new with some questions

fourpinkmonkeys · April 27, 2009

I am very new to tomato growing, so I have a few questions.

Why be concerned if a variety is regular leaf or potato leaf? Also, is there a resident list of all these acronyms used here?

Thanks!

amideutch · April 27, 2009

fpmonkeys welcome. The concern regarding RL (Regular Leaf) or PL (Potato Leaf) has to do with the purity of the variety. Some varieties start out as RL and others PL. If a variety that is known to have started out RL and someone plants seeds for that variety and it is not RL but PL then it is not that variety or a cross or mutation of said variety. Fritz Ackerman is one such variety we have been discussing concerning the leaf type.
There are other leaf types as well but the PL and RL are the most prevalent in tomatoes. Here is a link to get you started. The more you get involved in this wonderful hobby the more you will learn and Tomatoville is an excellent site to learn from. Ami

http://www.backyardgardener.com/tomato/tomatoterms.html

jwr6404 · April 27, 2009

Why would four pink monkeys be interested in Tomatoes? I have 4 dogs and they're not interested in Tomato's. They do like using the pots as a fire hydrant substitute.

fourpinkmonkeys · April 27, 2009

Quote:

Why would four pink monkeys be interested in Tomatoes? I have 4 dogs and they're not interested in Tomato's. They do like using the pots as a fire hydrant substitute.

Well, the four pink monkeys are my children. I have four kids...3 boys and 1 girl. They love to garden along with me

dice · April 27, 2009

The leaf type is one way to know whether the plant that you
are growing is the variety that it was advertised to be. You
cannot know positively that it actually is that variety just
looking at the leaf type (with possible exceptions for Stick,
Silvery Fir Tree, and a few others), but you can know positively
that it is not the advertised variety if the leaf type is different
than what it is supposed to be.

It is also useful when creating hybrids. You can cross pollen
from a regular leaf cultivar with flowers on a potato leaf plant,
and if the seeds saved from fruit that developed from those
same flowers produce regular leaf plants, then you know that
the cross was successful and those are hybrid plants.

(Potato leaf is a recessive trait. If you cross a potato leaf plant
with a regular leaf plant, the first generation offspring will be
regular leaf. If they are not, if the seedlings are still potato
leaf, then the intended cross did not take, and the seedlings
are likely the same as the potato leaf parent plant.)

April 27, 2009	#1
fourpinkmonkeys Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: PA Posts: 9	new with some questions I am very new to tomato growing, so I have a few questions. Why be concerned if a variety is regular leaf or potato leaf? Also, is there a resident list of all these acronyms used here? Thanks!

April 27, 2009	#2
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	fpmonkeys welcome. The concern regarding RL (Regular Leaf) or PL (Potato Leaf) has to do with the purity of the variety. Some varieties start out as RL and others PL. If a variety that is known to have started out RL and someone plants seeds for that variety and it is not RL but PL then it is not that variety or a cross or mutation of said variety. Fritz Ackerman is one such variety we have been discussing concerning the leaf type. There are other leaf types as well but the PL and RL are the most prevalent in tomatoes. Here is a link to get you started. The more you get involved in this wonderful hobby the more you will learn and Tomatoville is an excellent site to learn from. Ami http://www.backyardgardener.com/tomato/tomatoterms.html __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!'

April 27, 2009	#3
jwr6404 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: University Place, WA Posts: 481	Why would four pink monkeys be interested in Tomatoes? I have 4 dogs and they're not interested in Tomato's. They do like using the pots as a fire hydrant substitute. __________________ Jim

April 27, 2009	#5
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	The leaf type is one way to know whether the plant that you are growing is the variety that it was advertised to be. You cannot know positively that it actually is that variety just looking at the leaf type (with possible exceptions for Stick, Silvery Fir Tree, and a few others), but you can know positively that it is not the advertised variety if the leaf type is different than what it is supposed to be. It is also useful when creating hybrids. You can cross pollen from a regular leaf cultivar with flowers on a potato leaf plant, and if the seeds saved from fruit that developed from those same flowers produce regular leaf plants, then you know that the cross was successful and those are hybrid plants. (Potato leaf is a recessive trait. If you cross a potato leaf plant with a regular leaf plant, the first generation offspring will be regular leaf. If they are not, if the seedlings are still potato leaf, then the intended cross did not take, and the seedlings are likely the same as the potato leaf parent plant.) __________________ -- alias