Post by macmex on Apr 9, 2020 12:00:07 GMT -6
This year I'm trying to recover some varieties which I've neglected for a while. Life has been so full that I am forever having things "fall off the edge." Among those things are some varieties of plants I've grown, sometimes for decades. Polish Pastel is a tomato which was developed by John Smarz of Australia. I suspect it has some cherry tomato genes in it, as it is exceedingly vigorous.
I'm pretty sure that the seed was sent to me by Neil Lockhart of Oblong, Illinois, who was also a member of the Seed Savers Exchange in 2006. He included the packet of seed as a gift. I didn't ask for it. A lot of times, when someone sends a gift like that, unsolicited, it's because it is really good. I decided to try it. We were in a terrible drought that year and I remember neglecting the plants considerably. The leaves turned "spiky looking" and the plants didn't look all that great. To make matters worse I had gotten them in late. Yet, they survived, and when temperatures moderated in late summer, and the rains came, they took off, producing a large crop of these tomatoes.
Polish Pastel tomatoes are hollow. I believe they're considered a stuffing tomato. I've never stuffed a tomato before. I have used this one for tomato sauce, as it is quite dry.
The flavor is okay. This is not one of my go to tomatoes for fresh eating. Yet it is alright. I've used it more for sauce and salsa.
I believe I only grew this one once more since 2010, planting them in 2014. This winter I tried to germinate 2010 seed, for over a month, with no success. I realized that I was about to lose this variety. Looking on the internet, I realize there are others who offer this seed, but still, I decided to grow it out. I found a bag of 2014 seed which germinated pretty well. It just took about two weeks to get the seed to germinate.
Here's a picture of the seed, starting to germinate. I put it on a damp paper towel, inside a baggie, and set it on a heating pad.
One of the primary characteristics of this tomato, that comes to my memory, is that it doesn't like to set fruit during the hot part of the summer. The plants themselves are tough as nails. They have always survived for me. Then, when cooler temps arrive, they load up with fruit in a spectacular manner.
Some fruit can be pretty large.
Lord willing, this fall I will have plenty of seed to share. I can share the 2014 seed now, if anyone wants. I'd just need postage $.
I'm pretty sure that the seed was sent to me by Neil Lockhart of Oblong, Illinois, who was also a member of the Seed Savers Exchange in 2006. He included the packet of seed as a gift. I didn't ask for it. A lot of times, when someone sends a gift like that, unsolicited, it's because it is really good. I decided to try it. We were in a terrible drought that year and I remember neglecting the plants considerably. The leaves turned "spiky looking" and the plants didn't look all that great. To make matters worse I had gotten them in late. Yet, they survived, and when temperatures moderated in late summer, and the rains came, they took off, producing a large crop of these tomatoes.
Polish Pastel tomatoes are hollow. I believe they're considered a stuffing tomato. I've never stuffed a tomato before. I have used this one for tomato sauce, as it is quite dry.
The flavor is okay. This is not one of my go to tomatoes for fresh eating. Yet it is alright. I've used it more for sauce and salsa.
I believe I only grew this one once more since 2010, planting them in 2014. This winter I tried to germinate 2010 seed, for over a month, with no success. I realized that I was about to lose this variety. Looking on the internet, I realize there are others who offer this seed, but still, I decided to grow it out. I found a bag of 2014 seed which germinated pretty well. It just took about two weeks to get the seed to germinate.
Here's a picture of the seed, starting to germinate. I put it on a damp paper towel, inside a baggie, and set it on a heating pad.
One of the primary characteristics of this tomato, that comes to my memory, is that it doesn't like to set fruit during the hot part of the summer. The plants themselves are tough as nails. They have always survived for me. Then, when cooler temps arrive, they load up with fruit in a spectacular manner.
Some fruit can be pretty large.
Lord willing, this fall I will have plenty of seed to share. I can share the 2014 seed now, if anyone wants. I'd just need postage $.
