Lets talk about tomatoes....NO tomato seeds!!

[goodlife]

Here is second of the 3 of 'my own' toms.
This one is the 'normal' one..teeny bit smaller fruit than the 'cloud 9' and instead of vine they are branched trusses and the skin has more 'shine' to it.

[goodlife]

[goodlife]

Aaand...the last but not least..
the one that has more of the 'cross' showing in fruit colour. It looks like I need to take another photo in different light as it was difficult to get colour in photo...now that the first fruit is truly ripe..it has turned from brownish red to deep red...like with hint of 'black'....it was a black tomato that was the pollination partner. I should have taken the photo each fruit side by side to show the colour, shininess/dullness variation.
The truss and fruit size is slightly smaller too compared to its 'sister' plants..the fruit size within the same truss is not even neither.

[Jayb]

They look smashing Goodlife 
Unusual foliage on Cloud 9.
Blacks are really divided into two types, brown-black and purple-black. The browns have a yellow skin and purple a clear one. They do look great though, what generation are they? And more importantly how did they all taste 

[goodlife]

They look smashing Goodlife 
Unusual foliage on Cloud 9.
Blacks are really divided into two types, brown-black and purple-black. The browns have a yellow skin and purple a clear one. They do look great though, what generation are they? And more importantly how did they all taste 

Umm...they are 3 rd or 4 th generation( I can't quite remember without going to through seed packets)...though I do go back to previous 'batches' for have still so many seeds..and it is good to compare..+ one doesn't know what other surprises there might be lurking..maybe 'type 4'?! But it has pretty much been just those 3 different lots coming through each year.

[antipodes]

What seed company did they come from, it might help narrow it down a bit?

Actually I think that goodlife sent me this packet in a swap!!!!! ha ha since she has about a zillion tomatoes, we'll never find it. They are lovely tomatoes though, I finally got two ripe ones yesterday and they are very tasty. I will try saving seed, maybe they are not F1s.

Yes those Sungold are terrific!I like the way they grow on tidy branches although they spread quite wide! They seem prolific and the skin is just right, not too thick and not too thin.

UPDATE§§§§§had a look and I think they might be a Golden Roma ! They are elongated but not a distinctive pear shape. http://www.osborneseed.com/product-details.cfm?tomato--golden-rave-f1 mmm says they are a hybrid, wonder if saved seed would work?  otherwise have to buy some.

[goodlife]

What seed company did they come from, it might help narrow it down a bit?

Actually I think that goodlife sent me this packet in a swap!!!!! ha ha since she has about a zillion tomatoes, we'll never find it. They are lovely tomatoes though, I finally got two ripe ones yesterday and they are very tasty. I will try saving seed, maybe they are not F1s.

Yes those Sungold are terrific!I like the way they grow on tidy branches although they spread quite wide! They seem prolific and the skin is just right, not too thick and not too thin.

UPDATE§§§§§had a look and I think they might be a Golden Roma ! They are elongated but not a distinctive pear shape. http://www.osborneseed.com/product-details.cfm?tomato--golden-rave-f1 mmm says they are a hybrid, wonder if saved seed would work?  otherwise have to buy some.

OH..are they those yellow, very sweet sort that I like to grow...Sun Belle..cherry sized, plum shaped, low acidity quite 'meaty' for a cherry tom?
Edit to add...No, they are not those..I just read your post again and you mentioned 'mixed packet'...well those are from http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/...so feel free to rummage through their pages for what they might be..

[Jayb]

Golden Grape perhaps?

[Silverleaf]

What seed company did they come from, it might help narrow it down a bit?

Actually I think that goodlife sent me this packet in a swap!!!!! ha ha since she has about a zillion tomatoes, we'll never find it. They are lovely tomatoes though, I finally got two ripe ones yesterday and they are very tasty. I will try saving seed, maybe they are not F1s.

Yes those Sungold are terrific!I like the way they grow on tidy branches although they spread quite wide! They seem prolific and the skin is just right, not too thick and not too thin.

UPDATE§§§§§had a look and I think they might be a Golden Roma ! They are elongated but not a distinctive pear shape. http://www.osborneseed.com/product-details.cfm?tomato--golden-rave-f1 mmm says they are a hybrid, wonder if saved seed would work?  otherwise have to buy some.

You could certainly try saving seeds. You'll likely see some variation but if you keep saving seeds from your favourite each year you'll end up with a stable variety eventually. Might not be exactly the same, but it'd be a fun experiment!

I was reading about a space-saving way to grow out segregating tom seeds - you plant six seedlings in a single pot (the size you'd normally use for one plant) and keep the plants very small, only allowing them to set one truss before pinching out the tops. It gives you enough fruits to be able to test each plant and you'll still get plenty of seed from the rest of the fruit. I'm planning to try this myself next year.

[antipodes]

OH..are they those yellow, very sweet sort that I like to grow...Sun Belle..cherry sized, plum shaped, low acidity quite 'meaty' for a cherry tom?
Edit to add...No, they are not those..I just read your post again and you mentioned 'mixed packet'...well those are from http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/...so feel free to rummage through their pages for what they might be..

I think it might be these... http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/1543?actionName=view_tomatoes&itemname=OLD+IVORY+EGG&page=10 They are about the size of a small hen's egg and they don't have a pointy bit like the Italian types often do. They are more egg than pear shaped...

And the packet that you sent me I am pretty sure was this... http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/1712?actionName=view_tomatoes&itemname=TOMBOLA+%28MIXED+TOMATOES%29&page=15  Maybe I will sow more from that packet next year as these yellow ones are terrific!

[galina]

Old Wyandotte never has that many seeds anyway.  Only just a few in tiny seed cavities near the outside of the tomato.  Wonderfully meaty.

Yes there are several partially parthenocarpic tomato varieties.  Usually the second truss (later in the season) has enough seeds for seed saving.

Professor Baggett used to work at Oregon State University and bred lots of different tomatoes.  He made a virtue out of this and developed several tomatoes with this as a feature.  Parthenocarpic tomatoes do not need to be pollinated to produce fruit which means that production can start earlier when nights in Oregon are above freezing but still too cold for tomato pollination.

http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/baggett/
A short but very interesting write-up and appreciation of Prof Baggett's life's work in vegetable breeding.
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/osu-develops-tomatoes-especially-pnw-gardeners
An article about vegetable breeding at Oregon State University more generally.  In these days of hybrids and GM development everywhere, it is good to know and celebrate open pollinated vegetable breeders and their varieties. 

[peanuts]

On the subject of tomato seeds, and Sungold which are F1 - I'm interested in what Silverleaf said, and I"m thinking of trying to save some of their seed, and keeping on trying over several years, to get a stable variety;  also with putting  6 seedlings in one pot and just letting one truss grow as described below.  I really like Sungold, but get fed up with having to pay extortionate amounts for 5 seeds!

You'll likely see some variation but if you keep saving seeds from your favourite each year you'll end up with a stable variety eventually. Might not be exactly the same, but it'd be a fun experiment!

I was reading about a space-saving way to grow out segregating tom seeds - you plant six seedlings in a single pot (the size you'd normally use for one plant) and keep the plants very small, only allowing them to set one truss before pinching out the tops. It gives you enough fruits to be able to test each plant and you'll still get plenty of seed from the rest of the fruit. I'm planning to try this myself next year.

[galina]

Peanuts, if you would like a shortcut, you could buy dehybridised Sungold seeds:

Sungold Select from Baker Creek
http://www.rareseeds.com/sungold-select-ii-tomat/

or from the breeder:
http://tomaten.bplaced.net/tomatenhahm.html#Tomaten
Number 867

I have a strain of dehybridised Sungold seeds from a third source (a friend's private breeding effort), but they don't have quite the same flavour as the F1 Sungold.  If you would like some seeds, you are very welcome.

[Silverleaf]

On the subject of tomato seeds, and Sungold which are F1 - I'm interested in what Silverleaf said, and I"m thinking of trying to save some of their seed, and keeping on trying over several years, to get a stable variety;  also with putting  6 seedlings in one pot and just letting one truss grow as described below.  I really like Sungold, but get fed up with having to pay extortionate amounts for 5 seeds!

You'll likely see some variation but if you keep saving seeds from your favourite each year you'll end up with a stable variety eventually. Might not be exactly the same, but it'd be a fun experiment!

I was reading about a space-saving way to grow out segregating tom seeds - you plant six seedlings in a single pot (the size you'd normally use for one plant) and keep the plants very small, only allowing them to set one truss before pinching out the tops. It gives you enough fruits to be able to test each plant and you'll still get plenty of seed from the rest of the fruit. I'm planning to try this myself next year.

Go for it! I'd love to see what happens. :)

[peanuts]

Last year I saved seed from about 6 different varieties(not F1) and with the exception of the large Délice de Burpée, they have been on the disappointing side, largely I think because of the poor summer we have had here, lots of rain and, so far, few decent hot days.  So I'm wavering at the moment between saving more seed and just buying plants next year for a change.  There is always a wide selection of different varieties available locally, and I have to say, it would be ever so much easier!

So in the end, I may just try saving my own seed from Sungold to see what happens. But thanks very much for the info, Galina.