Mystery Tomato

[digitS']

Well, I am all a-twitter!

At first, I thought that the only potato leaf tomato variety that I grow - had shown up with the Early Girls.

I always grow a few Early Girls; ever since I finally realized that they are just plain sure-fire for my tomato-challenged garden. Just a few . . . and then there are others.

There are 26 others this year but only 1 potato leaf - Bloody Butcher.

Now, I'm partial to BB. I have already mentioned it twice, today! And, now here is a 3rd time but that is because of the mystery . . .

Why is this potato leaf tomato in with my Early Girls? It could be a BB but I didn't sow the seed in the same container. In fact, I sowed BB a week before these Early Girls!!

A Mystery Girl -- but, if it is something different and more importantly, something good(!), I'm calling it Pretty Woman :happy_flower. You can click on the pic.



Steve

Because, She's a Mystery to Me!

Hey, I can Dream, Baby!

 

[MotherBrugger]

Hi Steve!
I love Bloody Butcher too. Hope your 'Mystery Girl' is a new variety and as yummy as the Butcher is. Reminds me, I've got to get more seed of BB. I think I saved the link to guy growing it, been years for me having it in my garden now. Thanks for reminding me of this special breed

 

[chris09]

Steve,
What variety of Early Girl are you growing?
There are two type of Early Girl one is a F1 Hybrid that was imported France,
Early Girl VF hybrid and VFF hybrid I believe are of the F1 variety.
The other type of Early Girl is a Open-Pollinated.

If you are growing the F1 variety then you could have a "side affect" of one of the parent stock.

Chris

 

[thistlebloom]

Hope your Pretty Woman turns into a keeper Steve!
I'm glad to hear the good comments about Bloody Butcher, especially from such diverse growing conditions as Fla. and ID/WA.
This will be my first season growing it, I received it from Dipence on the seed train.

( we got an inch of snow today )

 

[digitS']

Chris, the seed is from Osborne and they just say "Early Girl F1."

Yes, I knew a little about that introduction from France, by way of Peto Seed and U of Nevada, Reno. We often think of heirlooms as having a special heritage but some of the hybrids are from a long while ago now and there are interesting stories about their development.

I am going to guess that some of the parent-stock got mixed in with the seed. It is such a popular variety that there are probably acres of the parents grown somewhere and maybe even mechanical harvesting. Things happen when machines are involved.

The parent may be some weird variety from the Andies that grows pea-size, green fruit but . . . you never can tell!!

Treat that Bloody Butcher well, Thistle'. It should do well for you.

. . . terrible wind, cold, no snow . . . yet.

Steve

 

[hoodat]

Quite often a seed of another variety will sneak into a batch. Let's hope you lucked out and it's the variety you want.

 

[digitS']

I looked at Osborne's limited heirloom offering and discovered that they sell a potato leaf Stupice and 3 Brandywine varieties. Tatiana's Tomatobase info assures me that the other Osborne varieties are regular leaf.

Stupice was in my garden several years ago. I might recognize it. My unkind wife (UW ) referred to it as my "stupid tomato" because its fruit was almost all misshapen. It would be very early.

If it is a Brandywine, I will probably never get a ripe fruit from it before fall frost.

Anyway, this has been another step in unraveling the mystery.

S'

 

[Rozzie]

I've got some mystery tomato seedlings growing, too. It's going to drive me nuts! I got a free pack of "Mystery tomato" seeds from Baker and an "experimental" variety from Shumway.

Darned if I didn't plant half a dozen of each to go with the bazillion other tomato seedlings I have growing....

One variety had 100% germinate and show above soil level within just 2.5 days...

 

[digitS']

I guess that means that you should grow ALL of those, Rozzie!

Okay, maybe not but you must have a neighbor like my "Biker Billy." He claims that he cares not a whit what variety of tomato plants I give him . . .

he just appreciates getting lots of them !

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Stupice was in my garden several years ago. I might recognize it. My unkind wife (UW ) referred to it as my "stupid tomato" because its fruit was almost all misshapen. It would be very early.

S'