Kate, I know Red Sausage well, aka Sausage, which was first listed in the SSE Yearbook in 1975 but as with many others like it such as Howard German,Opalka, Sarnowski Polish Plum, Jersey Devil and others, they've been around a good long time, but your description of it is not what I know for this variety.

You say the size of a thumb, but if you check out the descriptions of it at various seed sources, such as TGS and others, you'll find that it's described as being much larger/longer than that.

Actually maybe 1-2 inches at the stem end and usually 5-6 inches long, and that's what I get with it as do others. And that's one heck of a long thumb. LOL

I'll agree that it's very prolific but as to taste, for a paste type I don't think it would be my major choice, considering others of the same type that I know of. But then again I don't think paste types are the best for sauce, etc, anyway. ( smile)

I have to admit I'm still puzzled by the small size you note in your post for this variety.

Carolyn

Ok, I'm curious now although I don't want to derail the topic - which tomatoes do you think make for the best sauces?

they are the size and length of half a hot dog, with rounded ends, very symmetrical.

(cfed I want to know her answer too! :)

Ok, I'm curious now although I don't want to derail the topic - which tomatoes do you think make for the best sauces?

****

As a group, most paste varieties are not noted for great taste and if you want to make really good sauce then I and a lot of my friends never use paste varieties.

The paste varieties that I do think have pretty good taste might include:

Heidi
Mama Leone
Opalka
Martino's Roma
Sarnowski Polish Plum

,,, for starters

Other than those grow any great tasting varieties that are meaty with few seeds.

Almost all heart varieties are great and I could make a long long list of the beefsteak varieties that I think also meet those criteria but I'm sure you knbow of some of those already.

if using non-pastes just cook down the sauce a bit more to the desired consistency or thorw in a few paste fruits to thicken up the sauce as well.

Most paste varieties are also quite susceptible to Early Blight as well as BER.

Carolyn

Y'all laughed at my silly red sausage. :) Not bad for Indiana...she's blushing!!!

The one in my hand is one that fell off earlier this month when I was trying to get her to pose. :) But you do see, it's almost the same size and shape as my thumb. I have large hands for a female, but not freakishly large. :)

Kate, what you show isn't the size or shape of the variety Red Sausage that I and I imagine many others know. But if it works for you, whatever it is and I wouldn't call it Red Sausage, then that's fine. ( smile)

Red Sausage should be about 6 inches long, wider at the top than the bottom as are the other long red paste types such as Opalka, Howard German, Jersey Devil and the like.

Carolyn

Kate,
Whether your thumb is too long or the tom is too short - you have ÂSausage tomato.
Growing in I guess the Indiana weave method.
The most popular  Roma  is probably the worst. But since they are readily available as transplants
at mega marts many plant them year after year. If youÂre just looking for something red to make a sauce out of its ok.
I prefer San Marzano (shaped a bit like sausage). IÂm also growing San Pablo this year and so far itÂs loaded. Another that fits in a strainer hopper real well is Prue. So there you go  more choices.

So, would you suggest I just gave it another name if I share it? like Red Thumb? :)

I am growing Jersey Devil this year and I'll take a pic with some of those when they are ripe (they're only now setting tiny fruit).

Simmran, I grew Romas a few years ago (alongside these stumpy sausages) and agree. I am also trying San Marzano, Jersey Devil, Amish Paste (which may not be a paste from what I hear) and two unnamed sauce tomatoes (from my friend) which are shaped a lot like San Marzano.

I am using a "stringing up" method...the white clothesline is hanging from an overhead support & it's tied to the base of the plant with plastic tape. Then I tame it with some twine every once in a while. My plants are fairly close together, this way, I can get between them.

So, would you suggest I just gave it another name if I share it? like Red Thumb? :)

*****

No, I would definitely not suggest that you rename it anything b'c you don't know what it is. It may well be an already named variety, which is a possible problem, or it may be a selection of something else that your friend Charlie made and just called Red Sausage without knowing there already was a known Red Sausage that had a different size and shape.( smile)

Yes, you received the seeds as Red Sausage but if you do a Google search or look at the pictures at some seed sites you'll see that Red Sausage is not a thumb-sized variety.

As I said above it should be LONG red, maybe 6 inches long as TGS describes it, and wider at the top than at the bottom as most long red sausage types are.

But enjoy it for what it is. And do compare it with your Jersey Devil fruits which if they're green now should even show you a different shape.

Carolyn