Prue, a tomato so good; it's boring. - Page 2

ddsack · June 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedln

George,

I once had a lady on a different forum who grew and loved Prue. Every year, she offered seed from her other varieties either for trade or for free with an SASE. She never offered Prue seed because she was afraid people wouldn't understand Prue and wouldn't treat it properly.

Ted

I know just how she felt! Some years ago I gave some really nice Opalka (similarily wispy) plants to a gardening friend. At the end of the season I asked how he had liked the tomatoes, and he admitted he had pulled the plants because they "didn't look right". I'm sure they didn't if all you are used to are the robust RL's of box store hybrids. It may have been my fault for not giving a strong enough warning about the droopy leaves. Now when I give away my extra seedlings I make sure to write a big WISPY on the cup in case they don't remember what they've been told.

I love Prue and grow it every year, and some friends ask for it as well.

June 22, 2016

I find Prue interesting because it produces many tomatoes of different sizes and shapes on the same plant. My plants right now have round tomatoes and elongated tomatoes on the same plant. The elongated tomatoes look like Roma tomatoes on steroids. One is approaching one lb. in size. I become so tired of Walmart Roma tomatoes masquerading as tomatoes. By winters end, it's hard for me to accept a tomato that only looks like a Roma tomato. One bite and you know "this ain't no Roma".

Ted

wildcat62 · June 22, 2016

Ted when you make that seed offer I'd like to try all three that you mentioned. Be happy to send a SASE.

June 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildcat62

Ted when you make that seed offer I'd like to try all three that you mentioned. Be happy to send a SASE.

I'm not taking names yet, but I will post the offer later in the season. I will probably post the offer in the forum which lists folks looking for seed and offering seed..

Ted

**carolyn137** · June 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedln

I find Prue interesting because it produces many tomatoes of different sizes and shapes on the same plant. My plants right now have round tomatoes and elongated tomatoes on the same plant. The elongated tomatoes look like Roma tomatoes on steroids. One is approaching one lb. in size. I become so tired of Walmart Roma tomatoes masquerading as tomatoes. By winters end, it's hard for me to accept a tomato that only looks like a Roma tomato. One bite and you know "this ain't no Roma".

Ted

What interests me is that this variety has produced fruits of different shapes and sizes ever since Tom Galucci got the seeds and has been stable since the get go.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Prue

Carolyn

rhoder551 · June 22, 2016

Prue doesn't sound boring, sounds fascinating... I grow others with wispy wilty foliage and like them very much. I'll put this one on my list for next year. Thank you for posting about Prue.

efisakov · June 22, 2016

Ted, can you post some pictures of Prue?

HudsonValley · June 22, 2016

I'll be sure add Prue to my list for next year, too. Sounds perfect since my favorite tomato is a good old-fashioned ("boring"?) Marglobe. But if Prue is a better-behaved plant than the Marglobe variety I grow (a sprawling behemoth that takes over the raised bed and defies caging or staking), perhaps I will discover a new favorite!

June 22, 2016

Ella,

I will take my camera to the garden in the morning. If the lens doesn't fog over in the humidity, I will take some photos. My Prue tomatoes are still green, but starting to ripen. Tatiana has some really good photos of Prue on her site at http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Prue. Just scroll down to the "picture gallery" at the bottom of the page.

Ted

wildcat62 · June 23, 2016

Ted, when you describe it as wispy it makes me think of the Orange Russian#117 in our garden this year. My 1st time growing it and that's exactly the way I would describe it. Absolute contrast to all other varieties in our garden.

pondgardener · June 23, 2016

Wildcat,

If your plants are from seed I sent you, then the description may be accurate. The lady I acquired seed from described the plant growth as "wispy" and the first year I grew it that was indeed the case. Last year I didn't notice it as much and this year the plants are still small and are not showing it yet.

George

wildcat62 · June 23, 2016

George,
I was going to send/post you a picture of the 1st ripe OR#117 fruit when I pick it. And it won't be long now. The biggest one looks to be just starting to blush. It was a race between it & Pink Berkley Tye Dye for the 1st ripe tomato this year & the PBTD got picked and ate(within minutes

) last night. Man, it was good. See it in the pic.

Big thanks for the OR#117 seed offer. Wispy would definitely be my description of them. I've got 2 plants growing and there are unlike any others I have. They have outpaced most other varieties. Can't wait to try them.
Mark

Sorry didn't mean to highjack the thread....

pondgardener · June 23, 2016

Mark,

In a roundabout way, the OR#117 does have a connection to this thread. Two years ago I was growing Prue for the first time and the two plants that I did have exhibited the wispy foliage. But come harvest time, one of the plants had yellow/orange fruit and the other red. I had asked Carolyn in a thread whether it was typical for Prue and someone else suggested that it looked more like OR#117. Looking back at the list of tomatoes I had started from seed, there was indeed some OR#117 started for a friend but I did not have any in my plantout list. So, whether I had misidentified the plants or a stray seed wandered where it wasn't supposed to, I do not know. In any case, Carolyn suggested growing out what I had the next year, which resulted in what I had offered in the Fall of 2015. I am looking forward to growing Prue this year and they are isolated from the OR#117, so no hanky-panky.

George

rhoder551 · June 24, 2016

wildcat62, I tried to find the pic of pink berkeley tie dye in your post, since I'm growing that one this year, but the link does not work...

Yak54 · June 24, 2016

George

I have 2 plants growing from the Orange Russian 117 seeds you sent me, and they are about two feet tall right now and flowering nicely. Very healthy looking so far and just starting to show some of the wispyness (I invented a new word) of the variety. I remember the fantastic photo you posted of yours last season, and I can't wait to have some of these beauties for my wife & I. Thanks again.

Dan

June 22, 2016	#17
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	I find Prue interesting because it produces many tomatoes of different sizes and shapes on the same plant. My plants right now have round tomatoes and elongated tomatoes on the same plant. The elongated tomatoes look like Roma tomatoes on steroids. One is approaching one lb. in size. I become so tired of Walmart Roma tomatoes masquerading as tomatoes. By winters end, it's hard for me to accept a tomato that only looks like a Roma tomato. One bite and you know "this ain't no Roma". Ted Last edited by tedln; June 22, 2016 at 12:12 PM.

June 22, 2016	#22
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	Ted, can you post some pictures of Prue? __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”

June 23, 2016	#26
pondgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 361	Wildcat, If your plants are from seed I sent you, then the description may be accurate. The lady I acquired seed from described the plant growth as "wispy" and the first year I grew it that was indeed the case. Last year I didn't notice it as much and this year the plants are still small and are not showing it yet. George __________________ “Live as if you'll die tomorrow, but farm as if you'll live forever.” Old Proverb

June 23, 2016	#27
wildcat62 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Zone 6 Northern Kentucky Posts: 1,094	George, I was going to send/post you a picture of the 1st ripe OR#117 fruit when I pick it. And it won't be long now. The biggest one looks to be just starting to blush. It was a race between it & Pink Berkley Tye Dye for the 1st ripe tomato this year & the PBTD got picked and ate(within minutes ) last night. Man, it was good. See it in the pic. Big thanks for the OR#117 seed offer. Wispy would definitely be my description of them. I've got 2 plants growing and there are unlike any others I have. They have outpaced most other varieties. Can't wait to try them. Mark Sorry didn't mean to highjack the thread.... Last edited by wildcat62; June 24, 2016 at 02:40 PM.

June 23, 2016	#28
pondgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 361	Mark, In a roundabout way, the OR#117 does have a connection to this thread. Two years ago I was growing Prue for the first time and the two plants that I did have exhibited the wispy foliage. But come harvest time, one of the plants had yellow/orange fruit and the other red. I had asked Carolyn in a thread whether it was typical for Prue and someone else suggested that it looked more like OR#117. Looking back at the list of tomatoes I had started from seed, there was indeed some OR#117 started for a friend but I did not have any in my plantout list. So, whether I had misidentified the plants or a stray seed wandered where it wasn't supposed to, I do not know. In any case, Carolyn suggested growing out what I had the next year, which resulted in what I had offered in the Fall of 2015. I am looking forward to growing Prue this year and they are isolated from the OR#117, so no hanky-panky. George __________________ “Live as if you'll die tomorrow, but farm as if you'll live forever.” Old Proverb

June 22, 2016	#21
rhoder551 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 219	Prue doesn't sound boring, sounds fascinating... I grow others with wispy wilty foliage and like them very much. I'll put this one on my list for next year. Thank you for posting about Prue.

June 22, 2016	#23
HudsonValley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Hudson Valley, NY, Zone 6a Posts: 626	I'll be sure add Prue to my list for next year, too. Sounds perfect since my favorite tomato is a good old-fashioned ("boring"?) Marglobe. But if Prue is a better-behaved plant than the Marglobe variety I grow (a sprawling behemoth that takes over the raised bed and defies caging or staking), perhaps I will discover a new favorite!

June 24, 2016	#29
rhoder551 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 219	wildcat62, I tried to find the pic of pink berkeley tie dye in your post, since I'm growing that one this year, but the link does not work...

June 24, 2016	#30
Yak54 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Madison, OH, zone 6 Posts: 474	George I have 2 plants growing from the Orange Russian 117 seeds you sent me, and they are about two feet tall right now and flowering nicely. Very healthy looking so far and just starting to show some of the wispyness (I invented a new word) of the variety. I remember the fantastic photo you posted of yours last season, and I can't wait to have some of these beauties for my wife & I. Thanks again. Dan