spudakee et al

[tjg911]

from tatiana's tomatobase history of spudakee:

"It is not clear whether Spudakee and Cherokee Purple, Potato Leaf are the same or not. Both versions should be grown side-by-side and compared with regular-leaved Cherokee Purple grown at the same time to see if there really are any differences."

i was wondering whether anyone has grown all 3 side by side to determine whether spudakee and cp pl are the same?

i am growing cp (not cp pl just to be clear) and spudakee to compare taste.

tom

[Duh_Vinci]

If memory serves me right, when I spoke with Bill Malin while back, he suggested that Spudakee in his mind was a PL version of Cherokee purple, but better production and more uniform fruit shapes (though tend to be a bit smaller fruits than CP)

I've been growing CP as a "permanent resident" in my garden for it's sweet taste (love it indeed), but never gotten a very good production from it here in VA, specially mid summer, so always 3 plants to have enough fruit to enjoy. Though I must admit, the size of CP fruits were usually large:



This year, for the first time I'm growing both, one CP, one Spudakee in the same part of the garden (not exactly side by side, but with in few feet from each other).

Here are some of Spudakee:






My observations so far:

Taste - the same to me, I honestly can't tell the difference
Flesh - very similar appearance and texture
Fruit Size - definitely smaller fruit on Spudakee
Fruit Shape - Spudakee producing more uniform shape, slightly oblate beefsteaks. There were no catfacing on any of Spudakee fruits for me, while CP catfaced every early fruit for 2-3 weeks (as it always does for me)
Production/Fruit Set - no comparison! Spudakee was earlier (by almost 2 weeks and setting fruits like there is no tomorrow! More fruit pert truss as well, where my CP usually sets a fruit or two here and there...

Both can develop cracks easily, and similar fruit maturity pattern in my observation, definitely don't let them over ripe, which could happen quickly, and oh so watery they become.

For the fun sake, I'll be happy to grow CP PL and Spudakee side by side next year (no damage to me, planning on dropping CP RL all together next year in favor or Spudakee anyway)

I'll be happy to hear all of your feedback on comparison of these...

Regards,
D

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by tjg911

from tatiana's tomatobase history of spudakee:

"It is not clear whether Spudakee and Cherokee Purple, Potato Leaf are the same or not. Both versions should be grown side-by-side and compared with regular-leaved Cherokee Purple grown at the same time to see if there really are any differences."

i was wondering whether anyone has grown all 3 side by side to determine whether spudakee and cp pl are the same?

i am growing cp (not cp pl just to be clear) and spudakee to compare taste.

tom

Tom, Tania is quite right in what she said.

There are those who have grown out all three in the same season and to date I haven't seen that everyone agrees with either of the PL variants being the same as CP except for leaf form and I haven'see everyeon agree that the two PL variants are the same.

The problem is that there's more than one way to change leaf type other than a spontaneous mutation which would be permanent and heritable. I used to think that a spontanoeus mutation was the ONLY way that could happen, assuming the RL was heterozygous for leaf form.

But Keith M and I had some good chats about it and he suggested and I agree that other mechanisms can result in a leaf change, such as DNA looping out, deletions, inversions and repeats, and in that case MORE than one gene can be involved.

So I, for one, don't always equate a PL variant as being identical to the original except for leaf form.

[Duh_Vinci]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

...There are those who have grown out all three in the same season and to date I haven't seen that everyone agrees with either of the PL variants being the same as CP except for leaf form and I haven'see everyeon agree that the two PL variants are the same...

Well, this saves me a space for one more variety to try then Thanks for the feedback, Carolyn!

Regards,
D

[KLorentz]

I am growing both Spudakee and Cherokee Purple as well. Can't wait to see how they do.


Kevin

[tjg911]

thanks guys.

i have 1 cherokee purple plant and 1 spudakee plant.

i picked 1 of each but haven't eaten either as they were both just beginning to show color on 1/3 of the fruit. the spudakee was picked 3 days before the cherokee purple and looks ripe now while the cp needs a couple of days.

i know cp does not store well on the counter as i have grown it several times. so i think i'll eat the spudakee now because i'm not sure whether it will degrade as quickly as cherokee purple does.

last year my cp was the best tasting cp i ever grew. the taste was amazing and i always thought cp was great but last year it was far better than normal. i'm quite curious how cp will taste this year. it's from the same pack of seeds i bought from tgs.

tom

[Duh_Vinci]

Originally Posted by tjg911

... i think i'll eat the spudakee now because i'm not sure whether it will degrade as quickly as cherokee purple does...

Tom,

Just like CP, degrades quickly once it is ripe, eat it and hope you enjoy it!

Regards,
D

[tjg911]

thanks d, i figured it would has the same characteristics as cp. i ate it yesterday afternoon and it was very good! it is the 1st tomato of the season i have eaten other than a handful of sun golds.

i compared the 1 spud to the 1 cp on the table and they were almost exactly the same size. the spud had no cracking and was colored to the stem end while the cp has a radial and a lateral crack and they usually have green shoulders when ripe. inside the color of the flesh may have been slightly darker than cp whereas the cp are more brick red. the plants are totally different in that the spud is small maybe 30-32" tall with very few branches and only a few fruits whereas the cp is a good 4' tall and loaded with branches and tomatoes. cp produces very well for me so if it is as good as cp but no different then i'm not sure which i'd grow tho based upon the size of the plant and number of tomatoes the cp would be the likely choice.

tom

[Gobig_or_Gohome_toms]

The size of my Spudakee Plant when I grew it 2 years ago was 6+ feet so you may have a runt as they should get big.

Craig

[travis]

I agree that Spudakee should be a normal indeterminate growing at least 6 - 8 feet long. I grew it three seasons in a row starting 2007, with the same results, seeds from Bill Malin, an early fruit setter starting at the very lowest flowers and producing large, uniform, mostly blemish free, 8 - 12 ounce, smooth tomatoes and setting fruit until temperatures reach daytime 98 or so degrees. All the vines have gotten over the top of 6 foot high cages and drooped down a couple of feet outside the cage.

[liannenc]

I've never grown CP and this is my first year growing Spudakee. I picked a fruit last night that was no longer completely green but definitely wasn't "full on ripe" yet, either. I picked it because it had a spot on it that looked like BER, but when I cut it open it was some sort of strange, surface blemish-- the interior of the fruit looked fine. I went ahead and ate it so it wouldn't go to waste, and I can tell you this: that half-green Spudakee was far, far tastier than ANY supermarket tomato I've ever had, even the so-called heirlooms they sell at $5 and $6 per pound!!

[Timmah!]

Well, here's a couple CP I wanted to let vine ripen just for kicks, but they started to split & the ants were helping themselves to them, so I picked them & brought them in. How much longer 'till you think they're ready to eat?

[tjg911]

timmah look at the pix above by duh vinci, mine look like that yours look very reddish orangeish to be a cp. mine look much darker when coloring up.

it's early and the plant may grow bigger but it does appear to be a runt with few branches with limited leaves. it's the easiest plant to spray as it's so open unlike dr. lyle which i might be able to fire a 12 gauge into it and have it stop the pellets!