Beans Carrots Cucumbers Melons Nematode Peppers Potatoes Winter squash

Who We Are Mission Contact Us Site Map Home

The purpose for this project was to determine the best heirloom tomato varieties for growing in our area and educate gardeners about the benefits of growing open-pollinated vegetables.

Some heirlooms provide better tasting vegetables but have been abandoned by commercial growers for reasons related to marketing. Hybridized plants are selected to produce uniform, attractive, even-ripening fruit that is easier to store and ship. Less emphasis is given to flavor. Seed from these fruit of these plants will not produce the same characteristics due to cross-pollination with other similar plants. Hybrids are patented and require annual re-breeding under controlled conditions to reproduce the desired characteristics. Heirlooms, on the other hand, are open pollinated. This means they have adapted to the natural environment so that despite pollination from other plants they will to continue to produce seeds that will grow true. Our project teaches homeowners that they can not only enjoy better tasting tomatoes but they can save the seeds from their crop and plant them again next year. Another aspect is to educate gardeners about the benefits of maintaining a diverse plant gene-pool. Our project included growing some patented hybrids for comparison.

The tomatoes listed in the first table were grown at McClellan Ranch as part of the 1992 Master Gardener project.. Two of each variety were grown during the McClellan Ranch project, (except as noted). One plant was staked, the other caged. The caged tomatoes produced approximately 50% more fruit. We stopped watering all plants after the middle of July with the expectation that flavor would be improved. We think it was, and next year we will replant the most favored varieties and try some with and without traditional watering. We stopped counting the number of fruit harvested at the end of September. Varieties are listed in order of preference from two public tastings we held, one at Yamagamis nursery and one at McClellan Ranch.

The tomatoes in the second table were grown elsewhere and included for caparison.

In general, the heirloom tomatoes produced fruit that wasn't as attractive as the hybrids but tasted better.


1992 HEIRLOOM TOMATO PROJECT RESULTS - Listed in order of taste preference

Variety	Started	1st Ripe	# Fruit	Flavor	Description
Brandywine (H)(G)	3/15	7/15	31	strong	3" dia, flattened round, Purplish skin. red flesh, mushy texture
Beefsteak Crim. Cush. (AH)(SB)	3/15	6/30	24	mild	6" dia, flattened round, red skin, mottled flesh, skin med
Ponderosa Red (H)(SB)	3/15	7/2	56	sweet-mild	5" dia, bumpy shape, red-orange skin, red flesh, thick skin
Giant Belgium (H)(G)	3/15	7/25	41	sweet-mild	5" dia, dull red skin, tends to crack at stem, true red flesh
Dona (FH)(S)	3/15	7/17	186	sweet-juicy	2.5" dia, spherical shape, red flesh, skin tough
Tigerella (UNK)(TM)	UNK	7/18	90*	acid	1.5" dia, spherical shape, red skin w/green/yellow stripes, red flesh
Mortgage Lifter (H)(SESE)	3/15	7/13	27	mild	4" dia, red w/orange-green near stem, skin tough,
Super Italian Paste (H)(SB)	3/15	7/13	194	sweet-mild	large paste-type. 2" dia, 4" long, med red skin, red flesh. Susceptible to blossom-end rot
Old German (H)(SESE)	3/15	7/4	31	sweet-mild	5" dia, much cracking, yel w/orange/grn streaks, red/yel mottled flesh
Carmello (FH)(S)	3/15	7/15	155	acid	3" dia, spherical-shaped, red skin & flesh, skin med
Marmande (FH)(S)	UNK	7/20	68*	bland	3.5" dia, true-red skin and flesh, skin tough
Big Rainbow (H)(SESE)	3/15	7/20	32	mild	4" dia, yellow skin, orange flesh w/red star in center, skin med
Djena Lee (H)(SESE)	3/15	7/12	26	mild-tough	2.5" dia, oblong, orange/yellow skin, orange flesh, tough skin
Oxheart (H)(G)	3/15	7/20	52	mild	3" dia, longer than wide, dull red skin, red flesh, skin tough
Principe Borghese (H)(SB)	3/15	7/4	382	acid	1" dia, determinate, large cherry, oval-shaped, skin firm

*only one plant grown

The following codes are for the varieties listed in the table above:
TYPES:
(AH) American Hybrid, (FH) French Hybrid, (H) Heirloom, (UNK) Unknown
SEED SOURCES:
(SB) Seeds Blum - Idaho City Stage, Boise, ID 83706
(S) Shepards Garden Seeds - 7389 West Zayante Road, Felton, CA 95018
(SESE) Southern Exposure Seed Exchange P.O. Box 158, North Garden VA 22959
(G) Glectler's Seedmen - Metamora OH 43540
(TM) Thompson & Morgan - P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527


The following tomatoes were grown in other gardens and were included in the tastings for comparison. We weren't able to provide all the information we did for the tomatoes grown at McClellan Ranch. (Listed in order of taste preference)

Variety	Description
Olympic Flame	Similar in size/skin/flesh color to Big Rainbow - much tastier
Supersteak	Beefsteak type - but much tastier
Early Girl	Similar to Carmello/Dona, very good taste
Cobra	2" dia, thick skin, good tasting
Greek	Large Beefsteak type, bumpy shape
Green Grape	1" dia, green skin/flesh, sweet
Viva Italia	Roma-style paste tomato
San Marzano	Roma-style, very slow, poor, aphid-prone, producer in our location
Elberta Girl	Similar to Tigerella, red w/green stripes
Lemon Boy	2" dia, bright yellow. acid