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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Tomato anecdotes

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  • From: "Doreen Howard" <gardendiva@charter.net>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Tomato anecdotes
  • Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 11:52:51 -0500

Jim Furth's anecdotes are very interesting and support my experiences.

I've grown heirloom tomatoes for over 15 years and learned that the black ones from Russia have the most complex flavors....like fine wines. Their dusky purple or chestnut skins and meat are gorgeous in my opinion, but not for most people. The acid-sweet balance of flavors with numerous undertones such as salt, lemon or even clover are exquisite. But....it's almost impossible to convince the average consumer to taste a slice to experience such gastronomic heaven.

Case in point. I grew Southern Nights, a large determinate black tomato with potato-leaf foliage, successfully in So. Texas, which is a very difficult environment. You plant in Feb., complete harvest by June 1 (nights are too hot for blossom set after that) and fight blights and stink bugs that deface fruits. Southern Nights sets heavily all at once (about 80 fruits ranging from 10-16 oz. per plant) and ripens the crop within a two-week window in late May. I produced a large quantity of seed so that Dr. Jerry Parsons of Texas A&M could experiment with it at the TAMU farms in Uvalde, TX where they develop market crops for the Rio Grande Valley farm industry. IMHO, Southern Nights could be a huge hit with consumers and bring premium prices for farmers--especially since they could sell them up North in mid May.

Jerry planted 2 acres of Southern Nights plants from my seeds. The crop was fantastic, and he was very excited. Then....reality bit. He brought in all the commercial growers, had them sample the tomatoes and evaluate the market potential. Everyone said they wouldn't grow it for two reasons. No one would eat such an ugly tomato (half of the growers refused to taste the fruits) and the tomatoes were not perfectly round, which meant that they couldn't get as many in a carton as with hybrids with perfect shape.

Draw your own conclusions. Mine was that I will continue to save seeds and grown my own forever. I've also developed an OP cross from a black tomato and a green heirloom. I've stablilized it to the F4 so far. But, I have no illusions about a seed company ever selling it. Consumers won't buy my tomato and will miss out on a terrific new flavor and a gorgeous fruit.
Doreen Howard





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