A Mortgage Lifter Question

[meandtk]

What if one's seed was not labeled with the variety of Mortgage Lifter?
Would there be a way to identify it?
Or should I simply decide whether or not I like it and keep or discard it accordingly?
Thx

[Gardeneer]

If the label just says "mortgage lifter" it is probably Radiator Charlie variety.
That is the most popular sold in seed and plant form.
Also, I think that RC ML has a bigger tomatoes than I could be wrong.

[Worth1]

If it says Mortgage Lifter is is both they just left off the Radiator Charlies part.
The other ones are Estlers strain and Mullens but they really aren't strains.
And there are a few more.

Worth

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

If it says Mortgage Lifter is is both they just left off the Radiator Charlies part.
The other ones are Estlers strain and Mullens but they really aren't strains.
And there are a few more.

Worth

'Right . They are totally different varieties and are not related. The only thing that they share is the "mortgage lifter" in the name.

[pmcgrady]

I bought seeds a few years ago, called Cartwright's Mortgage Lifter, not a bad tomato, as I recall...
I see TGS just list Mortgage Lifter anymore, so they must be all about the same type...
I wouldn't plan on paying off any farms growing them though.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

I bought seeds a few years ago, called Cartwright's Mortgage Lifter, not a bad tomato, as I recall...
I see TGS just list Mortgage Lifter anymore, so they must be all about the same type...
I wouldn't plan on paying off any farms growing them though.

I've never seen reference for a Cartwright one, so what can you tell me about that one?

Yesterday I got my 2016 SSE YEarbook and checked, and there are 8 listings for ML, and one kinda generic listing for just ML which could have several of the others mixed in.

Having grown several of them the Estler one is my fave, but when it comes to a large pink fruited variety ML would NOT be anywheres near my large pink fruited ones of which I could probably name. I don'tknow, maybe a couple of hundreds.

So no, I'm not going to list them here but tomatoes I've grown, regardless of the color or shape or size or leaf form or plant habit, are primarily for taste, yield is secondary.

Carolyn

[JLJ_]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

. . . I see TGS just list Mortgage Lifter anymore, so they must be all about the same type. . .

As Gardeneer and Worth said, if a packet is just labeled 'Mortgage Lifter' it is probably most likely to be Radiator Charlie's -- but the Mortgage Lifter name is used for unrelated (or distantly related) tomatoes.

There is data on a couple of the most common ones from Estler family and from an interview with Radiator Charlie -- but even those don't really settle the issue because, for example, the Estler tomato, allegedly dating from 1922, cites as one of its parents Pritchard, a tomato not released until 1931, and of course it takes some years after a cross for it to be stabilized -- so the 1922 date has to be at least a decade too early** -- but misreading a written or mishearing a verbal 1932 as 1922 is an error that is easily understood. As anyone who has done much work with family histories knows, that sort of inadvertent error happens all the time.

**(The variety Pritchard didn't actually exist until 1932 when Scarlet Topper, released in 1931. was renamed as a memorial to its developer because he had "practically completed the development of this new variety" before his untimely death in early 1931. USDA Circular 243, Sept 1932)

And Charlie's was apparently first offered as Radiator Charlie's Tomato and only later became known as Mortgage Lifter . According to stories recorded by Charlie the name was because it was a real financial help to him when times were hard. Also 'Mortgage Lifter' may have been a common expression in that era for products promoted as helpful to those on tight budgets.

I doubt that there is solid data that will ever resolve the disputes but if you want to look into some of what information is available you might look at this thread and the links in it.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=3678

If you look long enough it seems that each Mortgage Lifter has proponents that say its performance is best. Considering the differences in how a variety that is just one variety performs in different conditions -- all the advocates of different Mortgage Lifters may be right -- about performance in their gardens. Probably the only way for you to tell is to try whatever one(s) interest you and see what happens.

Victory offers the Radiator Charlie Mortgage Lifter

http://www.victoryseeds.com/tomato_mortgage-lifter.html

and the Mullens pale leaf one

http://www.victoryseeds.com/tomato_m...fter-pale.html


I don't see a current US source for Estler's, but I see that Carolyn has posted while I've been trying to persuade this thing to post -- I know she likes Estlers, so she might have an idea where you could get Estler's, if you wanted to try it.

[Captain Neon]

When I was growing up in rural Minnesota, the price for finished hogs was especially high. Just about every one with a few acres raised a few hundred hogs during the summer for fall harvest. Hogs were called a "Mortgage Lifter." An enterprise with low risk and high rewards is usually called a "Mortgage Lifter." I only know one person that failed at raising hogs. Most people made some money, and a few only broke even and didn't try again.

[carolyn137]

I don't see a current US source for Estler's, but I see that Carolyn has posted while I've been trying to persuade this thing to post -- I know she likes Estlers, so she might have an idea where you could get Estler's, if you wanted to try it.

%%%%%%%%%%
I've been offering Estler's in my annual seed offer here, now one year late for several reasons and I think I also saw it at Delection of Tomatoes and a wonderful place that I think more folks should be aware of, and is now listed in the Plant and seed Forum here at Tville.

I just remembered that I might have the link in my faves, but no time to go through the long list of tomatoes to see if Estler is there, but here's the link

http://www.delectationoftomatoes.com/

Dale is a wonderful person and very very experienced

I just looked in my 2016 SSE Yearbook which came yesterday and two folks are listing it, Neil has been one of my seed producers for many years and he was the source of the Estler's I've been offering and Nancy is a former seed producer for me and she's the other one.

Carolyn


Carolyn

[meandtk]

I plan to grow this one that I have.
We'll see how it turns out, then I may try the others.

[creister]

Dale at Delectation of tomatoes does indeed have for Estlers. I bought some seeds for that from him last year.