Right above the top post (which is yours right now), there is this:

On-Topic Discussions [Switch to: Exchanges : Gallery : Conversations]

If you'll click on Exchanges, a window will open that lists a pretty active sub-forum for seed trades. Opalka is available there.

Actually you have to hit the "back" button to get back to the thread page to see : [Exchanges : Gallery : Conversations]
Also a lot of seed sellers last year were selling an off-type as Opalka. Make sure you don't buy from one of these. They got bad seed from a disreputable seed source.

I posted on the Exchange forum but when I click on my post it says oops not found?? I do apreciate the heads up on the seeds. Guess I will order some from pine tree seed thet are so far the only ones hat I can find that have these seeds.

Hey Aquawise; You can also get Opalka (the Real one) which has "wispy" growth from the start. If you are fairly new to heirloom Tomatoes you think something is wrong with your plants. They also sell the Shah/Mikado Tomato and all there seeds and service is top notch.

Here is a link that might be useful: True Opalka seeds

what the heck does 'wispy growth' supposed to mean? I am growing opalka this year that I bought from TGS.

Are these opalka plants supposed to be special or something? extra wispy? what is wispy supposed to mean?

what the heck does 'wispy growth' supposed to mean? I am growing opalka this year that I bought from TGS.
Are these opalka plants supposed to be special or something? extra wispy? what is wispy supposed to mean?

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Wispy growth means that the leaves are usually narrow and finely dissected and there's often a droopy look to the foliage, which is quite common for many paste type varieties, so nothing special.

I received the seeds for it from Carl Swidorski and listed it in the SSE Yearbook in the mid=1990's and it's now available at many seed sites. It was a family heirloom of his wife's family, the Opalka's, who brought it from Poland in the early 1900's to Amsterdam, NY.

Carolyn

Hey Alamo5000; If you are growing Oplaka and you don't understand "Whispy growth" then you probably don't have the true Opalka. If it has regular leaf you'll be disappointed with what you harvest.

Hey Alamo5000; If you are growing Oplaka and you don't understand "Whispy growth" then you probably don't have the true Opalka. If it has regular leaf you'll be disappointed with what you harvest.

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The foliage of Opalka is regular leaf but that foliage is wispy, as I described above and sometimes droopy.

Regular leaf foliage can have many appearances in terms of individual leaves in terms of size and shape, coloration, and the degree of the normal indentations on the leaf edge. Regular foliage can also be of the angora type which means the leaves are fuzzr greyish. There's a FAQ here which discusses different types of foliage and gives examples. And I almost forgot reg leaf variegated foliage and rugose foliage, also RL. At the top of this first page click on the FAQ link and scroll down until you come to the article on different foliages if that interests you.

The wispy, sometimes droopy type of growth habit is very very common for many OP paste tomato varieties as well as almost all heart shaped varieties.

Carolyn, who notes that if anyone is interested they can do a search and find a terribly long thread here about Opalka seed that was in some cases received from a trade and in some cases purchased. And reports were all over the lot, as it were. I know what Opalka should be since I was the first person to grow it as received from Carl Swidorski and until then it was only grown by the Opalka family members. And I know that some Opalka seed being traded or purchased is not what it should be based on the thread I just referred to and feedback at other message sites. I can vouch for OPalka as sold by Sandhill Preservation b'c I was the seed source to Glenn. I think I was also the source to Linda at TGS but they got a bad batch of Opalka a few years back and ended up sending out correct seed when that became available to them. Off hand I can't speak to other sources. And it's one reason that I've never thrown out my saved seed back to about 1990 and that's b'c all it takes are some cross pollinations, some bad selections, etc., to alter a variety and at least I know that I have seed for almost all varieties that I've offered thru the years in case problems do arise.

my opalka plants are not quite at leaf stage yet seeing as how they are still in the envelope from tomatogrowers.com...

I will be on the lookout for that though. Good info to know.

Last year I ordered Opalka from Sand Hill, and it was the wrong one. It was some type of generic roma with pretty poor taste. I contacted Glenn, and he said that Opalka was the one he had always had, and he was going to pull the variety from the catalog, which he did. I see it's back this year, so I can only surmise that he obtained the correct seed somewhere over the winter.
There are a few bad sources out there for Opalka, all I can say is be sure and look at the picture along with the description, and make sure it is a long (5-6") tomato, and does not look like a short roma.
This year, I am sowing my own saved seed from the only four correct plants I had last year(those seeds were from TGS), plus purchased seed from two sources to (hopefully)ensure we get the real Opalka. Last year was so disappointing, when only four came up true. My sauce and dried tomatoes weren't nearly as good this year.

"my opalka plants are not quite at leaf stage yet seeing as how they are still in the envelope from tomatogrowers.com..."

ROFLOL!

"...all I can say is be sure and look at the picture along with the description, and make sure it is a long (5-6") tomato, and does not look like a short roma."

That may or may not work. Many companies that get their seeds from a bulk supplier, also get the art work for their catalogs/site from that same supplier. Very few that obtain the seeds they sell from a vendor will grow the seeds out to take a picture of them.

If you get a wrong type plant from seeds you buy, don't share them with others as "true to type" and contact your vendor. All of the good ones will do what they can to make it right, usually consisting of replacing the seeds with correct ones or refunding your money.

If you get a wrong type from a trade, be kind and (tactfully) let the person who sent them to you know they don't look correct to you. (If they are new, they may not know; or maybe they were gifted with wrong seed or there could have been a cross somewhere along the line.

Bets

These are a little small (5 or so inches long) due to past peak season and grown in a grow bag. I've seen them larger (6 or 7 inches and fatter) when grown in a good, rich, deep bed.

Delicious. Too good for sauce, in my opinion. I always end up eating them fresh, in salads or salsa. Great tomato!

Didn't really pay that close attention to the floppiness of the foliage. LOL. I grew Amish Paste same year and talk about floppy vines. Whew! Forget about it.

Here's a floppy vine ... AMISH PASTE

Here's the only shot I have of OPALKA leaves.

Get it and grow it. Great tomato.

Bill

Thanks for all the great info. I am getting some to try this year. They sound awesome!

I also got a bad batch of Opalka seeds from Sandhill Preservation a few years ago. I've grown them out twice since then have been very disappointed with the outcome. There was obviously some sort of mix up with the seed they were distributing as mine(and other folks discovered) didn't resemble the "true" Opalka at all... taste the was bad to boot. I do hope SHP has resolved this and obtained the correct seed as this was one I was really wanting to try. I was going to try growing it again from the same packet, but I'm glad I re-discovered the threads pertaining to the variety. I don't take notes from year to year on my planting habits and harvest, so this saved me from making the same mistake a third time. Guess I'll be ordering a new packet of Opalka. Nothing against Sandhill, but I think I'll try a different supplier this time just to be safe.

Anyone want a pack of Fauxpalka seeds? lol

I must have got the right kind of Opalka seeds from Hazzards because the foliage sort of reminds me of celery leaves it is so wispy.