Can You Help Identify These Tomatoes?

jcr1709 · July 30, 2011

Hi,

I saved these seeds last year from a commercially available pack of "Heirloom Tomatoes" (the large red one) and the cherry tomato from the same company's "Gourmet Cherry Tomato Medley". I grew both out this year and here are the results. They do look like the same tomato I saved seeds from last year. I do like the flavor of both and they seem to be healthy plants. I've tried to inquire about what varieties they are from the company in Canada, but they never respond. (the same people who grow the "Kumato" tomato. (sorry Dr. Carolyn....I know you don't much care for the "Kumato". :-) Pictures are whole...then cut.

Thanks in Advance

Jamie

**carolyn137** · July 30, 2011

Jamie, with no list of varieties to work from it's a losing game in terms of trying to figure out what they might be, al least in my opinion.

If I had time I'd go to the Canadaian companies I know of that might not respond, but that would NOT include either Jeff Casey or Tania. And I'd also look for an offering of gourmet cherry tomatoes.

But I don't know any one company that grows Kumato, aka Rosso Bruno here in the US, b'c quite a few of them list it as I recall, so that doesn't help.

If you want to PM me with the name I won't squeal on you but at least could look at the cherries, when I get time, which is not now. I don't know if that would even work. Were you at least told how many varieties were in that mixed pack?

I honestly can't see the sense of offering a mixed anything without naming the varieties that might be in there. Some places even color code the seeds so you know what you'e planting b'c you can match up the color with the listed varieties with their color codes.

delltraveller · July 30, 2011

It can be very hard to identify a tomato from just a picture of the fruit.

The clues appear to be that one is a cherry tomato, bigger than a quarter, black color, green gel; and a pink or red, pear shaped, ribbed, hollow, six lobed, 3 or 4 quarters wide.....

raindrops27 · July 30, 2011

I have a question. Picture number 4, seeds were removed right?

ContainerTed · July 30, 2011

Jamie, I would offer this advice. Enjoy those tomatoes you are growing this year that taste good. At the end of this growing season, several of us offer the seeds of many tomato varieties free for your SASE. In the mean time, you must appreciate the fact that all of us live with - "If the tomato seed is separated from its name for even an instant, it becomes an unknown."

You don't need to buy a pack of "mixed" seeds to get some of the good stuff all of us talk about. Just ask. And you can receive. Quit spending money on those "mixed" envelopes and join us in one pack of seeds for each variety.

Other than that, welcome to the wonderful world of heirloom/open pollinated tomatoes, etc.

Take care and enjoy this fabulous hobby that we tomatovillians obsess about.

**carolyn137** · July 30, 2011

Jamie, good advice from Ted.

Startinmg in late summer/early Fall, go to the Seed Forums, there are two subforums. The WANTED subforum is for folks asking for particular varieties or where they can get them if no one here has them. Sometimes they also post what they're willing to give in trade for what they ask for.

The other SubFoum is called the trade Forum. Some folks also post there what they have for trades and what they want in return. But there are many like myself who want no trades at all and are just offering varieties for an SASE.

Those of us who live in the northern areas usually don't get our collective acts together in termns of seeds offers until perhaps the mid-Dec/early Jan time span and I'm one who doesn't put up my list, usually, until early to mid=Jan. The only time I trade seeds with someone is if they have a variety new to all or most. otherwise, for several reasons I never trade seeds.

If there are varieties you want that no one has then go to Tania's tomato data website and look it up there and if there are commercial sources for that variety they'll be listed.

Hope that helps.

Marvroc · July 31, 2011

The black colored 1 looks like a Black Prince! I had a few that tasted great and the rest not so good.

**carolyn137** · July 31, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvroc

The black colored 1 looks like a Black Prince! I had a few that tasted great and the rest not so good.

Mavroc, the problem is that there are at least a couple of hundred so called black tomatoes and many of them are look alikes, if not taste alikes, according to those who have done huge growouts of the darks at the same time.

So I think it would be difficult to say what's shown is Black Prince since there are many that look the same as Black Prince.

z_willus_d · July 31, 2011

Based on no information (even that supplied) save for the pics, I would say the red (especially that hollow inside) looks just like the first Early Girl I pulled a week or so back. It wasn't very tasty though. Mine didn't have the nipple on the blossom end I think I see in your uncut pic. The black oval doesn't quite look like my first Black Prince, which was less seedy, larger, and more fleshy inside. Again, this is a fairly useless comment based on nothing more than visual comparisons of your pics and two tomatoes I've grown myself this year. Hope they at least taste good.
-naysen

July 30, 2011	#2
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Jamie, with no list of varieties to work from it's a losing game in terms of trying to figure out what they might be, al least in my opinion. If I had time I'd go to the Canadaian companies I know of that might not respond, but that would NOT include either Jeff Casey or Tania. And I'd also look for an offering of gourmet cherry tomatoes. But I don't know any one company that grows Kumato, aka Rosso Bruno here in the US, b'c quite a few of them list it as I recall, so that doesn't help. If you want to PM me with the name I won't squeal on you but at least could look at the cherries, when I get time, which is not now. I don't know if that would even work. Were you at least told how many varieties were in that mixed pack? I honestly can't see the sense of offering a mixed anything without naming the varieties that might be in there. Some places even color code the seeds so you know what you'e planting b'c you can match up the color with the listed varieties with their color codes. __________________ Carolyn

July 30, 2011	#5
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	Jamie, I would offer this advice. Enjoy those tomatoes you are growing this year that taste good. At the end of this growing season, several of us offer the seeds of many tomato varieties free for your SASE. In the mean time, you must appreciate the fact that all of us live with - "If the tomato seed is separated from its name for even an instant, it becomes an unknown." You don't need to buy a pack of "mixed" seeds to get some of the good stuff all of us talk about. Just ask. And you can receive. Quit spending money on those "mixed" envelopes and join us in one pack of seeds for each variety. Other than that, welcome to the wonderful world of heirloom/open pollinated tomatoes, etc. Take care and enjoy this fabulous hobby that we tomatovillians obsess about. __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

July 30, 2011	#6
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Jamie, good advice from Ted. Startinmg in late summer/early Fall, go to the Seed Forums, there are two subforums. The WANTED subforum is for folks asking for particular varieties or where they can get them if no one here has them. Sometimes they also post what they're willing to give in trade for what they ask for. The other SubFoum is called the trade Forum. Some folks also post there what they have for trades and what they want in return. But there are many like myself who want no trades at all and are just offering varieties for an SASE. Those of us who live in the northern areas usually don't get our collective acts together in termns of seeds offers until perhaps the mid-Dec/early Jan time span and I'm one who doesn't put up my list, usually, until early to mid=Jan. The only time I trade seeds with someone is if they have a variety new to all or most. otherwise, for several reasons I never trade seeds. If there are varieties you want that no one has then go to Tania's tomato data website and look it up there and if there are commercial sources for that variety they'll be listed. Hope that helps. __________________ Carolyn

July 30, 2011	#3
delltraveller Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 481	It can be very hard to identify a tomato from just a picture of the fruit. The clues appear to be that one is a cherry tomato, bigger than a quarter, black color, green gel; and a pink or red, pear shaped, ribbed, hollow, six lobed, 3 or 4 quarters wide.....

July 30, 2011	#4
raindrops27 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: long island Posts: 327	I have a question. Picture number 4, seeds were removed right?

July 31, 2011	#7
Marvroc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: California Posts: 3	The black colored 1 looks like a Black Prince! I had a few that tasted great and the rest not so good.

July 31, 2011	#9
z_willus_d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Eastern Suburb of Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,313	Based on no information (even that supplied) save for the pics, I would say the red (especially that hollow inside) looks just like the first Early Girl I pulled a week or so back. It wasn't very tasty though. Mine didn't have the nipple on the blossom end I think I see in your uncut pic. The black oval doesn't quite look like my first Black Prince, which was less seedy, larger, and more fleshy inside. Again, this is a fairly useless comment based on nothing more than visual comparisons of your pics and two tomatoes I've grown myself this year. Hope they at least taste good. -naysen