I started 12 Fritz Ackermann tomato seeds and they all came up regular leaf.... except one that came up potato leaf. I found a long thread on the other tomato site about this but I'm not sure any concrete answers came from it.

Regardless I'll be growing out both leaf types to see if there is any difference in taste or any other traits. A fun little side experiment for me this year

Secret Seed Cartel lists it as a big bomb shaped tomato (rounded) with serrated potato leafed plants. The serration on the leaves can possibly mislead people into thinking that it is RL. I am looking forward to hearing about your grow out.

Here is a picture of the the potato leaf plant and regular leaf plant. From the same package of seeds

Interesting. So far neither of those meets the standard. It will be interesting to see how they mature.

Will the real Fritz Ackermann please stand up! Seriously, what is the standard?

karstopography wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:52 am Will the real Fritz Ackermann please stand up! Seriously, what is the standard?

I know, right? At first I thought maybe it was a different variety got mixed in. But then I read there most often regular leaf, but sometimes potato leaf. Out maybe they flip flop and just grow whatever kind of leaf they feel like. Which granted I don't know much of anything about tomato genetics doesn't make a lot of sense to me

I found this thread because I was Googling this variety. One of the hits was to TV where someone asked about it. Carolyn said she received the seeds from Ellis as PL. She grew it out then shared seeds in two seed offers but some people got RL. I didn’t finish reading the thread but you can find it by Googling the tomato name or following this link. I’m adding it to my wish list but it will be multiple years until I can get around to growing it. Do let us know what you think of it.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=6688

I just skimmed the rest of the linked thread which started in 2007. After lots of input and photos, Carolyn said it must be one of a few varieties that flip-flop back and forth and should all be considered the same variety - Fritz Ackerman (spelled with one N, not two Ns).

Just an update for anyone interested. Here are how my 2 Fritz Ackerman plants are going. Potato leaf seems to be growing a bit bigger, faster but both are looking good. I'm curious as to if they'll be any difference in fruit.

karstopography wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:52 am Will the real Fritz Ackermann please stand up! Seriously, what is the standard?

What is the standard? I've read that Fritz Ackermann is potato leaf. Seeds in my collection are listed as PL, but I've yet to trial it.

Is there a consensus standard for what potato leaf means? Some say it's larger, smoother leaves, with few if any serrations. My observing likely tens of thousands of leaves on 1,000+ PL plants over the years, is seeing a lot of variability from leaf to leaf. Some can closely resemble a regular leaf.

What I've noticed is that PL plants have several fewer leaves on each branch, compared to the number of leaves on a RL plant's branches.

From a purely scientific(?) point of view, some say the standard is that potato leaves are thicker than regular leaves. I've never dusted off my micrometer in order to find out.

And excessively rare, I've seen a relatively small plant switch from RL to PL, and PL to RL, as it matures. I've only seen this happen three times, not remembering which switch I saw twice.

My plants were potato leaf when I grew in 2023.

Update and taste comparison

I've harvested the first tomatoes from each plant and honestly I'm not sure the RL is Fritz Ackerman even though they came from the same seed packet. RL plant looks like a purple tomato of some kind.





The PL (pink) had a nice sweet flavor with a good tomato flavor, whereas the RL (purple) was still sweet but had a more acidic bite to it. Either way they will both be eaten as BLTs later tonight and they should both be delicious

I like the pink Fritz Ackerman better and my wife likes the purple that may or may not be a Fritz Ackerman.

@OmarLittle Your pink one looks to be true to type. It has a serrated potato leaf shape. Your fruit also looks like the standard that Terry from Secret Seed Cartel shows. (image below) Your dark regular leafed plant is an off-type and I would not refer to it as 'Fritz Ackermann' at all. I suggest that you contact your seed supplier and see if they know what the imposter is. They just might know by now.

I have some seed from Secret Seed Cartel, I think that I am putting them on my grow list for next year and see what I get. Was SSC your seed source?

MissS wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2024 3:11 pm I have some seed from Secret Seed Cartel, I think that I am putting them on my grow list for next year and see what I get. Was SSC your seed source?

No Secret Seed Cartel was out of stock when I was looking for them last year. I got mine from Bounty Hunter Seeds.

I would definitely recommend you grow them next year. The pink one was absolutely delicious. One of my favorite beefsteak tomatoes. Easily 1+ pounds, great taste.

OmarLittle wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2024 8:53 am

MissS wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2024 3:11 pm I have some seed from Secret Seed Cartel, I think that I am putting them on my grow list for next year and see what I get. Was SSC your seed source?

No Secret Seed Cartel was out of stock when I was looking for them last year. I got mine from Bounty Hunter Seeds.

I would definitely recommend you grow them next year. The pink one was absolutely delicious. One of my favorite beefsteak tomatoes. Easily 1+ pounds, great taste.

Thank you for the recommendation. I will try it!

Too bad that we have yet another mix up from Bounty Hunter. He was such a rising star as a vendor, seems like he is falling now.