Stick

[Deborah]

Maybe Spart can mail me one!

[ddsack]

Deborah, it's not a bland cardboard tomato like grocery store tomatoes and it's juicy from what I remember. Just your basic little red tomato, I think. I ate very few because there were so many better ones in my garden. It is just an oddity because of the leaves, no one should grow it to replace a variety that they like to eat!

I am growing them again this year for newer seed stock, my seeds are 11 years old, so time to restock. They will make some branches as you can see in this picture, those are short stakes, probably only 3 ft out of the ground.





It's hard to see what's going on here, but I have two Sticks growing next to each other, as they got too long for their stakes, I looped them over to the other plant and back.




I have never grown them in a pot, but I was surprised at how well they produced in the garden. I just used them as ornamentals at the end of a row on short stakes.

The seeds are not totally stable, and I have found that 10-20% of seedlings will revert to normal RL and should be discarded. I grew one of those out, and the taste was just awful.

[Spartanburg123]

Originally Posted by Deborah

Maybe Spart can mail me one!

Will do! I'll have to send you at least 10, because as ddsack mentioned, 2/10 come up regular leaf. I sowed 8 seeds, and got 3 regular leaf, which I discarded.

I think I still have a few left now- if you want to grow it this year, just send me your address via PM and I'll get them out to you!

D.

[gothicgardens]

I grew about 8 plants last year. It was a neat plant but I never got a tomato from them that wasn't cracked. Once was enough for me.

[Gardeneer]

Like someone said, it is a conversation starter in the garden :

A; What is that ?
B: Glad you ask . Let let tell you ...( A long speech )

[NarnianGarden]

It looks very ornamental and cute. perhaps crossing it with a delicious variety might produce equally funky-looking, but tastier, offspring?

[Deborah]

DD, thanks for the pictures. It's a unique look that's for sure. Spart, I meant you could mail me a few actual tomatoes!

[carolyn137]

I think that those who are curious should grow it at least once.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Stick

As I did,just for the novelty of the plant form. As for the taste of those small red balls, so called fruits,nope, not good for me at all.

Carolyn

[Deborah]

No space on my balcony. Maybe sometime...

[Worth1]

I think it has Twiggy genes in it.
Remember Twiggy?

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

It looks very ornamental and cute. perhaps crossing it with a delicious variety might produce equally funky-looking, but tastier, offspring?

I learned something very interesting about Stick. I made a cross with Stick and a tiny regular leaf variety. It was the most unusual cross I've made. I always thought that Regular Leaf was dominant over other leaf types. However, the Curl leaf of Stick is dominant over a regular leaf. The F1s looked exactly like Stick. One reached over 6' in height growing in an 8" pot.

The F2s were a mix of Regular leaf and Stick-like - indeterminate and dwarf-like. I found and grew two that appeared to be dwarf Sticks. I grew them in 6" pots. One reached 9" in height with 7 or 8 tufts of leaves and produced one small fruit. The other reached 7" with a similar number of leaves and also one fruit. I got a couple of dozen seeds from those two fruits and am starting some F3s now. I'll see how they do outside this summer.

[NarnianGarden]

dfollet: How was it taste-wise?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I think it has Twiggy genes in it.
Remember Twiggy?

Yes, I remember Twiggy, tall and thin,but she doesn't have those bunches present,especially the ones below the neck on her chest.

Carolyn

[Spartanburg123]

And I think the thread will likely end on that one.....

I'll post pics of the "bunches" when they arrive!

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by Spartanburg123

I thought I'd start a thread dedicated to the runt of the litter- the unusual variety called "Stick". Anyone else growing it, please add pictures or comments here. I'm growing it for fun, and thanks to DDSack for the seeds! I'm wondering when I'll start to see flowers?

You're quite the optimist (flowers-plural).
I trialed it several years ago, squeezed it into a tight space between two other "normal" plants. Being well shaded, it grew to about 4 feet, and produced ONE flower, right at the top.
It got too late in the season for a ripe fruit.

Dr. Lve Apple