identifying a pink oxheart tastier than BW Sudduth's strain

kerns125 · July 29, 2015

My 96 year-old grandfather, whom I call "Pappy" (he's in western Maryland right on the edge of west virginia and has the accent to prove it), gave me tomato seeds this year, telling me only that it was a "German pink" and that it was my late grandmother's favorite. I started my seeds on Valentine's Day.

The plant looked like it was half-dead in May and June, but lo and behold it was the very first full-sized tomato that ripened for me, the first week of June here in Alexandria Virginia (my cherries started ripening a week beforehand in late May). They were small, beefsteak-looking fruits with ZERO seeds. The darn things were the most delcious tomatoes I'd ever had. Sweet and tart simultaneously, and really full-flavored.

Thereafter the plant started growing oxheart-shaped fruit, and that's when I realized the "half-dead" plant was really just the "wispy" foliage characteristic of oxhearts (which I've never grown until now). The next 2 tomatoes also had zero seeds for me to save, and I started panicking. Luckily I finally got one this week with seeds and saved them stat! Tonight I had one of these pink oxhearts next to my BW Sudduth for a comparison taste test, and I couldn't believe it, but the oxheart definitely had more flavor and was a touch sweeter.

I called my grandfather to get more info. He said he called them "giant pinks" (no idea why, as they are small) and his brother used to called them "peaked pinks." He said they all had different names for the tomato and he doesn't know what the official strain is called, but he got the seeds from his late wife's (my grandmother's) brother's wife's brother (ha!) who lived in Centerville Pennsylvania. Given my grandfather's age, I suspect this is a long-propagated family heirloom from at least the early 1900s if not the 1800s. I've been calling it "Pappy's pink."

Does anyone have any idea how I could identify this strain, if it already exists with a formal name? I'm just curious about it. I plan to keep calling it "Pappy's pink" but I'd love to know its history.

Jen

July 29, 2015	#1
kerns125 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: 22301 Posts: 92	identifying a pink oxheart tastier than BW Sudduth's strain My 96 year-old grandfather, whom I call "Pappy" (he's in western Maryland right on the edge of west virginia and has the accent to prove it), gave me tomato seeds this year, telling me only that it was a "German pink" and that it was my late grandmother's favorite. I started my seeds on Valentine's Day. The plant looked like it was half-dead in May and June, but lo and behold it was the very first full-sized tomato that ripened for me, the first week of June here in Alexandria Virginia (my cherries started ripening a week beforehand in late May). They were small, beefsteak-looking fruits with ZERO seeds. The darn things were the most delcious tomatoes I'd ever had. Sweet and tart simultaneously, and really full-flavored. Thereafter the plant started growing oxheart-shaped fruit, and that's when I realized the "half-dead" plant was really just the "wispy" foliage characteristic of oxhearts (which I've never grown until now). The next 2 tomatoes also had zero seeds for me to save, and I started panicking. Luckily I finally got one this week with seeds and saved them stat! Tonight I had one of these pink oxhearts next to my BW Sudduth for a comparison taste test, and I couldn't believe it, but the oxheart definitely had more flavor and was a touch sweeter. I called my grandfather to get more info. He said he called them "giant pinks" (no idea why, as they are small) and his brother used to called them "peaked pinks." He said they all had different names for the tomato and he doesn't know what the official strain is called, but he got the seeds from his late wife's (my grandmother's) brother's wife's brother (ha!) who lived in Centerville Pennsylvania. Given my grandfather's age, I suspect this is a long-propagated family heirloom from at least the early 1900s if not the 1800s. I've been calling it "Pappy's pink." Does anyone have any idea how I could identify this strain, if it already exists with a formal name? I'm just curious about it. I plan to keep calling it "Pappy's pink" but I'd love to know its history. Jen