Arkansas Traveler

[duajones]

First time growing it this year and in reading up on the variety, some describe it as thick skinned while others claim it is thin skinned. For those of you that have grown it, what was your experience?

[caascher2]

Arkansas Traveler was one of my tastiest tomatoes last year. It had great flavor, produced well and I don't recall any problems with the skin. I would recommend it.
Carol

[feldon30]

I also didn't notice any thickness issues with the skin. I find it to be sweeter than many other tomatoes of that size/shape/color, which is why it's tops on my list. I think it wowed some people at SETTFest.

[duajones]

Good to hear, very much looking forward to trying this variety with its track record for doing well in my type of climate.

[epiphanista]

Well, so here's a question. Do particular varieties tend toward thick or thin skin? I always assumed it was growing conditions. I really don't know.

I love Arkansas Traveler, and did not write anything in my notes that would state unusual skin in some way. Wonderful flavor!

~Thalia

[carolyn137]

I've never grow Arkansas Traveler and the only reason I'm posting is to try and correct wrong information at so many seed sites, and that is, that it's not an heirloom from the Smokey Mt's or Appalachians, or whatever.

It was bred by the U of Arkansas and released as Traveler and I think that was about 1968 with out checking. Arkansas got tacked onto the name somewhere along the way and several sites have now amended their blurbs to cite that it was bred by the U of Arkansas or have changed and just called it Traveler, and given the proper history of who bred it.

[feldon30]

Since the 'real' Arkansas Traveler is extinct, and 'Traveler' is just too generic a name, I do call it Ark. Traveler or Arkansas Traveler. Sorry.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by feldon30

Since the 'real' Arkansas Traveler is extinct, and 'Traveler' is just too generic a name, I do call it Ark. Traveler or Arkansas Traveler. Sorry.

Morgan, I know there have been claims for a previous variety named Arkansas Traveler, now apprently extinct, but I don't have much more info on that.

Do you?

Traveler may be too much of a generic name for you, but that's the name that the U of Arkansas gave it, soooo

[johno]

In the Gourmet Seed International catalog they claim that Arkansas Traveller is a 100 year old (plus?..) heirloom. I emailed them about it, and they claim they think they might have the extinct one. I doubt it...

[dice]

I know about the Traveler (or Traveler '76) heritage,
but I usually still call it Arkansas Traveler because
that is the name most new growers who go looking
for it (probably because they live in some place
with hot and perhaps humid summers) are going to
find it under.

(Apparently either spelling is accepted as correct by
dictionaries: traveler, traveller.)

[duajones]

Here is a decent write up about Traveler tomato http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plant...o_traveler.htm

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by duajones

Here is a decent write up about Traveler tomato http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plant...o_traveler.htm

Actually I think it's the best writeup that I found and used.

I see it was released in 1971, so I was only off by a few years when I said 1968.

And Traveler 76 I have seen offered in the past as well.

[KKinAL]

Victory seeds has Traveler 76 ( and Traveler). I grew Traveler for the 1st time last year & will be again this year--it was yummy!

[Fusion_power]

I have seed of Bradley, Traveller, Traveller 76, Burgundy Traveler, and Ozark Pink. I am producing all of them as plants this year except Traveller. My personal favorite of these is Burgundy Traveller. It is productive, good flavored, and highly tolerant of hot humid conditions prevalent here in the southeast.

Fusion

[Raymondo]

As to spelling, traveller vs traveler is a British vs American thing, like favourite and favorite. Being Australian, I use British spelling but as we are talking about a name of something, a proper noun, I would use whatever spelling the namer ascribed. So, I write Arkansas Traveler (one 'l') and Burracker's Favorite (no 'u') but I would use traveller and favourite in the course of ordinary usage. It's rather obsessive I know but I'm a stickler for correct names.