Stump of the World - The Answer to THAT Question...

[Grub]

Thanks firstly to Craig...

Next time you see the question: if you could grow only one tomato... make it Stump of the World.

Incredibly productive, big fruit, gorgeous pink colour, nice firmness and counterlife, PL, no fuss, strong seedlings, good disease resistance, and flavour... right now it's peaking at a 9/10 (after 7/10 on the early ones), only a whisker behind the big three.

This is now my new maintstay. I'm just so glad I succumbed to those vigorous seedlings and now have four growing in my patch.

Brilliant late-mid-season tomato. BRAVO!!!!

[Mantis]

Ok, I will give it another go. Had it growing in my dodgey gh soil with many others and none of them did well. I will see how it goes in a selfwatering tub this spring eh. The ones I did taste were winners for sure but not as sweet as I like.

[Grub]

Manto,

The sweetness is now really coming through, after a few lesser ones. Maybe the heat has brought it on. But they taste excellent.

BTW: In respect of your small-tomato patch, my new bed is growing smaller tomatoes than I hoped, however, Tom's Yellow Wonder is shaping up to be a good size there. But, but, Portugeuse Monster is, at this stage, looking like a medium heart! I believe you had this too?

[Mantis]

PM is a medium heart for me. I have one from Michael's second packet up and away in the gh.
Will give Stump another go in the spring eh.

[dokutaaguriin]

I remember reading somewhere that "Stump of the World" was some sort of biblical reference. Does anyone know the background for this tomato?

Jeff

[Tomstrees]

Spuds always talking about "Stump" ...
He loves those "Stumps" ... sounds like a winner !

~ Tom

[bully]

This is my pop's favorite..he loves this tomato.

Does anyone know how it got its name?

[travis]

Originally Posted by bully

This is my pop's favorite..he loves this tomato.

Does anyone know how it got its name?

Bully, I'm just gonna cut and paste this text from GW, October 30, 2004, where Carolyn offers this insight, because the other thread at GW about Stump's name already has be deleted:

RE: 'Stump (of) the World' name origin?

Posted at GW by Carolyn137 on Sat, Oct 30, 04 at 10:48

(Maybe all of this made more sense in the English of a century ago. It certainly has me stumped.)

But I think I have a clue which only occurred to me when I was reading here last night.

I was thinking of Ben Quisenberry who probably named Stump of the World, the tomato, and also knowing it's called Big Ben and suddenly it occurred to me that one thing he was noted for was being very religious.

He wrote quotes from the Bible on almost all the many seed packs that he sent out, for instance.

So I entered Stump of the Word Bible at Google and was rewarded.

(The church has come to see that the shoot from the stump of Jesse, the great King Isaiah describes is none other then our Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we see this ancient prophecy in clearer focus. From the cut off, bleeding stump of his crucifixion there rises the new green shoot of resurrection life and power. In the risen and ascended Christ, the light of hope and the promise of victory still shines like a beacon into the future.)

And I've linked below to a sermon on this whole issue of the shoot of the world coming from a stump. And there are other Bible references to stump as well discussed in th is sermon.


[ http://www.sbcrc.org/sermons/2001.12.09.html ]

That would be Ben Quisenberry who would use a biblical reference to name a tomato variety.

And as far as that goes, many of the Stump of the Earth or Stump of the World varieties mentioned date back to a much earlier time. And in an earlier time folks were more in tune with the Bible and how it impacted their lives, and was central to their lives.

So consider the possibility that Stump of the World and similar versions had two meanings, in that new green appears as in new life, and that there is a spiritual context there as well.

So perhaps that's why there were so many uses of the Biblical references to stump in naming varieties that would spring from the earth as new life and perhaps even have that deeper spiritual reference for some who named varieties.

That works for Ben and I bet for others as well.

Carolyn

Bully, I think the relevant passages are Isaiah 6:13 and Isaiah 11:1, and there may be others.

I'm sure Carolyn can add more to this for you, but I thought this might be a start of what you asked.

PV

edit: Fellow members, I do not mean this post to offend anyone's sensibilities or personal beliefs, only to answer the question. If what I have entered on this page is perceived as too "religious" or slanted in favor of one belief over another, please accept that that truly is not the intent and that I apologize for any offense or inappropriateness.

[bully]

Thanks old boy, that's all I needed to know.

[Sorellina]

Jeff-

I believe it's in reference to Jesse's Stump.

[spudleafwillie]

Tom's right, "el Stumpo" is in my top 3 !! From germination in about 3-4 days the seedlings are the thickest and strongest of most all of my spudleafs. I, like Grub, feel guilty in putting the little guys down in compost heaven. Consequently I end up growing about 6 plants every year.

Stump was the fave at my stand at the Hillsboro Apple Festival over Labor Day. I usually sold out my stock of 20-25 lbs each day at $4.00?lb in about 2 hours. The locals get them from me at the spudpatch as soon as they start ripening in late July and scoff them up pronto before the "touristas" can get them.

I have the history of Stump somewhere and will dig it out.

Regards
Spud

[travis]

Bully and others,

Here is a link to a page I love. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a picture of the original seed pack that Ben Quisenberry sent to Ken Ettlinger. In the pack was seed for what we now call Brandywine Sudduth, Big Ben (which apparently is Stump) and a Mortgage Lifter type:

http://www.liseed.org/rambl_save_tomatosead.html

Is that not the coolest?

PV

note: the fact that Big Ben/Stump and Brandywine arrived mixed in the same pack raises some other issues, but the fact remains, this bit of history is really cool.

[CLa]

How would this tomato handle high temps humid conditions mid summer, say 90-100 night lows 69-78?

[dokutaaguriin]

Thanks so much for the detailed response. I thought it was a great tomato when I grew it two years ago. I think my brother will now enjoy it even more.

Jeff

[Dr_Redwine]

It's always good to hear that one on your new grow list is getting good reviews.

Cla: I live in central AL and I intend to plant SOFTW this year. I plan to get it out early, say mid-March depending on the weather at the time. I did this last year with Brandywine (Sudduth's), Cherokee Purple, and others with great results. I had to protect them for a couple of weeks, but it was worth it I think.

DrR