Ben Quisenberry
 

Anybody out there have anything to offer in the way of Ben Quisenberry memorabilia??? Photos of his "homestyle" seed packets, etc???
Thank,
LarryD

Larry, check this link to Ken Ettlinger's Long Island Seed and Plant company

[URL]http://www.liseed.org/brandy.html[/URL]

There are a few pics of seed packets hand written by Ben.

I just came upon this link, which Ken has updated fairly recently. I illuminates us on a few things I certainly was not aware of - that Ben had Persimmon in his collection, and that Brandywine appeared in a packet with two other varieties - Big Ben and Mortgage Lifter. Ken mentions Big Ben (aka Stump of the World) as Regular Leaf, but I've always found it Potato Leaf. One wonders therefore if Brandywine = Big Ben = Stump of the World - Ken also mentions that Ben was possibly observing crossing and doing some selecting - so one could draw all sorts of conclusions that just reinforce that we will never really know the true story of Brandywine..or many other heirlooms!

Cool! My favorite tomato happens to be Stump of the World and I have a friend who always gets Ruby Gold seed from her FIL because that's her favorite. Very interesting. Thanks! :D

WONDERFULLY ENLIGHTENING INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!
LarryD

Great story--keeps the whole history, at it's origin a bit of a mystery.

Here's a pic and more .........



[URL]http://www.purewatergazette.net/quisenberry.htm[/URL]

Nice article and some good links!

-Jimmy

Stump of the world
 

Stump is one of my favorite tomatoes and is on my must-grow list. Two years ago I had both regular and potato leaved plants grow from seeds in the same packet (it's usually PL for me). The RL was REALLY productive compared to the PL and just as tasty. I meant to save seeds but I think I either didn't do it or I lost 'em, because I can't find them!

[quote=nctomatoman;85746]I illuminates us on a few things I certainly was not aware of - that Ben had Persimmon in his collection, and that Brandywine appeared in a packet with two other varieties - Big Ben and Mortgage Lifter. Ken mentions Big Ben (aka Stump of the World) as Regular Leaf, but I've always found it Potato Leaf. One wonders therefore if Brandywine = Big Ben = Stump of the World - Ken also mentions that Ben was possibly observing crossing and doing some selecting - so one could draw all sorts of conclusions that just reinforce that we will never really know the true story of Brandywine..or many other heirlooms![/quote]

Ben Quisenberry is my Grandfather. His Big Ben tomato (Stump of the World...and it was regular leaf) is a different tomato than the Mortgage Lifter and Brandywine. He lost his Mortgage Lifter plants during a hospital stay when he was in his 90s. Brandywine (Suddeth Strain) was his all time favorite tomato. He got the seeds from Dorothy Suddeth. Her family grew those tomatoes for generations in Tennessee.

LQberry... thank you for your posting. We revere your grandfather!

Thank you for your kind words. Pa Berry (we called him that because "Grandpa Quisenberry" was quite a mouthful for a little kid) was a great man. He practically gave people everything he owned. Even gave a young man his VW Bug that he couldn't drive anymore because his eyesight had gotten bad. No money...just handed him the keys.
If I could tell him about this website and how his name is all over the internet in relationship to tomatoes, he'd say "I don't know what all the fuss is about!". :)

LQberry.... and no doubt, he'd ask, "what's the Internet?"
LOL.........

Your Grandpa is someone I would have loved to give a big fluffy hug of appreciation to!

LQ...I consider your Pa Berry one of my personal heroes. I'm sure he would think "what's the big deal?", but at a tomato gathering we would all probably gather at his feet to hear from such a great oracle of tomato knowledge. He was a real inspiration during my early days of tomato growing.

Thank you so much for posting here LQberry.

I think of the tomato legacy that would be lost if it were not for your grandfather. You can walk into any nursery in the United States and buy a Brandywine tomato plant and it is because of your grandfather.


Stump of the World is incredible, and I was going to post that taste-wise I do not think it is a mixup with Brandywine. Glad you posted here to confirm that.

However, the Stump of the World that is being distributed is Potato Leaved. Indeed the seeds I'm growing now are PL.

[url]http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/88243/[/url]
[url]http://www.tomatogrowers.com/beefsteaks3.htm[/url]
Ibs*n's website as well