The Great Competition

Those of us who enjoy growing open pollinated (non-hybrid) vegetables are constantly bombarded with warnings of the doom and gloom that will inevitably strike our gardens. The words shriek at us from articles in newspapers, seed catalogs, nurseries, and even some of the popular gardening shows on television. “In order to have reliable yields, high quality and the best flavor, you must grow hybrids!” “It is foolhardy, and a total waste of time, to grow varieties in your gardens that have been surpassed by such obviously superior varieties!” Alas, it must be true. Just go to the local nursery and see what sort of tomato seedlings, or even seed packs, they carry. Or, take a trip to the local farmer’s market in the summer, and check out all of the carbon copy, perfect looking red globes that are masquerading as tomatoes! They can fill a basket with ‘em, and days later, even the bottom ones are as shiny, pretty and perfect as can be!

But, as is the case with many things that are pleasurable to the eye, it is what you cannot see that counts the most.Buy some of those prize winning tomatoes, bring them home, slice them down, and take a bite! What sort of adjectives come to mind? The ones that I use most frequently are dry, bland, tasteless, worthless, and even dangerous (I am sure that, if hit with one of those hybrid commercial tomatoes, severe damage would occur!). Well, this was my mindset back in 1986, when I finally grew tired of my hybrid-infused garden plot. Sure, there are good hybrid tomatoes available, ones that are more succulent than the types that the local farmers and other commercial growers seem to need to grow. They have to be able to sell them to a public that has been programmed to expect its tomatoes scarlet, round, firm and perfect. But, this did not satisfy my yearning for better tasting, more interesting looking vegetables. Isn’t it ironic, then, that it is the past, not the high technology future, that provided the answer to my search. It was when I joined the Seed Saver’s Exchange, and started to dabble in the multitude of treasures that they made accessible, that my gardening experience became one of fulfillment, wonder and excitement. Needless to say, I jumped right in with total abandon; no looking back for me. Ah, but there were all of those warnings to be concerned with. Could I possibly grow these disease-prone, obsolete, low yielding varieties successfully, and have anything to show for my efforts aside from some blemished, misshapen fruit on spindly, disease-ridden vines?

Being a scientist, I felt that the best way to approach this issue was to carry out an experiment. So, in 1987, I grew, side by side, some of the most popular hybrid tomatoes with a few of the more highly regarded and “famous” heirlooms. Records were kept with regard to maturity dates, yields, fruit size, flavor, and observations about how each variety held up to disease. When all was said and done at the end of the growing season, I could compare the total number of tomatoes and total weight of fruit per plant, and develop a feeling for the performace of each variety with regard to flavor and visual interest. The results were so fascinating that my original one year experiment with a limited number of varieties was expanded to three years, and eventually involved lots of different tomatoes of all sizes, colors, and shapes. The best way to judge the results is to look at where my garden efforts have become focused, as I have now moved almost exclusively into growing open pollinated varieties. There is simply very little, if any, reason for the home gardener to restrict themselves to hybrids.

Since I have never shared the results of this experiment with anyone (except my family), I feel that this is a good time to do so, in hopes that it will have several effects on the readers. If you had doubts about delving into the world of heirloom tomatoes, maybe this will persuade you to join in the fun. If you are already a convert, then this will just confirm what you already have discovered. And, it also gives you a good idea about what to expect from many tomatoes that you may have been interested in, but have never grown.

Are you ready? Here goes! (By the way, the majority of the varieties are indeterminate, and were grown on stakes and pruned to 2 or 3 main stems. The determinate varieties (“D” in the table) were not pruned).

Variety	Days	Total number	Average wt., oz.	Total wt., lbs	Flavor
1987 (Garden in Berwyn, Pennsylvania)
Open Pollinated
Yellow Cherry	63	773	0.2	9.25	A-
Tiger Tom	64	172	2	21.5	A-
Czech’s Ex. Yel.	71	141	3	26.5	B+
Sugar Lump	72	581	0.5	18.1	B+
Fireball (D)	68	58	5.6	20.6	B-
Veeroma (D)	80	220	2.5	34	B-
Super Marmade (D)	79	81	5.5	28	B+
Nepal	82	60	7	26.5	A
Pineapple	85	23	14.6	22.3	B+
Persimmon	86	39	13.5	33	B+
Ruby Gold	83	30	16.6	31.3	B+
Brandywine	77	32	8.4	16.7	A-
Abraham Lincoln	63	69	5.2	22.2	B+
Hybrids
Better Girl	65	49	6.5	19.7	A
Moreton	80	40	5.6	14	B
Lemon Boy	89	58	6.9	25.2	A
Ultra Boy	83	35	9.7	21.3	A-
Supersteak	85	13	13.5	11	B+
1988 (Garden in Berwyn, Pennsylvania)
Open Pollinated
Hungarian Ital. (D)	78	24	3.5	5.1	B-
Bisignano #2	67	45	8.2	23.1	A-
Glesener	85	25	9.9	15.6	A-
Brandywine	89	16	10.8	10.8	A-
Abraham Lincoln	67	57	6	18.7	B+
Sabre	82	34	9.9	21.1	B
Ponderosa	80	22	8.1	11.2	B
Yellow Brimmer	101	8	16	8	B+
Valencia	74	33	8.2	16.9	B+
Peron	74	17	7.5	7.9	A-
Oregon Spring (D)	70	63	3.2	12.8	B
Rutgers	87	33	9.8	20.1	B+
Wayahead (D)	66	35	2.5	5.6	B-
Hybrids
Big Pick	72	44	6	16.4	A
Early Cascade	66	90	3.3	18.8	B-
Whopper	73	49	6.2	18.9	A-
Better Boy	67	47	7.1	20.8	A
Firebird	68	50	6	18.8	A-
Gurney Girl	67