Amish Yellowish Orange Oxheart. Indeterminate, regular leaf, early mid-season plant with a heavy set deep orange oxheart tomatoes roughly 12 - 14 oz in size. Consistently rated by New Zealand's Heritage Food Crops Research Trust as one of the tomato varieties highest in tetra-cis-lycopene. The flavor is very good with a good balance

Everglades wild tomato. Indeterminate, regular leaf vines loaded with clusters of marble-sized pink fruits. Seedy, but juicy with a sweet, intense tomato flavor. I love them! The skin is thin and tears easily, so this one is best eaten right off the bush or picked with part of the stem still attached. In my experience, the plants seem to regulate their size according to their environment. Last year, it was a rather tame plant grown in a 5 gallon nursery pot. This year, the vines are long and sprawling when grown in wild setting in my rock garden.

OhioGardener wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:02 pm How is Russian Banana? I've always wanted to try that one, but I haven't due to limited space.

I harvested my Russian Banana last week so it’s definitely an early variety. Not a good crop this year as the voles got into them early and throughout the season. I did notice one plant producing much larger tubers than the rest, like Yukon gold size instead of fingerling. I named them “Padre Putin’s Pride” and will save them for next year to see if they keep this new trait.

Purple Peruvian plants are going very strong. The plants are much bigger than the other varieties. It also seem to get less Colorado potato beetles than the other plants.

I just drove through Ohio yesterday and I always admire the farms along the Ohio Turnpike. Currently in town today and tomorrow to help my daughter move into her new apartment in Evanston, IL. She’s a junior at Northwestern. Mostly I see corn growing but there is also another low lying crop that is hard to identify from a distance. I wonder if it’s soybeans?

ponyexpress wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 7:51 am

OhioGardener wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:02 pm How is Russian Banana? I've always wanted to try that one, but I haven't due to limited space.

I harvested my Russian Banana last week so it’s definitely an early variety. Not a good crop this year as the voles got into them early and throughout the season. I did notice one plant producing much larger tubers than the rest, like Yukon gold size instead of fingerling. I named them “Padre Putin’s Pride” and will save them for next year to see if they keep this new trait.

Purple Peruvian plants are going very strong. The plants are much bigger than the other varieties. It also seem to get less Colorado potato beetles than the other plants.

I just drove through Ohio yesterday and I always admire the farms along the Ohio Turnpike. Currently in town today and tomorrow to help my daughter move into her new apartment in Evanston, IL. She’s a junior at Northwestern. Mostly I see corn growing but there is also another low lying crop that is hard to identify from a distance. I wonder if it’s soybeans?

Soy, corn, and wheat are Ohio's biggest crops, so I agree that's probably what you're seeing. Regarding the Russian Bananas, I see bug and/or critter attraction as sort of an endorsement of those varieties . Unfortunately that sometimes means those varieties work less well for me because I generally don't treat my plants with anything other than compost fertilizer. I grew Fruit Punch cherry tomatoes this year and had to fight the birds and raccoons for every one. Maybe I'll have room next year to tuck in a few Russian Bananas though. Just keep that evil Putin guy out of my garden !

IPKT 1176 - RL, semi-determinate, compact plant with a very heavy set of red, roma-type fruits. I received this variety from a fellow SSE member who wrote "I picked it our of the obscure list of unnamed tomatoes that Seed Savers maintained for years (but are now dropping). I first grew these about 12 years ago and have grown them every year since. It's a great Roma-type tomato with a ridiculously heavy set of fruits that never crack or blemish. I'm trying to find the right "real name" for this tomato- something like "Lost Treasure", I think."

I didn't take any photos of the mature plant, but it grew to about 3 ft in a 5 gallon pot and was absolutely loaded with red plum fruit. It's hard to understand why this one isn't more popular.

Strelka - RL, indeterminate. Name means "arrow" in Russian. These are totally weird, but they surprised me with heavy, ongoing production and an excellent flavor. This one would be great for a kid's garden.

Last of the season Chernyi Prins (Black Prince). This is a strain that was given to me personally when I was studying at the Pushkin's Institute in Moscow in 1993. The fruits are larger, sweeter, and more complex tasting than the "Black Prince" commonly available. Two plants grown together in the same cage pushed through till the end of the season yielding these fruits and about a dozen more that went into my sauce pot last week.

OhioGardener wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 11:05 pm DSCF9425.JPGAmish Yellowish Orange Oxheart. Indeterminate, regular leaf, early mid-season plant with a heavy set deep orange oxheart tomatoes roughly 12 - 14 oz in size. Consistently rated by New Zealand's Heritage Food Crops Research Trust as one of the tomato varieties highest in tetra-cis-lycopene. The flavor is very good with a good balanceDSCF9431.JPG

This tomato looks like a dream come true! I am such a sucker for oxhearts. That interior! I am going to have to track it down. Your pictures are stunning!

Here's hoping this year's garden season will be better than the last. I'm still sorting through seeds and making some additional decisions before starting seed flats.

2023 Tomato Grow List
1991 Bychye Serdtse Rozovoe
Ambrosia Orange
Everglades, self-seeding
Golden Bell, HFCRT selection
Golden Grape, HFCRT Strain
Oracle 1 SBO, HFCRT selection
Toad Suck Toad
Wally's Spanish, HFCRT strain
Wilderness
ДНІПРОВСЬКИЙ ЗАХІД/Dniprovskij Zahid/Dnieper Sunset
Eye Drop, HFCRT selection

2023 Tomato "maybes"
Black Beauty
BlackInsideOut
Bue Dawg
Hi Crimson
Hopkins Revolutionary
Loxton Lass
Orange Crimea
Thunder Mountain
РАДУНИЦА/Radunitsa/Joyful
СЛАДКОЕЖКА/Sladkoezhka/Sweet Tooth
УССУРІЙСЬКИЙ ТИГР/Ussurijkij Tigr/Ussuri Tigr

2023 Other Grow List
Lakomka Edible Oil Seed Sunflower
Arsenal Watermelon

Good luck with your coming season.

Here's my final 2023 tomato grow list with a few other direct seed crops to be determined. I'm off to a late start as a result of an unexpected hospitalization requiring me to re-start my seeds, but I'm determined to have a good year this year. A lot of my tomato grow outs are from the Heritage Food Crops Research Trust, selected for high tetra-cis-lycopene or carotenoids. I'm also growing quite a few J&L wild crosses to see which ones I like best.

2023 Tomato Grow List
1991 Bychye Serdtse Rozovoe
African Oracle, HFCRT selection
Ambrosia Orange
Ambrosia Rose
Astrakhanskaya Khurma
Big Yellow Simpson 2007
BlackInsideOut
Copper Current
Dnieper Sunset/ДНІПРОВСЬКИЙ ЗАХІД/Dniprovskij Zahid
Everglades, self-seeding
Eye Drop, HFCRT selection
Golden Bell, HFCRT selection
Golden Grape, HFCRT Strain
Golden Green, E. Kangasmaa
Golden Sugar Grape
Manitoba Oxheart
Maximally Blue Green
Mini Olga, HFCRT selection
Moonbeam, HFCRT Strain
Odesskiy Rozoviy 2008
Optical, HFCRT selection
Oracle 1 SBO, HFCRT selection
Orange Crimea
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge, HFCRT selection
Relikvia Iz Ussuriyska (orange) 2019
Sirius, HFCRT selection
Sugar Drop
Toad Suck Toad
Trimson
Ussurijkij Tigr/УССУРІЙСЬКИЙ ТИГР/Ussuri Tiger
Wally's Spanish, HFCRT Strain
Wild Child
Wild Gem
Wilderness
Yuko's Persimmon Perfection

2023 Other Grow List
Arsenal Watermelon
Bill's Striped Pepper
Dream Catcher F6 Pepper
Eezer Perennial Wheat
Himalayan Celosia
Lakomka Edible Oil Seed Sunflower
Pink & White Portulaca
Salish Blue Perennial Wheat
Straw Blonde Marigold

@OhioGardener that's a great list. I had to look up a few of those too.

Maybe I missed it but what does HFCRT stand for?

MissS wrote: ↑Mon May 01, 2023 10:49 am @OhioGardener that's a great list. I had to look up a few of those too.

Maybe I missed it but what does HFCRT stand for?

Heritage Food Crops Research Trust. They have an ongoing project assaying and selecting heirlooms for nutrition. The ones I'm growing are super high in tetra-cis-lycopene or beta-carotene & various other carotenoids/polyphenols. They also have a data on a lot of other heirloom varieties in their research papers that you can find on their site. It's interesting that the nutrition profiles can be quite different.
https://www.heritagefoodcrops.org.nz/

Really interesting garden plan as always, Debbie! Good for you, having the determination to start over - and high time you had a break! I hope the big surprises ahead this season are all good ones.. and delicious. Looking forward to your tomato reviews.
I have a patch of fall planted Salish Blue just beginning to show signs of life - not sure how much I may have lost over winter, but at least some is coming back. The survivors from a small test planting in spring (mostly devoured by rabbits) are looking stronger, so I'm thinking to spring plant the rest of my seed for the best chance to adapt to our flakey climate. A friend here planted some in spring and got a small harvest in the first season too. I also had seed of the Eezer wheat a few years ago, which I tried fall planting but some pest ate them all. Will be interested to hear how both of these do for you. I have some spring grains to go in as well, for year two trials. Grain, I'm finding, is stunningly beautiful. It just blows me away. I hope they bring you joy!

Bower wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2023 6:37 am Really interesting garden plan as always, Debbie! Good for you, having the determination to start over - and high time you had a break! I hope the big surprises ahead this season are all good ones.. and delicious. Looking forward to your tomato reviews.
I have a patch of fall planted Salish Blue just beginning to show signs of life - not sure how much I may have lost over winter, but at least some is coming back. The survivors from a small test planting in spring (mostly devoured by rabbits) are looking stronger, so I'm thinking to spring plant the rest of my seed for the best chance to adapt to our flakey climate. A friend here planted some in spring and got a small harvest in the first season too. I also had seed of the Eezer wheat a few years ago, which I tried fall planting but some pest ate them all. Will be interested to hear how both of these do for you. I have some spring grains to go in as well, for year two trials. Grain, I'm finding, is stunningly beautiful. It just blows me away. I hope they bring you joy!

Thank you! I appreciate the words of encouragement. Gardening is an escape for me and I'm determined to have a better year. Restarts are going well so far. Last year was a bust because I lost almost everything due to my father being hospitalized 3 times and the turmoil trying to look after him with my own disability. It was difficult, but I finally got him into assisted living where he's doing much better (meaning I can now sleep at night!). I thought things were off to a good start this year until I had a stroke 2 weeks ago and lost most of the vision in my left eye. Seedlings dried up while I was in the hospital for a few days, but everything is re-planted and against all odds, I'm starting to get a little of my vision back. The Eezer wheat, I'm not sure of though. I didn't have many seeds to start with and the re-starts don't seem to be coming up. I have a few more and will try to start them in new pots, but if you happen to know of a source currently selling them, I'd love to buy more and get both types going. Fortunately I have quite a bit of the Salish seeds and hope I'm lucky enough to see a small fall harvest, at least to be able to grab and share some of those seeds. Weather is great here right now, so tomorrow I plan to direct sow some additional Salish outdoors and also plant my Ukrainian Lakomka sunflowers.

I remembered that you had a tough season last year due to looking after your father. Taking care of our aging parents is a lot of work, I know it. I'm glad you found him a good spot, because at a certain point the care requirements are too much for family alone. So sorry to hear about your stroke! I hope this summer will be paced just right for you to rest, recuperate, and enjoy the escape to the fullest. You need it and you deserve it.
I will keep an eye out for the Eezer and let you know if I see it, but it seems rarely available. I got mine at Annapolis Seeds one year, but the following year it was no longer offered. I hope your seeds come on strong! Salish is looking alive here after all (sigh of relief!).

Bower wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 4:50 pm I remembered that you had a tough season last year due to looking after your father. Taking care of our aging parents is a lot of work, I know it. I'm glad you found him a good spot, because at a certain point the care requirements are too much for family alone. So sorry to hear about your stroke! I hope this summer will be paced just right for you to rest, recuperate, and enjoy the escape to the fullest. You need it and you deserve it.
I will keep an eye out for the Eezer and let you know if I see it, but it seems rarely available. I got mine at Annapolis Seeds one year, but the following year it was no longer offered. I hope your seeds come on strong! Salish is looking alive here after all (sigh of relief!).

Thanks! Yes, Dad is in a much better place. He was in aggressive denial of his dementia and every waking moment was a worry that he was going to hurt himself or someone else. On a brighter topic, 2 of the 4 Bychye Serdtse seeds from 1991 are already germinating which has me ecstatic. 8 out of 10 germinated last year and I was heartsick to lose them all. This year's 4 were out of 11 that I had left still smeared on an old piece of Soviet paper with my friend's mom's handwriting on it, so there's no question of their age or identity. It's crazy that they've maintained normal viability for so long and I'm determined to get fruit and seeds out of them this season. I of course have lots of later generation seeds saved, but I find it incredible to still be able to grow out the originals after all these years. Unfortunately I'm not sure I'm going to be as lucky with the 2007 and 2008 seeds I got in the swap, but I'll keep working on them as well and saved a few to try with gibberillic acid treatment. Long term viability vs. storage method would be an interesting discussion topic. Regarding the Eezer, mine were also from Annapolis seeds and I wrote to them. They're not planning to re-offer it at least for a few years, if then. It seems like all the non-patented perennial wheat strains have disappeared.

That's awesome about the Bychye Serdtse seeds.
I recall Carolyn used to recommend a soak with N ferts like miracle grow for old seeds.
I noticed with old seeds (especially brassicas, which quickly get old) that the cots tend to be yellow and they struggle unless given N supplements because the store in the seed has become degraded over time. Will be interested to hear how the gibberillic acid goes.
WRT wheat seed storage, I was reading about that last week, and it seems cool and dry conditions are the best; higher relative humidity can cause them to lose viability quickly. That being said, with reasonable conditions they are said to remain viable for up to 100 years. So adopting a good storage protocol could be well enough to be able to maintain a bank of seeds long term, especially for those rare varieties.
Some information about Tim Peters perennial rye and a recent reboot of the perennial grain breeding efforts here:
https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=24370

Bower wrote: ↑Sat May 06, 2023 8:10 am That's awesome about the Bychye Serdtse seeds.
I recall Carolyn used to recommend a soak with N ferts like miracle grow for old seeds.
I noticed with old seeds (especially brassicas, which quickly get old) that the cots tend to be yellow and they struggle unless given N supplements because the store in the seed has become degraded over time. Will be interested to hear how the gibberillic acid goes.
WRT wheat seed storage, I was reading about that last week, and it seems cool and dry conditions are the best; higher relative humidity can cause them to lose viability quickly. That being said, with reasonable conditions they are said to remain viable for up to 100 years. So adopting a good storage protocol could be well enough to be able to maintain a bank of seeds long term, especially for those rare varieties.
Some information about Tim Peters perennial rye and a recent reboot of the perennial grain breeding efforts here:
https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=24370

I ended up calling Tim Peters and had a good discussion with him. In fact, I was going to offer him my seed since he was the creator and doesn't have any left, but he's not in a suitable climate for perennial wheat. He did give me some excellent advice though on when to start the seeds I have and a few ideas to maximize the chance of winter survival and being able to first of all collect new seed next year. So I put the Eezer back in the refrigerator and will start them later in the year.

My late re-start tomatoes are already 3-5 inches tall and ready to start hardening off so I can get them outside where they'll really take off. Still no success with the old Big Yellow Simpson and Odesskiy Rozoviy seeds unfortunately, but the 32 year old Russian seeds are holding their own with no frills and no special treatment. I wonder if it's the way my friend's mom originally saved them? Everything was so primitive in the USSR with no garden amendments like we're used to. She didn't even ferment, but simply smeared the seeds on the piece of paper in the photo where you can see 7 or 8 left. It's hard to believe that most if not all are still viable by looking at them after all these years. In fact, I have newer seeds, but just tried to grow these out on a whim to see what happens. I wonder if it has to do with something protective in the dried seed gel and of course refrigeration?

Really impressive the 32 yr old seeds!
I once had a few seeds saved the same way, with gel on paper, and they started just fine but were not 32 years old that's for sure.
I could see the gel having a preservative function when dried, for long term. Germination inhibitors, supposedly are present, could they help?

That's great that you talked to Tim Peters and got savvy advice about when to plant.