Oster has been offering seed for at least 10 years and more and most of us know it as Pink Potato Top which is the name he originally used when he started to distribute it.

Seeds were given to Doug by Fred Limbaugh of PA and Fred's father and grandfather raised it in the 1930's

Most folks who list it, as Pink Potato Top, in the SSE YEarbooks say it has good to very good taste, which is down a few notches from excellent, outstanding and superb taste, and when I grew it a few years back I thought it was a nice variety but nothing special.

I think one of the problems is that Doug does ask folks to give him back seed and there's no way of knowing how pure that seed is in terms of bagging blossoms or not, and I don't think most folks do that.

One commercial source I know of is Sandhill Preservation where Glenn writes that he really likes it and finds it delicious and that's pretty good since while Glenn lists over 400 tomato varieties he doesn't really like them to eat much and says so at the website as well as in the catalog. LOL

Carolyn

Glenn doesn't give away the seeds for free Carolyn, shame on you for turning a post about someone's selfless sharing into an ad for Sandhill.

God bless Doug Oster for all the good work he does in sharing and distributing tomato seeds. This is important work and I laud his efforts. Thank you Geno for the information.

Glenn doesn't give away the seeds for free Carolyn, shame on you for turning a post about someone's selfless sharing into an ad for Sandhill.

****

Trudi, it was not at all my intention to mention Sandhill as an ad, as you put it.

I did so b'c I know that several folks have gotten seeds from Doug Oster and they haven't been what they should be. And I nicely tried to say that in my post above when I said:

(I think one of the problems is that Doug does ask folks to give him back seed and there's no way of knowing how pure that seed is in terms of bagging blossoms or not, and I don't think most folks do that. )

So I didn't think it was all that wrong to mention a commercial source and besides, Glenn is the one who said it was delicious, unlike many who list it in the SSE Yearbooks.

So there you go. Folks can request the seeds from Oster or not, and return saved seed to him, or not, it's an individual choice as to what they want to do.

Carolyn

Yes, quite true Carolyn. I didn't get true seeds until I got seeds from Fred Limbaugh's daughter. All the seeds received from the offer grew regular leaf tomatoes unfortunately.
Neil G. (Canada)

First off, Doug Oster is a really nice guy who is doing a great thing with his backyard gardening feature in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. And with his project with the tomato he originally got from Fred Limbaugh, Oster is doing a fun thing.

So we get some mixed results. So what do you expect when each recipient of seeds is supposed to send back seeds from the first fruit? Do you think everyone actually sends back the first fruit seeds? That would minimize crosses, but still not eliminate them. Whatever. The bottom line is the pooling of seeds is fun, in my opinion.

Hey, so what if I get mixed results? Look at this:

First year I got the seeds, I got about 25 seeds from Doug. I sent a few to TomTrees in New Jersey. Here are some tomatoes from the best plant I grew ... it happened to be a regular leaf plant with red fruit.

Now same year, TomTrees, from the seed I sent him right outta the same pack I got from Doug Oster, got really nice pink tomatoes on a really healthy plant. In other words, I got the wrong thing. Tom got the right thing.

So in 2007, I grew some plants from seeds TomTrees sent me back. Here is what I got from those seeds. A beautiful pink tomato on a really healthy potato leaf plant.

So, I took seeds from those pink tomatoes and grew them in 2008. This year I got really healthy potato leaf plants with RED tomatoes. Take a look.

Take a look at this meaty thing.

So now Doug Oster is distributing the seeds as "Limbaugh's Legacy Potato Top" in memory of Mr. Fred Limbaugh who passed away earlier this year. That's a good thing to do.

Here is a photo of Mr. Limbaugh looking at a tub full of seedlings of his wonderful Potato Top tomato.

I think it's important to remember that Fred Limbaugh called his tomato Potato Top. Not Pink Potato Top, just Potato Top. That's what his dad called it and that's what his grandaddy called it, according to the story.

The fact that it's called Pink Potato Top in SSE Yearbook or at online tomato boards doesn't make it otherwise. So, when Doug Oster added "Limbaugh's Legacy" to "Potato Top," well that makes sense, doesn't it?

By the way, when I received the seeds in 2006 from Doug Oster, he sent along instructions to rogue out the regular leaf plants and the red fruited plants and save seeds only from potato leaf plants with pink fruit. Yeah, save seeds only from Potato Top.

Now if everyone would do that, there would be far better chances that eventually the seeds returned to Doug for distribution to other gardeners would throw a higher percentage of pink fruit on potato leaf vines. Yet there would still be a diversity of genes.

And if some of us still get red fruit or regular leaf vines occasionally, so what. It's still all about the fun. Thanks, Doug.

Now as to growing Potato Top ...

After three years in a row of growing Potato Top in a raised bed full of organic matter mixed with native clay loam, and setting the vines in primo positions, here are my observations ...

The plant is a hugely aggressive and stocky plant. So, it requires a lot of soil fertility to produce the vine alone. Keep that in mind, because when it finally sets its fruit load, and it ain't an early bird, it has spent a lot of soil fertility just getting to that point.

If you don't have sufficient soil fertility, and most gardens don't, you're gonna have to side dress generously at first fruit set and again later in the season ... say mid-August in Zone 6, for example. Or like when you pick the first flush of fruit. Or at least within a week or two after the first set ripens.

If you don't keep the fertility up for these monsters ... and the fruit is gonna run one to 2 pounds ... you're not gonna get much past the first fruit set. The vines will continue to grow, but those vines need a recharge of phosphorus booster and a bit of nitrogen. Yeah, nitrogen. This is a monster plant. So even if you side dress with a balanced granular like 10-10-10, you can still kick the plant back into phosphorus mode by stripping off some excess foliage after it gets that second wind and that should stimulate more blooms. Personally, I like to blast mature vines with bloom booster (like 15-30-15 Miracle-Gro) halfway through the season to get them back in phosphorus mode. But some of you don't like that kind of thing. To each her ir his own. Do what you like.

Have fun with this tomato. It's a beast. But it's nothin' to get all worked up about just 'cause of the variations in leaf form and fruit color.

Oh, and as to flavor ...

Well, in 2006, I grew it alongside Earl's Faux (seeds from Bully Farms who got it from Earl his ownself) and a generic pink Brandywine (from Livingston Seed Co., Columbus, Ohio), and the red fruit on the regular leaf Limbaugh's tasted better that either one. Not nearly as good as a tomato like Cherokee Purple. But very good.

Then in 2007, the true pink fruit on the true potato leaf vine was a bit on the mild side. Sweet but not tomatoey. But as good as Caspian Pink, I'd say. You know, just a good, sweet pink beefsteak.

Now, in 2008, with the red fruit on the potato leaf vine, again that tomato was outstanding. Very rich flavor. Just the wrong color. Oh, well ... if you like a little adventure ... grow this thing.

Gosh Bill, that cross-slice picture is just awesome. You're teasing us and making us go to the fridge and fondle our mayo jars. Thank you also for sharing the pict of Mr Limbaugh looking so lovingly at his baby maters ;-)
==============

Carolyn,

While we all can appreciate your quest for accuracy, there is a time and place for everything.

Trampling over someone's benevolent gift of tomato seeds to pitch any catalogue to deter sending for the gift is wholly wrong, well, maybe it's Holy wrong too. This is a season where kindness and charity are hallmarks to encourage others to do the same; Doug Osier's Potato Top is all about that. C, I don't think crossed-seed is a reason to be a Tomato Scrooge. Bill's tom picts makes the argument for those seeds--and that is the only advertisement this post needs.

Oh, well ... if you like a little adventure ... grow this thing.

*****

And why not? LOL

For some it's an adventure but some folks get upset when they don't receive what they think they should receive.

And that's what was behind the comments I made above about not all seed for this variety being true to the variety.

Bill, you've more than adequately documented what I said, so thanks for that.

Better you than me, LOL, and here was my own experience.

I got seeds here at GW many years ago from a woman who lived just outside of Pittsburgh who had gotten her seeds from Oster, grew out some of them, saved seed, and sent me 10 seeds from those she was returning to him.

I think I planted 5, and had mixed RL and PL as well, pla nted out 2 PL's and 1 RL just b'c I was curious and had the room to do so.

Having enough room to grow out plants that aren't true at the seedling stage is something that not everyone can do b'c of limited space, but I can, or used to have that room, and so can you.

So I agree with your last comment, to wit, it can be a fun adventure for some, and I'll add, for those who have the space to do so and the curiousity.

Carolyn, who also knew others who had gotten mixed seed so wasn't basing her comments on her experience alone.