Queen Marbena Tomato.

[ginger2778]

I just got seeds for this and the only Web description I can find is in Spanish. Can someone who has grown this please tell me it's color, size, determinate or indy, leaf type, productivity and taste?

[dustdevil]

Description is Romanian:

https://translate.google.com/transla...ena&edit-text=

[AlittleSalt]

Marsha, I got seeds for it from a Tomatoville member in Romania. I'll PM you who to ask about them.

Okay, I found the letter I PMed you about - Indet., Mid-season, Round, Orange, Great Taste, Suitable for juice.

dustdevil, after clicking on the link you provided - I almost know for surewho wrote the info for it.

[ginger2778]

Thank you both, that's exactly what I needed. I am a happy lady.

[carolyn137]

My seeds from Valerian in Romania and here's his description with more from what was posted above by Robert.

2. Queen Marbena - indet, midseason, orange globe, 10oz+, tasty, for juice

Marius is another gardener I never met. He lives 10 miles far away from our main city,
Bucaharest. He uses to say that this tomato is the queen of his garden, so half of the name
is explained. What Marbena means? 'Mar' comes from Marius (the gardener's name) and 'bena'
is related to names of girls he has (two girls or wife + girl, I do not know for sure)
Queen Marbena is 15-16 years old in Marius' garden

It was out for seed production this past summer. Being grown by two of my now 7 seed producers, both are listed SSE members,so if all went well,it should be listed there and also in my upcoming seed offer by Shawn and myself.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn, and yes it was #2 on his list since he sent several more varieties as well.

[ginger2778]

Carolyn, this helps so much. This is excellent! Many thanks.

[Moshou]

Thanks Carolyn

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Moshou

Thanks Carolyn

And a little backstory here that will amuse some of you but for me it was the first time it ever happened.

I was packing seeds for my seed producers,following the list as to who signed up for what,came to the first one from Valerian,looked for the seeds,which I knew he had sent me.

I looked and looked and looked with no luck, finally decided to e-mail him b/c there were 4 other varieties than Queen Marbena that he sent.

He sent out replacement seeds ASAP, and I couldn't believe it when they got here in just under a week,from Romania since usually seeds from that area take much longer.

I know I thanked you for that and I was so upset since never before in many decades had I ever lost seeds,so I'm thanking you again Valerian, a wonderful true tomato friend.

Marsha,does this look familiar to you?

(1. Garden Red Pride - indet, midseason, red beefsteak, 12 - 15 oz, productive and tasty, No chemicals used excepting copper sulfur, at least in the last 15 years I have it in my garden
2. Michaela's Pink - indet, midseason, pink beefsteak, 12-15oz. I have it from Michaela, my primary school colleague. It is over 20 year old in Michaela's garden
3. Moms'Heart - my oldest heirloom, over 40 years old in the garden, inherited from my mother - indet, midseason, dark red heart, about 4-6oz, very tasty. No chemicals used excepting copper sulfur, at least in the last 40 years
4. Pink Delice - indet, midseason, pink heart, 5-8oz. I have it from one of my neighbor. I grow it for 13-16 years, but it has a longer history in the area. No chemicals used excepting copper sulfur, at least in the last 25 years)

Valerian's Michaela's Pink wasn't what it should be,I have several ems back and forth with him about it,he finally found the correct seeds, and he was the one who sent you correct seeds for it and asked you to send them to me .

And they too were out for seed production this past summer by two of my seed producers.

It's all good!

Carolyn, and a darn good thing that I keep so many past e-mails re tomatoes in my old and sent columns.

[ginger2778]

Sort of familiar, but sort of not. Mine was Michaela's Pink Oxheart, a different tomato, also from Valerian , and most definitely oxheart shaped. That is what he had me send you seeds for.
I remember we had a few posts about the difference too.
This one is not a beefsteak shape.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Sort of familiar, but sort of not. Mine was Michaela's Pink Oxheart, a different tomato, also from Valerian , and most definitely oxheart shaped. That is what he had me send you seeds for.
I remember we had a few posts about the difference too.
This one is not a beefsteak shape.

Nope,you just sent me the seeds in an white envelope , seeds inside and said a surpise from someone you know.And when I opened it it said from Valerian,or maybe Moshou.

What I cut and pasted above were his words for the variety,he never added oxheart to the name at all even when we were going back and forth on what might have gone wrong,that is beefsteaks instead of hearts. I just rechecked all of our back and forth em's on that b'c he was really upset about it,especially b/c he had sent those 4 varieties to others as well..

Same variety.

Yes, as I posted above without all the details,he found out that original seeds he was sending out were not hearts,long story there,finally found some heart plants in a different garden plot several miles ( 7 miles,I just checked) from where he lived,sent you the seeds for you to send me.

So I've kept his original name of Michaela's Pink and have not added Oxheart to it;that it's a heart will appear in any descriptions of the variety.

What is common to all of these varieties?

Andrew Surprise
Favorite Vacation
Grandee
Alice's Egypt
Korolevich
Bobbie
Danko
Anna Russian
Wes
Kosovo
..... and hundreds more is that all are hearts with heart not mentioned as part of the variety name.I confess that I did develop a list of hearts that I'd grown a few years ago.

Carolyn

[clara]

I had it this year - many thanks again, Valerian! - and I am more than satisfied with it! I had picked the first tomato and wanted to add it to a salad, tried a first piece - and ate it all! It was simply too good to end in a salad! I had picked it perhaps a tad under-ripe, not soft at all, and it was marvelously fresh and fruity - adding any salt or whatever was totally unnecessary, it would have even destroyed that wonderful taste!

I would not make juice out of it - as already said above, it's too good for any processing!

It was not overly prolific because it did not have the best spot in my garden - next year it will, for sure! It's one for my "eternal list" and I don't add a tomato very quickly to that list.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by clara

I had it this year - many thanks again, Valerian! - and I am more than satisfied with it! I had picked the first tomato and wanted to add it to a salad, tried a first piece - and ate it all! It was simply too good to end in a salad! I had picked it perhaps a tad under-ripe, not soft at all, and it was marvelously fresh and fruity - adding any salt or whatever was totally unnecessary, it would have even destroyed that wonderful taste!

I would not make juice out of it - as already said above, it's too good for any processing!

It was not overly prolific because it did not have the best spot in my garden - next year it will, for sure! It's one for my "eternal list" and I don't add a tomato very quickly to that list.

Just curious Clara but did you have the heart or the beefsteak?

Carolyn

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Just curious Clara but did you have the heart or the beefsteak?

Carolyn

Clara was talking about Queen Marbena, which is what this thread is.

As for MPO-Carolyn please go back and look at the actual plastic envelope, you will see the correct name on it. I never ever send an unnamed or different name than what I know the variety to be. I think you are mistaken.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Clara was talking about Queen Marbena, which is what this thread is.

As for MPO-Carolyn please go back and look at the actual plastic envelope, you will see the correct name on it. I never ever send an unnamed or different name than what I know the variety to be. I think you are mistaken.

2. Queen Marbena - indet, midseason, orange globe, 10oz+, tasty, for juice

Yes,I now see that Clara was referring to Queen Marbena b/c she also referred to juice as did Valerian.

As for Michaela's Pink,I'm still staying with how Valerian first named it

2. Michaela's Pink - indet, midseason, pink beefsteak, 12-15oz. I have it from Michaela, my primary school colleague. It is over 20 year old in Michaela's garden

..... without any Oxheart added.

Valerian,what is your preference and I ask since you sent me the seeds and with all of our em's back and forth we both referred to it without any "Oxheart" mentioned, just Michaela's Pink. And knowing we were talking about a single variety I think most of the time we just referred to it as"it".

And I sent the new heart Seeds to two of my seed producers last Spring as Michaela's Pink and from the spread sheet this is how it was listed.... but it turns out I can't cut and paste from that spreadsheet,so here's what I said:

(Michaela's Pink originally sent to me and others as a heart but some got hearts and some got beefsteaks, new seeds that are hearts.)

And both seed producers are SSE listed members and will be listing them for the 2017 Yearbook and have a deadline coming up very soon

So Valerian,your choice on how you want it listed,with or without the word Oxheart.

SSE listing is a great way to get seeds out there since if varieties aren't grown,then they can't be perpetuated, and the other varieties that you sent me of which Marbena was one,will also be SSE listed as well,if all went well,and I don't know that yet. My choice,but last year I stopped being an SSE listed member,I'm just getting too old to do all the work,,but three of my seed producers are listed SSE members so they can get them out there for me.


And they will be in my up coming seed offer with Shawn as well,since I always ask for seeds back for seed offers if possible..

Things certainly can get confusing from time to time,can 't they.

Carolyn

[clara]

Not a heart, Carolyn, only beefsteaks, all tomatoes.