Pruden's Purple tomato seeds

Last year, at our Spring Swap at Hart's place, someone gave me a couple of tomato plants -- one was Wild Cherry (cherry tomato) and other was Pruden's Purple. I loved both of them. I'm now trying to find out where I can purchase some of the Pruden's Purple seeds to plant this year. Since I'm not positive whether it was Critter or exactly who gave me the plants, I wonder if the kind soul could tell me where she got her seeds. I have checked the Plant Scout and see that Gourmet Seed International has them but lately the Garden Watchdog gives them a less than stellar rep so I'm hoping to find another outfit.

Thanks so much for your help.

Betty

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/beefsteaks3.htm
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/tomatoes.htm
http://www.superseeds.com/products.php?cat=132
http://www.groworganic.com/item_SNV8193_PVFS_Tomato_Prudens_Purple.html?welcome=T
http://rareseeds.com/seeds/Tomatoes-Pink/Prudens-Purple
http://www.victoryseeds.com/catalog/vegetable/tomato/tomato_pink.html

Thanks so much, Hart. I appreciate it.

Betty

You're very welcome, Betty. Pink Ponderosa is another very nice pink that has done well in my garden if you like the pinks. Brandywine is the one everyone raves about but has never done very well for me and the flavor is invariably bland. I'm sure soil here is the cause of that.

If German Johnson is the one everyone around here calls "German," it's another good one. Mortgage Lifter has done well, very nice tomatoes, but everyone here loved the Pink Ponderosas.

Hart: I like really flavorful, almost acidy tomatoes. Is the Pink Ponderosa one of those? I may try growing a few in containers on our patio in the tiny bit of sun that falls there.

Everyone loved the PPs and they had a nice, sweet flavor but were more mild than acid.

Have you ever grown Rutgers, Happy? It's an old tomato my father always grew and has a nice, rich, acidy but sweet flavor. It's also very productive. They're great for canning tomatoes but I think they're great eating tomatoes too.

German Johnson, if it's the one called German here, also has a nice acid/sweet flavor, as does Mortgage Lifter.

The absolute best I've grown for that flavor was Green Grape. It has a hint of spiciness too. They're small and would probably do well in pots. Other greens I've grown are Evergreen (large) and Green Zebra (medium.)

I'd say any of the red beefsteaks would probably give you that flavor. It's not an heirloom but an older hybrid, Beefmaster, has a very rich flavor with acid/sweet. I'd say the flavor is as good as any heirloom tomato.

Thanks! Last year I meant to try some container vegetables, but never got around to it. But hopefully I'll find time this season! Just finding containers large enough (without breaking the bank) is part of the challenge!

Walmart has some plastic pots for really cheap. I think the biggest, and they're pretty huge, are around $4, the smaller ones 88 cents. They have built in saucers.

I have one of my brugmansias in the biggest one and it's so heavy I can't even drag it around. I have a little wire thing with casters on it I also got at Walmart cheap.

You could also build planting boxes if this is something you want to do every year.

Don't forget to stick in some basil plants with your tomatoes. They help the flavor and help repel pests. And then you have all that nice basil too. :>)

And Happy, if you don't want to grow from seeds, DiBaggio Herbs over in Herndon has something like 80 varieties of tomato plants, most of them heirlooms. Nice plants too and all kinds of basil and other herbs. Definitely worth the trip.

Thanks, Hart -- as always, you are a font of good ideas!

Aw, shucks! LOL

Betty, I'm pretty sure you got those from me. :-) I'll check to see if I have a few extra Pruden's Purple seeds... I didn't save seeds last year, and I don't think I have a ton of seeds in that packet, so if you want more than a couple of plants we'll have to find another source. I do have seeds for 'Wild Cherry', and I've got seeds for a couple others that do really well in my garden -- 'Potato Top' (another pink beefsteak), 'German Red Strawberry' (big oxheart), and 'Wisconsin 55' (productive delicious red). I've also got basil seed, including my favorite culinary basil that a friend brought back from Italy several years ago.

Dmail me please to remind me to check for the PP seeds. Whether or not I have those, I'll be happy to share whatever I do have with you for SASBE.