Eva Purple Ball???

[b54red]

Below is the fruit set from my only surviving Eva Purple Ball. They are very oblate and look like beefsteaks to me. I am new to growing this variety; but I thought it was supposed to be a more round fruit. I got the seed from TGS and don't want to replant them in the fall if they are wrong. This plant has been in the garden for 60 days and seems like it developed fruit very slowly. It is way behind other varieties that are supposed to take much longer to make.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by b54red

Below is the fruit set from my only surviving Eva Purple Ball. They are very oblate and look like beefsteaks to me. I am new to growing this variety; but I thought it was supposed to be a more round fruit. I got the seed from TGS and don't want to replant them in the fall if they are wrong. This plant has been in the garden for 60 days and seems like it developed fruit very slowly. It is way behind other varieties that are supposed to take much longer to make.

Nope, not dear Eva. Fruits are the absolute wrong shape and the oblate one on the right even has a belly button which Eva never has.

Eva has perfectly formed pink globe fruits and I've been growing it from time to time since the early 90's when Joe Bratka and I first co-listed it in the SSE YEarbook. So that's a variety I know very well.

Is there any chance at all that somehow you might have mixed up some seed somewhere. The only reason I ask is b'c TGS has been selling Eva for a very long time and I've never seen anyone get wrong seeds for Eva from them. Of course I suppose there's always a first time with a new batch of seed but you're the first that I've seen to get a wrong Eva. Stuff happens.

[jsuperchi]

Mine do not look like that but rather very large marbles at this point.

I will try and take a picture tonight.

-Josh

[b54red]

Thanks Carolyn. The reason I posted the question was because I thought it was the wrong tomato but since it was from TGS I wanted to make sure. I have only gotten one other missed type from them. They are my favored seed source because of the dependability, quick shipping, and great germination that I have gotten from their seeds. They also have my favorite web catalogue which is easy to use and informative. I have already planted the rest of the seed and will see if I get any true Eva from them. Of the two I planted out only one survived to fruitset and I don't know who got the other seedlings I started. I rarely keep up with who gets what when giving away so many plants each spring.

[Granite26]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Eva has perfectly formed pink globe fruits

Thats no understatement. I have to say Eva has some of the best looking, perfect fruits out there!

[rsg2001]

Definitely not Eva. Eva's my trusty medium super-round pink super tasty producer. Two years ago from a packet of Cherokee Chocolate from TGS I grew both normal C.C. but also a variety that looks a lot like Black Plum. This year, I am growing out three of the 'mystery black' tomatoes to see what I get since I saved the seeds.

[Tania]

b54red,

I also had a similar experience with 'faux' Eva a couple of years ago - I received the original seeds from a SSE member, and got fruits very similar to what you have. I do not know where this SSE member got her seeds from originally, but it was certainly not a true Eva. I called it 'Eva Ruffled' - http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Eva_Ruffled. The taste was excellent, and I saved seeds to grow it again in the future.

Last year I finally got true Eva Purple Ball seeds from another person, and they grew true to type .

Tania

[creister]

Definately not EPB. She is like the others have stated, round, looks like a baseball.

[b54red]

Thanks for the input everyone. When you are trying over 60 new heirlooms it does get confusing, even with a spreadsheet.

[Fert1]

The exact same thing happened to me last year. What was supposed to have been Eva Purple ball, turned out to be very oblate and much larger than EPB. I think I also got my seeds from TGS. So yes, they have had a labeling problem or something. I tried again this year, and I seem to have the real thing as best as I can tell.

For what it's worth, my imposter was quite good, and some thought it was the best tasting variety I had last year. So you may still like it despite it being an imposter. I think I even posted some picture on here last year asking the same question.

[b54red]

Thanks Fert, I had no thought of pulling it, I was just curious. One of my best tasting tomatoes this year was a regular leaf plant I got in my Gary O' Sena seed. It also pumped out 28 nice size pink beefsteaks before the fusarium finally killed it. Needless to say I am saving the seed for next year.

[Fert1]

I suspect your imposter is the same as mine since the source was the same. So yes, you may be in for a pleasant surprise this year. Do try the real EPB sometime though. It's a great tomato!

[Fert1]

Well, I thought I had the real EPB this year, but upon last inspection, I'm seeing oblate tomatoes again. This year's seed source was definitely Tomato Growers' Supply, as that is the only place I ordered seeds from this year. So last year's and this year's are the mystery plant. Sounds like TGS has had some sort of SNAFU regarding EPB. If it's the same as what I had last year, at least I know it's tasty. Guess I will have to try again next year for the real EPB. Have you notified TGS yet? I'm guessing we should. I think they would want to know.

[cottonpicker]

I'll have to agreee completely!!!! The shape of your fruits is DEFINITELY nothing like the EPB I've grown in the past. It is one of the prettiest, most perfectly round and blemish-free fruits I've ever grown. And it had a unique purplish irridescent color. I Don't have a clue which variety you have........
LarryD

[Fert1]

Well, I thought I had the real deal this year, but it turns out I do not, and I know this year's seeds came from TGS. I thought last year's was just a fluke where a package somehow got mislabeled, but it seems they have a bigger problem than that where EPB is concerned. Does anyone have an email address for TGS? All I can find on the web site is a phone number. I don't want to make a long distance call just to tell them they have the wrong variety.

Whatever it is though, it's very tasty. The size and shape of the tomatoes seem to vary quite a lot though, with some being around 6 oz and round, and others being around a pound and very oblate - all on the same plant.

It also seems to be holding up to the extreme heat better than anything else is at the moment. It's the only potted plant I have that isn't half dead.