Feldon, did you start your Ark Traveler from seed? I bought my plant from Wabash Antiques in Houston early this spring. Your fruit looks like what I expected mine to look like, but instead what I got was 8-12 oz, slightly flattened and dark rosy pink. They looked sorta like smaller versions of the Brandywine fruit in my avatar there. I also didn't pick more than 2 or 3 at a time and it's still producing. I'm pleasantly puzzled.

In other news, I took down my Anna Russian today. I got three edible fruit off it. There were about half a dozen greenies still on it, but they were riddled with bug bites or sores.

I pulled up 5 plants today to try to reduce the congestion and maybe get a handle on the stink bug problem.

My Arkansas Traveler are a little smaller than Jet Star and dark pink compared to Jet Star which is a red. It was one that I grew from seed, although I certainly had many opportunities to buy plants. ;)

Oxhearts have been mealy and overly dry for me. This includes Brad's Black Heart, Anna Russian, and Wes. I might try Prue and German Red Strawberry next year.

Just a few more, they haven't really started to ripen yet....

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/harleysilo/Garden/CIMG1363.jpg[/IMG]

Fathers Day afternoon snack. Bacon Lettuce and Cherokee Purple (BLCP), delicious.
[IMG]http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g278/vincentlavallo/CPLT.jpg[/IMG]

Cheers,

Vince

That looks yummy Vince. It seems like its been forever since I had a good BLT with one of my home grown tomatoes. Stink bugs have taken over with the exception of my Cherokee Purple, which is off by itself away from the other plants. It still has around 10 tomatoes on it with 2 getting pretty close.

Some tomatoes I received from Suze at the SETTFest:

[url=http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/v/memberphotos/morgan/fromsuze/CIMG2959-purples1.jpg.html] [img]http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/d/5313-2/CIMG2959-purples1.jpg[/img]
[B]Pink Purples[/B] (clockwise from top):
Carbon, JD's Special C-Tex, Brad's Black Heart, Black from Tula, Indian Stripe, Vorlon, Black Sea Man (center) [/url]

[url=http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/v/memberphotos/morgan/fromsuze/CIMG2961-pinkpurplevsredpurple1.jpg.html] [img]http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/d/5319-2/CIMG2961-pinkpurplevsredpurple1.jpg[/img]
Indian Stripe (left) and Carbon (top) as pink purples
vs.
Noir de Crimee (lower left), Paul Robeson (center), and one of Brad's striped varieties (right) which are red purples[/url]

[url=http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/v/memberphotos/morgan/fromsuze/CIMG2963-pinkpurplevsredpurple3.jpg.html] [img]http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/d/5325-2/CIMG2963-pinkpurplevsredpurple3.jpg[/img]
Indian Stripe (left) vs. Paul Robeson (right)[/url]

I'm a troublemaker, aren't I? ;)

Those look so good, wish I had some here right now. Yummy!

Some of those blacks kinda look the same ...
How was the flav of each?
I've heard a lot of good things about "Carbon" and "Indian Stripe".

~ Tom

[quote=feldon30;62916]Some tomatoes I received from Suze at the SETTFest:[/quote]

I'll be particularly interested to know what you think of the Vorlon (stabilized CP x Pruden's Purple cross).

The striped variety of Brad's in the picture is BTD Heart. I guess it's not completely stable. :?: Not heartlike at all, very dark inside, tasty. You may recall several folks at the fest commented favorably on it; many also really liked Black and Brown Boar. I think BTDH is one you put in the pasta salad.

Here's a picture I took today of some of Brad's varieties (LBB is a pink-black):

[URL="http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/v/memberphotos/suze/Spring+2007/Ripe+fruits+and+sliced+pics/LBB_+BTDH_+B_amp_BB.jpg.html"] [IMG]http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/d/5516-2/LBB_+BTDH_+B_amp_BB.jpg[/IMG]
Large Barred Boar, Black and Brown Boar, and BTD Heart[/URL]

[quote=Tomstrees;62920]Some of those blacks kinda look the same ...
How was the flav of each?
I've heard a lot of good things about "Carbon" and "Indian Stripe".[/quote]

I like them both very much, so did several people at SETTFest. Indian Stripe was one of the favorites, along w/JD's Special C-Tex black.

[quote] along w/JD's Special C-Tex black][/quote]

What the scoop on this one ?

~ Tom

[quote=Tomstrees;62952]What the scoop on this one?[/quote]

Tom, I don't know all the details/history for sure.

If you google it, there's a post by Fusion Power where he says it's developed from Brandywine (I did not know that):

[quote]J.D. Special C-Tex - black variety, beefsteak form, relatively good flavor, was developed from Brandywine. I have grown it each year since I got seed. If I rated the black when ripe varieties, Black From Tula, Paul Robeson, and J.D's would be the top three for flavor.[/quote]There's also a post by Craig as follows:

[quote]JD Special C Tex - remarkably similar to Cherokee Purple in color, fruit size and shape - perhaps a bit more firm/solid textured, flavor not quite as intense, plant more rampant, but a very good tomato - plant from Fusion, seed via Scott in Texas[/quote]It was bred by a fellow named JD in Conroe, TX, hence the name.

Today's the four month "anniversary" since I planted this "Arkansas Traveler" I bought from the nursery. I'm really impressed by how healthy the plant still is (knock on wood). As you can see from this picture, it's still producing tomatoes and while there are some yucky leaves towards the bottom I need to pick off, the overall plant looks pretty good!

[URL=http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trav0623bh7.jpg][IMG]http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7737/trav0623bh7.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I am starting to get tomatoes from my containers along my wall (the photo in my avatar currently). Here are a few that I picked this a.m.

Just picked these guys for a party tonight-Brandy Boy, Momotaro, Kosovo, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Black Cherry, Amish Old Red, Diva cuke. Had some splitting on the big tomatoes cause they are in 5 gallon grow bags and the temperatures have been 100 degrees recently-so I have been watering a lot.

Heres one of my last remaining CP. Its got BL[B]T[/B] written all over it.:D