I received Namio tomato seeds in the '22 MMMM and am looking for information on it. The only posts I see here (no hits at TV) about it are from @Cornelius_Gotchberg that said it is only available from Felly's West in Madison, WI, and was from the late Joe Namio's garden. I have been unable to find any website for Felly's West to look up information. In the one photo I see that The Gotch posted, it looks very small so this makes me wonder if it is really Naomi which is an F1 cherry.

Google found an old post at GardenWeb that mentions similar information and calls it an oxheart and it is on the heart MMMM list. I'd love more details as far as color (red or pink?), size, DTM, leaf type, etc.

Please, tell us more about this tomato, @Cornelius_Gotchberg since I assume the seeds for MMMM came from you? Thanks.

I may not catch every thread asking about varieties. But, I'll read every post in the "2022 variety questions and maybe answers" thread in the MMMM forum.

As for Namio, I found the same Gardenweb/Houzz thread. It seems to be a very large red "oxheart".

However, oxheart can mean a heart shape (wide shoulders tapering to a point at the blossom end), or it can also mean a piriform shape (fairly narrow shoulders, widening towards the bottom, like a pear). I chose to put it in the heart category, as heart shapes are much more common than pear shapes. Cornelius will know for sure.

I almost put my question in that thread, @Tormato, but due to the lack of information on this variety, I thought it deserved it's own thread where we can gather the details and photos (hopefully) and have it for easy reference (instead of wading though the other posts) in the future when others do a word search for the Namio.

The thread at Gardenweb is posted by the Gotch under a different username. There it is said to be a red oxheart, I'm sure The Gotch will be chiming in soon. In my notes it says that it is a multi-shaped, productive sauce/paste on a 7 foot vine.

@MissS "it is a multi-shaped, productive sauce/paste on a 7 foot vine" that'd 'bout sum it up, with the caveat that it carrys its weight as a slicer as well.

@WoodSprite "I thought it deserved it's own thread"

Copy that!

Legend has it that a late Madison, WI restauranteur of note (Joseph Namio) brought the eponymous seeds from his native Italy well over half a century ago.

As local nursery Felly's is the only place I've ever seen it (and won't sell me any seed!), the TJ MMMM may very well be the only place in the known Universe where this variety is available, and those entrusted with its distribution veritable demi-gods.

You's really can't put a price on that, can you's?

But The Gotch'll try.....

The Gotch

Thanks for the additional information on it's origin, @Cornelius_Gotchberg. Can you, please, tell me:

Is it early, mid or late season in your garden?
What's the approximate range of fruit size?
Is it well-balanced, sweet, tart, tangy, acidic?
Any other description words to describe the flavor or texture?
Regular or potato leaves?
Indeterminate?

@WoodSprite mid-late season, indeterminate, middlin'-to-firm...not too pulpy texture, tangy-sweet, RL.

The sizes is all over the board, but many are good sized fatties.

Hopefully your research (rounding into shape come August) will bear that out.

The Gotch

Thanks for the information, @Cornelius_Gotchberg! I'll add it to my detailed lists.

Thanx for the info, I was drawing a blank on this one too. And pastes are of interest to me the next few years. I now have a ton to trial thanx to the MMMM. Spent 2 days cataloging and researching. My head hurts
Don't know how Gary keeps up with it. Have several more to figure out, should I do it here???

TheMad_Poet wrote: ↑Mon Feb 27, 2023 5:18 am Thanx for the info, I was drawing a blank on this one too. And pastes are of interest to me the next few years. I now have a ton to trial thanx to the MMMM. Spent 2 days cataloging and researching. My head hurts
Don't know how Gary keeps up with it. Have several more to figure out, should I do it here???

A quick internet search, first, is probably best. If absolutely nothing comes up, or if something questionable comes up, ask here.

ok, next on the unknown list. "Boggs Yellow" - slicer from Carter Co. KY 2022. Nothing shows up on any search. I think the rest are foreign tomatoes, and I will add those later and edit into this same post. I figured out a lot of the foreign ones on my own, but the few I have left, I can barely read the writing on, and may post pics in hopes the bagger may recognize his handy work. Edit: I found the 2022 variety questions and answers thread, will read thru that, and maybe find the answers I seek. Then post there instead.

A google search for namio heirloom tomatoes FINALLY includes Tomato Junction in its results https://www.google.com/search?q=namio+h ... nt=gws-wiz

I suspect they're be more as TJ Namio planters start observing/charting/tasting/harvesting.

The Gotch

ATTENTION ALL PROSPECTIVE NAMIO HEIRLOOM AFICIONADOS: A Sunday afternoon foray to our GO-TO Gardening Center (Fellys Garden Center/https://www.mapquest.com/us/wisconsin/f ... se-6957147) featured slim pickin's, though mercifully we didn't come away empty-handed.

Felly's mainstay Abdullah bestowed a ~late January/early February Greenhouse started Namio Heirloom plant. The kicker? unlike last years disaster: This 'un has a fightin' chance: And it even has a coupla li'l Green Chubbies! The Gotch

Keep us posted on how it grows. I was there last week paying a ridiculous amount for tiny recently-up-potted New Guinea impatiens and didn’t even look if the toms were out then because I am out of room! I will plan to have at least one in my 2024 garden, though.

DriftlessRoots wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 7:40 am Keep us posted on how it grows. I was there last week paying a ridiculous amount for tiny recently-up-potted New Guinea impatiens and didn’t even look if the toms were out then because I am out of room! I will plan to have at least one in my 2024 garden, though.

Oy! The best laid plans of mice & Tomato Ranchers, am I right?

They didn't have any tomatoes out yet; hardly any vegetables, actually. Next time yer out there, hunt down the contagiously cheerful Abdullah; you'll have a Gardening Pal for life!

The Gotch

ATTENTION Namio Heirloom Growers...any updates?

The one plant pictured above...um...failed to launch, and the other wasn't a Namio at all, it was some sort of non-descript cocktail tomato type.

The Gotch