Grub,

Just a wee note here but Golden Monarch is not a gold/red bicolor, as you wrote.

Many yellow tomatoes have a reddish/pinkish blush to them at the blossom end and perhaps a bit more, but true gold/red bicolors have those blush colors inside in the flesh as well as a marbling effect.

Golden Monarch is listed in the yellow/orange section of the SSE Yearbook, not in the Other Color Section where all the gold/red bicolors are listed.

And I remember Grub just perhaps three years ago when he was asking what a tomato was. :shock:

Now look at him go. :D

I forgot to post in that other thread, but Green Giant as grown by me up north here does have a slight amber tint, same as your PL Mystery Green, and I'm still looking for seeds my friend, even tho I have no idea if I'll be able to sow seeds this year or not.

Just to fondle the GMGS's ( Grub Mystery Green Seeds) if I can't sow them would be lovely.

I mentioned the amber tint thing b'c you said that your MG differed from Green Giant in that regard. Craig and some others in the south say they don't get an amber tint with Aunt Ruby and now Craig says that for Green Giant.

Craig sent me seeds of his Aunt Ruby and they certainly do have an amber tint when grown here in the north, and his friend Jeff also gets an amber tint when those seeds are grown in Michigan.

I think most of us tentatively conclude that it's a temperature, perhaps UV intensity related phenom.

Carolyn, dribbling on the keyboard looking at some of those pictures. :)

GRUB...
REALLY enjoyed your "inspirational" descriptions & pictures!!! Sounds like you're having a bang-up season and it definitely left me with a few more varieties on my ""to grow"" list!! Wish YOU Continued success.....keep'em comin'.....

More Pics
 

Hi Aunty Carolyn,
I was under the misunderstanding Golden Monarch was a bicolour. Lol. But when I went to pick it I'm thinking: hey, not much of a bicolour. I was expecting a Regina's Yellow kind of thang. Anyway, I brought it inside and it looked great. A big yellow with a pink blush on the bottom which, as you say, appears to be quite common on yellows.

So, still thinking this is a bicolour and therefore without great shelflife, I awoke and, when She Who Must Be Obeyed said which one? I picked up Golden Monarch. She sliced it and we had it on fresh hot rolls that I picked up from the local baker down the road.

Wow! Golden Monarch is a very very tasty yellow and among the most delicious yellows I have eaten. It's got a depth of flavour, not all that common in yellows, and a great balance, with fruity undertones and a tanginess that reminds me of how I like my mangoes.

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060209/full_size/53598_Golden-Monarch.jpg
[/img]

Next thing I know the doorbell riings: ding dong ding dong. That's right. Last night I phoned my MIL's friend who looks after my plants and chickens when I'm away. I said: come on down with a bag for a feast. And she did. So I packed tomatoes and eggs for her and she left with a very broad smile.

Then I moved onto seed saving with Grub's Mystery RL Green. Terrifically meaty fruits. I busted two open and nibbled on them both. One was riper than the other and, it should be noted if you have followed this thread to this point, that the fully-ripe golden hued GMGs have the greatest depth of flavour. Just a great fruit.

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060209/full_size/53599_Grubs-Mystery-RL-Green.jpg[/img]

And sooo meaty.
[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060209/full_size/53600_Grubs-Mystery-RL-Green-2.jpg
[/img]

That is it for today. Thanks for all your help Aunty Carolyn and I really do appreciate it.

You make my summer :D Grub

gosh darnoodley
 

Sorry, made a mistake with the codes. :oops:

Here's my Golden Monarch on a breadroll for breakfast.

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060209/full_size/53598_Golden-Monarch.jpg[/img]

And here's Grub's Mystery RL Green sliced.

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060209/full_size/53600_Grubs-Mystery-RL-Green-2.jpg[/img]

That is it for today. Grub

Cant wait for the fruit on my GMG to grow and ripen. Pulled the shade cloth off the greenhouse today to give it more sun. Looks like the hottest weather is behind us down here. Got the main greenhouse cleaned up and pots loaded ready for a plant out on the weekend of my fall crop. All the seedlings have their first true leaves and are looking good. Going to put in a cutting of my Nepal X Tommy Toe as well. It is loading up with fruit outside whilst sprawling all over the place.
Oh, sorry, this is the Grub update page eh :arrow:

Lol
 

Lol Mantis,
All welcome. The more the merrier. Sure is cooler here these last few days like, er, a taste of Autumn. I think we'll both be well stocked in the fall. Let's keep in touch :)

Yeah I hope so Grub. The chooks are starting to lay better now in the cooler weather as well. Really looking forward to seeing how the fall crop will develop. I may have started them a bit to late, but the greenhouse should help out with that.
I've even got my plan for the spring greenhouse already LOL.

Golden Monarch is I suspect Buist seed company's "selection" of Golden Queen (get it - Queen, Monarch...!) - so a bright yellow tomato with a pink blush fits with what we've seen with Golden Queen (even Livingston's old seed catalogs mention the occasional blush) - though they are certainly not the classic red/yellow bicolors (I find Golden Monarch much better flavored). I got out out of the USDA in 1995 after reading about it in the Buist catalog. Monarch, a large pink Buist variety, is also a good variety - Victory now sells it. I found Golden Beauty, also from the USDA, very similar to Golden Monarch - a few people in Australia tried it out a few years ago when I sent seeds around, and liked it.

Grub,
You make Golden Monarch sound great...I think I'll grow it this year! I still have seeds for Golden Queen....which I liked, so a side-by-side will be in order, I think. Monarch looks like it's a bit larger.

Great pics!

Yee ha
 

Thanks Craig for the background. I got the seeds from your namesake Craig in South Australia and he really liked it and now I see why. It's got a great taste.

That is really funny about Golden Queen — and yes I see the relationship now — because I have Golden Queen growing right alongside in Rainbow Run, where the colours are stacked together.

You are so right, Cat.
Golden Monarch is most definitely bigger than Golden Queen. So now I might know what to expect when I tuck into a GQ in the next week or so.

GQ has been a strange plant for me. Huge, dense RL, smothering things as it grows. So few fruit. But there are fruit and they are later that Golden Monarch.

Thanks again for circulating the oldies, Craig.

Here is a catalog page from a 1946 Buist catalog that describe Monarch (on the left, large pink), and Golden Monarch (right page).

[img]http://nctomatoman.topcities.com/Seed_Catalog_Scans/1946_Buist/1946_buist_tomatoes3.jpg[/img]

Nice to see the catalog, Craig!

Grub, do let us know which one you prefer of the two as far as taste....great you are growing them both 8)

I remember Golden Queen as being quite productive, but I've only grown it one season.

Some More
 

When you watch them all the time nothing seems to change. Then when you go away for a day or two there's a nice surprise waiting for you when you arrive back home :)

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060212/full_size/55147_A-Peck.jpg[/img]

In case those Grub's Mystery Greens don't work out just put my mug shot on the dartboard :) BTW: Would this be a peck?

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060212/full_size/55148_Grubs-Mug.jpg[/img]

The bench is looking good. Those Livingston's Favorites, the lined-up red ones, are just great and very very prolific. One plant in a top spot is producing 1.5 times as many as two Red Brandywine's in top spots. And the flavour is that of a really good old-fashioned red.

I've been looking for a maincrop reliable red and both these are coming back for sure. [i]Never[/i] without a red slicer now. [b]Never[/b].

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060212/full_size/55149_Some-More.jpg
[/img]

Best wishes for the coming season.
:)Grub.

Bench Press
 

Yeh, as I was saying, the bench looks good. :)

[img]http://pixmixer.com/uploads/images/20060212/full_size/55149_Some-More.jpg[/img]

The cherries are being cut in trusses. Matt's Wild, Sungold ( which I love BTW), and Broad Ripple Yellow Currant (not a currant at all ).