Lightly circulated treasures

"I was able to wake up:

Box Car Willie
MuleTeam
GreatDivide
Red Barn and
Pasture"


Joe Bratka's father certainly had a knack for naming tomatoes. Those all had good, strong names suggesting they had a story behind them. It's great they all had the same story. I would like to plant all five next year and compare them for similarities. It should tell me which traits Joe Bratka's father thought desirable.

Ted

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by tedln

"I was able to wake up:

Box Car Willie
MuleTeam
GreatDivide
Red Barn and
Pasture"


Joe Bratka's father certainly had a knack for naming tomatoes. Those all had good, strong names suggesting they had a story behind them. It's great they all had the same story. I would like to plant all five next year and compare them for similarities. It should tell me which traits Joe Bratka's father thought desirable.

Ted

All of the above are large fruited except Pasture, which is a red cherry and some have said it grows more rampant than does Kudzu vine in the south.

Joe has sent me pictures of the back yard where his parents lived and where henowlives, and there's not much room there but Joe did all of his crosses there and grew them out to stability. And I presume his father did as well.

Carolyn

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

I've grown several tomatoes that were among my favorites the year I grew them but aren't mentioned much:

Aunt Ginny's Purple is widely available, but I rarely see it mentioned
George O'Brien isn't even in the tomatobase!
Ernie's Round is scarce
Marizol Bratka and Tobolsk tied for best tomato in my garden a few years ago
Croatia Joanna YMCA was from a local source

If I could grow only tomatoes I'd already grown (no new-to-me varieties), I'd have lots of great choices. The following aren't rare, but they tasted great and and did well in my garden, and I'd grow them again if only I had enough garden space and if only I weren't tempted by different varieties every year!
Marianna's Peace
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Pruden's Purple
Tommy Toe
Sunsugar F1
Pink Vernissage
Black Plum
Druzba
Opalka
(this list could be 3x as long but I'm stopping here)

Aunt Ginny's Purple will get mentioned when there are threads about "the best tasting tomato", "if you could have ony one tomato", and "if you were stranded on a desert island, what one tomato would you want?"

There are a few of us who consider Aunt Ginny's Purple to be the best tasting tomato there is, and we trial hundreds and hundreds of other varieties looking for its equal (if that's possible).
For me, it has the flavor that almost makes the knees buckle.

Dr. Lve Apple

[Sun City Linda]

I love Prudens Purple and Stump of the World. They would no doubt make my "stranded on a desert island" list......yet, neither is started yet for this year! Always searching........lol

I have seed for Aunt Ginnys Purple, could you describe the taste a bit? Sweet, acid? Thanks.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

I love Prudens Purple and Stump of the World. They would no doubt make my "stranded on a desert island" list......yet, neither is started yet for this year! Always searching........lol

I have seed for Aunt Ginnys Purple, could you describe the taste a bit? Sweet, acid? Thanks.

Linda, you'd get booted off Tomato Island. Only ONE tomato allowed.

Out of several hundred pink beefsteaks trialed, Prudens/Prudence Purple is #5 , and Stump Of The World is #7 , on my all-time favorites list. So, if I were allowed 7 tomato varieties on a desert island, AGP, PP, and SOTW would be three of my seven.

The best way I can describe Aunt Ginny's Purple is that it has the fullest flavor in a sweet tomato, that I've ever tried. I've seed one catalog say it's "sweet, but a lot more".

Gary

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Linda, you'd get booted off Tomato Island. Only ONE tomato allowed.

Out of several hundred pink beefsteaks trialed, Prudens/Prudence Purple is #5 , and Stump Of The World is #7 , on my all-time favorites list. So, if I were allowed 7 tomato varieties on a desert island, AGP, PP, and SOTW would be three of my seven.

The best way I can describe Aunt Ginny's Purple is that it has the fullest flavor in a sweet tomato, that I've ever tried. I've seed one catalog say it's "sweet, but a lot more".

Gary

Gary, don't get me going on the Prudens/Prudence Purple issue, b'c I thought that was dead and gone many years ago.

I just checked my 2013 SSE Yearbook and all list it as Prudens Purple with two exceptions.

SSE itself lists it as Prudens Purple, True Variety, seeds from Garrett Pittinger, I think his name is, from Canada, and he wasn't even one of the ones arguing back and forth in earlier Yearbooks about which was correct. BUT, SSE also makes money off ALL the varieties they list in the Yearbooks. Not all bad since they've been listing some varieties that were no longer being listed, which is a plus.

But a TRUE Variety? I dunno.

Then one other person lists it as just Prudence, but he's one who slightly alters variety names to run up his total listings, as I see it looking at what he lists.

Carolyn

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by Tormato

...Out of several hundred pink beefsteaks trialed, Prudens/Prudence Purple is #5 , and Stump Of The World is #7 , on my all-time favorites list. So, if I were allowed 7 tomato varieties on a desert island, AGP, PP, and SOTW would be three of my seven....

And the other 4?

[Tormato]

The other 4 would make the trip to Tomato Island II.

I guess I'll have to keep you in suspense throughout the weekend. You could pry the answer out of me earlier, by agreeing to trade some winter squash varieties with me.

Dr. Lve Apple
aka

Tormato

And, after this post, I might need a third name to go by.

[greyghost]

I'll send you a pm-also I'll send you my winter squash varieties. I bought them
last year, mostly from Baker Creek and Johnny's. They did well, really too well.
I'm just lucky my blackberry plants are still alive. Not to mention the squash bugs that covered a nearby stable. A few in the garage must have not been well-cured...Next year, I'll buy them from a nearby orchard.

So now tell us your favorites!

[greyghost]

I'd have to agree that Aunt Ginny's Purple is one of the besting tasting tomatoes from my past. It just seemed to have a deep taste for a pink-
yet I never seem to find the space to regrow it. Always chasing the new,
I guess.

Another is German Head-it was one of the first heirlooms I grew. I
remember I was so impressed with their size and beauty and thought
I surely grow it every year. I can't remember the taste, however, and
I'm suspecting that if I regrew it now, I may find it too mild!!

Caspian Pink is another that was a beauty and was the very first heirloom
I grew, but definitely was just to mild.

[Sun City Linda]

Originally Posted by greyghost

I'd have to agree that Aunt Ginny's Purple is one of the besting tasting tomatoes from my past. It just seemed to have a deep taste for a pink-
yet I never seem to find the space to regrow it. Always chasing the new,
I guess.

Another is German Head-it was one of the first heirlooms I grew. I
remember I was so impressed with their size and beauty and thought
I surely grow it every year. I can't remember the taste, however, and
I'm suspecting that if I regrew it now, I may find it too mild!!

Caspian Pink is another that was a beauty and was the very first heirloom
I grew, but definitely was just to mild.

I can relate. I like my maters to slap me upside the head.

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

I can relate. I like my maters to slap me upside the head.

I haven't tried many of the favorites in this thread, but Aunt Ginny's Purple is definitely on my list for future grows. I also like the way Linda expresses my taste preference in an easy to understand manner.

Ted

[barbamWY]

One that does well here and a favorite at our plant sale is Sheyenne. North Dakota gardeners are probably familiar with it. I awakened an old packet of Northrup King seeds my husband brought home after helping a friend clean out a shed. Sheyenne is fairly early and a beautiful smooth red tomato and medium sized fruits. The flavor is a not too sweet. The plants seems to be disease resistant and they don't need to be staked. I have grown Sheyenne for about 15 years now and have saved my own seed each year.
I also grow Stump of the World every year and it has outstanding flavor. I also have grown Wins All or Winsal and it is good too and a pink beefsteak as well. Pruden's Purple is another one I grow every year and I get good production before frost. One that I grow for friends is Sweet Tangerine from Burpee. Myself I like Kellogg's Breakfast better but it is later than the Sweet Tangerine. Cosmonaut Volkov I have only grown for two years but people are asking for it.
Black Early I prefer over Cherokee Purple because it is a heavier producer and earlier here in Wyoming, but I do grow both.
Barb

[WVTomatoMan]

Most of the tomatoes in my garden on any given year are of the lesser known types. In fact I only grow 3 or 4 big name varieties most years. The following is a very incomplete list*:
Germaid Red
Paw Paw
Purple Dog Creek
Randy's Cherry Bomb
Cosner
Irish Pink
Trees Bottom Yellow
Stump of the World
Omar's Lebanese
Ferris Wheel
Brimmer
Earl of Edgecombe
Orange Minsk
Wes

Some varieties like Box Car Willie, Tappy's Finest, etc. weren't listed because they've already been mentoned.

*Note: WV tomatoes and ones that I introduced are well represented so one could say I'm biased. However, I feel that there are some arguably good varieties on my list.

Randy

Randy,
You include Orange Minsk in your list. I've grown it three years and I am growing it this year based on taste and production alone. I'm thinking of dropping it next year simply because it doesn't make attractive fruit. Most of them are catfaced. If they are catfaced again this year, I will either not grow it again or look for seed from a grower who doesn't seem to experience the catfacing I experience. How have yours looked?

Ted