My Oddball Varieties 2012

[Solanum315]

This variety is generally indistinguishable from the common commercial variety you would find at almost any Filipino grocery store. On more than one occasion, I was told that this tomato was called "Native". Rather than describing any cognizable variety, I think the term is meant to denote that it is a variety of tomato that is endemic to the Philippines. The local variety of pigs is also commonly identified as "native." Indeed, several varieties of Filipino tomatoes have "native" somewhere in their name, usually with a geographic location attached. Although I doubt that much commercial agriculture takes place within city limits, seeds for this variety were obtained in an Angeles City market following a hiking trip to the summit of nearby Mount Pinatubo; hence the name.
When I grew this variety in 2011, the fruit were excessively acidic and very prone to blossom end rot. This year, only the first two fruit showed blossom end rot and the fruit were much more balanced. It is essentially a grocery store tomato, although unlike American commercial varieties which tend to be hybrids, this one appears to be open pollenated and stable. Flavor is similar to a generic roma but with more of an acid bite. Fruit are very firm and meaty with relatively little gel and few seeds. Admittedly, not the most delicious tomato you will ever taste but it is a strong, productive and unique plant.

[Solanum315]

This is the F1 cross of Speckled Roman and Angeles City Native. In most ways, this variety splits the difference between its parents. Foliage is wispy like Speckled Roman but stiff instead of droopy. Blossom end is indented like Angeles City Native instead of nippled. It is a firm, very dry tomato with muted acidity and slightly streaked skin. Fresh taste is fair but this variety is primarily suited for sauces. Bred in the United States.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Solanum315

From Serbia. Large robust plants with wispy foliage produce a very heavy crop of large pink oxhearts. Many heavy producers lack taste but Calf's Heart is an exception. It is meaty but not overly dry so it is well suited for a number of uses. I found the flavor rich with just a hint of pumpkin, a subtle flavor that I have noticed in other oxhearts. A good choice for a single-variety garden.

Are there two varieties named the same?

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Calf%27s_Heart

It would be nice to share with Maria that it's a Serbian variety if you can give me a link to send her which indicates it is Serbian in origin and somehow got to KY, USA.

There's also Alex here at Tville who is from Serbia who might be interested, especially if you know where in Serbia it comes from.

[Solanum315]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Are there two varieties named the same?

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Calf%27s_Heart

It would be nice to share with Maria that it's a Serbian variety if you can give me a link to send her which indicates it is Serbian in origin and somehow got to KY, USA.

There's also Alex here at Tville who is from Serbia who might be interested, especially if you know where in Serbia it comes from.

My Serbian cousin brought this variety. Her mother in law gave her the seeds and told her the name. Apparently it is a commonly grown heirloom in Serbia. Of course the problem with generically descriptive names is that you end up with more than one variety named Beefsteak, Cherry, Native, etc. But you can't really fault anyone for that since I doubt that when it was named, anyone in the Balkans was worrying about nomenclature among tomato nerds decades or even centuries down the road.

[Solanum315]

The result of a cross between Large Red Cherry and Hillbilly Potato leaf in 2008. I was not particularly impressed with either variety in 2008 but I am glad that I crossed them as I feel that Gimli is a better variety than either parent.

Gimli F4 is largely the same for the third year in a row so it appears to be mostly stable at this point. Very productive, very large, regular-leafed plants. Fairly dense, mild and sweet fruits that ripen to an orange red. Good for salsa or salads. Almost as meaty as a roma but with more flavor.

Ruffled Gimli F4 showed considerable changes from F3. F3 bore smallish fruit that had more gel, a rather assertive taste and ripened to an orange red. F4 bore beefsteaks that ripened to a deep red with a good balance of flesh to gel with many locules. Late season, some cracking, perfectly balanced. Good for many purposes. Moderate to heavy bearing.