This year a tomato of unknown origin came up in my garden, this particular plant had many favorable characteristics, so I saved a good amount of seed to see if these characteristics will be passed down to next years crop. I have tossed around some cutesy names, but mostly just think of it as “prodigious volunteer.” I suspect it may be any of: a mutant principe borghese that is bigger-stronger-more bountiful, a cross between brandywine and principe borghese, or some a throwback from some unknown hybrid tomato seed that ended up in the garden from
compost or brought in by an animal.
I am starting this
thread to keep track over at least the next year. Also, if anyone wants some of these seeds, pm me and I’ll mail them.
Here are the characteristics that make it a great plant:
1. Very prolific. I think this single plant produced more than a hundred tomatoes. I picked about 50 in varying stages of ripening when putting the garden to bed for winter on this last weekend of October.
2. Fruit of good size, texture, and taste. Smallish tomatoes that range is size from golf ball to tennis ball. Flavor is on the savory side, thick-walled. Similar to “principe borghese” which may be progenitor. As tomatoes go, low-water and low-acid. Somewhat firm, though they soften when fully ripe. Good for wedges on a salad, and melt into sauce when cooked.
Here are some of the volunteers in a bowl with smaller principe borghese.
3. Crack resistant.
4. Disease resistant. The plants next to this had succumbed to what was likely fusarium wilt by October, but this plant stayed green.
5. Good keeper. Can sit around on the table for days even when ripe. If picked green, will ripen on countertop.
6. Really strong
root system. Usually, when I pull up tomatoes at the end of the season, there’s not much to the
roots. This has roots as thick as my fingers, more than a foot long in many directions.
7. Possibly promiscuous? Some flowers have exserted stigma, that is the pollen-receptive female part of the flower protrudes (just slightly) from the center cone.
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