planted, and Aunt Ruby’s German Green (1993 seed) because I found out in December of 1994 that someone growing out my 1994 seed found it wasn’t pure. Remember from the last issue of Off the Vine how I described the seeds from the “monster” tomato which the mice ate? Well, I’d saved seeds from sister fruit and in they went along with the orange/red Brandywine F3 seeds described in the last issue of Off the Vine.

Next came the various crosses used to offer the F2 seed to you readers. I had forgotten to save seed last year of the Yellow Oxheart X Ukrainian Heart F1’s and had not grown the Brandywine X Kotlas crosses. Finally, two new crosses of Stanley Zubrowski’s, which neither Craig nor I grew last year, were planted. Next came a bunch of Craig’s favorites which I hadn’t grown out yet and then a few Amy Goldman brought back from France when she was there for the annual Fall pumpkin festival. Next came some interesting ones of French origin from an English SSE member and Off the Vine subscriber. And the subtotal on the above was 72.

Omar, an adjunct who taught Biology Labs for us went home to Lebanon to sell the family hotel on the Mediterranean and as he promised, came back with seeds for a huge pink the farmers in the Lebanese hills grow. And my student Heidi went home to Cameroon, Africa and over the Xmas break and brought back a hot pepper and one tomato variety. Then came a series of varieties sent to me by Off the Vine readers and from the descriptions, many of these sound great! None of them is listed in SSE. Of course I planted all the newly offered SSE Russian varieties. Next came varieties from Bill Minkey. Now the subtotal is about 110. Whoops! I almost forgot to plant the varieties I’ll need for the 1850’s vegetable garden I do for the local Shaker Heritage Society so in went Riesentraube, King Humbert, Green Gage, Eearly Large Red and Red and Yellow Pears. Whoops again, I’ll need some greens, whites and bicolors in the tomato patch for the several field demonstration days I do in the fall. So White Queen, Green, Evergreen, Green Grape, Isis and Marizol Gold go in next. I asked Craig if he would obtain the seeds from the USDA this year because I was so busy with the new Off the Vine requests, renewals, etc. I told him what I wanted and he decided on the rest. I only planted 32 of the USDA varieties; the commercial heirloom types and the ones with names that amused me like Victorian Dwarf, Cream City and Ham Green Favorite. I cannot explain to myself why I sowed something called Potato Leaf; I can’t believe I did that. Then I had to plant some favorites like German Red Strawberry, Manyel, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Large Pink Bulgarian, Bulgarian Triumph, Aunt Ginny’s Purple (which I totally forgot to list in SSE this year), Opalka, Martino’s Roma, Galina Ivory Mutant and Crnovic Yugoslavian, to name a few. My list ended there but then a few more varieties trickled in and I just had to sow them. Final damage count? About 160 varieties.

In Craig’s article he discussed whether or not to plant original or saved seed. I always plant saved seed when I have a choice because it’s the only way of finding out if the seed is pure. Two years ago I started listing next to my name in the SSE Annual the varieties I subsequently determined to have been sent out crossed. Since I certainly am not growing everything in 1995 that I grew in 1994 I would appreciate any feedback that any of you might give me.

The limitation I have on how many varieties I grow relates to the amount of bench space made available to me by the commercial farmer who lets me do my transplanting at his greenhouses and then grows on the plants for me. He’s a terrific grower and since he started growing the plants for me I’ve had no cutworm damage in the field because the stems are so stocky. I have no limitation on field space, and I do have help with the initial cultivation and fertilization of my plants, but there’s still a lot of hoeing and weed pulling to do. Yes, it’s hard work, especially with my annoying arthritis, but I can’t wait to see what the foliage will be like, and the blossoms, and finally the fruit shape and color. It’s the “possibilities” that lure me and hold me and make each summer so wonderful and challenging.

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That was a fascinating read (as always!). It is interesting to read the history of what was named Omar’s Lebanese - a huge, pink delicious tomato that Carolyn was responsible for popularizing after she received the seeds. Reading about how Carolyn decided what to grow was illuminating - and fun!

Sugar Snap Peas - we are just starting to pick them, beginning end May 2022

End of May garden update - taking stock after a whole lotta rain, and focusing on our flower gardens

Sugar Snap Peas, Iris, Daylilies

Enough! Waving the white flag here after a week of rain. But, with the forecast for the week to come showing solid sunny days in the upper 70s, we enter the “perfect garden condition” phase. I am writing this blog in bits - today is May 28, and it was blue sky and 75 degrees. Delightful! The next 10 day forecast shows temps varying from 75 to 82, with just a few days with 30% chance of late day showers.

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Random gardening thoughts on the season so far:

I’ve really loved it. Stepping back from seedling sales meant starting far less plants. Needing less materials meant far less money spent. I already had enough square pots and plug flats, and a good start on plastic labels. All I needed were a few bags of Metro Mix planting mix. They discontinued my favorite, the 360 blend, so I went with 830, and thought it worked fine. Less plants meant less transplanting, less worry about frost, and less movement in and out of the garage. My typical schedule worked fine - March 1 seed start, April 1 transplant start, with plants looking good by May 1.

I did have some customers, but not through advertising - just word of mouth, or those from the past two years. Pretty much everyone who comes to get plants are delightful. The only hitch is that we have three pretty protective dogs that can get barky - each for its own reason. Getting them into the house is a must.

My two raised beds had - and still have - garlic, which hindered their use a bit. One bed had spinach that I planted as seedlings in September (along with some lettuce and chard). The rough winter (two nights with temps in the low teens, and one 11 inch snow) did in the lettuce and chard, but the spinach, once things started to warm up, was spectacular. I cut the scapes from the garlic a week ago. The spinach started to bolt, so was removed, and replaced with lettuce, and a few strawberry plants from a friend. I hope to harvest the garlic in a few weeks, and the beds will then hold microdwarf tomatoes, particularly a variegated find from last year, up to 10 plants between the two raised beds.

I seeded sugar snap peas against the fence and created string trellis, as in previous years. The peas are now 6 feet tall and we are starting to pick some. In front of the peas are iris, moved from other gardens, and in front of those, daylilies I started from seed, sent by a friend. We should be seeing the daylilies bloom very soon. I think the iris was perturbed by the move, so just foliage this year.

Shade garden - bleeding heart, pulmonaria, astilbe and more

We’ve had a great time with our flower gardens. Our shade garden is full of bleeding heart, Solomon seal, Celadine poppy, and astilbe. To that collection are a few plants purchased this spring - pulmonaria, two hellebores, a new foamflower, and an epimedium. Some foamflowers and ferns complete the dense mix in that garden, anchored in the corner by a Virginia sweetspire. In the same area, different corner, we relocated a nine bark that has made its way around the yard.

Main flower garden - all sorts of things blooming, and on the cusp.

In our big flower garden, all sorts of things came up early in the spring - tulips and daffodils, joined by phlox, miniature roses, clematis Princess Diana and a white one we moved from Raleigh, coral bells, lots of lamium, oregano, an unusual rudbeckia, several gladiolas, an echinacea, cardinal flower, lots of Kalimeras, a Husker’s Red penstemon, two different cranesbills, a threadleaf coreopsid, a Japanese painted fern, balloon flower, and four astilbes. To that we’ve added some new plants - we purchased a new Rozanne cranesbill (it died last year), some new Salvia Greggei, Salvia leuchantha, an epimedium, a new echinacea, a spider wort - as well as some annuals (snapdragon, zinnia, salvia coccinea). Right now, clematis, penstemon, cranesbill, lamium, the new salvias, and the miniature roses are all providing color. Soon to join them will be the phlox and cardinal flower and gladiolas.

Near the shed, the garden is primarily a pathway for the dogs, with mostly phlox, with some rubdeckia and a relocated butterfly bush and Miss Kim lilac on one side, and red bee balm and a relocated peony, and a large old type lilac on the other, with balloon flower emerging here and there. Oddly, we’ve yet to see Miss Kim bloom in Hendersonville. Right next to the shed is a huge Lady Banks rose on a trellis that bloomed fairly lightly - a late frost once again nipped buds. We are now seeing lots of daylilies and canna coming up.

Husker’s Red penstemon looking great

Our big back flower edge garden is mostly shrubs. Everything in there is thriving - the hydrangea is budding well, the red rhododendron (which I am trying to propagate) was spectacular, choke berry and elderberry and forsythia are now huge, two red roses are gorgeous, and the garden ends with daylilies, crocosmia, a Russian Olive tree, a double white spirea, and a Virginia Sweetspire. It is overgrown, it is wild - and it works just great. Nearby is a fig that I rooted in Raleigh and we brought with us. It had the typical winter die back but is largely looking fine. Will it be in too shady a spot to give us figs? We shall see.

Near the deck is a garden constantly in flux. With a gorgeous Samaritan Jo clematis just finishing up bloom and a big spot of Green and Gold, it started with daffodils and tulips and an old fashioned lilac and a chartreuse foliaged spirea, and how is showing Japanese Iris (violet blue or yellow), gladiola foliage, Deutzia we brought from Raleigh, Russian Sage, a new Amsonia, and some annuals - zinnia and snapdragon. The soil isn’t great and we tend to move things in and out of this garden, depending on how they do.

Princess Diana clematis is the star here

A strip garden near the hose spigot was nothing but walking iris, lemon balm, spearmint and lamium with some Autumn Joy sedum. Sue and I stripped all of that out and it how holds daylilies - some from my friend Eddie, some from seed, with the sedum and some lamium, a a pot of Salvia coccinea. Near the heat pump, a wall strip garden is mostly Stella D’oro daylilies, with Wisteria on an arbor, and a flowering magnolia next to the arbor. The late spring frost and hard pruning meant no Wisteria blooms, but the magnolia, after early blooms got frosted, put on a nice show this spring.

In front, we have an azalea garden, with a Viburnum, newly planted Flame azalea, relocated hybrid Mountain Laurel, a yew and a quince mixed in. Some daffodils bloomed there early, and daylilies are now just starting. A strip garden on the side yard/front is mostly various hostas, with some sweet woodruff and a bright green leaf, pink flowered spirea. The main flower garden is anchored by a huge white flowered camellia, a smaller pink flowered camellia, two chartreuse leaf spirea, two recently hard pruned Rose of Sharon, and a holly. The garden has a few azaleas, a lot of lily of the valley, a red hot poker plant, lots of self seeded columbine, and some gladiola and daylilies. Early on, it was full of daffodils.

That’s a tour of our flower gardens, in general, but with some end of May details. Tending the flower gardens with Sue is one of the pleasures of the season. Sure, the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, along with the green beans, summer squash and cukes are great. But their seasons can be quite concentrated - while the flowers provide joy from early spring through late fall.

Back edge garden, showing our two red roses.

My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 18. Tomatoes #221-#230

Garden view - May 26 2022

The race to #250 is on! Let’s go! Of this set, Red Brandywine is the winner. Burcham New Generation should be more widely known.

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Tomato #221 - Burgess Colossal Crimson - This is another tomato sent to me by Barney Laman of California (he of Mexico Midget fame) in 1990. I didn’t get to grow it. First listed in the 1927 Burgess catalog, it is said to be a selection of the Henderson variety Winsall, which was released in 1924. All of these regular leaf pink varieties are likely very similar to the 1890s Henderson variety Ponderosa, a regular leaf large meaty pink tomato.

Tomato #222 - Pink Delight F2 - Barney sent this to me in 1990 because he loved the hybrid Pink Delight, which was removed from catalogs - he was hoping saved seeds would give similar results. Alas, I didn’t grow it.

Tomato #223 - Big Pink - this is the last of the 1990 tomatoes Barney Laman sent me. I know nothing about it, and can’t find it listed anywhere - then again, the name is completely generic! Someone in the SSE lists it as a “large pink tomato” - there is no way of knowing if it is the same as the one Barney sent me. I never did grow it.

Tomato #224 - Azteca 10 - I got this from Ron Thuma of Kansas, SSE member, in 1990. I did grow it in 1990. My description is “medium sized, semi determinate round red, OK taste”. Needless to say, I did not return to it!

Tomato #225 - Red Brandywine - Acquired from Steve Miller of Pennsylvania (Landis Valley Museum) in 1990, this is a fine tomato I’ve grown many times. It is totally different from the large potato leaf pink or yellow varieties that have Brandywine in the name. I believe this to be the tomato released by Johnson and Stokes in 1890. It is regular leaf, scarlet red, smooth, medium sized and has a fine, well balanced flavor. This is often the variety I recommend to people that are looking for an “old fashioned red tomato on the tart side”.

Tomato #226 - Burcham’s New Generation - this monstrously large oblate pink tomato was sent to me by Norma Vinyard of Missouri in 1990. It supposedly originated with Mr. Burcham, who selected it for size and flavor. He sent a sample to Jan Gibson of Chapel Hill, NC, who shared it with Norma Vinyard - who listed it in the SSE. It was very large, very smooth, oblate, regular leaf pink with a fine flavor. It deserves to be known and grown more widely.

Tomato #227 - Holy Land - I received this from SSE member Lloyd Duggins of Indiana in 1990 and grew it that year. It was indeterminate, oblate to round scarlet red, and very bland. Lloyd received seeds from a local woman who brought the seeds back from Palestine wrapped in a napkin. I was not impressed.

Tomato #228 - Red Rose - also received from Mr. Duggins, supposedly arising from a Brandywine X Rutgers cross. SSE still lists it as a medium sized, tasty pink tomato. I’ve not grown it.

Tomato #229 - Vogliotti - received from major SSE tomato collector Calvin Wait of Missouri, I’ve not yet grown this variety. SSE lists it as a large oblate scarlet red tomato of excellent flavor. I would have to go to old SSE yearbooks to find the history, if any is provided.

Tomato #230 - Alberta’s - this was also received from Calvin Wait - I never did grow it, and can’t find a thing about it - back to the SSE yearbooks to find out what in the description drew me to asking for seeds!

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As you read, above, only two real stars in this set of tomatoes, with quite a few relative unknowns. Red Brandywine is indeed the star, and Burcham’s New Generation probably should be an additional star.

A very happy Princess Diana clematis on May 26 2022

Off The Vine, Volume 2, Number 1. "Riesenbraube Wine" by William Woys Weaver

Pic taken in DuPont on May 24, our first spring here, 2000 - Mountain Laurel

Wine from tomatoes? Sure - see below! Another guest article…

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Riesentraube Wine

by William Woys Weaver

The taste was snappy, but with a slight overtone of skunk; not exactly a wine for romance thought I, so delete the candlelit dinner scene. Color: a species of orange rosé, heavy on the orange. Would fermented Kool-Aid resemble this? No. Too dark. Definitely not grape.

My puzzled glance at the grizzly old farmer sitting opposite me elicited a toothless grin. He was thoroughly entertained, and by then the colorless schnapps he was sipping, distilled from this same strange wine, had flushed his face a mirthful pink.

“What is it?” I asked in German. Dr. Eszter Kisban of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, who was translating this tete-a-tete back and forth from German to Hungarian, turned to me with a blank look on her face: “He said the wine is made from goat tits.” The sitting room of the farmhouse, packed full of Hungarians eager to see their first breathing American (me) exploded with gales of nervous laughter. “That is what he said,” continued Eszter apologetically, “kecske cscsu.” (More laughter.) this was my introduction to the Riesentraube tomato and vintage Riesentraube wine.

This scene transpired in the fall of 1983 when the Hungarian Academy of Sciences hosted an ethnological food conference at its mountain retreat in Matrafured, Hungary near the Slovakian border. In spite of food shortages, paper shortages, intermittent electricity, police surveillance (the communist Party was in power then), and a long list of other obstacles, my Hungarian hosts managed not only to pull off an international conference, but on the sly, also arranged for forays into the countryside. My visit to the farmer who made tomato wine was one of them.

It happened spur of the moment and at night. We ended up somewhere outside of Gyongyos, a large town mear Matrafured. The first thing I saw when I got out of the car were tomato vines trained over the picket fence that surrounded the yard. Even at night I could see the huge “puffs” of open flowers that make the Riesentraube tomato so distinctive. Later, I was shown a large platter of the tomatoes. In fact, I ate some.

This much I was able to ascertain about the tomato and its local history: no one in the area knew it by a German name, but all the farmers in the room agreed that the tomato had come from Austria “long ago.” It had been grown in the Heves region before World War II, and the German farmers who had lived there had made wine from the tomatoes, just like the wine we were drinking. When the Communists came to power they expropriated the German farms and deported the owners. This was one of those expropriated farms, and the tomatoes had been growing there when the present Hungarian owner took over the house.

I think it was this tragic story more than anything else that etched such an impression in my mind because I never forget those “goat tit” tomatoes. Certainly it would have been easy enough, on hindsight, to have gotten seed out of Hungary, but since the main purpose of my visit was to smuggle a book manuscript out of Poland, through Hungary and into Austria, my seed saving instincts were put on hold. As there was a certain degree of danger involved in my undertaking, any suspicion from border guards would have thrown that project off track.

Having just published in 1983 my study of a 19th century Pennsylvania German cookbook through the University of Pennsylvania Press, it never occurred to me that there might be a connection between the tomato wine of the Pennsylvania Dutch and the wine I tasted in Hungary. Yet evidently there is. Subsequent research has brought it all into clearer focus. In fact, Carolyn Male put out the challenge to me last year to actually recreate tomato wine from the Riesentraube tomato, and so I have. But first, something about the name.

Riesentraube simply means in German “large grape” as opposed to something that is normal size or dwarf (zwerg). That is the context of risen in German botanical literature even though it literally means giant or extra-large. It seems, however, that German growers had the Grapes of Eshcol in mind when they named this tomato. The Grapes of Eshcol are the monster grapes mentioned in the Bible, usually depicted hanging from a staff between two men. The Riesentraube produces huge clusters of tomatoes which resemble those old Biblical pictures of the Grapes of Eshcol.

To Hungarians, they look like the underbelly of a pregnant she-goat. And since each tomato has a “nipple” on the end, this has given rise to the colloquial Hungarian name. According to Hungarian agronomists, the Hungarian Goat Tit Tomato is an entirely different variety from the Riesentraube, but the two are commonly confused. Doubtless, the Riesentraube tomato exists in many places under other names equally as colorful.

My next experience with the Riesentraube tomato came through Seedsavers Exchange, where much to my surprise, I found it listed. Seed came into SSE from Curtis Choplin of North Augusta, South Carolina. His seed originated from the former East German seed bank at Gatersleben. My surprise was actually a form of startled joy because by 1993 I had found material in Pennsylvania suggesting that the Riesentraube tomato was being grown among the Pennsylvania Dutch as early as 1855 or 1856. More thorough research must be done in local German-language agricultural materials, but in the May 1857 issue of the monthly Das Bauern-Journal, published at Allentown, Pennsylvania by Mohr and Trexler, there is a recipe for tomato wine. This is the tomato wine I tasted in Hungary. The translation from Das Bauern-Journal reads as follows: Wine from Tomatoes; Simply press the juice from the fruit, cleanse it by letting it run through a linen bag, then combine this with 2 to 3 pounds of sugar to each gallon of liquid. Put this into kegs. After fermentation has taken place, you get a tasty wine.

That is a matter of opinion. Frankly, tomato wine requires a little more exactness than the above recipe would imply and considerably more patience because this is one of those wines, like dandelion wine, that does not mellow out until about the third to fifth year of aging.

I pressed Riesentraube tomatoes on September 26, 1994, with fermentation over by October 10. I can report that in my opinion the wine is nowhere ready for table use. While it begins as a bright red juice, the wine turns a muddy brown as it ferments. As of the writing of this article, the wine is still orange-brown, resembling dark apple juice, and still a bit cloudy. There is an initial sweet, toasty taste that is followed by a slight bitterness, then a lingering tomato taste on the back of the palate. The bitterness will soften with aging and the end result, like the wine I drank in Hungary, will resemble sherry. It is excellent with toasted walnuts and cheese.

My recommended method for making tomato wine is the same as that for making gooseberry wine in that the fruit is first cooked to soften it and to sterilize it of all problematic yeasts. Since gooseberries and tomatoes do not normally carry grape yeasts, it is better to eliminate all yeasts and introduce a controllable one. I also add 2 cups (500 ml) of vintage elderberry wine (1985 pressing), but any decent port will also do. I firmly believe that his helps amplify the tomato flavor as well as softens the overall character of the tomato wine. It does nothing to the color.

Lastly, in order to calculate the amount of tomatoes needed, it is important to remember that 3 to 4 pounds (1 and ½ to 2 kg) of Riesentraube tomatoes will yield about one gallon (4 liters) of liquid during crush. The water content of the tomato, like that of grapes, varies greatly due to weather conditions and time of harvest. I believe that the end-of-season tomatoes I used last year had far too much acid and much less flavor than those I might have harvested during the heat of August. This is a consideration that only trial and error will resolve, given the great variation in growing conditions throughout the country. The accompanying recipe (page 5) follows the basic outline of the original 1857 recipe, but greatly expands on the implied steps and procedures.

Note: The original recipe calls for oak kegs. Aging the wine in oak will definitely alter its taste and character, probably improving the toasty or smoky quality of its flavor. Since I was not able to experiment with oak, this aspect of the recipe remains speculative. However, the Hungarian wine that I tasted in 1983 had been aged in oak and was superior to what I have thus far produced. (Riesentraube tomato seeds are available to members of Seedsavers Exchange and to the general public from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Ed. Note)

Tomato Wine: Weaver’s Method

1 gallon (4 liters) tomato juice

3 lbs. (1 ½ kg) white granulated sugar

2 cups (500 ml) elderberry wine or port (optional)

1 teaspoon dry yeast

To make the juice, quarter the fruit and remove the seeds. Put the fruit in a deep, non-reactive stewing pan (preferably stainless steel) and pour over this 2 quarts (2 liters) of boiling bottled spring water. Do not use chemically treated water. Cover and bring the fruit to a slow boil (about 20 minutes), then remove the pan from the heat.

Pour the fruit into a strainer and gently press out all of the pulp and liquid. Measure out the juice. To each gallon (4 liters), add 3 pounds (1 ½ kg) of sugar, mixing the juice and sugar together in a large, clean 5-gallon (20 liter) crock. Add the optional elderberry wine or port, and when the mixture cools to room temperature, add the yeast. For a quantity of liquid over 10 gallons (40 liters) add 1 tablespoon of dry yeast, but not more.

Cover the crock with cheesecloth and set the wine aside in a warm place to ferment. When fermentation ceases (this will depend on weather conditions as much as room temperature), transfer the wine to sanitized half-gallon jugs. If the wine appears a little frisky, do not cap the jugs or they will explode. Let the wine rest until it is perfectly still, then cap the jugs and let the wine age. As it ages, sediment will accumulate in the bottom on the jugs and the wine will gradually clarify. Once it is clear it maybe bottled up into wine bottles, corked and put down to age like any grape wine.

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Tomatoes really can be used for anything, it seems! I’ve had tomato desserts, tomato pesto, tomato ice cream - and now we have a recipe, above, for tomato wine! I don’t think I’ll be making it any time soon though!

Blossom sitting on fern, Pisgah Forest, May 2020. Another example of proof we made the right move at the right time!

Mid May Garden Update, Part 2 - Focus on the Tomatoes

Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet, on May 21

Now, on to my favorite crop - the tomatoes! I am growing far less than last year, but they will be no less interesting.

The following are indeterminate varieties planted in strawbales, two plants to a bale.

Cherokee Chocolate (2 plants) - I used lot T16-119 - I planted 2 because I am going to grow them very differently. One plant will be grown in a cage and only minimally pruned, the other grown allowing just one sucker develop. Fruit size, yield, fruit set, plant health will be compared. I am growing this because it is a can’t-do-without variety for us. By the way - T16-119 was grown from T11-13 - which was from T96-3 - which was grown from T95-47, the chocolate tomato that started this variety.

Cherokee Purple - I used lot T16-104 - Another can’t-do-without variety. T16-104 is from T02-3, which is from T91-27, which is from #287 - the seed sent to me by JD Green as an unnamed variety in 1990.

Cherokee Green - I used lot T20-8 - and, yes, can’t do without this one either! T20-8 if from T19-17, which is from T18-7, which was from a packet from Johnny’s Selected seeds - I was the source to Johnny’s.

Glory F1 hybrid - Last year I crossed pollen from Dester onto a flower of Dwarf Gloria’s Treat - this is the hybrid that was created. I have high hopes - and expect slightly heart shaped pink fruit. My friend Marsha in Florida grew it and reported it to be absolutely delicious - and, yes, pink and slightly heart shaped and large!

Lucky Cross - I used lot T21-24. I love this variety and don’t wish to do without it. T21-24 is from T20-4, which is from T19-10, which is from T11-14, 19 or 21 - all of which are from 2002 saved seed. This variety has a very complex genealogy!

Polish - I planted lot T20-7. This spectacular tomato is one that it is the very top tier of my collection. T20-7 is from T18-14, which is from T12-21, which is from T01-45, which is from T90-8, which is from #89 - the sample sent to me by Bill Ellis as a SSE transaction.

Estler’s Mortgage Lifter - Since the seed from the SSE storage gave an apparently incorrect variety, I am going with a seed sample from SSE member Neil Lockhart. My hopes is for a huge pink tomato, in the 2 lb range.

Captain Lucky - I’ve wanted to grow this Millard Murdock’s selection from Lucky Cross for some time. It is potato leaf, and should produce green fleshed tomatoes with swirls of other colors.

Yellow family heirloom - this was sent to me by Joann Jacobs of Wisconsin last year. It is regular leaf - aside from that, it is one of this year’s mysteries!

Mary’s heirloom - Supposedly a very old family heirloom from West Virginia, sent to me by Harry Moran. Another mystery! Gorgeous regular leaf plant so far.

JD Special C-Tex, potato leaf variant - sent to me by Randy Dowdy of Texas in 2020, I am finally getting around to test this. I love JD Special C Tex - a big Cherokee Purple type, but he claims this is same fruit on a potato leaf plant. We shall see!

Blue’s Bling X Little Lucky, potato leaf, variegated F2 selection - This is a selection from the hybrid I grew out last year and loved. There are all sorts of color possibilities and I wanted to grow one each of a variegated potato leaf and regular leaf plants (see below). Fruit size should be from medium to large, and round to oblate.

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom regular leaf F2 selection - This hybrid I created was the best tasting tomato in my garden last year. I am growing out a regular leaf and a potato leaf F2 selection. All sorts of colors are possible! Fruit size should be large and oblate. Pink, red, chocolate, purple, shades of yellow are all possible.

Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom potato leaf F2 selection - see above

Blue’s Bling X Little Lucky, regular leaf, variegated F2 selection - see above

Blue’s Bling X Polish, potato leaf, variegated F2 selection - An F2 selection from another of my recent hybrids. I wanted to grow out a potato leaf variegated selection - we shall see what the fruit color is like. I expect we will see pink or purple tomatoes, of large size and oblate shape.

German heirloom - This was sent to me by a gardener from Indiana in 2017 and I am finally getting to grow it. It is regular leaf. Of course, I love mysteries - and my garden will be full of them this year!

World War II - This was sent to me by Geny Laroche of New Hampshire in 2020. I am finally getting to it, and it is regular leaf.

McCutcheon - my friend Adam Kirk gave me seed earlier this year - it is a West Virginia heirloom that should have very large fruit. It is regular leaf.

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The following are dwarf varieties, and a few determinate varieties, in 5 gallon grow bags

Dwarf Mocha’s Cherry X Blue’s Bling F2 variegated selection - This whole section contains F2 dwarf selections from recent hybrids. I can’t wait to see what sort of tomatoes are produced on all of these. For this one, the fruit color is likely purple, but size, shape and antho coverage - and flavor - have many possibilities.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum F2 regular leaf selection - See above. Wide color variations are possible.

Lucky Cross X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum F2 regular leaf selection - See above - another with wide color possibilities.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum F2 potato leaf selection - see above.

Coastal Pride - sent to me by my garden friend Mike, he really likes this orange fruited dwarf - it is not one of the Dwarf Tomato Project creations. I’ll look forward to seeing and tasting this! This variety was bred in Canada by the McMurrays.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Speckled Heart F2 regular leaf selection - see above. All offspring should have stripes, and heart shapes are likely too.

Blazey family selection orange fruit F4 regular yellow leaf selection - Blazey was an odd cross I did between Honor Bright and Dwarf Blazing Beauty. I am hoping for good tasting orange tomatoes on a yellow foliaged plant.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum F2 potato leaf selection - see above

Blazey family selection orange fruit F4 potato leaf selection - see the Blazey entry, above

Don’s Double Delight X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum F2 potato leaf selection - all sorts of colors, and stripes, are possible with this one.

Dwarf Irma’s Highland Cherry pre-release selection - This is from the Teensy family - Mexico Midget X Summertime Green, with Dwarf Eagle Smiley the first release. This should be the next one, and will have tasty chocolate cherry tomatoes.

Cancelmo Family Heirloom X Dwarf Moby’s Cherry F2 selection - Cross a big pink heart with a dwarf yellow cherry and all sorts of things are possible!

Fuzzy X Cherokee Purple F3 purple fruited fuzzy leaf selection - I was delighted to find purple tomatoes on a fuzzy plant - let’s see if it continues.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Speckled Heart F2 regular leaf selection - see above - this is a second plant from this particular cross.

Fuzzy X Cherokee Purple F3 pink fruited fuzzy leaf selection - Seed for this was from a quite large pink tasty tomato on a fuzzy plant. Let’s see what I get!

Lucky Cross X Dwarf Buddy’s Heart F2 potato leaf selection - see above - all sorts of colors possible, and heart shape too.

Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet -This was given to me as a plant at my Marion NC speaking event by my TN friend Eddie Lambert. The plant is showing the characteristic bright chartreuse leaves and there are already a few small tomatoes.

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The following are indeterminate tomatoes in 5 gallon grow bags

Tennessee Surprise - This is also a plant given to me by Eddie. The tomatoes should be large and orange.

Ribbed Mystery Variety - This is yet another plant given to me by Eddie and I’ve no idea what it will produce.

Yellow Fruity - Fruity Red is a tasty red cherry tomato - this is a yellow one out of the same breeding work by Tim Peters.

Orange Fruity - This is the orange fruited specimen from the Fruity family.

Egg Yolk, potato leaf - “Wild Thing” - seed sent to me by Walter Roos of Georgia this winter.

Sun Gold F1 hybrid - Seed from Johnny’s - how could I NOT grow it!

Suzy’s Wild Red - This is from seed sent to me by Allan Robins of Georgia. I am going to compare it to Mexico midget.

Suzy family F4 selection potato leaf indeterminate fuzzy fruit - This family was created when I crossed Peach Blow Sutton with Dwarf Sweet Sue, with the goal of getting dwarfs with fuzzy fruit. A friend sent me this last year, but it seems that the plants are indeterminate, not dwarf. I am growing out one potato leaf example.

Egg Yolk, red fruit - Also from Walter Roos of Georgia.

Suzy’s Wild Orange - Also sent to me by Allan Robins, this is an orange or yellow fruited variant of Suzy’s Wild Red. We shall see.

Egg Yolk - Not only is it a favorite of ours, but I need fresh seeds.

Mexico Midget - A regular in all of our gardens, the perfect snacking tomato morsel.

Mortgage Lifter, Halladay’s - This and the one below are part of an Epsom Salt application mini-project. Grown from 2013 saved seeds, this one will not get regular Epsom Salts.

Mortgage Lifter, Mullens - And this one will - also grown from 2013 saved seeds. What will the Epsom Salts applied weekly to this plant do?

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I also have seedlings of a variegated microdwarf from a cross I made between one of Dan Follett’s Micros and Cherokee Purple. The fruit were red last year. I am going to squeeze some into my raised bed once the garlic is harvested, in a few weeks. Finally, a red fruited multiflora Micro that my friend Justin sent me.

All in all, total number of tomatoes planted - 51, with up to half a dozen of the micros.

This is significantly down from last year’s 109 plants - just as planned! And I am sure some of you didn’t believe I could do it!

Dwarf Irma’s Highland Cherry, on May 21

My Tomato Collection Tour - Part 17. Tomatoes #211-#220

Straw bale planted tomatoes as of May 21 - Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Green

I’ve decided that once I hit tomato #250, I will take a summer break. The weekly Off The Vine republish posts will continue, and regular garden update blogs will occur too. I will resume the seed collection tour once the garden is complete. This entry won’t be a particularly fascinating set of tomatoes. It will be just a temporary lull, as some heavy hitters will show up in the next entry.

Tomato #211 - LIllian’s Large Yellow #2 - sent to me in a second envelope by Robert Richardson in 1989. I grew it in 1990, and it grew exactly like Lillian Large Red Kansas Paste.

Tomato #212 - Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom #1 - also sent to me by Robert Richardson in 1989. - This grew exactly like Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - the large fruited bright yellow with potato leaf foliage.

Tomato #213 - Abraham Lincoln - sent to me by Jean Crumpler in 1990. I grew it in 1990, and it was yet another disappointment - a semi determinate, medium sized round prolific red that was nothing like the description of the variety when it was released in 1923.

Tomato #214 - Ole - also sent to me by Jean Crumpler in 1990. I never did grow it. I can’t find anything about this variety aside from a listing in the Seed Savers Exchange, describing it as a red, slightly blocky 6-12 ounce tomato. It does seem to be available if I ever with to acquire the seeds and finally grow it!

Tomato #215 - Jackpot - from Ted Telsch, 1990. I didn’t grow it. It may be a no longer available hybrid - I could find nothing about it.

Tomato #216 - Macero II - purchased from Harris Seeds in 1990. I grew it in 1990, and it was essentially just like a typical Roma type - Red, medium plum, determinate, prolific - and bland. I suspect this was a Harris produced variety as an improvement on Roma.

Tomato #217 - New Hampshire Red - sent to me by B. George in 1990. I never did get around to growing it. Very obscure, couldn’t find a bit of information.

Tomato #218 - Fireball - from Barney Laman, CA, 1990 (he of Mexico Midget fame). I grew this in 1986, and was not impressed - I didn’t grow the seeds from Barney. Refer back to my very early tomato collection blogs.

Tomato #219 - Beefmaster - also from Barney in 1990 - I never did grow it. It is a large fruited scarlet red hybrid that still could be found in some catalogs.

Tomato #220 - Gurney Hy-Top F2 - yet another from Barney in 1990. I never did grow it. Odd for Gurney to release an F2 generation. Seems no longer available - suspect it was a medium red tomato, perhaps a determinate.

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So - what tomatoes from the above set are must-grows? Aside from the extra Lillian’s samples sent to me, there’s nothing worth recommending here, and I didn’t even grow many of them. At this point, I was involved in some garden magazine seed swaps, and people were sending me tomato seeds that I didn’t request - but that they clearly thought highly of.

We’ve had this since 2020 - just bring it into the garage in the fall, loses its foliage, water just occasionally - put it out in spring, Osmocote the heck out of it - and voila!

Off The Vine, Volume 2, Number 1. "What to Grow in 1995. A Tomato Enthusiast Out of Control!" by Craig

Marlin keeping an eye on things, mid May 2022

I wrote an article to share the increasing challenge of deciding what to grow, as my seed collection grew each year. I haven’t read this in a long time - and am interested in seeing how my decisions were made, and how my current garden choices align with this garden from nearly 30 years ago!

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What To Grow in 1995? A Tomato Enthusiast Out of Control!

 by Craig

So, when one has hundreds of varieties of tomato seeds sitting out in little glass vials on the shelf of the garage, what happens in late winter when it becomes time to think about the garden? What kind of selection process do I use to decide what to grow in the coming summer’s garden, and which will have to wait another year or more? For many of you, deciding what to grow may be an easy process, but not for me! I can always seem to come up with a good reason to grow any particular variety of tomato, but with such a large collection, discipline and planning is a must! Here is the reasoning process that I have struggled with this year in planning my tomato growouts.

I guess that the first thing that I do is mentally divide the tomato varieties that I have in my possession into several categories. The two major priorities are what will taste best (since it can be argued that the most important reason to have a garden is to eat of its bounty), and what needs to be grown for seed purposes. There are many factors that contribute to this second priority, such as how many people are reoffering, if any, in the SSE annual, the age of the seed (meaning, how long has it been since it was last grown), what is the priority if it has yet to be grown, etc. Often, such as in this year and, I suspect, all years hence, it comes down to how much room I have for tomatoes in my garden, and how close do I dare space them! Usually, I then start looking for friends and remote gardens in which to inject my varieties. 

Rather than to continue to explain the process, I will use actual details that are in progress for my 1995 garden. This year, my original goal was to concentrate on those varieties that have performed best for me over the years. There is interest from a local grocery store to market heirloom tomatoes, so I was going to grow several plants of these “best” types to sell to the store. First in priority are the potato leaf pink tomatoes, since most of the best that I have tasted are in this category. For this purpose I selected Brandywine, Polish, and Stump of the World.  But, do I plant saved seeds or the seeds from the original source? I decided to try some of each.  Next are large pink regular leaf types that are extremely sweet and delicious. I chose Mortgage Lifter, but from two sources (Charlotte Mullens and Jim Halladay), both original and saved seed. I also decided to add Wins All, which excelled for me last year and is a legitimate old commercially developed variety, sent to be by someone in North Carolina who has been keeping it going for many years. Next, keeping with the pinks, are the wonderful heart shaped varieties that are so spindly as seedlings, such as Anna Russian, Ukrainian Heart, and Nicky Crain. (Again...saved or original??  Both!..). Already it is getting cumbersome and complicated. On we go to the red tomatoes, and I selected Bisignano #2, Opalka, Reif Italian Heart, Big Sandy, and Favorite. To provide tomatoes of unusual and different colors, I chose to grow Yellow-White (also known as Viva Lindsey’s Kentucky Heirloom), Hugh’s, Lillian’s Yellow, Potato Leaf Yellow, Yellow Brandywine, Green, Golden Queen, Robinson’s German Bicolor, and Aunt Ruby’s German Green. Oh yes, I forgot two favorites, Eva Purple Ball and Cherokee Purple, as well as Madara yellow cherry. That gives me a total of 25 varieties to grow to eat and sell to the grocery store for market. Accounting for the number of each type I wish to grow, this will take care of about 36 plants (I will be able to fit about 80-85 or so in my garden, with about 30 in remote locations).

This year, I acquired 41 varieties from the USDA germplasm collection in Geneva and Fort Collins. Most of those will be grown in the remote locations, but I am still very curious in what they will look like, and I certainly want fresh seed from them. The ones that are old commercial varieties, and will find a home in my garden, are: Imperial, Stick, Earliest of All, Enormous, Buckbee’s New 50 Day, Success, Gold Ball, Diener, and Peak of Perfection.  The others, Abel, Nectarine, Golden Beauty, Giant Beauty, Santa Clara Canner, Ham Green Favorite, Golden Monarch, Jagged Leaf, Vivid, Cream City, Potato Leaf Type, Golden Glory, Heterosis, Tops All, Albino, Trimson, Early Giant, High Crimson, Giant Tree, Yellow Ponderosa, Orange Chatham, Orange King, Bountiful, Giant Italian Potato Leaf, Royal Wonder, Yellow, The Orange, and Matchless will have to be grown in other locations. (The jury is still out on if these will be exactly the ones to be orphaned!). Some apparently shorter growing varieties, such as Dwarf Stone, Dwarf Recessive, Victorian Dwarf #1, and New Big Dwarf will be grown in pots on the periphery of my garden. 

Last year’s growouts of the USDA varieties left some unsolved mysteries. I will try growing one more time Acme, Queen of the Purples, and Mikado in hopes that they might be true to the description. A few of the USDA varieties did not germinate last year, and will get a potassium nitrite treatment and another chance this year (samples of Beauty and  Alpha Pink are in this category). A few of the USDA collection will be grown for the first time, such as Mikado Ecarlate, or regrown to get another look at the variety, such as Abraham Lincoln and Magnus.

Now we come to varieties that come from seed savers and need growing out for seed and observations about performance. In this category are Big Yellow, A. C. Red, Mennonite, Orange Strawberry, Potato Leaf Hillbilly (I am dying to see a potato leaf bicolor), Southern Night, Yellow Brandywine and Brandywine from a fellow in Ohio, Italian Giant, Indische Fleische, Bull Heart, Russian Persimmon, Snowball, Azoychka, Cosmonaut Volkov Red, and Orange. (These will be grown in my home garden). Finally, the experiments, such as my search for the regular leaf bicolor of Nina’s Heirloom and F3 growouts from Sun Gold, round out the list.

Does this represent everything that I would like to grow? Not by a long shot. I have hundreds of varieties that I will need to get to within the next 3-5 years, and there will be renewal of seed of other varieties. And, I suppose, more people will send me their favorites, and there are a host of other interesting varieties sitting in the USDA collection, or somewhere else in the world waiting to be grown. What fun this is!

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After re-reading this, my head is spinning. I was only about 10 years into my heirloom tomato adventure, and my annual decisions on what to grow were already very complex. Many of the tomatoes I wrote about continue to be favorites, and others bring back fond memories, though I’ve not grown them in some time. Perhaps re-reading this article will influence what I grow next year!

Betts keeping an eye on things, too!