14 yo Seeds are sprouting -Woo Hoo!

TZ-OH6 · April 27, 2023

Hi All,

Back in 2008-2010 in Ohio I grew a lot of heirlooms and did a bunch of crossing and seed saving. Then my situation changed and those seeds just sat there in a box in a spare room. I recently moved to Florida and hauled that big box of memories with me (includes seeds from TaterMater potatoes, and a bunch of hot peppers), dug up a garden and decided to give them a try.

At one point I did a tomato sauce experiment looking for the best combos for flavor using pastes, oxhearts, beefsteaks, and different colors. My favorite was a mixture of Wes oxheart, Pink Beefsteak Brandywine-types and Purple/Blacks, I also liked a yellow, citrussy sauce made from my strain of Limmony mixed in with other yellows/oranges. So about two weeks ago I pulled out seeds for those favorites and planted them along with Habaneros and a bell pepper mix from new seed packs.

Success!!! In compots with about 20 seeds each

Peppers 90-100% germination

2010-Limmony 16 of~20
2008 Pruden's Purple 10 of~20
2010-Goose Creek 8 of~20
2010-Brandywine Sudduth 6 of~20
2009 Black Krim 6 of~20
2008 Earl of Edgcomb 1 of~20 -just hatched
2009-Wes 1 of~20 -just hatched
2010-Brandywine Cowlicks 0 of~20 -waiting
2010-"Kokosing Giant" 0 of~20 -waiting

"Kokosing Giant" is (I guess) a name I gave to an off-type plant with big fruit but it's been so long I can't remember anything about it. Since I didn't put any info with the seeds I probably felt it could not have been a cross or mutation, and it probably didn't fit anything else I had grown (which was most of the usual Mortgage Lifter type suspects). I'm guessing it was a big red beefsteak worth keeping but potato leaf? regular leaf? I bet I wrote all about it on some long lost spreadsheet. Kokosing was the name of the little river near my house so I must have named the thing-LOL, but I forgot all about it.

I don't even know if it is possible to grow tomatoes here in north central Florida starting now -- too hot to set fruit? diseases? huge grasshoppers?

Anybody have tips?

April 27, 2023	#1
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 848	14 yo Seeds are sprouting -Woo Hoo! Hi All, Back in 2008-2010 in Ohio I grew a lot of heirlooms and did a bunch of crossing and seed saving. Then my situation changed and those seeds just sat there in a box in a spare room. I recently moved to Florida and hauled that big box of memories with me (includes seeds from TaterMater potatoes, and a bunch of hot peppers), dug up a garden and decided to give them a try. At one point I did a tomato sauce experiment looking for the best combos for flavor using pastes, oxhearts, beefsteaks, and different colors. My favorite was a mixture of Wes oxheart, Pink Beefsteak Brandywine-types and Purple/Blacks, I also liked a yellow, citrussy sauce made from my strain of Limmony mixed in with other yellows/oranges. So about two weeks ago I pulled out seeds for those favorites and planted them along with Habaneros and a bell pepper mix from new seed packs. Success!!! In compots with about 20 seeds each Peppers 90-100% germination 2010-Limmony 16 of~20 2008 Pruden's Purple 10 of~20 2010-Goose Creek 8 of~20 2010-Brandywine Sudduth 6 of~20 2009 Black Krim 6 of~20 2008 Earl of Edgcomb 1 of~20 -just hatched 2009-Wes 1 of~20 -just hatched 2010-Brandywine Cowlicks 0 of~20 -waiting 2010-"Kokosing Giant" 0 of~20 -waiting "Kokosing Giant" is (I guess) a name I gave to an off-type plant with big fruit but it's been so long I can't remember anything about it. Since I didn't put any info with the seeds I probably felt it could not have been a cross or mutation, and it probably didn't fit anything else I had grown (which was most of the usual Mortgage Lifter type suspects). I'm guessing it was a big red beefsteak worth keeping but potato leaf? regular leaf? I bet I wrote all about it on some long lost spreadsheet. Kokosing was the name of the little river near my house so I must have named the thing-LOL, but I forgot all about it. I don't even know if it is possible to grow tomatoes here in north central Florida starting now -- too hot to set fruit? diseases? huge grasshoppers? Anybody have tips?