Cherokee Tiger Large Dwarf sport

[debles]

I started 4 plants of this variety this year from purchased seed. Three of them have the yellow-green foliage that is typical for this variety and one has green leaves like other tomato plants. I planted two each in large containers in my garden. The one with darker green leaves has grown taller than the others, but has a sturdy stem and is still some form of dwarf.
I've been putting organza drawstring bags over unopened blossoms and not removing them until a fruit is formed in an attempt to prevent cross pollination by bees or other insects and realize that this method is not foolproof since wind could still result in cross pollination of some plants. Since I grow a lot of different varieties in a small area, it's my best shot at saving my own seed.
Once a fruit has formed, pepper or tomato, I remove the drawstring bag and mark that fruit with a twist tie for seed saving.
I've marked one fruit on the typical Cherokee Tiger Large Dwarf and one on the sport. The fruit on the sport is a bit larger than the others, but none of them have gotten any color yet, so I have no idea what to expect.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with this variety? I don't think this cross has been stabilized for a long time yet, so I have no idea what to expect from the plant that's different.

[Heritage]

Hi debles,

Cherokee Tiger Large was released before it was fully stabilized so there are now several different lines with that name in distribution. Some of the lines are stable, some are still segregating, and some have been outcrossed again. If you find a plant/fruit that doesn’t match the description given by your seed source, and it is worthy of saving, use the method you describe for bagging and seed saving - it will work perfectly and will give you close to 100% purity. After you isolate the segregating variety, grow it out for several generations (until you are confident it is stable) and then rename it so your new variety is not distributed as “Cherokee Tiger Large”. The original cross (the cross that produced Cherokee Tiger Large) was a good one and there are some interesting genes in the mix including stripes, chartreuse leaves, and even a micro dwarf.

Good luck with your grow outs!
Steve

[debles]

Thank you so much Steve!
It's kind of exciting to have something unexpected. None of the tomatoes have colored up yet, but the ones on the odd plant are already much larger than any on the other plants.

Since the plant has such a sturdy stem and very large tomatoes, I look forward to seeing how they taste.
I'd grown this variety before, but didn't have any odd plants germinate and didn't realize it wasn't fully stable yet.

Thanks again for your reply and explanation!
Debbie

[Heritage]

Debbie,

I might have given you some partially incorrect information. That's what happens when I rely on my memory instead of my growing notes!

"Cherokee Tiger Black" is the variety I was referring to in my post - she is a sibling of "Cherokee Tiger Large". When I grew 6 plants of "Cherokee Tiger Large" there was some indications that it was not stable, but not to the extent of my "Cherokee Tiger Black" growouts. Of the 6 CTL plants, all had chartreuse leaves. Plant height varied from 2.5' to 5.5'. Two plants had red fruit without stripes, the remaining 4 plants were red w/stripes. So it didn't appear completely stable but it wasn't an obvious early filial generation.

I think (don't quote me) the chartreuse gene involved here is recessive. If so, then the fact that you have a normally green plant would indicate there was a bee cross in the fruit that provided the seeds you planted. (rarely it could be a mutation, or sport, but much less likely.) If you do have a bee cross you should get some interesting varieties in the next few generations.

Good luck,
Steve

[debles]

Thanks for the update Steve.
My garden area has a low fence to keep the rabbits out, but the plentiful squirrels are continually doing damage in the garden. Between the extreme heat and lack of rain we've been experiencing in Tulsa, it's been a struggle just to keep the plants alive. I'm not expecting much from my garden this year due to weather and squirrels. Our older neighborhood (built in the early 60's) has gobs of old oak and pecan trees and half acre lots, so we're overrun with squirrels. The other day I discovered my first tomato with color in one of the raised beds, but the bottom half of it was eaten off. I gave it to my backyard chickens. The next day, I discovered several still green tomatoes that had been chewed on.

I'm really hoping that I'm able to harvest some of the tomatoes I've marked for seed saving at this point. We live right in the city and have far more wildlife in our yard than most people who live in the country do. I positively love to grow our own food, but some years it feels like a futile effort and expense. Most years, I plant pole beans and cowpeas in another 12 x 12 foot fenced area, but with the heat and drought this year, I didn't even plant those.

The Cherokee Tiger Large seed that I started this year was from the same package of seed I used a couple of years ago. It germinated well.
The fruit on the odd CTL plant is much larger than the ones on the shorter plants with chartreuse leaves and the plant is a good foot taller than the others.

If I don't harvest my tomatoes as soon as they start to develop color, the birds will peck them up, but now that the squirrels are attacking them too, it's very depressing.
When we purchased this home in 1998, there was a mature pecan tree in the back yard. I planted a lot of fruit trees with plans of canning fruit and jam to enjoy all year. We have so many birds, rabbits and squirrels that it's extremely rare to harvest anything from our trees. The birds peck the fruit to death and the squirrels pick and waste all of it before it's mature.

Sorry for the rant, but the heat and critters are wearing me down this year.

Debbie