A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

The 'Zacapitan' is done! These are the last of the fruits, I saved the others and a few perished on the plant. It was indeed a strange and unusual tomato, similar to other wild or even 'ancient' tomatoes I've grown. These must be very close to what a strain of the original tomatoes were like, though I realize the Galapagos tomato is often credited with that. But I've grown a similar tomato, 'Korrogo de Senegal' and it was very close to this but flatter and in red. 'Bali' is another tomato that has the ruffled gene, and is an old traditional type. Not the most practical fruits being so utterly ruffled, but they do yield well and handle limited water impressively. They were in the driest spot in the garden. I have never seem a tomato so unwilling to come off a plant!

The seeds for this tomato originates with an SSE member, who collected them in the Nahua village of Zacatipan, Mexico.

 

[digitS']

When you pass through your tomato patch just about daily, you can even anticipate that "breaker" stage. The dark green begins to lighten.

However, I was usually growing about 7 varieties and maybe only 1 was new. This was in the larger gardens and, sometimes, even with as many as 60+ plants. Production success was always important. After all, I had a market for produce. So this meant that I had several years experience with each variety. They were familiar and, if not, there were only 1 or 2 . Your abundance of the new would drive me crazy!

Yes, Thessaloniki would become red ripe during its time on the kitchen counter.

 

[Alasgun]

@digitS', this statement struck me as an important element of gardening that many miss now days “I had several years experience with each variety”!

 

[flowerbug]

@digitS', this statement struck me as an important element of gardening that many miss now days “I had several years experience with each variety”!

and then there are also your garden soils and microclimates.

when you consider the time scale of geology and the nature of soil formation and nutrient cycles the results of erosion can happen so gradually that the living people on the land might not notice the difference but it can happen and be a problem to contend with for the longer term. as a species and society we're still not really coping with sustainable issues like this much at all, but future generations are going to be up to their necks in it all.