Ask Carolyn

You, know -- this Ask Carolyn should be a permanent thread -- a sticky -- maybe.

So -- I am not from Missouri, I actually pride myself on being a Bostonian. But, I am stubborn.

While eating through a package of Campari tomatoes from Sam's Club, and having a tiny spot of vacant plant bed (in full sun) I decided -- what the heck. I'll try it.

Now I know that it's written somewhere in Dave's Garden that Campari's don't propagate from seeds from the fruit -- but, they looked so good. So I put a clump of the seeds in water -- and waited and watched them separate and drop down to the bottom -- and dried them -- and planted them. Lo and behold -- the seedlings are now springing forth from the planters.

So, Carolyn, what am I going to get if I start them in the ground?

Be well

(o_O)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0418351228349.html

The above link will tell you what some folks have gotten from saving seeds from Campari. They're supposed to be round red and I saw that someone got egg shaped ones.

Without knowing what the genetic parentage is there's really no way to know what you'll get, so go to it. LOL

There's a new hybid out there that is being called a Campari type and while I've never eaten a Campari fruit I can tell you that this variety, called Mt Magic F1 is very very good. It's golf ball size, same as Campari, has all sorts of genes in it for tolerance to certain diseases, which may or may not be important in terms of where a person lives and gardens.

It was bred by Dr. Randy Gardner, formerly of NCSU, who bred the whole series of Mountain varieties and many more.

Randy sent me some seeds for this one as well as for Smarty F1, his new grape one that JOhnny's has now, as well as Plum Regal F1.

With his permission I distributed seeds this past Spring for all three and I'd grown all three in the summer of 2009 and MM is my fave.

Seeds are in short supply.

Seedway is selling 100 minimum seeds for $32, Twilley is selling seeds, about 20-25 for about $!0 and I was talking with Linda Sapp at TGS last week and she's going to be selling them for $4.95 for about 20 seeds.

Pick them when they're full red but then keep them for a few days since the flavor improves greatly and they do have long shelf life just like a Campari.

So please read the thread I linked to above re growing saved F2 seeds of Campari.

Carolyn, who doesn't really need or want a sticky devoted to her just answering questions. LOL

C'mon Carolyn:

If you have it -- flaunt it.

Why should I look elsewhere, when I know that I believe in you.

Thank you -- thank you -- thank you.

I appreciate all of the advice and will carefully read that link.

But, I am short of space -- and too lazy to try EB's -- so I am going to follow through with these seedlings and hold my breath. I put them in a little seed box and already have about 85 percent germination. And they got into the sun this morning, since the survivors are already 1 1/2 inches tall.

Again -- thank you -- thank you -- thank you.

Be well

(o_O)

oops.

Mea culpa

Did I say -- 85 percent germination? I was wrong.

One hundred percent -- plus some stragglers that got picked up by the tweezers.

(o_O)

It is a bewilderment.

We are still eating tomatoes out of the same box.

Here is a photo of them and their babies.

The box says -- Packed on 10 OC 29. (They are Mexican.)

Fantastic.

(o_O)

Now comes the tough part.

Do I pluck out the extra babies in each section?

I hate to do it.

(o_O)

I'd up-pot them ALL to individual containers, right up to their necks. Then in a couple weeks set them outside or wherever you were going to plant them.

Congrats, flyboy. Looks like you'll be eating tomatoes this winter!

Shoe

Yes, but notice that most of the small sections have two (and some three) individual plants. Now, do I cull them down to one plant in each container?

I get chicken-hearted when it comes to killing something that is edible.

Be well

(o_O)

Hehehe, yep, I saw those multiple plants...that just means you had great germination, right!? *grin

Sure, you can cull them leaving only one plant per cell, but from the looks of them they'd be better off moved into deeper pots. Don't get me wrong, they look GREAT, but transplanting them will give them a nice strong stem to support that top growth much better, and that means setting them deeper than they are now. If you choose to pot them up you can easily save those extras, potting them up as well. I hope you have room for them all in your garden.

Have fun. (And be brave! You can cull and live through it, flyboy!) :>)

Shoe

Yep.

It's OK for you to say "Be brave." But I think about all those poor, hungry, and shivering-in-the-cold people who wish that they had them growing, right now..

Be well

(o_O)

I hear that! And I wish I had them growing right now, too. Here's your chance, grow them out and offer tomatoes to those shivering in the cold folks.
Ta-dahh ♫ A win-win situation.

Shoe (who wishes he was fishing on the jetties at Coquina Beach!)

You couldn't even fill a bucket. Pickings have been slim since the Red Tide days.

And, as for room for the Camparis -- I can use only four -- and have to find foster parents for the rest.

Keep warm.

(o_O)

Well, I chickened out.

I buried four sections up to their chins out back in the sunshine.

At least the ground will be warmer than tonights breezes through the air.

(o_O)

"Buried up to their chins"...heheh, reminds me of some old cowboy movie for some reason! :>)

Congrats. Hoping you get some good tomatoes. Will be watching this thread for your report.

shoe

I pounded in five feet tall stakes for them -- so, I hope, I hope, I hope.

But, "Baby it's cold outside."

Be well

(o_O)

Hello Flyboy! So the northeners chased you out of town. Welcome to the south! LOL I sure hope those Campari produce for you as they are truly delicious and I will follow Carolyn's info and buy the similiar ones from TGS when available.
I've had some serious health problems so I had to cut back from 19 EBs to 8 but still going and will also share with you and Aries44 (Flip) on the production of my limited garden and a BIG HELLO to you SHOE.
Sorry I've been away for so long but I'm backkkkkkk..

Well look who's back! Howdy T-plant! Good to see you. I haven't been to the Containers Forum lately but last time there saw you weren't doing so good...glad you've pulled thru and have your beloved EBs going. And if you're doing 8 of them I'd say you're doing mighty fine. Congrats!

Shoe (who wonders just how cold it is at Longboat Key, especially for a northerner) *grin

I've been coming here for 35 years -- and a resident for 30. But, once a Bostonian -- always a Bostonian.

It's cold. Supposed to go down into the 40's tonight. It was 51 on my back porch this morning. But -- the sun came out -- and the winds died down -- and It was a quite pleasant day.

We have the gulf and the inland waterway -- they are still about 65 degrees -- so it is not too bad once the sun, and the light breezes, come out.

Welcome back.

Be well

(o_O)

Flyboy-WAY OFF TOPIC are you a Redsox fan? I was lucky enough to be able to take my sons to Fenway to see a 3 game series against the Yankees in April '09. What a great city. OK back to tomatoes.
Lisa

Lisa:

Let me tell you about the Red Sox. They were really the very greatest, until they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in '18 (1918 -- that is.)

They have tried hard since then and have had many successful seasons -- and a couple of pennants. We had seen them many times when we were still in Boston. I was at the Carlton Fisk homer -- and the time Lou Boudreau beat them with a cheap home run. Ted Williams was a real star -- had he been nicer to the fans he could have been elected Mayor of Boston -- but he wasn't. The real heartbreaks were the reputation they had for fading during September.

The only sad part of the Red Sox story is that they cannot come up against the hated Yankees in the World Series.

It was a fantastic old-time ball park. I haven't been in the rebuilt one. And, don't think that I'll ever get the chance.

Boston is a great town -- really a historical gem.

Be well

(o_O)

Thank you for the history lesson. I can't believe you were at those games, my oldest son would love to talk with you. That trip to Fenway was one of the best trips I've ever taken and I've been all over the world! I also like Dodgers Stadium an older ball park also.

We had a friend -- that was the only way to be sure of getting good seats (behind first base, of course.)

I remember going to see Wally Berger and Rabbit Maranville of the Braves . .. But, I am old.

While I was a serious fan the Dodgers played in Ebbetts Field, Brooklyn.

Be well

(o_O)

Flyboy, you may be old but that just means you have more great stories to tell, normally I would only get this BB info in books.
Thanks

Happy New Year -- and...........................

This is what they look like today.

I also have three in the ground. I should say "had four." One got mistaken for a weed and got extirpated by the landscaper -- so there are three. These have stakes, so they should make it.

And one even has buds.

Now -- the wait. Will I get red, juicy, golf ball sized Camparis or potpourri?

The Shadow knows.

Be well

(o_O)

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.

But the sun is so delightful.

The tops of the rods are 4 feet high.

Onward and upward.

(o_O)

Oh, the sun, the sun. We have sun today too! Should be warming up to the very 40's today, WooHoo! I don't mind one cold snap and one snow. Now we've had it. Time to move on to spring for me!

No sun here. I don't know how I can want to sleep so much. It just dosen't seem possible.

Russ Martin, a DGer here has been asking folks to grow out his Camparis for several years. I participated last year with five plants on the F3 gen and have just sent him back the seed from four. I'm sure he would be looking for volunteers this Spring. I can report the results of the dozens of plants I started, if there are any questions here, and the results of the five I grew. Just ask if interested.

I'm interested. :>)

Shoe

Here's the cut and paste version of the note sent to Russ...

"I am sending four individual packets...Campari #1- #3 and Campari IG, which stands for "In Ground", and was the single seed that germinated after being direct sown. All performed well and had good natural disease resistance. The numbers refer to plant growth vigor and timing of first fruiting. Once #2 and #3 caught up with #1 and the IG, the production was pretty equal. They were not highly flavorful, were tough skinned and not good for roasting or sauces. They were just okay for salads. Their best use, IMO is for salsas, in pasta salads or marinated with other vegetables because they stay firm, are on the dry side, like a Roma, and store well."

So in re-reading the above it sounds somewhat negative but they were incredibly prolific and consistent in size and flavor from plant to plant. They were at least as good as the store bought ones and of the smaller variety, not the golf balls. The continued to produce until hard freeze, even surviving six weeks of intermittent frosts.
Laurel

I'm interested also.

Paul

Mine are doing very well.

The blossoms are popping -- and the main stems seem thicker that what I am accustomed to seeing.

(oops) The ones in the pots -- each pot has one degradable starter cube with two, three inch tall, seedlings that was planted in about four inches of of potting soil -- and I've added soil on two occasions -- so it is now pretty close to the top.

The three cubes in the ground are a little slower -- but catching up.

The miracle to me is that they were growing while I was still consuming their cousins. The fruit certainly has a long shelf life!

Be well

(o_O)

This message was edited Jan 16, 2011 4:05 PM

If anyone wants to dehybridize a campari type variety I highly suggest the variety Mt Magic F1, which I've grown for two years and offered free seeds for it last year coutesy of Dr. Randy Gardner who bred it, and it's now available at many sites for 2011.

The best money deal for these seeds is at TGS. Trust me that as each new site is reported to have the seeds folks are taking out their abacuses, tweaking the beads and locating the best deals. LOL

And I suggest it b'c of its ability to produce in adverse conditions, its disease tolerant genes bred in for many diseases, which may or may not be applicable to where a person lives and gardens, and it also tastes darn good to boot. LOL

I can link to site where its traits are noted if that would help anyone interested.

Carolyn

Thanks, Laurel for sharing your grow-out/critique. Much obliged.

Carolyn, so you've been sharing seeds of Mt Magic F1? Or saved seeds of Mt Magic F1 growouts (F2, etc)? Would this be one that Randy would tell you the parents of, or how many? (I don't want much, do I!?) *grin

Shoe

Thanks, Carolyn for the info about Mt. Magic.

And also thanks for the reminder about the abacus! We all had those as children, but I doubt many people actually know what they are these days...you never cease to amuse!

Carolyn, so you've been sharing seeds of Mt Magic F1? Or saved seeds of Mt Magic F1 growouts (F2, etc)? Would this be one that Randy would tell you the parents of, or how many? (I don't want much, do I!?) *grin

Shoe, last Jan I did my usual seed offer then I think it was in March I did a separate one for Mt Magic F1, Smarty F1 and Plum Regal F1, all bred by Randy Gardner. Bejo seeds in the Netherlands was supposed to have all three placed commercially in 2010 but it didn't happen. I should correct myself, Smarty F1 was offered by Johnny's Seeds either last year or the year before, it's a grape tomato. MM is a somwhat larger cherry and Plum Regal is a saladette type and I far preferred the other two.

No, I saved no F2 seeds from any of them, but I know there are several folks who breed varieties that are using especially MM in their breeding projects b'c of the tolerances bred in and of course started with saved F2 seeds from the F1, or even crossed the F1 with the proverbial X. LOL

And no, Randy would tell no one what the parents are for any of them b'c he bred them when he was still at NCSU, although retired now but still breeding tomatoes. he sent me seeds for 4 hybrids this past spring and all of the parental inputs were specified in an e-mail, and that's not info to be shared as I'm sure you can inderstand.

Carolyn

Yep, I understand. And thanks for the info.

Wish I'd gotten to know him (Randy) before he retired, NCSU is a short drive away.

Much obliged !

Shoe

Shoe, he's still in Fletcher most of the time and I'll e-mail you the rest.

But if you're that close to Fletcher then you aren't THAT far from where my brother is about 18 miles north of Asheville, Fletcher being about the same below Asheville, so you darn well should drive up to my brother's place and ID his tomato diseases for him b'c I've given up trying to help him. LOL

He complains all the time that he never had such disease problems when he was living up near me. Oh well.

Carolyn

Hah! I love the mountains, 'tis where I grew up.

Maybe I should pick up Craig and Lee and take them. I have a feeling they are better at disease diagnosis than I am.

Thanks...and yes, give me a reason to head to the hills, I need to escape here when I can!

Shoe (who thinks Carolyn is counting down the days to the up-coming tennis matches, sitting and counting out tomato seeds, hollering "Love!" by accident instead of "9,10, 11, 12 seeds....") (ya see, we all know you too well!) grin*