Aunt Ruby's Green ???

[TomHillbilly]

I just had to grow a green ripened tomato variety a few years back. It came down to Green Zebra and Aunt Ruby's. Both appear on many of the goggled top tasting tomato lists. I selected Green Zebra, because it appeared to have a smaller core-- by pictures. I put 4 plants out, and gave 3 plants away. I never labeled the planted plants, because the variety would be the only striped green tomatoes in the patch. Some of you might have caught how stupid that was-- I didn't at the time. LOL.
 I've told others that the seed vendor sold me the wrong seed. I nor my buddy, could ever find those maters in our patch. So I never ate a single one. By now, you may have figured out something else could have happened in those two tomato patches. Both patches are fairly large. Both patches had several yellowish varieties in them.
 Only later, because of being a Covid shut in glued to a computer. Did I learn that Aunt Ruby lived out her life in a town not more than 30 miles from me. That information would have been huge, while selecting. NO WAY, I can bring another experimental variety seed in my house, until some of the current ones are eliminated.
QUESTION--- I'm I actually missing out on a good tomato variety ? Or just tormented by hyped advertisement claims? Your comments will decide if I break my commitment oath, and give in to Ruby.  I'm kinda hoping you tell me it's a bad variety.  

[Cole_Robbie]

My one aunt ruby's got eaten by deer, so I can't tell you, but fwiw if that is your only gwr experience, then you won't know if you dislike it as a variety or gwr tomatoes in general. They are a little different in that it takes a little practice to know when they are ripe, and also some people just can't handle the color. I have given gwr tomatoes away at market to people who ate them like apples and said they were delicious, but then said they just couldn't deal mentally with a tomato being green. A friend of mine used to get the expired produce from the local co op for her pigs, and I saw a lot of gwrs that did not sell. So they are not for everyone, but I hope you like them. I enjoyed Cherokee green, brads atomic grape, dwarf jade Beauty, to name a few.

[AZGardener]

I'd make an exception to the rule and plant at least one Aunt Ruby's this season. Especially since she was from your neck of the woods.

[FarmerShawn]

I say go for it! I've grown over a dozen GWR tomato varieties; some I liked, some were "meh", but Aunt Ruby's German Green has a permanent slot in my grow list. It's flavor wins over any of my market customers who sample it, and I now have customers who ask for it by name, both for the fruit, and for my early plant sales. Personally, I prefer sweeter tomatoes over acidic ones, so while I grow Green Zebra because it has some name recognition, I don't eat them. I do grow a look alike from the Dwarf Project called Numbat which is definitely on the sweeter side and quite productive. I like it much better than Green Zebra. I think Victory might be a source of seeds for that one.

[HenriSportif]

My one aunt ruby's got eaten by deer, so I can't tell you,

Ditto - but
1. It's a "classic" GWR and already adapted to your area, and
2. Rules are made for breaking

[HL2601]

I would absolutely grow it simply because it's from your area! That's a great story to share. I like Aunt Ruby's but I actually like Green Giant better for me here is Colorado. Not to add to the more complicated choices. GWR are a special animal and I have grown to love their tanginess. I also love Lime Green Salad which is a productive Dwarf...oH THE CHOICES!

[worth1]

Aunt Ruby's and lime green salad are fantastic in Central Texas if planted out early.

[Tormato]

There's also an Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherry.

In all my years, I've only trialed two greens; Green Giant and Absinthe. I like GG because it tastes like a pink. Absinthe tasted like my lawn. I haven't heard any mention of Absinthe in many years. For one year, about a decade ago, it was one of the most sought after varieties.

[Mark_Thompson]

I would definitely grow it if I were you. I really enjoyed it. That being said, I think Green Giant is better.

[habitat-gardener]

Aunt Ruby’s is a wonderful tomato!

[TomHillbilly]

Not that it makes any difference. But here is a bit of trivial about Aunt Ruby's GERMAN Green tomato. Being shut in, I spent a lot of time researching useless information before I started this conversation. The variety is always marketed as "Aunt Ruby's German." 
 Story 1.----Most articles claim the seed came from Ruby Arnold's immigrant German grandfather. 
Story 2---Ruby's kin people say none of their grandparents came from Germany. They have no idea why, who, or when, the word German was assigned to the variety. It was only referred to as Aunt Ruby's tomato seeds while in Greenville TN. Ruby's Kin in TN say she never shared with them, where the seeds came from. 
Story 3---The seeds was first marketed by Bill Minkey {seed saver exchange} from Wisconsin in 1993. He supplied Carolyn with seeds, she then wrote about the variety in her book. And mentioned it in other articles. Some articles by other writers state that Bill told them he injected the German claim into the title, to help promote sales.   
Story 4. Ruby Arnold herself ordered the seeds from a vendor with German ties. 
After research, it became obvious to me that no one knows for sure. The truth most likely died with Ruby Aronld 1915-1997. The theory that the variety had to come from a breeder, most likely from Germany.  Don't take into account it was more common to collect seeds from strange looking sport tomato plants back then then, more than today. Many varieties exist today because of it. Or it could be something as simple as Ruby Arnold's parents tried to hide all ties to Germany, because of WW-1. With today's Ancestory.com it would be hard to hide ties today. One thing is certain-- If you say something enough, it becomes fact. So it will always be Aunt Ruby's German Green tomato. Just one more reason I never believe anything I read about a variety.

[Tormato]

Aunt Ruby’s is a wonderful tomato!

Said the Green Tomato Queen.

[Nan6b]

If you've never grown a green, grow one! I have grown Berkeley Tie Dye Green and Wild Tiger, both multicolored ones that are defined as green. Both were great, with a flavor dimension I'd never tasted in other tomatoes. People describe it as "spicy".

[kath]

Aunt Ruby's German Green is the only GWR variety out of a dozen or so tried over the years that I grew more than one time, and if I were to decide to grow one again, it'd be the one I'd choose. Not early, but very productive for me and a really yummy tomato!

[TomHillbilly]

I think I see a way for Ruby, and not break my oath of no more new variety seed this year. I had ordered seeds from a vendor that sells hybrid tomato seeds at a reasonable price. I had included the variety "Brown" in my order. This thought started because of the below video.
Kumato is actually the Spanish company that holds the seed patent on the "Olmeca" variety tomato. I had read on blog sites where several people collected the supermarket Kumato seeds, and liked the results. Evidently this hybrid morphs slowly, or might even dehybridize into a better plant? Some of you may have firsthand knowledge about it-- I don't. The offspring version of the Hybrid Olmeca is called "Brown". I received a variety with the word "Brown" in it as part of a longer title. This is a variety creation from a famous west coast breeder. I leave these names out, because many people rave about his creations. I've only tried a handful of his varieties, and was not impressed. I contacted the vendor NOT requesting a refund. I just told them to make a safety check to prevent the same from happening to others. They promptly returned the money anyways. So the Brown experiment is out.  
If you are like me, and have never seen Kumatoes in a supermarket. So seed collection is out of the question. Then you can google "Brown tomato seeds."  The advertisement you see in the image block, for $2.73 delivered, is where I ordered. By all accounts this variety has an impressive table life. Some of you that sell tomatoes, may have already grown it. It is more intended as a marketed variety.  The variety caught my eye because it has a small core, and looks to be crack free. If its a bad tomato, than inform me. I may try it next year. Below is the video-- but you will see a couple varieties were labeled wrong in that video. 

[indysun]

Have grown Aunt Ruby's German Green for 4 years straight and will grow again this year. It is a very good tasting tomato and the color and the taste is the lure for me. Decent all season long producer - If you have the room it is a colorful tasty addition to your basket of tomatoes.
Pete

[Julianna]

I grew ARGG and loved it in Arkansas. I forgot where I put it and kept wondering why this one tomato wasn't ever getting ripe... Then felt it lol. I am trialing it again in this new climate (with a tag) along with some other gwr ones.

[MissS]

I grew ARGG and loved it in Arkansas. I forgot where I put it and kept wondering why this one tomato wasn't ever getting ripe... Then felt it lol. I am trialing it again in this new climate (with a tag) along with some other gwr ones.

What new climate are you growing in?

Adding your location and zone to either your signature or your profile would help others to know where you are growing. Here is how you can do that: viewtopic.php?f=67&t=1223

[Julianna]

I grew ARGG and loved it in Arkansas. I forgot where I put it and kept wondering why this one tomato wasn't ever getting ripe... Then felt it lol. I am trialing it again in this new climate (with a tag) along with some other gwr ones.

What new climate are you growing in?

Adding your location and zone to either your signature or your profile would help others to know where you are growing. Here is how you can do that: viewtopic.php?f=67&t=1223

Looks like I didn't set that up this past summer! I joined and I must have searched out some things and got distracted. It is 10a across the street from Monterey Bay. High winds, summer is all fog, and temps are always cool -- winters are usually lows in the low 40s and highs in thr low 50s and summers are mostly lows in the mid 50s and highs in the upper 50s and low 60s. It is quite different. Tomatoes grow just fine, but developing flavor can be tricky it seems.