Tomato disasters of 2008

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by retiree

Hi. Just cut up a Lincoln Adams for seed. It is definitely Pink (clear skin) and what a beauty it is. Thanks to Thomas V. for sending me the seeds. I didn't weigh it but it is quite large.
Neil (Canada)

Neil the fruit that Thomas sent me last year was red and the fruits I got this year were red as well.

This is what Mrs.Miller, who gave the seeds to Thomas, said about it:

"I've grown this tomatoe for two years now. it's red, medium size , leaf is potato shaped, plant was pretty hardy, and the fruit a nice taste."

Fruit size ranged a bit for me but some were as large as maybe 12-14 oz with slightly fluted shoulders and I have to wonder if this variety did really come from the Lincoln era.

The foliage was PL, as Mrs. Miller indicated, and the 1860's wasn't characterized by many PL's that I can think of but I'll check with Craig on that to be sure.

Was your foliage PL as well?

[retiree]

HI Carolyn
Yes, potato leaf.
Thanks
Neil

[bcday]

Hmmmmm.

I have four Lincoln-Adams plants, seeds from Carolyn. All of them are PL and all of the fruits are pink. Average fruit size is about 11 oz., with a few over a pound and smallest ones about 6 oz.

[nctomatoman]

PL and pink for sure. Very sickly plant here, got wilt quite early, saved seed from one fruit, didn't get a chance to taste.

[carolyn137]

So Mrs. Miller, the seed source, says red, the small fruit that Thomas sent me last year was red and I saved no seeds since I knew he was going to send me seeds as well.

I have one more fruit sitting on the kitchen counter and I'll check it again; it looks red, it acts red, it speaks red, but I'll take a look at the epidermis color.

Craig, would a PL from the early 1860's be possible? I thought PL appeared later, but you know more about this than I do.

[carolyn137]

And the results of epidermis color:

Ludmilla's Red Plum; yellow
Gorgeous Gift: yellow

....as they should be

Ceman; clear as it should be
Lincoln Adams; CLEAR, so it is pink

It's a nice dark pink and when Freda brought in fruits and set them on the back table the light is low there and I was expecting a red, so saw red.

This Lincoln-Adams I just tested was sent to me by bcday to whom I had also sent seeds and she just sent me a large box of fruits for the ones that were duds in my garden this year so I could see what they looked and tasted like. And they were on the counter in the kitchen and I don't always turn on the lights above the counter, just the spotlights above, so there you go.

And now I have four fruits that have to be eaten ASAP, all in the name of fruit color determination.

So if and when any of these get listed in the SSE YEarbook and/or offered here if there's enough seed, bcday and gardenmama, to whom I also send seeds for all my new ones b/c she raises my plants for me, will have to help me when and if I write the blurbs.

I have a lot of new ones this year and I'll tell you right now that my absolute fave so far is one called Orange Minsk, a large beefsteak which Andrey sent me which he got at a market stall. Many of my other new ones come from Andrey as well as Reinhard Kraft and then several generous folks with ones like Gianinni and Herman's Special, etc.

But I got so few fruits in this lousy year that I wasn't able to save seeds from the no shows and the ones that did show I didn't have enough fruits to save a serious amount of seed.

So now what do we do about Lincoln-Adams color when the originator of the seed, Mrs. Miller, said it was a red PL?

[retiree]

Carolyn
Thanks for clearing things up about Lincoln Adams. Sounds like we're all growing the same one. Mine are also slightly ribbed as you described.
The Lincoln Adams did well for me. Going to eat a few tomorrow and check out the taste.
Thanks again,
Neil (Canada)

[carolyn137]

So now what do we do about Lincoln-Adams color when the originator of the seed, Mrs. Miller, said it was a red PL?

.... is what I posted above, but bcday and I have been eming and both of us are suggesting that Mrs. Miller just thought it was red, not pink, just as I did at first.

Seems reasonable?

Yes?

[retiree]

Yes, sounds reasonable to me. Could easily be mistaken for red apparently!
Neil

[Tormato]

Carolyn,

Can Mrs. Miller be contacted? If she still has tomatoes from her plant, she could find out its skin color.

On the subject of potato leaf reds, I've had five different PL reds show up in my garden, this year. None were supposed to be. These will be the subject of a new thread, once I gather all of the background info.

Gary

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Carolyn,

Can Mrs. Miller be contacted? If she still has tomatoes from her plant, she could find out its skin color.

On the subject of potato leaf reds, I've had five different PL reds show up in my garden, this year. None were supposed to be. These will be the subject of a new thread, once I gather all of the background info.

Gary

I'm not the one who contacted Mrs Miller but I know the person who did. I'm not even sure she grows tomatoes these days. It was her husband who did and he passed on in the past few years,

There are at least 6 people I know who have grown it and all say pink PL beefsteak from seeds from Tom V.

I don't see how contacting her at this point would really help. I'm almost poitive she saw that dark pink as being red. And it's just my opinion, but I also don't see a large pink PL dating from the early 1860's in terms of the history given.

As for your red PL's, are they all the result of cross pollinations? PL reds aren't that numerous so it should be fun to see what happens with them.

[Tormato]

Carolyn,

I probably didn't read about the Lincoln-Adams variety correctly. I thought you received some PL red fruit.

As for the PL reds I have, it's unknown at this point how they originated. None are from my own saved seed.

Gary

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Carolyn,

I probably didn't read about the Lincoln-Adams variety correctly. I thought you received some PL red fruit.

As for the PL reds I have, it's unknown at this point how they originated. None are from my own saved seed.

Gary

Gary, I had said in a post above that I received one red fruit from Tom V but I hadn't checked the epidermis then and while it looked red to me, he sent it totally green and by the time it ripened up it was very withered and I just threw it.