Today. Picked one that I think is almost ripe. Red blush on blossom end but the fruit is mostly dark antho. Plant has quite a few small, about 3-4 oz dark antho hearts with small amt of green showing on the bottoms. No large fruits on the plant, size quite uniform. It's been hot and sunny, the plant looks greener than it used to but still quite dark. No foliage disease/yellowing as yet. The plant is tall and wispy.

Karen, I hope it tastes as good as it looks. It's beautiful.

That's actually looking much closer to normal now. Still darker than usual, but not out of bounds dark. Size on mine went from 10 oz to 2 oz, the smaller were later season.

An update from me.

I posted elsewhere that I had one Sgt Pepper plant out there and two days ago Freda brought in some radishes for me,a new one was called Dragon Tongue,so I asked her and she said no,this one was from the Sgt Pepper plant and just fell to the ground.

So what I see to my right in a plastic container are typical radishes and then the cutest green fruit maybe an inch or so tall and a bit wider,with a protuberance at the bottom and nice antho shoulders and a few antho streaks.

I wish I knew if there were still some fruits on that plant since no way is this baby Sgt Pepper is going to do anything, as in DOA.

Carolyn

I bet there are more Carolyn, maybe lots more. Does Freda or someone else who visits you have a cell phone? Maybe they could take some pictures of your plants and fruit so you can see them.
KarenO

I went back and reread the whole thread. It's amazing how different they can be from one year to the next.

I agree, the pictures idea sounds good.

None of my Sgt Peppers tomatoes are showing any antho in the fruit, just the stems. I picked a huge one for supper tonight and it was delicious! Smooth, creamy and tasty :)

Linda

Were yours shaded Linda, or out in the direct sunlight? The shoulders will only express in the direct sun. Half of my tomatoes were green then red, and the other half were green/antho shoulders then red/antho shoulders.

You asked me that before, and the first enormous tomato was growing low on the plant and I thought that it could have been shaded, but actually it really wasn't and none of the others, growing higher up, have antho either....

Those look like a light antho shoulder, not the typical green shoulder. Some of mine showed almost no antho, while others were intermediate. It's the flavor that will get you!

Sorry if I've asked you before :)

D.

Sorry. Didn't mean that to sound rude, just that you had asked me, and your question got me wondering if they were getting enough sunlight so I investigated and discovered that they were :)

The dark green does look as if it should be antho. Not on the first one, but maybe it will come later. Thanks for sharing your pictures :)

Linda

[QUOTE=Spartanburg123;660444]Were yours shaded Linda, or out in the direct sunlight? The shoulders will only express in the direct sun. Half of my tomatoes were green then red, and the other half were green/antho shoulders then red/antho shoulders.[/QUOTE]

Even the shaded ones in my yard had antho, the force is strong in this one. Lol!

Linda, it's still segregating, some don't have antho. The standard for the variety is to have antho, so I would try again with a different plant next season. I have confirmed antho seeds I can give you. Mine still tasted great the first season I tried, but alas, no antho, and as Iva told me" it ain't Sgt. Peppers if no antho". Last season was the real thing.

Thank you so much Marsha. I might take you up on your kind offer, although I really like the one that I have! No disease, healthy, early, tasty. What's not to like? {LOL}

Linda

Just based on it's color I'd be interested in seeds from this plant. Let us know how it tastes!

[QUOTE=KarenO;657854]Today. Picked one that I think is almost ripe. Red blush on blossom end but the fruit is mostly dark antho. Plant has quite a few small, about 3-4 oz dark antho hearts with small amt of green showing on the bottoms. No large fruits on the plant, size quite uniform. It's been hot and sunny, the plant looks greener than it used to but still quite dark. No foliage disease/yellowing as yet. The plant is tall and wispy.[/QUOTE]

I'm growing Sgt. Pepper's for the third year in a row and therefore thought, I could do an experiment: I did NOT remove any leaves and the lower tomatoes were fully shaded, but developed much antho though. The antho is only in the tomatoes, neither in the stem nor the leaves. There is much more antho than in Spartanburg's pics, I'd say 1/3 to even 1/2 of the fruits.

Later on, I removed some leaves for the next tomatoes - no difference as to the antho.

Next year, I'll place one plant in a spot where it does not get much sun and see what will happen.

Very interesting Clara! I will look forward to hearing the results of your experiment with growing Sgt. Pepper's in the shade :)

Linda

That will be interesting to see Clara.
I still say the variety is clearly unstable, at least some of the Sgt. Peppers seed in circulation. This is not a bad thing necessarily, just a truth and as I said way back not surprising in a tomato that was released at F5. No OP tomato is stable at F5 imo.
I have grown other antho varieties and while there can be variation in the depth of colour on a. plant depending on growing conditions there is always antho present and the size of the fruits are consistent and the growth habit of the plants of any stable variety is similar in general. Just in this thread I have seen more variation than should be explained by just growing and light conditions.
If they taste good, I may grow seed out again from this plant. if not, then I would try again from different seed because mine is not what should be expected from this variety. Again, not a bad thing, just the way this one is.
KarenO

Karen, I was/am waiting for you to tell us how it tastes. :)
I know we all have different tastes and all, but I'm really interested in antho varieties.

Late for me at about 85 days but it's a beauty. Flavour is pretty good, not fabulous but certainly good. Unfortunate green core in this one, remains to be seen if they are all like that. I think this one could have been a little under-ripe.
It is a beauty though. Black as pitch.
I will save seeds.
KarenO

A beauty, indeed!

Wo0w Now that's one I got to have!

Karen, did you show that to your naysayer community garden folks? That really does look like a true Sgt. Peppers, with environment being the difference in the antho amount. IMHO

Wow! That is gorgeous! Definitely trading in my non-antho variety {LOL}

Linda

Now that is black! Karen, could you please satisfy my curiosity by doing an epi scrape check on that really blackest area? I'm assuming skin will be clear since it's supposed to be a pink, but how cool would it be if it broke all the rules and came up neither clear or yellow!

I would like to see a photo of another sgt peppers with this much antho, if someone has grown one this black, (with all the fruits this dark) please post a picture. Size is smallish, the one pictured is the largest on the plant, most are about 3-4 oz.

I will check Dee but pretty sure it will be clear

KarenO

KarenO- you may want to hop over to Xanadu and show these pictures to Jason Haynes (Seasideseeds), who developed this cross. He may have some interest in this high antho example. Italigarden also had some pretty dark ones in the Sgt. Pepper's thread there.

[QUOTE=KarenO;661418]I would like to see a photo of another sgt peppers with this much antho, if someone has grown one this black, (with all the fruits this dark) please post a picture. Size is smallish, the one pictured is the largest on the plant, most are about 3-4 oz.

I will check Dee but pretty sure it will be clear

KarenO[/QUOTE]

Karen, this isn't Sgt. Peppers. It's the one I've been PMing you about. This picture is of the first stage way before ripeness.

Very beautiful Robert!
KarenO

[QUOTE=ddsack;661414]Now that is black! Karen, could you please satisfy my curiosity by doing an epi scrape check on that really blackest area? I'm assuming skin will be clear since it's supposed to be a pink, but how cool would it be if it broke all the rules and came up neither clear or yellow![/QUOTE]

The epi is clear.
KarenO