Prudence Purple

[barkeater]

Gimme, PP was also one of my first heirlooms I ever grew. Like you, it was a Jack-in-the-Beanstalk, straight-up grower, very early, and then when it ripened - yeccch! It was completely inedible. Don't know if it was physiological, sunburnt, or what. White core, yellow shoulders, deep core, completely useless.

Then again, it may be climate related as my only other big, early pinks were lousy too - Gregori Altai and Anna Russian.

[barkeater]

[Gimme3]

Bark...either you an i both planted our seeds from the same source, or what we sayin....aint no lie...)))

a Pruden's Purple plant grows very well, as a Youngster. but in the South, at least...my experience has been that it's a Stranger in a Strange Land. an that dont really jive, w/what You aughta had seen, up there in Vermont, Bark.
I guess me an you both....got bad seeds...untrue seeds..at least...thats what makes any sense...))) a Prudens plant , to me, exhibits two/thirds...of the foilage, that a BW will. And Lord Knows...the Plant...has GOT....to feed it's roots. a PP simply dont take care of it's lower end...by throwin out good foilage, in my book, an Why....i dont know....))) Maybe Fusion can shed some Light on the Matter...)))

a BW..in the South...will outperform a PP, anytime, anywhere, even if....we talkin simply about useful yield.
I'd love to be wrong on that belief...)))

[jackman]

I'm just saying it is hard to waiste the space when you know the BR S is the one that you really prefer! I love to grow others, but in the end it is disappointing.

[Gimme3]

Jackman....dont give up on a BW. You are farther North than i am.

Try this...if only for..this One Plant that has disappointed you so far.

Dedicate...a 4' x4' Space...to the endeavor. Thats a BIG Space...to allocate.

Build you...a deep , tilthy..organicly-rich RAISED BED...in that space. Raise the bed 16 inches at least...from sub-soil. Observe, and appropriately establish this Home...in a Favorable position to recieve Morning Sun, as early as possible , noon sun is ok, but to recieve some blanketing, from mid-afternoon heat/sun.

Provide the BW plant a good support system to grow within. I use triangular 28 inch spanned PVC cages, for a BW.

After the soil begins to warm, and the plant gets about 18 inches high....mulch it Heavily...w/wheat straw. Mulch all around it, including your walk-paths.

If this dont work for you...i'd be highly suspecting soil conditions. The Raised bed does 2 things...it eliminates flood from being a hazard, and it gives the Plant...Maximum Tilth. The wheat straw moderates soil temps....so that they remain fairly constant, and it moderates soil moisture.....there are no great fluctuations in it, even if a dry period occurs.

A BW loves....sweet Earth....try an make it's Home...that kinda place...))) It also does a whole lot better, when it aint crowded....its like it loves the Breeze...)))

[westocast73]

I am just going to add my very new and shiny 2 cents. I haven't grown much but I have grown BW. I agree with others that it does have a unique taste but I also disagree with most who think it is the best. It's nice but it wasnt the best taste for me. A few family members would disagree with me and I may grow it again one year but for now the best pink I have ever grown has been Caspian Pink. It has given me larger tomatoes then BW, More tomatoes then BW and in my humble opinion better tasting tomatoes. Especially on Sandwhiches. I love Caspian Pink and it is one of the only Varieties I have grown that has impressed me in every regards so far. I know most will comment that Caspian Pink is unlike BW not a Unique taste but the plants vigor and fruit production sure make it a better choice then the few other pinks I have grown.

Done adding my two cents

[Gimme3]

Mike....Caspian has been on my short list for several years.....Loved hearin what you had to say about it...so Many...continue to praise it, across Time. got to try it...)))

jus another sandwhich-lovin fool...)))

[westocast73]

Gimmie3 - Caspian is my ideal Sandwhich tomato. It isnt very strong tasting. The flavour is probably best described as clearly a homegrown tomato that is a subtle and a bit sweet. It's juicy but has a nice firmness to the flesh and isn't going to make your bread mush! For me this is just ideal for Sandwhiches. It has the texture I want. It has the mild sweetness I want on a sandwhich. It isnt going to overpower a slice of cheese but you still taste tomato! To me thats ideal.

That combined with the fact the thing pumped out beautiful fruit ( bw's tended to be more deformed ) that was always a good 4-6oz heavier then a bw. The only area bw wins is disease resistance which they both were above average at but the BW was a whisker better.

I would say in total I got about 25 pounds of Tomatoes this year from my one plant. About 30+ of mostly under a pound tomatoes. With a few larger exceptions.

My growing conditions are vastly different from yours though so who knows

[Mantis]

I love big pink tomatoes and Brandywine for me is the ultimate of what I have grown. Prudens Purple is great but sweeter on the taste buds for me. Aunt Ginny is a winner (first year for me), but not as sweet as PP.
I agree with Gimme that PP is a bolter. Grows straight up and forgets about the fruit. I am getting fruit from mine but they are small. Aunt Ginny sown on the same day is so much better , for fruit size.

[creister]

jackman,

don't give up on the BW if it is what you want. Two seasons ago, I planted two Aunt Ginny's Purple. One died, and the other produced no fruit. Last year, I put only one plant in the very best spot in the garden. It made over 20 great tasting 12 oz + tomatoes. Don't give up. Just do what Gimmie advised.

[Tormato]

jackman,

In my humble opinion, there is no finer 70 dtm tomato than Prudence Purple. If there is, I'm open for suggestions.

Gary

[travis]

I've only grown Caspian Pink once ... 2005 ... which was a very long hot summer. It was way later than most of the tomatoes in my garden that summer ... ten days later than Cherokee Purple which itself was a week or more later than Black Krim. Seems like Caspian Pink was over four feet tall before it set its first tomatoes about 30 inches off the ground.

It was a little stingy too, but that may have been the extreme heat. I will say it was very tolerant to disease and bugs and really didn't have any more cracks than the rest of the big size tomatoes. It did weigh in a little larger than most too. It had a very nice flavor but not anything like Cherokee Purple.

I've grown Brandywine twice ... 2004 and 2006 ... and so I haven't grown it side by side with Caspian Pink. Therefore, any comparison is by memory and not a direct comparison. Seems the Brandywine was even later than Caspian Pink ... like maybe over 100 days from transplant in 2006! But this year was strange weatherwise too. I can't say Brandywine's flavor is remembered as any more intense or what have you than my memory of Caspian Pink, but my 2006 Brandywine DEFINITELY out-produced my 2005 Caspian Pink.

I guess I should grow them side by side someday like I did BW and Earl's Faux this year.

PV

[barkeater]

west wrote about Caspian Pink, "It has the mild sweetness I want on a sandwhich". That is the exact opposite of what I want in a sandwich and is why I will never grow it. It goes to show how different everyones taste buds are!

I have learned from comments from posters and in seed catalogs that mild and sweet are the buzzwords that tell me I won't like a variety. Kind of like real estate ads that describe a house as quaint, unique, a good "family house", or "many updates".

Not putting them down, but I know what I like in a tomato: assertive, tomatoey, old fashioned tomato taste - those are descriptions that attract my interest.

[westocast73]

Barkeater - hehe Yea it is deffinetly a subjective thing and you are deffinetly right in not growing it if you are looking for words like assertive, tomatoey and old fashioned tomato taste. I find the tomatoes most people love way too strong for my sandwhiches but much better when I cook. I would add Caspian is probably as mild as most run of the mill large pink heirlooms and is not the mildest but it is not comparable in strength to Brandywine and CP. I think taste is so subjective and what tastes overpowering to some is underwhelming to others. I think bark makes a very good point though. You need to really learn what words people use to describe what flavour and zero in on the words that will give you the results you want.

Papavic - Oddly enough my Caspian pumped out way more tomatoes in the stretch of cooler days then the stretches of hotter days ( which we didn't have many ). It also was later maturing then my others but it made up for it very quick. I would say mine was just over 3 feet tall when it had its first ripe tomato at about the 20" mark. I though did find it to be much more crack resistant then CP or BW.

I agree with what others are telling jackman about just trying again with his brandywine aspirations. If you got the space and the desire then just keep putting one plant out there every year. You might want to try a different location in your veggie patch though. Hopefully you get to try one from your garden one of these days.

[pooklette]

jackman,

I tried Prudens Purple and Marianna's Peace last year because I read that they were very comparable to Brandywine in flavor but earlier and more productive. They were earlier and maybe slightly more productive than the BW Sudduth growing nearby but they did not taste like Brandywine to me. I thought there was a very obvious difference in flavor. They weren't 'bad' or 'spitters' by any means but they were different than BW in my opinion. To me, BW has a very rich, deep, assertive flavor. MP and PP seemed to be a little less rich/assertive. They were good and I would definitely classify them as 'tomatoey' but they seemed to be noticeably different than BW.