Opalka Tomato

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Calcat36

I am Polish and proudly grow Opalka and Polish seeds from Tomato Growers right next to my Italian pastes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the free German Giants they threw in with my order! There are also peppers like Buran and Cyklon. SSE does a great job detailing seed heritage, and that is why I am drawn to pick certain varieties, so I cannot understand why Polish heritage would be a non-starter.

It isn't. Stop trying to figure out something that doesn't exist. It will drive you crazy.

[Tania]

I love Polish tomatoes

And I agree with Mark about Polish Linguisa - it is another wonderful tomato to grow, in addition to Opalka.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by ddsack

Two people have it listed in the current SSE online yearbook. Sounds like I might have to give it a try.

I don't do the Online, just one year of doing that for requests and I ran as fast as I could back to my paper Yearbooks, and I was in contact with Joanne at SSE last week and they were going to call the printer to see when it might be sent out.

What as new to me this year was when Joanne told me that ALL listing submissions would be uploaded to the online b/c the paper one would be printed from that.

Knowing that I said that I'd accept requests ONLY with the 2013 request form that was MAILED to me. I deleted about half of my varieties, added back just a few new ones and lowered the request price considerably.

And then at least two others got a scam request from someone passing himself off as a listed SSE member and included all sorts of misinformation like an SSE code that had never been assigned, so I had to ask Joanne about that and I was right, he's a scammer.

Since his 2012 request form, another error, was xeroxed I wonder how many other folks he scammed. Yes, I'll return his money and list what he lied about, but not the request form nor the outer enveope which was also quite telling, in case SSE wants to do something about it. As for me, I'd like to see his membership revoked, for he is a legit member.

I almost forgot to ask if both entries describe the same traits and if so, I'm wondering if Darrel is selling plants for it and that's how they got the seeds.

Darrel?

Carolyn

[habitat_gardener]

I grew George O'Brien in 2010 and my notes say, "deep, rich flavor as a raw tomato and even better as a cooked tomato." It deserves to be better known! I don't recall ever cooking Opalka, but it's been a favorite every time I've grown it.

I got George O'Brien as a transplant from someone who'd taken a tomato-growing workshop at Love Apple Farm and had extras. At the workshop, people got to choose from any seeds in Cynthia's collection and take home a full flat of seeded containers. I assume Cynthia got her seeds from SSE.

[ddsack]

Carolyn,

Copying from the online SSE listing, the earliest seems to be:

NY WO G - 2009: 80, large oxheart type, low moisture, good for sauce, Peter Bowden who got it from George O'Brien

He has listed it every year since then, and also has been listed for the past few years by:

IL LO N - 2013: 85, indet., regular leaf, good yield of 4-8 oz. paste type fruit, very good flavor, , NY WO G 09
SSE Accession: TOMATO/RED

*****
One thing that's nice in the new online catalog, is that now there are photo links available for some of the varieties. The photo for this one does show two elongated 5 1/2" to 6" paste types, so wonder about the oxheart wording. Would love to hear more info from Darryl as well.

[Fusion_power]

The description is correct. George O'Brien is a typical long sauce type tomato but larger fruit than most of the type. Regular leaf foliage, somewhat sparse as is typical of most similar varieties, fruit tend to have green shoulders and can crack a bit if they get too much water. Flavor is rich, intense, and sweet.

I just checked my seed and have about 500. I will make up 25 packs of seed and will accept requests until that amount has been met. Please send me a PM here on T'ville with the address you want them to be shipped to. I will reply as long until the seed are gone.

I will also put it in the rotation to produce plants this year so if anyone wants a plant, they can order it.

Darrel Jones

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by ddsack

Carolyn,

Copying from the online SSE listing, the earliest seems to be:

NY WO G - 2009: 80, large oxheart type, low moisture, good for sauce, Peter Bowden who got it from George O'Brien

He has listed it every year since then, and also has been listed for the past few years by:

IL LO N - 2013: 85, indet., regular leaf, good yield of 4-8 oz. paste type fruit, very good flavor, , NY WO G 09
SSE Accession: TOMATO/RED

*****
One thing that's nice in the new online catalog, is that now there are photo links available for some of the varieties. The photo for this one does show two elongated 5 1/2" to 6" paste types, so wonder about the oxheart wording. Would love to hear more info from Darryl as well.

So I just looked up NY WO G, whose name is Gary, and he is the garlic grower that Keith said he got the seeds from and Gary doesn't live that far from me here in NYS and if it weren't for the fact that my surgeon says no going out in the winter with the walker, and my car is in the garage with a dead battery I could think of driving down there.

But again,no if he's distributing crossed seed( see below).

So it looks like Neil L was the first to get what Darrel considers to be the correct variety, seeds from Gary in 2009 who says it's a heart.

Neil got his seeds fromGary and says 4-8 oz paste type but doesn't indicate the shape/

Yes, I went back up and see you noted the same info from both Gary and Neil.

So it looks like Gary has been sending out crossed seed and perhaps Keith really did get this variety from Gary, but oops, wrong shape, etc.

I don't know about now, but Cynthia has been getting lotsof her seeds from Neil L in IL,the same Neil who does seed production for me and lives in IL and sameNeil who also listed it, and sameNeil who sends me the best of his best each year and I do the reverse and he never sent it to me, so what does that say?

So Darrel, given the above what makes George O Brian be a long paste and not the oxheart Gary described it as, when he got it kind of 2nd hand from the original George O Brian, said Carolyn running and ducking, well actually rolling and gliding.

Carolyn

[Tracydr]

Trying to picture Carolyn running, ducking, rolling and gliding.
Ice skates and a walker?

[carolyn137]

I still have some questions.

Gary has been saying it's a heart since he first listed it in 2009.

Neil got seeds from him and did not describe a heart, just a small what he called a paste tomato.

Gary lists an e-mail address for his garlic requests so I'm going to e-mail him and ask some questions that I hope will clarify what George O Brian is supposed to be and whether Gary knew what is was supposed to be before he grew his first plants. Seems to me if he was told it was a heart and he got a heart he would say it was OK.

And surely he saw Neil's listing which didn't say heart.

I'll e-mail Neil separately and get his opinoin about it b/c he requested seeds thinking it was a heart, and if so, what happened.

That Cynthia at Love Apple Farm got a long paste, as I said above, is understandable since she got it from Neil no doubt, and no, Cynthia is not an SSE member last I knew, but has access to the Yearbooks and just asked Neil if he would help her, and he did, for many varieties. I don't know if she expected a heart and questioned what she got from Neil.

Cynthia I know, she's changed over the years. A few years back she was traveling East with her kids to visit the baseball museum in Cooperstown, NY, and asked if she could stop by to meet me. of course I said sure, but for some reason, they never came East.

Carolyn