Are Mariseeds' descriptions accurate?

honu · September 22, 2006

I couldn't resist the tempting descriptions in Mariseeds, even though I couldn't find other info on these. Has anyone tried these? If so, what were your impressions?
Elfie
Amana Pink
Purple Pear Brandywine

travis · September 22, 2006

... and every single one of Ms. Jones's hundreds of listings of relatively obscure tomatoes in the SSE Yearbook are productive and exceedingly delicious! She's a real positive spinmeister and enthusiastic collecter/marketer.

PV

**carolyn137** · September 22, 2006

She's a real positive spinmeister and enthusiastic collecter/marketer.

Yes she is and I've known Marianne for years.

We have, ahem, talked about her mostly over the top blurbs, b'c I keep telling her if she's going to say everything is wonderful, how are folks going to chose between the various varieties.

But that's Marianne.

I've grown only Elfie, not the other two you mention and Elfie, a large orange, was pretty darn good but wouldn't be my own fave in that color class. And folks variously describe it as yellow, deep yellow, and orange, but not usually gold, so what color you might get would probably be dependent on local conditions.

honu · September 23, 2006

Thanks Papa Vic & Carolyn.
Carolyn, Thanks for the feedback on Elfie.

Quote:

We have, ahem, talked about her mostly over the top blurbs, b'c I keep telling her if she's going to say everything is wonderful, how are folks going to chose between the various varieties.

And so many are her favorite.

elkwc36 · September 23, 2006

Yes she is quick to respond to emails but when asked wouldn't pick any favorites or suggest ones she thought would grow best in my heat. She suggested I ask my extension agent and then order. The extension office here don't offer any information on the heirlooms I asked about. So I ordered elsewhere. I had picked about 15 out of Carolyn's book and adding about 17 more. May try her in the future if I can find any information about the varieties. I'm sure she does it that way to avoid people being upset if they don't produce or taste to expectations. But when every variety is so "great" makes it hard to know which to go with.

honu · September 23, 2006

elkwc36, how hot and humid does your area get during your tomato growing season?
What have you tried that did well and tasted great?

elkwc36 · September 24, 2006

Honu,
It is hot and dry usually with lots of hot southwest winds. We have several days over a hundred and many in the mid to upper nineties. I have tried up to now around 30 OP's. Most of these are the ones available commercially. The best tasting and production so far has been Caspian Pink. Cherokee Purple did ok this year. Taste has varied a lot but we also got heavy rains about the time it started producing. Moneymaker produced great but the taste was just average. Soldaki didn't set any fruit till it cooled off. This is a bad summer to judge by also. I have around 30 varieties I hope to try next year. Around four I've grown before and the rest are ones I've had suggested or other's favorites I feel worth a try. Taste wise Brandy Boy and another hybrid have been the most consistent. I just like to ask seed vendor's their suggestions and also favorites. Most even the commercial will tell you their opinions. When they have so many you figure they have favorites. JD

honu · September 24, 2006

Thanks elkwc36,

Quote:

Soldaki didn't set any fruit till it cooled off

My Soldacki was also very late (about 120 d) and stingy w/ fruit. My best non-cherry producer this summer was Ramapo F4. Have you tried that one?

feldon30 · September 24, 2006

Maybe it's a foolish idea, but if I lived somewhere hot and dry, I'd build up a greenhouse and a swamp cooler and vents at the top that I can easily open to release hot air out of the top of the greenhouse. It's only the cost of the water pump and fans, right?

spyfferoni · September 24, 2006

JD,
Have you tried Polish? We have hot dry summers here and Polish did really good for me. San Marzano did well last year for a paste type, better than Big Mama or Viva Italia. I have heard good things about Hiedi and plant to try it next. Kimberly did great even in the heat this summer---suprising for an early type. I too like to get suggestions.

Tyffanie

elkwc36 · September 24, 2006

Tyffanie,
Thanks for the suggestions. Polish is one I had been seeing mentioned alot. Will try to get seeds now and try it. Have seeds for Kimberly. Will try to get San Marzano and Heidi also. Going to try several next year. Looking forward to Grandpa Willie and Adelia. A Kansas OP grower and dealer told me about it. Hope your harvest has been bountiful. JD

September 22, 2006	#1
honu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 270	Are Mariseeds' descriptions accurate? I couldn't resist the tempting descriptions in Mariseeds, even though I couldn't find other info on these. Has anyone tried these? If so, what were your impressions? Elfie Amana Pink Purple Pear Brandywine

September 22, 2006	#3
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	She's a real positive spinmeister and enthusiastic collecter/marketer. Yes she is and I've known Marianne for years. We have, ahem, talked about her mostly over the top blurbs, b'c I keep telling her if she's going to say everything is wonderful, how are folks going to chose between the various varieties. But that's Marianne. I've grown only Elfie, not the other two you mention and Elfie, a large orange, was pretty darn good but wouldn't be my own fave in that color class. And folks variously describe it as yellow, deep yellow, and orange, but not usually gold, so what color you might get would probably be dependent on local conditions. __________________ Carolyn

September 24, 2006	#9
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Maybe it's a foolish idea, but if I lived somewhere hot and dry, I'd build up a greenhouse and a swamp cooler and vents at the top that I can easily open to release hot air out of the top of the greenhouse. It's only the cost of the water pump and fans, right? __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

September 22, 2006	#2
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	... and every single one of Ms. Jones's hundreds of listings of relatively obscure tomatoes in the SSE Yearbook are productive and exceedingly delicious! She's a real positive spinmeister and enthusiastic collecter/marketer. PV

September 23, 2006	#5
elkwc36 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: SW Kansas Posts: 339	Yes she is quick to respond to emails but when asked wouldn't pick any favorites or suggest ones she thought would grow best in my heat. She suggested I ask my extension agent and then order. The extension office here don't offer any information on the heirlooms I asked about. So I ordered elsewhere. I had picked about 15 out of Carolyn's book and adding about 17 more. May try her in the future if I can find any information about the varieties. I'm sure she does it that way to avoid people being upset if they don't produce or taste to expectations. But when every variety is so "great" makes it hard to know which to go with.

September 24, 2006	#10
spyfferoni Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 675	JD, Have you tried Polish? We have hot dry summers here and Polish did really good for me. San Marzano did well last year for a paste type, better than Big Mama or Viva Italia. I have heard good things about Hiedi and plant to try it next. Kimberly did great even in the heat this summer---suprising for an early type. I too like to get suggestions. Tyffanie