History of Purdens Purple

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by billbird2111

I am reviving this old message for two reasons:

1. I miss Carolyn Male. She was the voice of reason in the garden. Her tireless research of seeds and seed varieties left all of us with a great library of varietals to trial and taste.

2. I am growing Pruden's Purple this year and the plant has passed five feet in height. I planted in early May. There's more than a dozen tomatoes on it and time enough in our long California season for it to set and grow a great deal more.

3. A tremendous resource that doesn't get enough attention is Livingston and The Tomato. Published in 1893, the Father of the Modern Tomato tells us about the many varieties that he either found, propogated and the process he used in the garden to develop new varieties.

Hope everyone is well.

Thank you for reviving this thread. I also miss Carolyn. I don't know how anyone could ever have been cruel to her, and there were more than one of them that were.

I will continue to list it as Prudence Purple, mostly because "Seed Savers" lists it as Pruden's Purple.

Over the years, that organization has had a huge amount of "pink" tomatoes, listed as "red" tomatoes, and refused to make any corrections.

Also, someone once asked me if they could list a pole bean that was discovered in my garden, and named by me. I was perfectly fine with it being listed. Until...

This bean is a "wax" or yellow bean. However, it's color is a mix of pink and yellow, getting more pink as the growing season progresses, often turning almost solid vibrant pink. Its color turns to all yellow when cooked. The person who listed it said that "Seed Savers" would in no way list it under pole wax beans. It is, in no way, a green colored bean.

So, Prudence Purple for a tomato it will be with me. and Flamingo as a pole wax (flat podded "Romano"-type) bean, too.