The plan...The reality

[Dunkel]

Here is a link to my intended grow list for 2006.
http://www.tomatoville.com/viewtopic.php?t=3&start=30

After dropping a flat I lost several and have started several over. Here's what's growing now...
Amish Yellow Giant = 2
Bear Claw = 1
Beauty King = 1
Berkeley Tie Dye = 2
Black Mountain Pink = 1
Cosner = 2
Depp's Pink Firefly = 2
Djena Lee's Golden Girl = 1
Frank's Large = 2
German Johnson RL = 1
Granny Cantrell's German Red = 2
Gregori's Altai = 1
Hillbilly = 1
Irish Pink = 1
Mamoth German Gold = 1
Marianna's Peace = 1
Mary Robinson = 2
Mortgage Lifter Mullens = 2 (1 isn't pale leaf though)
Mountaineer Mystery = 2
Omar's Lebanese = 1
Pink Pointed = 3
Purple Dog Creek = 2
Royal Hillbilly = 1
Stump of the World = 1
Super Beefsteak = 1 (PL so it's not S.B.)
Summer Cider = 1
Sweet Thing = 2
Tennessee Britches = 2
Tidwell German = 1
Unknown Red PL = 2 (not PL and looks like a dwarf)
West Virginia = 1
West Virginia '63 = 1
West Virginia Pink Slicer = 2
West Virginia Straw = 2
West Virginia Sweet Meat = 2
Yellow Cookie (WV Yellow Slicer)= 2
Yellow Pointed = 2

Most vigorous top 5...
1. Mortgage Lifter Mullens
2. Djena Lee's Golden Girl
3. Tennessee Britches
4. Hillbilly
5. German Johnson RL
Honorable Mention- Mary Robinson
Most runt like top 5
1. Black Mountain Pink (hands down)
2. Omar's Lebanese
3. Mammoth German Gold
4. Tidwell German
5.Royal Hillbilly
Dishonorable Mention- Gregori's Altai (very slow growing but finally took off)

Starting tomorrow...
Earl's Faux
Red Barn
Grandfather Ashlock
Sky Rocket
Sad Sac
Big Zac X Delicious
Critz
and a secret giant variety

[carolyn137]

West Virginia Pink Slicer = 2
West Virginia Sweet Meat = 2

These are two from Patty that I was going to share with those of you in West Virginia, but one seemed OK but the other one is not OK. I'd have to check out correspndance to see which one seemed OK and can do that if you want me to, I think, if I haven't already deleted the many PM's we had here at T ville.

She and I have had several chats about it and so my seeds remain on the plates as dried seeds and I sent them to no one.

Patty said that she was regrowing them this summer to see if she could figure things out.

I didn't know she had sent them elsewhere, so I thought it might be helpful to let you know of my experience with them and that Patty and I have discussed it and she agrees that there's a problem.

[Dunkel]

Carolyn, is there a problem in name only or is it something not producing true? I'm also growing out 3 older (1994-95) seeds that were saved as "Pink Pointed", "Yellow Pointed", and "Dad's Large Pink" to see if they are WV Pink Slicer, Yellow Cookie (WV Yellow Slicer), and WV Sweet Meat collectively. They were saved on a napkin. I got good germination rates for such old seeds too. Thanks again Patty!

[bigcheef]

Hey Dunkel,

What generation are you working with on the Big Zac X Delicious?

Just curious because I want to pick a monster variety for next year to compete in the biggest tomato contest at the fair. So far BZ ad Del. are the two that I know should work for this purpose....oh, and Sadsack of course.

RIK

[carolyn137]

I'm pretty sure it was the pink slicer one, a large pink that was OK but the Sweetmeat one had variable fruits from different plants, some were truly bicolors, which they weren't supposed to be.

Patty did mention she had the Yellow Slicer one, but I don't remember her calling it Yellow Coookie, and I don't know the other ones you mention.

She said she got the ones she sent me at an Amish Farm stand over the border in WV from OH where she lives, and near to where her WV relatives live.

And as I said, she said she was planting them out this summer to see where the problem might be. I'm pretty sure there was a red one in there someplace but that one she didn't send to me.

So see what you get and please do report back.

I can send you seeds of the pink slicer one for comparison sake next year if you want me to.

[carolyn137]

RIK,

While It's true that Delicious still holds the worlds record and Minnie has won many contests with her Big Zac, when you look at the sizes that most home growers get with those two varieties they aren't so spectacular and more in the 1-2 # range per the reports that I've seen.

if it were me I'd also look at some OP's that have shown the genetic capacity to grow large, and I mean in about the three pound range, with no disbudding or other tricks.

And those might include Cuostralee, Zogola, Tidwell German, Omar's Lebanese, Large Pink Bulgarian and Red Barn, for instance, particularly in a wet season.

[Dunkel]

I got the Big Zac X Delicious in trade. From my understanding it's an F1, but can it really be an F1 if Big Zac was an F1 and Delicious is an OP ? I guess regardless of the parents status it would be an F1. So last season the person crossed Big Zac X Delicious and saved the seeds and that's what I have now.

[Dunkel]

Germination flops should have been listed as well. This is first time flops, before I dropped the flat and some of these I've had luck with from different folks since.
Armenian- seed was from 1990
Red Barn
Turkey Chomp
Trees Bottom Yellow
Yellow Zebra
WV Sweet Meat
Pink Potato Top (Fred Limbaugh)
Grandpa Willie's
Gus' Heart
Red Tomato of Montlhery
Perfect Purple
Coustralee

[bigcheef]

Thanks for the info guys!

At least I have one of those varieties in my plans this year Carolyn. I will keep the others in mind for future competitions. I'm mostly growing for taste this year but I would enjoy growing the more unique and oversized varieties.

Dunkel,
Keep us posted on the grow outs bro!

RIK