Comments on: Heirloom Tomatoes

By: Frank

Frank — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:40:25 +0000

All physalis ixocarpa are outbreeders, they do need at least two plants of the same variety to produce fruit. And I’ve never heard the green and pink will not cross, I do isolate all my varieties.
Both pink and green (or yellow) belong to the p.ixocarpa, so I would be amazed the two colours will not cross. This is however only important if you want to take your own seeds, the fruits will produce their original coloured skin the year the crosses could have been made, they will show a varied pattern the year the seeds have been sown (if they are crossed ,of course)

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:45:42 +0000

Hi Diana,

I’ve been a member of the SSE for a few years now. I’m NETH WI P

My problem with the tomato listings is knowing where to begin. They’re just so many tomatoes!! I’ll have a look for the New Zealand Pear, and maybe grow it next year.

Thanks for the tip on the tomatillos. I’ll have to look into that too.

You didn’t leave an email address or URL with this comment, so I assume you don’t have a blog. I hope some day you put a blog together. You sound like an interesting person and probably have a really interesting garden.

Good luck with the greens.

By: diana

diana — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:10:05 +0000

Patrick, If you’re not already a member of SSE you should consider it. The members only yearbook contains over 4400 tomatoes from all over the world! You can look for growers who have a climate similar to your own or for varieties that sound appealing to you.

Last year, the variety that was everyones favorite(I gave plants to 6 friends, grew them in my community garden plot, our school garden and for a city youth program) was New Zealand pear, a beefsteak type, the same size and shape as a large bartlett pear. It tasted better then Brandywine and Kelloggs breakfast.

With regard to tomatillos, a friend told me that green (p. philadelphia) won’t cross with purple (p. longifolia). Now I’ve got to get outside and pick some lettuces, arugula and spinach before it gets to hot!