Blush Tomatoes

[ChristinaJo]

I have been seeing this variety come up time and time again....

Those of you that grow it, what does it taste like? What kind of recipes do they taste best in.

Just thinking about ordering it, but want some "kitchen" feedback first. Thanks

[KarenO]

Blush is a pretty elongated yellow cherry with pink/blush stripes. It was bred recently by Fred Hempel who you will find here on tomatoville. Like most cherries it is best eaten fresh out of hand or in salads. I don't generally cook cherry sized tomatoes myself. here's what it looks like. this photo was copied off the internet as mine are not ripe yet to show the color:

[ChristinaJo]

It sure does have the visual appeal! Nice pic.

[FarmerShawn]

The flavor is extra "fruity." I like them a lot. The plants produce prolifically for me. I had some extra ripe tomatoes, so I dehydrated some - they were fantastic! One neighbor compared them to dried apricots, because the flavor was so intense and fruity. I love 'em!

[Tom Wagner]

I am glad to see some posts about Blush. I picked up a single plant of it recently and potted it up in a nutrient rich potting media to get it to bloom and provide pollen for crosses. I made about ten crosses in the last couple of days to all kinds of colors of tomatoes. Now that I read some positive reports...I might revisit the variety to make more crosses. I have made 480 contingency crosses...86 female parents and about that many male parents. I have not used Blush as a female parent and was wondering what to cross it with. I was thinking of a blue stripe tomato. Ideas?

Ten years ago I gave Fred quite a few breeding lines of tomatoes...and stripes were indeed part of the inventory. I wonder if Fred used one or more of my lines in the pedigree of Blush?

[travis]

Originally Posted by Tom Wagner

I have not used Blush as a female parent and was wondering what to cross it with. I was thinking of a blue stripe tomato. Ideas?

While Blush's super flavorful input certainly would improve the flavor of any blue tomatoes out there, the only thing I can think of that might improve Blush on the other hand would be some crack resistance.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by travis

While Blush's super flavorful input certainly would improve the flavor of any blue tomatoes out there, the only thing I can think of that might improve Blush on the other hand would be some crack resistance.

I haven't had any cracking with Blush when grown here inupstate NY, find it hard to describe the taste, but do like it very much.

I also like another one that Fred bred, which is Maglia Rose,similar to Blush but different colored striping and slightly different flavor.

This year two more from Fred are being grown, Pink Bumble Bee and Purple Bumble Bee, and looking forward to what those two are like.

Another one that Fred bred is Lucinda, a green when ripe with carrot like foliage, one parental input is Silvery Fir Tree where that foliage comes from, but I was not that positive about the taste although some others thought it was sweet and lucious, especially those in CA.

I've been offering seeds for both Blush and Lucinda in my annual seed offer here at Tville.

Carolyn

[kath]

Originally Posted by travis

While Blush's super flavorful input certainly would improve the flavor of any blue tomatoes out there, the only thing I can think of that might improve Blush on the other hand would be some crack resistance.

My experience when I grew it last year was that every single fruit cracked well before ripening.

kath

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by kath

My experience when I grew it last year was that every single fruit cracked well before ripening.

kath

Kath, you should consider moving from PA to where I am so you don't get the cracking, but then you also have to sign a waiver saying that farm trucks/equipment have the right of way as does spreading of cow manure on fields.

This be dairy country where I live.

Carolyn

[kath]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Kath, you should consider moving from PA to where I am so you don't get the cracking, but then you also have to sign a waiver saying that farm trucks/equipment have the right of way as does spreading of cow manure on fields.

This be dairy country where I live.

Carolyn

Nope, I'll stay put and just grow the varieties that don't crack. I abhor the smell of fresh cow manure on fields- MIL lives across from one of the many dairy farms in our area- ugh! DH grew up there and it doesn't bother him a bit.

kath

[crmauch]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Kath, you should consider moving from PA to where I am so you don't get the cracking, but then you also have to sign a waiver saying that farm trucks/equipment have the right of way as does spreading of cow manure on fields.

This be dairy country where I live.

If you'd add Amish buggies to your description - you'd be describing my part of PA

[Fred Hempel]

There are 3 main genetic contributors to Blush: Black Cherry, Speckled Roman and Northern Lights.

However, Blush is not the simple result of two subsequent crosses, and simple selection after that. It is the result of crossing, re-crossing and very careful selections. But, I am pretty sure that these three varieties contribute most, if not all, of the genes in Blush.

Parental genetics is important, but in my experience brutal selection for flavor, and a few crosses between the best working lines one has might be even more important. If I have 1000 F2 plants in the field, I might continue work with 3-5 truly exceptional plants, and that work often includes using those plants in crosses (often to each other) almost immediately.

Tom,

I greatly enjoyed our conversation -- probably 10 years ago now.

The handful of lines I got directly from you were orange and pink lines with cool tolerance and bruise resistance, because at that time most of my breeding was for cool tolerance (because I was in the colder parts of the Bay Area).

Your Green Zebra, however was a main contributor to Lucinda (which Carolyn mentions) and Spike (which has a "black zebra" phenotype). I am trying to do re-selections on both of these lines so we can sell seeds of them this winter. It was Spike that really got the ball rolling with regard to our breeding.

Originally Posted by Tom Wagner

I am glad to see some posts about Blush. I picked up a single plant of it recently and potted it up in a nutrient rich potting media to get it to bloom and provide pollen for crosses. I made about ten crosses in the last couple of days to all kinds of colors of tomatoes. Now that I read some positive reports...I might revisit the variety to make more crosses. I have made 480 contingency crosses...86 female parents and about that many male parents. I have not used Blush as a female parent and was wondering what to cross it with. I was thinking of a blue stripe tomato. Ideas?

Ten years ago I gave Fred quite a few breeding lines of tomatoes...and stripes were indeed part of the inventory. I wonder if Fred used one or more of my lines in the pedigree of Blush?

[Tom Wagner]

As I see it now from Fred, (thank you) is that my old clone BANANA LEGS is involved for the stripes. Banana Legs is half of the equation of Striped Roman. That means that the shape and stripes are distantly related to Banana Legs with the size of Black Cherry heavily influencing the size and the blush and flesh color coming from Northern Lights.

Does anyone notice the flavor of Blush compared to the original three parental varieties?...that being Black Cherry, Striped Roman, and Northern Lights.

Fred, tell me about how my Green Zebra was used to create Lucinda and Spike. I have lots of green and pink striped tomatoes that I never did anything with.

And also, Fred, do you have any seed increase of those varieties I gave you ten years ago? I may not have explored them well on my end and perhaps did not maintain the lines per se. Did I have names on the seed or just numbers? Not long after I put those seeds into your hands I moved from the Folsom area to the cool weather of Washington State.

Tom Wagner

[Fred Hempel]

Tom,

I didn't know Banana Legs was yours, although it is certainly not a surprise. So, the stripes are originally from you (via John Swenson and SSE).

I think the flavor of Blush is a unique combination of parental flavors, but no one has ever guessed one of the parents based on flavor (to my knowledge).

I crossed GZ X Silvery Fir Tree to get Lucinda and Spike.

I don't have a seed increase from the 2 (or 3, I can't remember) lines I got from you. I will see if I still have them, and if I do I will grow them again and send seeds.

Fred

[Tom Wagner]

Thanks, Fred, for the updates on the seed I gave you and what the pedigree of those two recent lines..Lucinda and Spike.

I have Green Grape x Silvery Fir Tree breeding lines....but I let them go as far as priority since 9 years ago...they were highly susceptible to late blight when I had hundreds of them next to my potato projects. I should take the time to dust off the seed packets of those and regrow them. Most of my Silvery Fir Tree breeding lines are in clones like Cotton Candy and others.

Looking back at how new varieties got started...Banana Legs, via Striped Roman and Green Zebra sure have had a way to find wiggle room within lots of striped tomatoes. Both Banana Legs and Green Zebra are related in perhaps 25% of the ancestry.