Carolyn's Fall 2012 Feedback Reports

[carolyn137]

I'm assuming by now that most, but certainly not all folks, have had a chance to grow, taste and assess the varieties they got from me in my Jan 2012 seed offer. So post your results when ripening and tasting hav occurred.

But FIRST a reminder. I posted this in the germination thread in the Spring but not seen I'm sure, by all. I noted that I sent out seeds for Podorok and spelled it two different ways and here's what it should be called:

Podorok Fei ( which translates out to Gift of the Fairy) Thanks for making any corrections you need to make.

What I'm after in this thread is what you folks thought of the varieties you grew this season as to performance, taste, how true they were to the variety and anything else you need to note. And I know that the same variety grown in different places can differ as to production, taste, and all the other variables that are known and in this season there were some areas with terrible weather.

I'd also like to know how many of the varieties you requested you actually grew this season.

So when you report could you please say something like:

5/5 grown this season
3/5 grown this season

...... and I mean grown to maturity so you could experience the fruits as well.

And then describe each one as to:

Performance
Taste
True to variety

......and anything else you want to comment about. If you want to show pictures by all means do so.

There were well over 100 persons who requested seeds and many did not post in the germination thread, so if you grew out NONE of them please note that as well. I'd say close to 90% requested the 5 max varieties, just an estimate but I know as I was packing seeds I was thrilled to find some who only asked for 1 or two varieties b/c after sitting for hours at a time packing and labelling seed packs my muscles would start aching.

Finally, with this last seed offer I was wiped out of many varieties b'c I took on too many folks. I can't and won't ask those who do seed saving for me to regrow those, for many reasons. When I was able to do all my own fermentations I always grew out new seed stock when needed, but not now.

There are just a few varieties that if you have a few seeds I'd like to have back and if more than a few seeds then I could reoffer them for 2013.

Your choice and I'm not trying to put pressure on anyone.

Those varieties would be:

Kukla's Portuguese Heart
Kukla's Portuguese Beefsteak
Cuore del Drago

Yes, I'm low on many others but not almost out as for the above three. And already a nice Tvillain has offered to send me several hundred seeds each of two varieties.

I meant to put in my walker basket the results of the seed inventory I did yesterday, but forgot to do that so later today or tomorrow I may add a couple of more varieties to the three I listed above.

I intend to do another seed offer for 2013, and I say that now without even knowing if I will or will not have seeds for many of the new to all varieties that others are doing the seed production for me b/c in one case he may have lost almost all of his plants to the drought.

My tomato plants out back are beyond pathetic, for many reasons, so I doubt I'll even get ripe ones before first killing frost. And since I no longer can do fermentations here at home on a routine basis the only one I set up was for two Dester fruits that were brought to me. And yes, some of the hundreds of seeds that are being donated are Dester, so I know that one will be on my list for 2013.

So go to it and if you have any questions just ask here in this thread.

Thanks so very much.

[Boutique Tomatoes]

Granny's Heart - 2 germinated, 2 grown. Appears true to type, some variability as to shape, fairly uniform for size, very productive. Nice flavor in this one. I saved lots of seed and was going to include it in my SASE offer this year.

Fish Lake Oxheart - 4 germinated, 2 grown here, 2 at my in-laws and I have not gotten a report from them. Very defined heart shape, nice flavor. Not terribly productive for me, I believe I'll only end up with 6 or 7 fruits from each plant. Note that I do prune, so it may be a variety that does not like that. I've saved what seed I can and will have a limited amount for my SASE offer.

I didn't get any Heshpole to germinate, looking at the germination reports it looks like I wasn't the only one that had challenges with that variety.

Pictures of both are in my photo thread for this season in that section.

[greyghost]

Indian Stripe/possibly Daniels F4

Rec'd 8 seeds; 4 germinated and were grown out

I also grew Daniels (purchased as an on-line special from Baker Creek) as
a control; I should have grown Indian Stripe also as I thought this cross
resembled IS more than it did D. I was expecting the "dark pink" to
be a rosy pink but instead all four plants produced fruits with a good bit
of chlorophyll retention resulting in a fruit color similar to Indian Stripe
when fully ripe. Before fruits were fully ripe, they appeared "tan" with
green shoulders. At first, I thought the degree of green in the shoulder
area might vary a bit from plant to plant but as summer wore on, it may
have been heat dependent and I concluded the fruits from all 4 plants
were pretty uniform (Sometimes, the shoulders were much lighter green).

I expected the height of plants to be taller (my Daniels is 6 to 7" but
all four of these were less than 5' tall.

Fruits The first produced were fairly good sized, spectacular specimens
really, some 4" in diameter (Daniels were jumbo's in comparison). These were
followed by mostly medium sized with a few smaller fruits. Fortunately,
Kath posted photos in her thread about 2012 Tomatoes -mine looked just
like hers. I did get quite a few mal-formed but my other varieties produced
these, too-we had cool nights when these set. After a long lull, plants
have many fruits again that are much smaller, some a little more mis-shapened than I like-some belly-button knobs similar to what Kath noted (in a photo). Color is not as even or attractive (heat?)

Taste The taste was shockingly good-we felt it was quite similar to
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, really quite a zippy taste.

Initial fruits were quite sizeable, oblate, such a pretty color, so tasty that
I thought I would grow a whole row next year. Later fruits were less desireable; splits after rains, just too much time elasped since the last great fruits, I'm now down to regrowing one plant (maybe 2) to see how it performs
next summer.

I'll be interested to see if others found the taste to be as assertive as
we did (which is our preference). Also, waiting to see how taste is now
that we're experiencing frequent rains. Early fruits ripened during a drought!

I saved a lot of seed ( from individual plants as well ). One last note, these
plants were started March 8th-first ripe fruits the first days of July. (It
was so shocking to see that first glimsp of tan!) Overall, an A++ on the first
flush, a C on the second flush because many other varieties were quite a bit
more consistant.

All four plants were potato leaf.

[lakelady]

Hoy and Russian Queen, I was unable to germinate for some reason, could have been starter mix as I've been starting my own seeds for years and other seeds started up well for me. Still a mystery.

Lucinda I was able to grow out one plant, and am still waiting for a ripened fruit, but fruits and foliage look exactly like what they should. It is a little trooper though I'll admit as I've stepped on it a few times and it always comes back (its too small to see easily where I planted it)

Indian Stripe Potato Leaf, 5 seeds sown, 4 seeds germinated. I gave two plants away and kept two. Fruits and foliage were as expected. One plant didn't perform well as it was in a dead zone. It was the second tomato plant in that spot to just sort of wilt and die off. The other plant performed beautifully, good production, and excellent fruits. I'll plant this one again.

I only requested 4 varieties so that's all I have to report on!

[ContainerTed]

Fishlake Oxheart - 3 for 4 germinated - 2 plants grown.

Plants were true to form on size and foliage. Fruits were correct with that signature yellow color around the stem area. They ripened beautifully and the shape and locule pattern was true to variety.

I gave the taste a rating of 7.5 to 8.0, but must state that all my tomatoes seemed to be a bit off prime taste. I attribute that to abnormal weather patterns we've had this season.

Carolyn, this is a really great heart. Thanks for providing access to the seed. I have saved seed for this one and will definitely plant it again.

[austinnhanasmom]

Cuore del Drago aka Dragon Heart ( 2011) sowed 6 seeds and 0 germinated. A white mold/growth was evident on seeds. 0 grown.

Kukla's Portuguese Heart (2012) sowed 3 seeds and 3 sprouted. 100% germination. 3 grown, but only 1 in my garden. Nice heart and very productive for me in a bad year. Great flavor.

Kukla's Portuguese Paste (2012) sowed 6 seeds and 2 sprouted. 33% germination. 2 grown but both failed to survive the hardening off process.

Experimental:
Vince P1 (F5) sowed 10 seeds and 0 germinated. A black mold/growth was evident on the seeds. 0 grown.

Indian Stripe x possibly Daniels (PL) sowed 9 seeds and 0 germinated. A white mold/growth was evident on seeds. 0 grown.

[greyghost]

Carolyn, Is Suze going to supply a name for the IS/possibly D cross?
Would she like the seeds shared (I guess she's waiting to see if if stable).
Maybe I should ask if she'd let us know about sharing after the feedback.

[VC Scott]

Carolyn, as reported earlier I had some germination problems caused by a kitten, but I did have some success with the following:

1. Blush. 1/1 grown this season. Plant was true to form. Not a particularly vigorous plant. Fruit was true to form and tasted quite good when ripe. It took a while to figure out the precise color when the fruit is ripe. If fruit is left on the vine after the first "blush" of pink, the color intensifies, but the skin tended to get tough and the flavor and texture deteriorated.

2. Fish Lake Oxheart. 2/2 grown this season. Plant was true to form and fruit shape was true to form. Flavor was fantastic. Unfortunately the plants were in a part of the garden hit hard by Tomato Russet Mites and production was not as great as one might expect.

3. Indian Stripe PL. 3/3 grown this season. Plant was true to form and fruit shape was true to form. A fantastic producer even though many other plants in the immediate area suffered from Tomato Russet Mite. Indian Stripe seemed immune. Of over 60 varieties grown, only Brandywine Cowlick's was close to the performance of Indian Stripe PL in both health of the plant, production and flavor. A definite keeper.

Growing conditions in inland San Diego were near optimal. The last two weeks of March were a bit cold, but then weather was sunny and warm until first week of August, when we were hit with about two weeks of highs in high 90's

[Farmette]

Carolyn:
The key to my notations: Sown/Germinated/Grown

Casino 5/6/2
Good amount of fruit
Old time taste
Medium sized plum paste

Malinovyi Rog 3/5/2
Good to large amount of fruit
Pleasantly sweet taste
Medium sized blocky plum paste

Terhune 6/0/0

Kukla's Portuguese Heart 6/1/0
Only plant did not survive to maturity.

Cuore del Drago 5/2/2
Good to large amount of fruit
Pleasantly sweet taste
Long red paste, twisted towards the bottom with a nipple at the end

Will post pictures later. All that grew to maturity will make it into my garden next year and am saving seeds from them.

Thanks again Carolyn for sharing seeds for some excellent tomatoes. They contributed to 10 qts. of canned tomato sauce yesterday!
Chris

[kath]

I grew 5/5 varieties I received this year.

There are photos of all but Vince P1 on another thread, "2012 Maters".

Dutka's Pink- had 1 sprout from 6 seeds sown and it's producing 11 to 29 oz. meaty pink beefsteaks on a very large RL plant. Taste and production are quite good. The first fruits tended toward mealiness. Only one bagged fruit yielded just 10 seeds.

Heshpole- had 1 sprout from 8 seeds and it's producing nearly seedless 8 to 15 oz. very meaty pink hearts of variable shape on a very tall, thin PL plant. Very good production and taste. I was able to bag several fruits.

Indian Stripe x possibly Daniels- got 4 fairly compact dark green PL plants from 7 seeds and they seem nearly identical in habit. The fruits of some plants seem different in size and have more distinct dark green striping on the bright green fruits- mine didn't ever show tan. They weigh between 4 oz. and just over a pound but the one I picked today was the largest yet at 22 oz. Some seem more boat-shaped and others more oblate. Many are misshapen- Photo #1 below shows the blossom end many have and some have even more lumps on the bottom. The interior color is beautiful and the taste is excellent- seemingly a bit more acidic from one plant. Have bagged seed from 2 plants. I grew both Indian Stripe and Daniels this year and the fruits resembled Indian Stripe in exterior and interior color much more than Daniels. I preferred the taste of this one to either of the other two, though. The taste of mine is distinctly sweet but not mild.

Kukla' Portuguese Heart- got 2 plants from the 5 seeds sown that were wispy and RL. They've grown into the biggest plants in my garden this year and were among the last fruits to ripen. Production is abundant and the fruits are meaty, not sweet but good taste and are ranging from 9 oz. to just over a pound. Wasn't able to bag any fruits but am saving seed anyway.

Vince P1- got 6 RL plants from 10 seeds. They all stayed quite compact but produce various types of fruits quite late, none of which were expected. Most were round to slightly heart-shaped 1.5 to 4 oz. fruits of various colors with 2 to 4 locules. Two plants had darker fruits with green shoulders that all had radial cracking well before fruit ripened but the size was still larger than expected. No seed was saved. Photos 2-6.

[k3vin]

All 4 requested were grown.

Indian Stripe and Indian Stripe PL - Identical in all respects except leaf form. Outstanding earthy flavor. Grew true to type.

Podorok Fei - Early compact determinate that produced a surprisingly large number of tennis ball size, yellow oblate/oxheart fruits. Flavor pleasant, but not exceptional. Would be a great choice for growing in a container on a patio due to the large volume of good sized fruit produced compared to the size of the plant

Heshpole - This was the real surprise of the bunch. Plant is healthy. Continues to produced a moderate amount of softball sized, pink heart shaped fruits. Flesh is dense and sweet. Outstanding flavor.

Overall impression was that seed vigor was low and germination was sub-par on all or most varieties, compared to my other 50 varieties started. This same observation has been noted the last couple years as well. Perhaps re-evaluate fermentation technique. Are seeds being fermented too long, or at too high of temp? What is the protocol used? Regardless, I did get at least 1 plant per variety. Seeds were saved, and I will pass them on to those who are interested when I make a seed offer in Mid-December.

Thanks for the offer. I always enjoy growing new varieties, and looking through the feedback you request. The feedback certainly adds to the value of your offer.

[tam91]

I grew 4 Vince P1 - 2 in isolation. I did save seeds. My plants are huge, and fairly productive. I posted pictures on the Vince P1 thread - they're big cherries, some slightly heart shaped. I'm sorry to say, I really don't like the taste. I haven't been eating them. I'll try them again - perhaps they're better later in the season. But earlier anyway, I'm sorry, but they were spitters.

Medovaya Kaplya - I grew this at home and at a friends. Neither spot was very good this year, but the plant did well considering. Very tasty, and I did save a few bagged fruit. Given conditions, I can't really judge the plants performance.

Maiden's Gold - germinated ok for me, but sickly plants. I kept one alive. That's the same thing that happened to me last year, from a different seed source. So I ended up with 1 of yours, and also 1 from seed I saved last year. Unfortunately, both plants (in two different gardens) are very small. Yours produced 1 small tomato this year, mine produced two. Too bad, they taste delicious. But I can't seem to get a good vigorous plant of these - and that's 3 different seed sources, counting my own saved seed from last year.

Indian Stripe Potato Leaf - love it. I grew two - huge, early, very productive, and good taste. Definitely a winner.

Granny's heart I didn't have space for, will grow it next year.

[Father'sDaughter]

I restrained myself and only asked for two varieties. I got one of my first choices, Terhune, and one of my second choices, Casino.

Terhune:
All five seeds sown, one germinated/survived and was grown out.
Potato leaf, pink, indet., round.
Planted out - May 30th.
First ripe - August 8.
Harvested as of today - three tomatoes.
Remaining on plant - three tomatoes.
Average size - 5-6 ounces.
Flavor - mild with a hint of richness.


Casino:
Six seeds sown; all six germinated; grew two, gave away two, tossed two.
Regular leaf, red, indet, both elongated and plum.
Planted out - May 30th.
First ripe - August 6.
Harvested as of today - 17 tomatoes.
Remaining on plants - about 12 tomatoes.
Average size - 7-8 ounces.
Very meaty, minimal seeds/gel, old fashioned flavor.


Just want to say thank again, Carolyn, for allowing us all to try so many varieties!

[MarinaRussian]

Grown 9/9 varieties received

We had a very odd summer, either very cold for several weeks and then drought the next couple of weeks, so I lost second and third trusses on most of my plants, not just the ones from your offer. I can't really judge production.

I'm going to rate the taste from 5-10, where 5 is a "grocery store" taste and 10 is the bomb.

Aunt Gertie's Gold - 2 plants, both true to type, taste - 10. Tasted like a zippy-sweet nectarine. Will grow again!

Dutka's Pink - 1 plant (wish I had 2), true to type, taste - 10. Gorgeous, deep-pink, almost fuschia color. It was one of the earliest to set fruit and ripen, it was sooo sweet. Will grow again!

Fish Lake Oxheart - 1 plant, true to type, taste - 8. Beautiful, unusual shape.

Granny's Heart - 1 plant, true to type? looked like very, very blunt hearts, more like a beefsteak. Bright red, large yellow spot around the stem end. Taste - 9

Hoy- 1 plant, true to type, beautiful, large pink beefs, taste - 9. First fruits were on the mild side, the next ones tasted better.

Kosovo - 2 plants, true to type, lots of fused fruits, taste - 9.5

Maiden's Gold - 2 plants, not true to type.
One had small red fruits, growing in beautiful clusters. Was the earliest to set fruit and ripen. Taste - 7
Second one was a pink beefsteak. Taste - 8.5

Rose d'Eauze - 1 plant, true to type? gigantic pink beefsteaks, slightly ribbed. Was one of the latest to set fruit and ripen. First one weighed 2.2lbs, it was a bit overripened, so the taste was just ok. Will try the next ones to see if they taste better. Taste - 7.5

Terhune - 1 plant, true to type, taste - 9.5 ( I'd give it a 10, but then I'd have to give AGG and DP an 11, lol) Gorgeous, blemish-free, sweet. Will grow again!

Overall, I'm happy with the results. Carolyn, thank you so much for the seeds!

[carolyn137]

Just noting that I have an electrical problem here at home and am waiting anxiously for the electrician to call me back, so when that's been solved I'll be back to make some comments.

Also noting that Marina had 9 varieties b'c we had also traded some seeds in addition to her seed offer requests.

And one of the major topics I want to discuss were the comments made above about fermentation procedures and the suggestion that some of the folks who do seed production for me need to reevaluate how they do it. So I want to give some background on those who do it, since 2005, since the summer of 2004 was the last time that I did ALL of my own seed production for seed offers, as well as SSE listings, as well as sending many hundreds of varieties to seed sites where I know the owners well for them to trial them and if they like tham to offer seeds.

It was in Dec of 2004 that I fell and that's what put me permanently into this walker and I'm deeply indebted to those who have raised plants for me as well as doing seed production for me and they are VERY experienced at doing both and I've known them for many years, most but not all are SSE friends, some for several decades.

That gives me the opportunity to do a MAJOR vent here as to the issue of seed germination which has two parts, one seed quality and age versus the experience of the persons doing the germinations.

Since I've been doing large seed offers since the mid-80's I do think I have a good handle, as it were, on those issues.