Could This Be Sun Gold OP

[ChiliPeppa]

Very exciting!

[kchd..]

Very cool, Ted. I'll be interested to read about your progress. Considering the aroma of this year's OP plants, will you go back to seeds from the previous generation if fruit this year are not as good as last year?

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by kchd..

Very cool, Ted. I'll be interested to read about your progress. Considering the aroma of this year's OP plants, will you go back to seeds from the previous generation if fruit this year are not as good as last year?

A very good question. I have given this a lot of thought. The aroma is there, only not as strong as the F1. But, you can't eat aroma. If the taste and color are there, I think I might go ahead and release it to the public. After all, the taste is what it's all about.

I'm still thinking about what I should name it. There's all kinds of possibilities. It showed up as a volunteer here in my garden in the state of Tennessee which is the Volunteer State. It's even already the right color of orange. That kinda makes one think about some possibilities. Colonel Davy Crockett would be proud, don't you think.

[Starlight]

Keep posting up dates. Any idea about long before you get to taste the first ripe tomato?

A possible name. Orange Sweetness?

Tennessee Sweetness?

[kchd..]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

A very good question. I have given this a lot of thought. The aroma is there, only not as strong as the F1. But, you can't eat aroma. If the taste and color are there, I think I might go ahead and release it to the public. After all, the taste is what it's all about.

Very true, you can't eat aroma. I was just thinking that if aroma is strongly correlated with the flavor you are looking for, then.... Hopefully it's not the case and the flavor of this year's fruit is outstanding.

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

I'm still thinking about what I should name it. There's all kinds of possibilities. It showed up as a volunteer here in my garden in the state of Tennessee which is the Volunteer State. It's even already the right color of orange. That kinda makes one think about some possibilities. Colonel Davy Crockett would be proud, don't you think.

I think naming it with a TN Vol spin would be brilliant! LOL!

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by kchd..

Very true, you can't eat aroma. I was just thinking that if aroma is strongly correlated with the flavor you are looking for, then.... Hopefully it's not the case and the flavor of this year's fruit is outstanding.

It's only the foliage that has less of the aroma. The fruit is just as fragrant.

[M.SeanF.]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

A very good question. I have given this a lot of thought. The aroma is there, only not as strong as the F1. But, you can't eat aroma. If the taste and color are there, I think I might go ahead and release it to the public. After all, the taste is what it's all about.

I'm still thinking about what I should name it. There's all kinds of possibilities. It showed up as a volunteer here in my garden in the state of Tennessee which is the Volunteer State. It's even already the right color of orange. That kinda makes one think about some possibilities. Colonel Davy Crockett would be proud, don't you think.

I'll be following your progress this season and keeping my fingers crossed for your success. Capturing the Sungold f1 taste in an OP is the Holy Grail of tomato breeding. If you succeed, might I suggest "Crockett's Sweet Select" as a potential name.

Best Of Luck!

Sean

[ContainerTed]

Sean, thank you for your suggestion. But, I feel the name should capture the East Tennessee experience. It must remind us of things like "Big Orange", "Volunteer", and things that have meaning to all Tennesseans. Knoxville is home for the University of Tennessee. It has a lot of "identifiers" like "Vols", "Big Orange", "Smokey" (The Mascot), and a host of other monikers.

Right now, I'm leaning toward "Big Orange Volunteer". Let's see now. Based on last year's production, it really is a "big" version of its parent. It is definitely "orange" when fully ripe, and is very close to the Tennessee shade of orange. And it comes from a "volunteer" plant. That's what I have concluded, but nothing is carved in stone as of now.

Of course, this is all dependent on the plants producing again this year. If anyone has other possibilities for the name, I'd like to hear them. If this thing pans out, I want the name to be the very best it can be.

Comments and suggestions are very welcome.

[ginger2778]

As another suggestion, Sweet Survivor with all the meaning that has.

[NarnianGarden]

Although SunGold seems to be difficult to duplicate as OP, it gives plenty of room to create interesting varieties.
One such example that I'd love to try one day is Gobstopper:
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Gobstopper

While it does not look like SunGold, it looks very pretty and unique. (Has anyone here tried to grow it?)

[PureHarvest]

How about Tennessee Volunteer

[tnc070911]

Ted's Volunteer Sun....

[Bipetual]

I vote Ted's Tennessee Orange!

[Kazedwards]

You could name it Volunteer State.


-Zach

[kchd..]

Big Tenn Vol (it rolls right off the tongue).

Ted, I've enjoyed reading about your discovery. Any updates on this year's progress?

Katie