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applestar
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FOCUS on 2019 Tomatoes (peppers and eggplants)

Prudens Black — commercially available stabilized cross between Prudens Purple and Bedouin

— look at these crazy floral trusses — only two trusses so far but each “truss” appears to be at least twin trusses. Not all of them have set, but thank goodness because I don’t think this little plant could support all that if they all developed into fruits!

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— currently the biggest green fruit, though smaller cherries and cocktail-size greenies may ripen first.
— I’m really excited since last year, this variety failed to thrive.

— 7/15/19 update —

Prudens Black fruits have this cool starburst lines on the blossom end :D

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- the biggest fruit on the bottom truss is starting to blush

— 7/18/19 update —

First one harvested — good thing I did, too, because I only saw that it had split from last night’s rain AFTER I cut it off and turned it over :shock:
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— 7/27/19 update —

We have been eating the Prudens Black. Three so far. Both DD2 AND I have detected some watery/diluted flavor, no doubt due to all the rain. But all three tomato eating members of the family (including DH) agree this is a VERY GOOD flavored tomato. It’s like pulling teeth getting DH to review, so we have a simple arrangement — and he left a pile of about a dozen seeds he “saved” on the plate (most of the intense flavor of the tomato is in the gel so he is reluctant to give up any of the seeds unless he enjoyed the particular variety so much that he wants me to grow the variety again :wink: )

—————————

...the plant behind it is Steelhead — more about it later


Do you have a special variety you’d like to feature?
Last edited by applestar on Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:13 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Reason: 7/15 update; 7/18 update; 7/27 flavor review update

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applestar
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Totem F1 hybrid

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...I generally don’t grow hybrids, but my SIL gifted me with a packet of this variety. It is currently setting prodigious number of green fruits on approximately 28 inch plant. I have another one in a container.

I gave this one a large Cage I use for Dwarfs, but it’s not quite wide enough and is leaning from the weight of the fruits....

— 7/18/19 update —

First Totem F1 fruit is evenly blushed and almost ready to harvest. It’s larger than I expected — saladette size, maybe salad size?

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...I know this is supposed to ripen to red, so I will give it a few more days...

....First Totem F1 fruit is evenly blushed and almost ready to harvest. It’s larger than I expected — saladette size, maybe salad size?

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Last edited by applestar on Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:03 am, edited 5 times in total.
Reason: 7/18 update; 7/28-7/30 update

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applestar
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Cow’s Tit — weird name ... Michigan Heirlooms has the history behind how it was named:
https://www.michiganheirlooms.com/produ ... /cow-s-tit

HISTORY: Original single plant was found in a Valle Crucis, North Carolina grower’s field associated with the Mast Farm Inn in summer of 1994 by Keith Mueller. Plant was an off type that stood out in size and foliage color from a distance compared to neighboring plantings. Planted among ‘Mountain Pride’ and ‘Better Boys’ but it was not clear which may have been the parent. Keith consulted the transplant grower for the farm and he said that he had planted no varieties like that and commented "it looks like a cow's tit".
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{knock on wood} ... no BER even on first fruits ... {knock on wood}

~~~

... I guess we will have to see how I feel about this later on. I have to admit I’m “testing” the paste varieties yet again this year, to see if I can like them better. I also have Opalka growing, as well as Wessel’s Purple Pride, and I don’t know if Pennheart or Prue also have BER tendencies?

My previous experiences in the past with same or other varieties of the ilk have created a rather deep-seated disapproval of the sausage-shape fruited as well as other BER-prone varieties in general. Even though the “cure” has been discussed umpteen times and I probably am aware of what special care they need ...and that they will probably perform if I do take care of their needs, I keep coming back to the position that — WHY should I bother doing them special EXTRA FAVORS when EVERY BODY ELSE in the same bed did just fine? Hmmm? are they EXTRAORDINARILY tasty and special? Humph!


...so far, I have not met any in the category that reduces me to tears of joy... :P

— 8/7 update —

Harvested first two fruits. Tasting will be in a couple of days :D

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Last edited by applestar on Wed Aug 07, 2019 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: 8/7 update

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TomatoNut95
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Ok, I know where the thread is, thanks. What I am going to do next is get on the forum from my work desktop uptown so I can conserve data on my stinking Tracphone and write down notes on EVERYTHING on your thread so I'll have it on paper!! :-() By the way, have you ever grown a Cosmic Eclipse? This is my first C.E, but it doesn't look right. It appears to be turning red with dark green shoulders. :? And here's one of my Splash of Cream youngsters!! :-()
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applestar
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Have not tried growing Cosmic Eclipse yet. Part of my reason is that Brad Gates/Wild Boar Farms varieties have tendency to be later maturing than my garden can manage, so I wait to find out from other people’s grow out reports, and only grow the earlier maturing varieties.

The photo of your fruit doesn’t look right to me either — it’s not showing any stripes for one thing. Where did you get the seeds from?
COSMIC ECLIPSE - Wild Boar Farms
https://wildboarfarms.com/product/cosmic-eclipse/

fruits start off green with dark green stripes and striking indigo colored splashes.It ripens brick-red with green stripes and lot’s of black anthocyanin giving this a very beautiful multi-colored finish
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TomatoNut95
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Actually I bought these C.E seeds from eBay. Hmm. That makes the second mess-up on the eBay purchased tomato seeds. I cannot remember which person I bought them from, it's been a long time. Hope it wasn't the same person I bought that 'Mystery' tomato from.

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applestar
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Updated Prudens Black (first post) :wink:

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applestar
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Another Prudens Black update :wink:

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applestar
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Totem F1 post has been updated :D

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TomatoNut95
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I had updated my thread to, culled through my garden the other day. :cry:

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applestar
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This fruit is from one of the VGA volunteers, but I feel sure this is Allons-y, Dr.X — unfortunately I can’t be definitive whether it is F5, F4 or F3. It had clear epi, so “white” with pink blossom-end blush when ripe that was actually due to the red streak of bi-color interior flesh, and it was sprinkled with dusting of antho on the shoulders. These are all true to the traits I have seen while growing out this line.

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This one was small — salad-size — and somewhat watery due to all the rain, but I thought it had good front end flavor — DD2 thought the middle flavor disappeared a little too fast (watery), but we both agreed there was good lingering tangy acid flavor at the end. DH is our toughest critic, and he was not impressed.

...but hopefully we will have a better representative tasting for this variety soon because we liked the flavor in the past.

Here’s a copy-and-paste story of the origin of this segregate which is still not stabilized/finalized. I’m a novice at the process so all I’m really doing is saving seeds from ones that looked and tasted good, but so far, it is on my list of favorites. :wink:

Subject: Applestar's 2017 Tomatoes (and peppers and eggplants)
August 15, 2017
applestar wrote:This is "Allons-y, Dr.X". It's a still-segregating F3 generation of Purple Elgin x Sgt. Pepper's from which a breeder is planning to select for specific characteristics and call it "Alonzo's Medals".

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When the segregate of the F2 I was growing produced a completely different type -- bi-color with antho (blue pigment) shoulders, he told me I could give it a different name and continue to pursue this segregate if I liked. So I saved the seeds from a fruit harvested (HBR 9.11.16), and named it "Allons-y, Dr.X".

This first fruit was a bit mis-shapen due to double-blossom/conjoined twin fruit and some incomplete pollination issues during the heat-wave, but when the distracting damaged parts were trimmed off, it looked quite impressive. I think those green streaks and speckles turned into these galaxy/nebula-like yellow marks? Red and yellow bi-color into the flesh... only a sprinkling of antho on this fruit, but the antho was also present in the flesh after the skin was removed.

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It was very tasty, too -- assertive front-end flavor, not so much sweet as maybe salty and very tomato-y, with building umami in the middle, then strong, tangy finish and lingering acid bite.
— 8/3 update —

Subject: Applestar’s 2019 Garden
August 3, 2019
applestar wrote:A volunteer from VGA transplanted to VGB.PSRB (Vegetable Garden bed B Pallet-sided Raised Bed) because it had antho stems and foliage as seedling. The plant and fruits have all the characteristics of “Allons-y Dr.X”. It would have been F5 if started from seeds (I did start from seeds in spring but they were among the seedling failures this year), so this could also be an earlier filial generation.

- Beefsteak shape with pronounced fluting (maybe more than previously observed)
- Exterior appearance is Yellow/Pink bicolor with dusting of antho on shoulders
- Dusting/sprinkling of antho on shoulders — this fruit had good sun exposure with added reflected sunlight from the white fence, so this is probably about maximum expression.
- Clear epi
- Note the subdermal antho in the flesh
- Yellow flesh with minor bi-color interior, but this fruit had heat-stress pithy core extending more than halfway down from the stem end, so bicolor flesh may be more extensive in unstressed fruit

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- Due to healed radial cracking, the fruit suffered a severe split that was not noticed until today, and it was still not fully ripe when cut open, so it had the raw fresh tomato front end, but had sweet undeveloped umami middle and lingering tang that combined for a “refreshing” and good flavor profile. “It’s still good! (even if not quite ripe)”

...hopefully that next fruit will become available for full flavor review


— eta — That white stuff in the blackened wound is baking soda. I stuff the split with it when it extends to the gel to prevent/stop mold from growing as soon as the fruits are brought inside, and try to eat them up by the end of the day since this kind of wound won’t heal like skin-deep split, and will proceed to mold and rot within a day or two. If not possible to eat right away, then I cut out the bad parts and freeze for cooking within the next week or so (damaged fruits are not good enough for long term preserving)
Last edited by applestar on Sun Aug 04, 2019 5:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: 8/3 update

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Another update for Totem F1. Will add tasting notes soon.

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applestar
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“Allons-y Dr.X” was updated.

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“Cow’s Tit” was updated :wink:

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applestar
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Homerfiker’s Yellow Oxheart — first grown in 2016 from 2011 seeds received from fellow tomato enthusiast in Germany. These were grown from seeds saved from 2016 fruits.

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...BIL started harvesting ripe fruits earlier, and sent me a photo on 8/15. Mine are almost fully sized but still green. Last time I grew it, the flavor was rich and comparable to Yellow Brandywine, so I’m really looking forward to these. :D



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