[tomato] Re Caspian Pink
Celeste or Dave Anderson (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Wed, 31 Mar 1999 17:33:21 +0000
> Recently there has been a big hoopla about "Caspian Pink"tomato. In the
> back of my mind lurks the thought, "Terminator Gene." I, for one, don't
> plan to plant it until I get seed from some trusted person who has
> personally grown it out. There's just too much chicanery going on.
I don't remember that much "hoopla" about Caspian Pink. I do remember
that one of the first SASE's that requested Caspian Pink seeds was
from you Chuck. What I don't understand is why you asked for seeds if
you had no intention of growing them. Someone else could have used
them.
I received the Caspian Pink seeds directly from Seminis Vegetable in
Saticoy California. They were formally named Petoseed and called
themselves "The Hybrid Vegetable Company". Even though they hybridize
tomatoes and peppers I think this is interesting.
In their "Home Garden and Local Market Wholesale Catalog they list:
44 hybrid and 38 open pollinated tomatoes
20 hybrid and 20 open pollinated sweet peppers
9 hybrid and 20 open pollinated hot peppers
Doesn't sound like hybrids are taking over the home garden market
does it?
Here's some information on Caspian Pink from a Seminis flyer. The
author is Jim Waltrip:
"Caspian Pink Tomato - Compare the taste with your favorite. This
heirloom is said by many to be the absolute best. Discovered in
Russia by a Petoseed employee shortly after the cold war ended, this
stood out as something really different. Fruits are large, kind of
flat, pink in color and have absolutely knockout flavor. Thank
goodness the Russian people saved it; it's a treasure. It had no
other name than "Pink Fruit", so we're calling it Caspian Pink
because we found it in an area between the Caspian and Black seas.
Black Pink just didn't seem like a very good name. Fruits average 10
to 11 ounces when plants are pruned, and they ripen from the bottom
up. By the time the shoulders have turned pink, the flesh is very
soft, succulent and juicy. Harvesting just before that time is my
recommendation. The taste is mild and very sweet. Plants are
indeterminate with non-potato leaves. Fruit set is not as good as
hybrids, but you'll love the tomatoes you do get. Maturity: 80 days."
I planted my seeds on 2/11 and had germination in 3 days. The plants
are now in 4" pots in the greenhouse and are about 6" high with 5-6
true leaves. I still have a few seed packets left if anyone would
like to try them.
Seminis did not have enough seeds to sell in the general market so
they sold what they had to Shumway seeds for 1999. It should be
widely available in 2000.
Dave Anderson
Tough Love Chile Co.
http://www.tough-love.com
e-mail Chilehead@tough-love.com