Crimson Crush plants give-away

[squeezyjohn]

Mine had a sucker as well on one of them.

I think they're propagated by cuttings by the look of them ... should work out OK in the end - if they take you can just train a side shoot as the main stem.

[squeezyjohn]

[Tee Gee]

I think they're propagated by cuttings by the look of them ... should work out OK in the end - if they take you can just train a side shoot as the main stem.

Agreed and that's what I planned to do but if they are doing a promotion you would think they would have taken more care!

Might drop them an email to see their response and find out if indeed they are cuttings rather than seedlings.

Not sure that will be the type of feedback they want so such a reply might scupper my chances of winning the £500 worth of gear

[Tee Gee]

I have sent this pic to Dobies and asked if they are cuttings or seedlings

[sparrow]

Mine look like they are rooted sideshoots. Am not complaining mind, they are sturdy and look like they will make good plants. Will be keeping an eye out for John Harrison's newsletter for his next arrangement with Dobies.

My plants are going outside. Our site has lots of blight and I want to test whether they come through. :)

[goodlife]

Code Select Expand

I have sent this pic to Dobies and asked if they are cuttings or seedlings

Mine look very similar and I think they are cuttings. The leaves at the bottom are too big and there is no sign of seed leaves...to me they look like side shoots.

Not complaining though...as long as they grow...

[Ellen K]

Well, I was a bit sad to have missed this offer as I'd like to try the variety too ... but Suttons have just sent out an email offering 3 free plants "free" i.e. you just pay the postage which is 4.99.

Crimson Crush, pack of 3 plants in 10 cm pots, 245241 delivery late May and the checkout code is S15CC.

[Jayb]

Those are very much like the ones I had from Suttons, definitely cuttings, yours look to be a bit bigger than the ones I received. Mine looked a bit sad at first and were a bit slow to get going but did take off after a couple of weeks (B&Q crappy compost might have had something to do with it!) and are looking quite good now. They have made nice sturdy plants and all have flower buds.
Perhaps there were not enough seeds so they went down the propagation route?

[Jayb]

Well, I was a bit sad to have missed this offer as I'd like to try the variety too ... but Suttons have just sent out an email offering 3 free plants "free" i.e. you just pay the postage which is 4.99.

Crimson Crush, pack of 3 plants in 10 cm pots, 245241 delivery late May and the checkout code is S15CC.

Nice one, I'm almost tempted to get some more.

[Ellen K]

^^ Jayb I yielded to the temptation and have ordered from Suttons.

I also missed the Gardeners World tomato seeds giveaway but my allotment neighbour got a pack of T&M's Experimental Tomato and ended up with 3 plants she says, so maybe she will trade one with me.

[Tee Gee]

Those are very much like the ones I had from Suttons,

Not surprising as Dobies is part of the Sutton empire it seems

Discovered this fact when. I got a reply from Dobies as the contact address is

groupscheme@suttons-seeds.co.uk

[tricia]

Oh dear! I've ordered them too.  I will have to put them in pots though, my tomato bed is already planted up and my mini greenhouse is also full. We can save seeds too as I think they are not F1, are they?

Tricia

[goodlife]

Oh dear! I've ordered them too.  I will have to put them in pots though, my tomato bed is already planted up and my mini greenhouse is also full. We can save seeds too as I think they are not F1, are they?

Tricia

I asked about it earlier on the thread and answer was that they are F1..
BUT...if the fruit is nice enough, I'm still going to save some seed and see what comes out of them. I've saved seeds from F1 fruit before and most of them have been VERY close to the original if not even better. It just bit of fun and as long as the plants and fruit are good enough for the purpose..that will do nicely for me..

[Tee Gee]

I received some literature with my plants which reads as follows:

The story of Crimson Crush

Resistance genes were discovered in wild species of tomatoes.

These were transferred into our cultivated tomato species through conventional breeding methods.

One parent line was developed from a cross in the UK in 2005 with further selection taking place in outdoor trials in Worcestershire & Warwickshire.

This parent contains the PH2 gene.

The second parent was selected in the USA

This parent was shown to have excellent blight resistance even in very warm, humid conditions.

This parent contains the PH3 gene.

The offspring of these parents resulted in vigorous plants with very good temperature tolerance and exceptional blight resistance thanks to having both the PH2 and PH3 genes.

The earliness and excellent eatii qualities were discovered in trials and blind taste tests over a two  year period in various trial locations throughout the UK.

Crimson Crush is the result and is now available to you!


This was an added paragraph to show the results of scientific tests:


Whilst Crimson Crush is fully resistant to Blight, in trials at Bangor University, where a solution of blight spores was applied directly to the plants, some spot infection occurred, this infection affected less than 10% of the plant and the growth and productivity was unaffected,  whereas control varieties were 100% infected and died as a result of the infection.

I can not make head or tail of the  conclusion I think they might mean other varieties that were subjected to the same tests.



This is another claim that Dobies/Sutton make on the same leaflet:

After first selecting Crimson Crush for its super Blight Busting powers, we reselected it again by accident in a blind taste test, where it surpassed established names like Brandywine, Black Russian and a whole host of others.



So now you know as much as me about it but there is no mention that it is an F1.

I would say that it is a GM variety suggesting that saved seeds should contain the necessary genes.

What do you think?

[tricia]

Ah! Have just checked Suttons online. The F1 info is placed at the end of the line of growing requirements instead of next to the variety name! That's why I missed it.

Tricia

[BarriedaleNick]

Got mine yesterday - didn't look to healthy but they were well rooted (certain they are cuttings) and I am sure they will pick up in a few days.  We always get blight on out plot so it will be a decent test.

[Ellen K]

TG, I read that to mean that Crimson Crush is NOT a GM tomato (unless the original PH3 parent was GM).

To be GM, a gene from outside the tomato family has to be introduced to the plant. 

You used to be able to buy tomato puree that had been made from GM tomatoes, I can't remember much about them but the modification wasn't for the purpose of blight resistance.

** awaits arrival of Silverleaf or someone who actually knows about such things **

[Tee Gee]

Your quite  right Ellen

I re read my post and the leaflet after I Hit the 'post' tab and came to the same conclusion as you.

However the gene manipulation would have been done in 'lab' conditions and it was this I had in mind when I mentioned gene manipulation.

I agree that in this case both the genes used were of the same genus as opposed to adding or taking away genes as you would with GM methods.

Sorry about that!

[galina]

You used to be able to buy tomato puree that had been made from GM tomatoes, I can't remember much about them but the modification wasn't for the purpose of blight resistance.

Yes they were the FlavrSavr tomatoes and the GM purpose was to breed for long shelf life (as if those genes did not exist in real tomatoes    - there are such things as storage tomatoes).  Nobody wanted to buy them as fresh tomatoes and they ended up making them into puree (which does not need long shelf life as it is preserved  ).  An utterly bizarre episode which did leave the industry with little doubt that there is no consumer interest in buying GM foods in Europe.

If Crimson Crush are propagated by cuttings, that would explain the very high price they asked initially, which left them with too much surplus stock.  By the way - what is the problem with rooted cuttings?  Are they not clones from plants grown from seed? 

I did not apply for any as I have far too many tomatoes and a greenhouse which means that I usually get tomatoes despite blight (although the day when blighted plants have to be tidied in the garden is the saddest in the gardening calendar every year).  Wish everybody great success with these and as goodlife said, do save the seeds, because the company may or may not progress this tomato to seed production stage.  This could be a one time only.  But if Crimson Crush is as good as they say, it could be equally as popular in the future as Sungold is now.     

[Ellen K]

Ah, that's he story behind GM tomato puree !!  I always wondered.

I think cuttings will have less of a root structure than plants the same size grown from seed but tomatoes grow new roots pretty quickly so they should catch up.

I also wondered about trying to overwinter a few small plants from cutting to cut again for plants next year, assuming the tomatoes live up to the hype and don't die off with blight in the Autumn.  We shall see .......

[BarriedaleNick]

It seems to me that Crimson Crush has been bred just like any other F1 variety.  No mention of any lab gene manipulation unless I have missed something?  It says at the top

"Resistance genes were discovered in wild species of tomatoes.

These were transferred into our cultivated tomato species through conventional breeding methods."