Ponderosas
 

Two of my all time favorites have been the Golden Ponderosa and her sister in the Red version. I've also seen another red Identified as Henderson's Ponderosa. Is this the same red? Does the Golden originate from the same seed company?

Ponderosa is a pink, large tomato released by Henderson in the late 1800s as the first large fruited, so called "low acid" beefsteak-type variety. Soon after, they released red and golden versions (I would have to look for the exact dates of release). (we now know that it wasn't in fact low acid, but just higher sugar, which masked the acid flavor)

Soon after Ponderosa made an appearance, many companies brought out their own versions of the large pink tomato, such as Ferris Wheel (Salzer, early 1890s), Tenderloin (Buckbee), Monarch (Buist), Peak of Perfection (Salzer, 1920s), and Winsall (Henderson's own improvement of Ponderosa, in 1924), Colossal (Isbell), Brimmer (Woods).

So it was indeed Henderson that started the Ponderosa name, and probably selected similar size and shape varieties in the different colors and named them the Red and Golden Ponderosa.

We grew the pink Ponderosa on our truck farm back in the 60's. We'd carry a salt shaker to the field with us and eat them for a mid morning or afternoon snack. A little salt really brought out the flavor. The vines provided good leaf coverage which prevented sun scalding of the fruit. It had a tendency to cat-face more than most, but had good production of #1 tomatoes. The cat-faces were sold to cafes for salad tomatoes and to home canners, so they didn't go to waste. The biggest problem we had with pink Ponderosa at the time was getting people to try something other than a red tomato. Claud

And the various Ponderosas are still going strong.

All of the following were introduced by the Peter Henderson CO;

Ponderosa ( pink but not part of the name) in 1891
Red Ponderosa in 1892
Golden Ponderosa in 1914
Wins All, an improvement on Pink Ponderosa in 1924.

Red Ponderosa is also known by several names the most well known being Crimson Cushion.

I especially like Wins All which was given that name after a contest to decide on the name of this variety.

love them ponderosas
 

All of the ponderosa are really good tomatoes I guess the pink reminds me of when I was a lot younger and my Mother selling the Ponderosa plant at her greenhouse I guess it is silly but the Ponderosa makes me feel good to think about when I was a kid, growing and eating tomatoes in the late summer! I know what some of you mean about people not wanting to try anything but a red tomato, you try to give em a black krim or a great white and they ask is that really a tomato. LOL If they only knew what they were missing!!:yes:

Growing the Hendersons Pink Ponderosa for the first time this year, hoping for a good season, last year was a bust.

Paul R

[quote=Paul R;168393]Growing the Hendersons Pink Ponderosa for the first time this year, hoping for a good season, last year was a bust.

Paul R[/quote]

Paul, next year why don't you try the variety Wins All, which is a selection that Henderson made from Pink Ponderosa which I think is even better than the latter.

I'm trying Golden Ponderosa for the first time this year and so far so good. It has had some blight problems but not too bad yet. I'm trying several golds or yellows this year for the first time hoping for a tasty and productive one.

I bought a tomato plant labeled Ponderosa Pink .
It was a large pink beefsteak. I enjoyed the flavor.I think I will have to try Wins All next year.

They're great! They sure do chew up and spit out the hardware store tomato cages, though, as they grow large vines. The cages were collapsing before Memorial Day, so I had to reinforce them.