Margaret Curtain Undressed!

[amideutch]

This is Heirloom tomato from New Zealand. It was available only in New Zealand at the Koanga Institute which is a mini-version of our SSE.

This is the description of Margaret Curtain from the their website.

NZ Heritage An outstanding large black tomato that is a well known old cultivar around the East Coast where it has been grown for 100 years or so.

It is a low acid beefsteak with outstanding flavour!

I totally agree with the last paragraph of their description and would rate it as a 9+ as I said in a previous thread concerning my container grow-outs as I'm growing two plants, one in a 20gal SmartPot and the other in a 7gal plastic pot. These fruit are from the 20gal SP. Tania, as always you are welcome to my pictures and any other info from this post.

Ami

[carolyn137]

Grown for a 100 years?

Looks like a situation similar to Cherokee Purple which was said to have been grown for a 100 years but determining the gf alles of many so called blacks proved otherwise.

Aside from the age issue it looks like it's a good one for you Ami, and that's all that really counts as I see it.

I was curious so did a Google search and see that this variety is already spread around quite a bit. I didn't take the time to read any of thelinks.

http://www.google.com/#bav=on.2,or.r...rtain+tomatoes

I see Tania lists it, but briefly, with no seed ources, but I think Terry Tomato Addict)is offering seeds for it per a quick look at the above links and her website is listed here at Tville. I remember just two words; seed cartel.

Carolyn

[amideutch]

Here are pictures of the two plants. First picture, front plant, is the plant in the 20gal SP and you can see the second plant at the back on the left. Following 5 pictures is the plant in the SP with some of the fruit waiting to ripen. The last 2 pictures is the plant in the 7gal container. Roger Terry growing and offering seeds.

Ami

[RobinB]

I'm growing Margaret Curtain this year too. I just picked the first one yesterday. It's not totally ripe yet, but the birds are getting very brave and nothing is safe. I am seeing that same gorgeous deep red on the bottom of the one I picked. Margaret did NOT enjoy the weeks of over 100°F that we had this year, and will probably not be invited back... unless it's a 9+ for me too! Then, who knows? My plant has been in the ground for 112 days, and started out in late April inside a Wall O'Water. ! It did not begin to set fruit until just a few weeks ago for me. Ami, was it very late for you?

[amideutch]

Robin, I planted seed 1 April, set plants out 02 June and had my first harvest 10 August. It was one of the first to have ripe fruit.

There are few varieties that I know of that like temps in the 100+ degree range. We had temps in the 90's for about a month and it didn't phase Margaret. You definitely had late fruit set. What were your temps during June and July? What type of soil are you growing in?

Ami

[amideutch]

Margaret Curtain continues to amaze. Just pulled these beauties off the plant today in different phases of ripening. I don't know what to make of the one fruit in the upper right hand corner that is a solid deep red color different from the other fruits. I will know more tomorrow when I cut it open.

Ami

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by amideutch

Margaret Curtain continues to amaze. Just pulled these beauties off the plant today in different phases of ripening. I don't know what to make of the one fruit in the upper right hand corner that is a solid deep red color different from the other fruits. I will know more tomorrow when I cut it open.

Ami

Ami, that red one is no doubt Margaret Cutain dressed, so if you want her undressed as your thread title says, don't save seeds from the red one.

Carolyn

[RobinB]

Ami,
Sorry it took so long to reply. School starts on Monday, and DH is going back to school too. I've been running around getting supplies and generally going crazy!

We had more than a week of over 100°F in early June, and then just when the plants were recovering, we got another extreme heat wave about 3 weeks later. Some plants kept going, but Margaret refused to set fruit for quite a while. My soil isn't the best, but I do what I can to improve it every year. I have just been offered some well-composted, organic manure from a new friend's farm. YES!

I have now tasted Margaret Curtain and I must agree with your assessment of 9+. Oh my! I'm going to have to find a shadier spot and try again with this one. I stood at the counter with some sea salt and my first MC, and ate the whole thing... I picked three more today and more are beginning to turn. I'll share the next one, I promise. My 8YO son loves tomatoes almost as much as I do. He is my tasting partner! It's so cute, he gets so serious in rating the Dwarf Tomato Project tomatoes that I'm working on.

Mine look a little bit different than yours, no green shoulders. This first fruit was only about 4 oz, but the rest are more like 6-8 oz. Here's a photo of what I'm getting.

Robin

[amideutch]

Robin, looking at your climate data you can have some challenging moments as you experienced this past June. Being at 4500 feet altitude and having temps in the 90+ range guarantied in July and August can definitely shut down fruit set. That early June heat wave is what got you.

I'm surprised you don't set out your seedlings around 1 April especially using the WOW's. And yes the organic manure will help and if you can find a source for horse manure that will help as well and should give you larger fruit next year.

Ami

[RobinB]

Ami,
The one year I tried to put something out that early in a WOW, it was so cold that the plant didn't do well. It was stunted all season. Most years are usually still in the teens to mid-20s at night that early in April! Every year is different, and if the plants had been ready, I certainly could have pulled early April off this year, but hindsight is always 20/20, right?

Some plants didn't shut down during the extreme heat this year, and I was excited and very happy to discover that, by putting them out in the Walls O' Water in mid-April, I could successfully grow several new-to-me late season varieties this year in very reasonable amounts of time. There were those that did not work out very well, even in WOWs, and some never produced fruit. Some, including Margaret Curtain, eventually produced, but were not very happy. Of course, what happens this year will not bear any resemblance to next year. I know that, but I think I'll try Margaret Curtain again! It's too good not to try, especially based on your experiences, Ami.