Big cheef

[jmsieglaff]

I read about Big Cheef at Tatiana's and there is a thread here that discusses proper leaf type but I'm curious if people who have/do grow it would share their thoughts/experiences. Do you still grow it? If not any reason other than just wanting to try more varieties. Thanks a lot!
Justin

[kath]

Big Cheef was one that looked and sounded awesome and I really wanted to like it so I grew it a couple of times, but it didn't measure up to the others in taste, earliness, production, etc. compared to others of its type that were grown in the same year so I dropped it. In my garden, I haven't noticed anything special about disease resistance in potato leaved varieties- they just look bare a lot sooner after I have to start removing diseased leaves.

[Patihum]

Grew it in 2014 and thought it was fantastic. Mid season at 80 days, good production of 1 lb. tomatoes all summer. Flavor was very good to excellent. I had no disease issues with it. It will be returning at some future date - have lots of others to trial.

Considering Kath's report it just goes to show you that everyone's experience with a certain variety can be completely different and a good reason not to rely on reports from others when deciding whether to grow something.

[travis]

I imagine Big Cheef experiences will vary with seed sources.

The Big Cheef tomatoes pictured at Tatiana's Tomatobase, attributed to me, were the finest tasting tomatoes I ever ate. Subsequent segregations varied in sweetness/tartness balance as well as size and intensity of flesh color. I saved seeds from only the best examples up to F5.

I think probably Timothy (of Carolina) has the best examples of Big Cheef at this time, as he has carefully selected up to and past F10.

[ginger2778]

There is a picture of half of one in my current photo thread of my grow list. It was just wonderful. My seeds were from Karen at MichiganHeirlooms. She also gave me Big Cheef Stripes, aka Carneal Tiger.( that's what she put on the envelope)

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by travis

I imagine Big Cheef experiences will vary with seed sources.

The Big Cheef tomatoes pictured at Tatiana's Tomatobase, attributed to me, were the finest tasting tomatoes I ever ate. Subsequent segregations varied in sweetness/tartness balance as well as size and intensity of flesh color. I saved seeds from only the best examples up to F5.

I think probably Timothy (of Carolina) has the best examples of Big Cheef at this time, as he has carefully selected up to and past F10.

My experience varied in that Big Cheef turned out to be a tasteless... pink.

[amideutch]

My experience varied in that Big Cheef turned out to be a tasteless... pink.

Who was your seed source?

Ami

[ginger2778]

Tormato. If it was pink, it wasn't Big Cheef.

[sjamesNorway]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Tormato. If it was pink, it wasn't Big Cheef.

I've been wondering where this one fits in.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/B...nk_Potato_Leaf

Steve

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by sjamesNorway

I've been wondering where this one fits in.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/B...nk_Potato_Leaf

Steve

Steve, good link. See the See also,which has a link to Big Cheef; what you showed is a different tomato and name than Big Cheef, which is a dark, its purple.
Wow, I can understand where the confusion is with this.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by sjamesNorway

I've been wondering where this one fits in.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/B...nk_Potato_Leaf

Steve

I think that fits in with the seed I received, F2 RL pink & insipid.

[sjamesNorway]

Originally Posted by Tormato

I think that fits in with the seed I received, F2 RL pink & insipid.

I’m still trying to get my head around the evolution of the variations of Big Cheef. For example, Tormato, if you had F2 seeds, they must have been from Ricky B (Big Cheef) who distributed them 10 years ago. I imagine this is why Ami has inquired about your source. According to Tatiana, from her descriptions of both BC and BC Pink PL history, the F2 plants were both RL and PL, with fruit of widely varying taste. None of the RL plants produced good tasting fruit. Consequently, it’s not surprising that your F2 RL pink tomato had insipid taste. Further growouts and selection (at least to F5) of Potato Leaf plants by Bill Jeffers (travis) and Ted Corbett (amideutch) have led to Big Cheef ("purple maroon") and Big Cheef Pink Potato Leaf respectively.

I don’t see the correlation between your insipid tomato, and the PL tomato Ted Corbett selected in 2008, which has presumably been selected through further generations, until Big Cheef Pink Potato Leaf is now offered by Tatiana as having “outstanding sweet flavor”.


Then again, if your seeds weren’t F2, as travis writes, “Subsequent segregations varied in sweetness/tartness balance as well as size and intensity of flesh color.” (However, there’s no mention of RL plants in subsequent segregations.)


I’m still new to tomato genetics. If there’s any flaw in my reasoning, I’d appreciated learning why.


Steve

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Tormato. If it was pink, it wasn't Big Cheef.

Yes...I know. I found that out two years after trialing the imposter. When I found out Big Cheef was a black, I had no reason to trial it again.

[travis]

Big Cheer, Pink came about, best I can remember, when Ami said he found a "red" tomato from seeds I sent him for Big Cheer (purple). Correct me if I'm wrong, Ami.

Then when I grew out seeds Aim returned, I got an extra large, more flattened PINK beefsteak tomato, potato leaf foliage, as with the original purple (maroon) Big Cheef.

This is how I remember it, but that was nearly 6 years ago. So, if my memory is faulty, Ami can correct me.

My name is Bill Jeffers, and Ami is Ted Corbett, for your reference in regard to Tatiana's info.

I hope my info is correct, and that it clears up any "confusion" as to Big Cheef (maroon) vs. Big Cheef, Pink. Personally, I don't find the naming process to be any different than dozens of other named varieties that came about in a similar progression.

And as to "tasteless," the Big Cheef, Pink that I grew, while it was not as boldly flavored as its maroon sister line, was far from "tasteless." As with many pink tomato lines that segregate from purple tomato outcrosses, it did not have the same degree of sweetness laced with the earthier or "smokey" undertones attributed to maroon tomatoes. And the Pink line seemed significantly more aggressive in terms of foliage growth. I have not grown it for about 4 or 5 years, but maybe I should revisit it this summer.

I think a lot of the experiences shared here and other threads regarding "bland" or "tasteless" tomatoes from the same varieties that other folks describe as superior are more a function of climate, weather, irrigation, and soil conditions than "personal taste." Fact is, watered down tomatoes yield watered down flavor.

[sjamesNorway]

Thanks for that clarification, travis.