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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 29, 2019 22:17:46 GMT -6
Heidi sounds like a good candidate for Pico De Gallo. I like a good, high acid tomato in my Pico De Gallo. Being small has no bearing when they are going to be diced up so small anyhow.
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Heidi
May 30, 2019 22:04:02 GMT -6
Post by glen on May 30, 2019 22:04:02 GMT -6
George, that is so funny hearing you talk about how Heidi is not a good slicer. Why not? I slice em. I dice em. Far as I am concerned they slice just fine. And, they actually have flavor. Rich flavor not found on any tomato's I buy in the store. We just don't have the options here in Panama like you have in Oklahoma. We have large tomato's for sale now that are real cheap in the supermarket. Big. They have a watery flavor. Not a rich flavor. They are nice looking tomato's for a buck per lb. I buy them because I don't have any coming in now from the garden. Even the round heidi's were good the first time I grew em. I noticed outside that I do have at least one plant that is a normal heidi egg shaped tomato. They really aren't egg shape. They are irregular shaped pears actually. They aren't a market tomato. They are a back yard pear shaped tomato that has potential to be an excellent heirloom. The color is exceptionally dark. Tomato's are meaty and so full of flavor that you almost believe you have discovered something new when you pop a piece into your mouth. By the way George, your plant looks just great. Look at all those blooms. Mine have little greeny's on em now but its going to be awhile before I am slicing and dicing. I got my fingers crossed that I have a nice harvest.
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Heidi
May 31, 2019 8:06:02 GMT -6
Post by macmex on May 31, 2019 8:06:02 GMT -6
I don't mean that they can't be sliced, it's just that when I think of a slicing tomato, I think of something larger, which makes larger slices. I do slice them when I'm eating them.
I suspect that Heidi's flavor requires heat to develop properly. This is what makes it a good tomato for Oklahoma, and for Panama. Dr. Carolyn Male, who first introduced this tomato in North America, received seed from one of her graduate students, from Cameroon. I remember when she first mentioned it on the Tomatoville Forum . She grew it out, up North and commented that there was nothing really notable about the tomato or its flavor. (This is my recollection.) My suspicion is that her observation was completely accurate, for her climate. Later, I remember Dawn Coyle of the Oklahoma Gardening Forum writing about it. She gave it rave reviews, and continues to do so. Dawn is probably the most trusted authority on tomatoes in Oklahoma. That's why I decided to try it. I was immediately impressed. I bet this tomato will be a hit wherever there are really hot summers.
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Heidi
May 31, 2019 15:10:13 GMT -6
Post by glen on May 31, 2019 15:10:13 GMT -6
I have done some browsing on the internet regarding this tomato. It is getting more popular but its got that funny pear shape to it that not everyone likes. Doesn't bother me in the least. Also, there is some other Cameroonian variety's that have made it to the US that are supposed to be real flavorful and heat lovers also. This was just mentioned in passing in the articles I read. Heidi is the most well known among a very small group of gardeners that appreciate heidi's quality's. Its a must have if you live in the tropics. And, I wanted to say that the crosses grow well also. And, they retained the Heidi taste. I have some crossed specimans growing now. I do plan not to save seed from them most likely so I can try to go back to the traditional pear shape. The crosses I have now just happened to come up quicker and stronger than the pure Heidi seedlings so they made the cut. I didn't mark the seedlings as crosses so I have more round crosses growing than pure heidi seedlings. The reason I have any round plants at all is that the seeds came from a particularly strong plant. This plant produced longer than any of the heidi plants so I saved seed from it. Also, the plant stayed greener and prettier much longer than any other plant. Its just my habit to save seed from strong plants. So, we will see this season. If the pure heidi plants do well I will rogue out all the weird plants. In not, well, I guess I will have round heidi tomato's! The round tomato's are about 2 oz each also.
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Post by glen on Jun 14, 2019 21:53:36 GMT -6
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Heidi
Jun 15, 2019 6:13:05 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Jun 15, 2019 6:13:05 GMT -6
Great photos Glen, that last picture shows the pure Heidi. I'll try to get some photos of my plants, in the next couple days. They're absolutely beautiful!
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Post by macmex on Jun 16, 2019 5:16:54 GMT -6
Yesterday we did hay almost all day. I had about 1/2 hour, in the morning, before we headed out, to do anything in the garden. I would have loved to have spent the day in the garden, but then, we are DONE with hay for 2019. Couldn't have asked for better weather to do it in either. While in the garden, I decided to continue caging tomatoes, as I have been very much behind in that area. About half of my Heidi tomatoes still needed caging. It's getting very challenging, as the plants are so large. Anyway, I came across this one plant which has typical Heidi form, but the tomatoes are oblate and larger than any I have ever seen on the previous cross, which appeared in my garden, the first year I grew it (from commercial seed). I'm intrigued. If this cross will have good flavor, larger size and still retain the good qualities of Heidi... we'd have a real winner. Time will tell.
Also, I'm very much aware that stabilizing such a cross can take years and I'm already working on another Sioux cross, which Auther Ray, a gardening friend, sent me last year.
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Post by macmex on Apr 22, 2020 9:36:07 GMT -6
I can't believe I haven't been back here since last summer! I need to mention that I did not save any seed of that round variant. Though they looked nice, they had no flavor. I didn't think they were worth growing again. I grew Heidi from my own seed, but Hank also grew it and gave me some beautiful seedlings. Neither of us can figure exactly how or what happened, but a significant portion of his Heidi tomatoes were really crossed! I need to find some photos of some of them. Ron called them "Frankenberry tomatoes." The crosses had all the hardiness and productiveness of the original Heidi. I didn't save any seed, though, as I couldn't see that the crosses were in any way better than the original.
I grew from my own seed this year, going back to frozen seed from 2013.
I do have to say, that if I could only grow one tomato in a really hot place, this would be it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2020 19:39:03 GMT -6
I'm trying Heidi again. I don't have the best indoor setup for starting indoors and Heidi simply does not tolerate cool at all, even if brief. Started some new recently. Should be fine now that the temps are warm.
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Heidi
Apr 25, 2020 7:52:00 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 25, 2020 7:52:00 GMT -6
Oops ... I hit the wrong button above ... I meant to like Bon's comment and accidentally hit "Quote".
I used Heidi as a canning tomato last year and found it to be the easiest tomato I've ever processed. They peeled so well, that it was a breeze to put away a bushel of them. My wife used the processed Heidi's to make several quarts of fresh salsa, and spaghetti sauce that we are still enjoying this Spring, while fresh tomatoes are not available for home use. They certainly taste better than store bought canned tomatoes. I don't know what the store does differently that so thoroughly destroys a tomato's good flavor, but the ones in the can taste no better than the ones they sell fresh.
Heidi is Number one in my book, for a great utility tomato. It can be canned for use in winter soups, homemade chili, garden stews, goulash, and many really good, homemade sauces.
Thanks, George, and Hank, for sharing this variety with the rest of us, it really helps to make winter not seem quite so bland.
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Post by macmex on Apr 26, 2020 6:00:00 GMT -6
Back around 1984 I purchased a packet of F2 hybrid tomato seed, from a renowned plant breeder in CA. I selected the cross between two commercial canning varieties, not available to home gardeners. The breeder and I wrote back and forth about this experiment, growing them out to select the best canning tomato from subsequent generations.
The plants grew and were exceedingly stocky and compact, more so than Roma. The tomatoes were largely round and smaller than those of Heidi. Their flavor was... non existent. I believe I shocked my friend when I told him that I hadn't found a single grow out, worthy of saving. None of them came close to Roma. I didn't have Heidi at the time, but Heidi beats Roma. The problem with commercial canning tomatoes is that flavor is not even a consideration in their breeding. All they want is bulk. Also, it was obvious, those plants were bred to produce ONE concentrated crop and then be harvested by machine. They would PULL the plant and strip the tomatoes off.
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Heidi
Sept 2, 2020 23:50:57 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 2, 2020 23:50:57 GMT -6
My Heidi's are loaded right now.
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Heidi
Sept 3, 2020 4:15:59 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Sept 3, 2020 4:15:59 GMT -6
"I'm going to have to get over to your place and see Black Moor!" - Oops! I though Ron was growing Black Moor. Bon, take pictures for us.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 6, 2020 21:14:14 GMT -6
The shape of those Heidi tomatoes makes them perfect for pizza topping, or bean dip topping, or for anything that needs garnish that has good flavor. They are also excellent canners. We make lots of fresh tomato juice and salsa from them.My Heidi plants are loaded this year!
P.S. Hank, I got another orange Heidi plant this year, and a pink one too!
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Heidi
Sept 7, 2020 19:55:36 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 7, 2020 19:55:36 GMT -6
Pico De Gallo is what I like to use them for in Summer. We also make salsa from these, but usually can all that and save it for use in the Winter.
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