mystery orange tomato in my garden this year

9 years ago

I have a large orange, beefsteak type tomato in my garden that I did not intend. It's really quite gorgeous! And I'd like to grow more of them on purpose next year. The plant is in a row of German Red Strawberry tomato plants and only in the last few days did any from this plant ripen enough for me to really take notice and figure out that it isn't like the others.

I knew where I purchased the German Red Strawberry seeds from, and figuring it was just a strange seed mixed in the packet i received, I looked at other tomato varieties on the seller's site and guessed it to be Dr. Wyche's Yellow. I also compared photos and descriptions from Tatiana's Tomatobase.

I've contacted the seed seller and she has told me, from looking at my pictures, that it isn't a variety she sells and she guesses it is a mutation of the German Red
Strawberry. She suggested I save seeds and try to grow out next year to see if it stays true. My problem is, I did nothing to protect from cross pollination this year and I have 4 other varieties within 10' of this one. Not sure it would do any good to save.

Wondering what you all think. Is this a known variety? If not, is it worth it to save seeds for next year. Honestly, I'd rather it be a known variety so I can buy the seeds and know that I'll get what I planned

Weight of the 3 tomatoes I've picked so far has been right around 1 lb 7 oz each. Plant looks to be regular leaf and indet. Fruit is large, somewhat lobed or ribbed, has green shoulders that went away as the fruit fully ripened. When I sliced it in half I found it to be thick and meaty with few seeds. Flavor was good, texture was smooth.

Thanks!

Barb

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Comments (7)

beephoto
Original Author
9 years ago
here are the 3 ripe or mostly ripe ones
beephoto
Original Author
9 years ago
Here it is, sliced. About as big as my hand.

Thanks for any insight!

Barb
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carolyn137
9 years ago
Barb, you know from looking at Tania's site, below, that I was the one who introduced GRS so know it well.

The hearts it can give can be blunt or somewhat acute, but can be Ided as hearts, which I don't see in the pictures your show.

I also don't think it's a mutation of GRS. Yes, a variety that is red can mutate to yellow, but it's due to what's called a somatic mutation, that is a mutation of DNA in a plant cell, not in the DNA of a seed, and such somatic mutations can lead to one branch having the different color, or shape or size, or even one fruit being different.

Yellow Riesentraube resulted from ONE fruit on a plant of normal reds appearing.

Marjorie Morris, who sent me GRS also sent me seeds for what she called Orange Strawberry which was a stray seed in a pack of the variety Pineapple.

And I think what you have is a stray seed and could it be Dr Wyche, which I also know well. I have no idea since there are many many varieties that look like what you have.

If it's astray seed then you should be able to ID it from what that seed seller grows, even though she says otherwise.Knowing many seed vendors, they don't always list for sale what they have and having done many seed offers myself, I'm not commercial, I know that stray seeds can, well, just appear. LOL

But I'm quite confident it isn't a mutation of German Red Strawberry.Most seed sellers don't like it when stray seeds appear, why not, but for several years I did a wrong varieties thread here at GW, and they certainly do appear, more so from traded seeds but also from purchased seeds.

Summary? Call it a mystery one and if you like it continue to grow it, but it will just have to be another orphan, as I see it. (smile)

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: German Red Strawberry
Carla1
9 years ago
Those tomatoes look delicious! If I were you, I'd save some seeds for next season.
deadhead61
9 years ago
Nice tomato.I've grown DrWyche's for the last three years,love them,big and meaty.If you'd like some seeds,I have plenty.
lee_71
9 years ago
I'd lean toward the stray seed theory as well.
If you like, go ahead and save seed and regrow next year.
Also, unless you have bees buzzing around your tomato plants, your chance of cross pollination is 0, no matter how close adjacent plants are.

Good luck!

Lee
beephoto
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you everyone! I think I will save the seeds and give it a whirl next year.

Barb