Saving WI55

Everything About Tomatoes
Paquebot
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Saving WI55

#1

Post: # 7284Unread post Paquebot
Tue Jan 21, 2020 10:11 pm

How many remember the can of worms which was opened when it was discovered that Wisconsin 55 was not available commercially in 2003? Sure was a fun ride!

http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star ... d9b80.html

Martin

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MissS
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Re: Saving WI55

#2

Post: # 7286Unread post MissS
Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:10 pm

I do remember it my dear sir. It must have been a great time for you spreading all of those seeds around. Bet it kept you pretty busy and off of the streets for awhile too. Thanks so much for your tomato rescue. It's nice to have a neighbor like you. :D
~ Patti ~

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Re: Saving WI55

#3

Post: # 7314Unread post bower
Wed Jan 22, 2020 8:24 am

Awesome story! :)
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Re: Saving WI55

#4

Post: # 7343Unread post Labradors
Wed Jan 22, 2020 10:34 am

Good for you, saving your favourite 'mater for others to enjoy :).

Linda

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Re: Saving WI55

#5

Post: # 7350Unread post imp
Wed Jan 22, 2020 11:11 am

Yes, I recall you giving a LOT of seed out paquebot !! I still have some and it is a good garden work horse of a tomato.
Together, trees make an ecosystem that tempers the extremes of heat & cold, stores lots of water, & makes a lot of humidity. In this environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what.

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Re: Saving WI55

#6

Post: # 7481Unread post Paquebot
Thu Jan 23, 2020 4:33 pm

Yes, Imp, it was the tomato that kept the industry going when it shifted from NJ. Blight in the 1930s made it imperative that a resistant variety be developed. There were probably a dozen canneries in WI and IL which did tomatoes. It was so important that there was a day in the late-1930s that high school was let out early so the boys could pick the fields ahead of an early frost. The last tomato cannery was near Green Bay and the owner remembers collecting a bag of seeds the size of a basketball to turn over to the seed company when he was youngly tomato involved so pure seed. WI55 was used to develop KC146 and KC154, Campbell varieties. It was also used for WV '63.

U of WI developed another good one but too little, too late. Hybrids had taken over the commercial market. New one was a simple cross between Long Red and Victor. That was Wisconsin Chief and probably never available to home gardeners. It also lives as a handful of tomatophiles now have it. That was another that deserved saving.

Martin

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Re: Saving WI55

#7

Post: # 7529Unread post imp
Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:23 am

Have always loved the story behind it as well as the tomato it's self It just chugs along and a toughie with our heat. Now, Wisconsin Chiefis a variety I'e never heard of before Sounds like another good one.
Together, trees make an ecosystem that tempers the extremes of heat & cold, stores lots of water, & makes a lot of humidity. In this environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what.

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Re: Saving WI55

#8

Post: # 7530Unread post Paquebot
Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:51 am

Wisconsin Chief production is comparable to Wisconsin 55 in many ways except a slightly shorter plant. That's important for commercial growing. I grew Victor years ago and it was a nice short plant. Got Long Red from USDA last year and it proved to be a winner, too. Short plant with lots of good-sized fruit. That was popular in the 1960s in the Northeast. The cross with Victor may have been the last one made by the U of WI as I know of none since. It was developed in the 1950a and only enjoyed success for less than 10 years. It vanished before USDA had a chance to preserve it. Luckily it made it to a European seed bank.

Martin

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Re: Saving WI55

#9

Post: # 7534Unread post imp
Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:27 am

Shorter plants can be useful and good to place at one edge of a row or group, plus I don't seem to be growing taller anymore, LOL!!

Love the histories and information, thank you for posting those. And, as usual since we all know this, LOL, you are making me be tempted already and this year is not even hardly into a garden thing done here!

Had a T shirt used to say "Do not lead me into temptation, I find enough by myself." but on the back, it said "Alright, so lead me!"
Together, trees make an ecosystem that tempers the extremes of heat & cold, stores lots of water, & makes a lot of humidity. In this environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what.

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Re: Saving WI55

#10

Post: # 7541Unread post MissS
Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:13 am

So Paquebot since you seem to be a tomatophile, will you be offering seeds of Wisconsin Chief and Long Red to preserve this history? What is nice too is that your source for Long Red was the USDA seed bank. I was under the impression that it was rather difficult to obtain seen from them.
~ Patti ~

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Re: Saving WI55

#11

Post: # 7554Unread post Paquebot
Fri Jan 24, 2020 11:49 am

Misss, at the moment be thankful that I have offered this much. I' m two days home from a week's hospital stay with lung and heart problems. At 81, immediate goal is to see the sun come up the following day. Two years ago, fractured neck and caught staph pneumonia in hospital. My seeds are offered in SSE. Son and another gardener managed to fill all requests. Have announced there that this will be my final year of listing but have selected 38 varieties. After growing tomatoes in same garden since 1964, just can't stop. One of my grandfathers died while hilling his potatoes. Should I expect to top that in my way to go?

In 2006, Zebraman on IDig was pushing USDA as a free seed company. I went on to battle him without much backup. Dam was already broken and USDA had to change their previous ways. I do have an active account there and can request seed. Sorry but will not reveal why I am one of the exceptions. Will also say that what they have is not always right. Their WI55 was all mixed up and not a good seed in the lot. New backup seed was grown out by them this past year and supposedly came out right.

Martin

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Re: Saving WI55

#12

Post: # 7588Unread post MissS
Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:59 pm

Martin I am so very grateful for all that you have done. I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I hate hospitals it seems that the complications one comes home with are far worse than what we went in for. They are just a cesspool of disease ready to find homes. I am right down I 94 from you so if you ever need help with anything just let me know, I will be there.

I am sure glad that we have someone like you who is able to request USDA seed and is fortunate enough to have family who is willing to help you with your endeavors.
~ Patti ~

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Re: Saving WI55

#13

Post: # 7592Unread post bower
Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:29 pm

I have really enjoyed all your posts here, and sorry to hear you're unwell. Hope your larder and freezer are well stocked with all the good foods you've grown yourself, and you take it easy for the winter getting well! And get ready for another spring, because that's a lot of tomatoes you've got to plant. ;)
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Re: Saving WI55

#14

Post: # 7596Unread post Greenvillian
Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:01 pm

Martin, could you share some history about Paquebot Roma?

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Re: Saving WI55

#15

Post: # 7602Unread post Paquebot
Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:07 pm

Green, Paquebot Roma story is long but I'll shorten it despite it almost 20 years. I think that it was 1999. In a restaurant trade magazine, saw the story of how a Florida grower looked all over to find a good tomato that would travel. He found a small variety in Italy and the first clamshell Roma tomatoes appeared on the markets for a short time. I grew some out to see if they were stable and saved the best. Since there were tricots in the first planting, that's what I concentrated on and eventually found a steady 15%.

I knew that this was different from other Romas as it had good taste. Eventually someone in Maine said that it needed a true name and suggested Paquebot Roma. Then I had to settle on how to maintain exactly what I wanted. All subsequent seeds originated from a single specimen set out on 5 May with just the 3 cotyledons. On 17 September, a dead plant was pulled but not until after 142 fruit were harvested. A Roma with good taste and production is not normal so it's special. A commercial dealer mentions that it is unusual for a Roma as it has "great flavor". Everyone says the same thing. And, still produces tricots with frequency.

Martin

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Re: Saving WI55

#16

Post: # 7648Unread post imp
Sat Jan 25, 2020 6:50 am

Paquebot, first of all, please do take care of yourself, I am most selfish and would not care to lose another friend or your knowledge. I would grieve and miss you even though we sometimes do not post directly to each other frequently, there is much I have learned from you. I am glad you have always shared so generously with your seeds, knowledge and time to many, myself included. I am posting that now, because i wanted you to know how much you are valued, and not just be making a post after you are not here anymore.

I suspect I perhaps know why you can still acquire seeds, but that is just a personal thing, LOL.

The story of the Paquebot Roma is interesting, most romas are, well, less than they are hoped for. Good to know you stabilized it and also intriguing about the triples.
Together, trees make an ecosystem that tempers the extremes of heat & cold, stores lots of water, & makes a lot of humidity. In this environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what.

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Re: Saving WI55

#17

Post: # 7702Unread post Paquebot
Sat Jan 25, 2020 1:11 pm

Imp, to me, maybe don't deserve any special praise. Before the Internet, it was all backyard sharing. In 1999 the entire world became my backyard and it's been 20+ years of both fun, fame, and foolishness. It's probably been about 15 of sharing with you. It all wasn't easy.

In 2004, one whom we all knew shared only with SSE members even to the point of making certain that the requester was a member. When I offered WI55 for free on GW that fall, I was threatened with banning since it was not a swap. Sent WI55 seed to over 450 members and got $1 back. Nobody could put a price on sharing. I made darned certain that my favorite tomato of over a quarter century wasn't going to be lost as long as I had anything to say about it. What I had not known was that I was stepping right into the middle of a long battle between two stubborn women but that's a part of the Wayback Machine for future researchers to sort out. When WI55 Gold came under my control and subject of the 2005 free offer, sharing got harder but probably only 300 or so requests. There was to also be a 2006 free offer which would have included a dozen "new" releases. It was arranged that it would never happen.

Paquebot Roma was even a surprise to me. There were few paste types which were little more than a base for spices to make sauce. It was a good tomato when it came over from Italy but just another good one to me. What I was interested in was seeing if the tri-cotyledon gene could be locked in. Thus it was offered to gardeners on another forum with instructions to start as many seeds as possible and see how many emerged as tricot. 15% was what the average was. Then reports came back later from everyone saying that it also was a great slicer and salad tomato. Had to agree and "Sheryl in Maine" got credit for naming it.

Since the original purpose of Paquebot Roma was a study on tricots, there had been none to that point. Over the years I had seen them many times in indeterminate types and no difference in the outcome. I did see a difference in determinates. I called it a "hurry up" gene. Most sent up an extra stem. That meant more potential for fruit and it proved out. It was discussed on IDig and later on Tomato Depot. An administrator deleted it because he had never seen one and didn't think they existed. With that, I also exited but Earl and I are still great friends. The tomato world has not always been a friendly garden.

Martin

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Re: Saving WI55

#18

Post: # 7774Unread post AZGardener
Sat Jan 25, 2020 6:57 pm

Thank you for sharing your story of Paquebot Roma and Wisconsin 55. I wasn't involved in tomato/garden forums at that time so this is all new to me.
I'm sorry you've been ill and I hope you are on the road to a speedy recovery.
Best wishes to you!
USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 13
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Re: Saving WI55

#19

Post: # 8488Unread post Paquebot
Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:05 pm

Wisconsin Chief was mentioned was another rescue. SSE had gotten seeds but expected them to just be filed in their seed bank. Now find that it was grown out in 2018 and part of their tomato test. It was the winner of the slicers! Proves that there are a lot of gems that have been allowed to be locked away in favor of things with just a temporary luster.

Martin

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Re: Saving WI55

#20

Post: # 8492Unread post imp
Fri Jan 31, 2020 8:23 pm

So many of the older varieties that were commercial developments were /are the good tasting and solid workhorses of a garden or farm and still perform well. New shiny things are often good, but better? That remains to be seen over a number of years and regions. I am amused and glad that WC did so well in the taste tests.
Together, trees make an ecosystem that tempers the extremes of heat & cold, stores lots of water, & makes a lot of humidity. In this environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what.

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