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livinonfaith · February 11, 2012

I was just reading a response from Penny of Penny's tomatoes and didn't want to Highjack the thread. I just had to ask others what they felt about this.

From Penny's response:

"The 4 Tomato varieties that you question with my name on it are Family heirlooms that go back at least 5 Decades....probably a lot longer from our farm in Arizona.
They may have been Hybrids way back in the day...I don't know..but as you know once a variety has been grown for 8 growing seasons it officially becomes a new variety of tomato.
These 4 varieties are Family Heirlooms that mean a lot to us for many reasons.
We also checked from a legal perspective and we're good to go.
I do need to stand by the name of these tomatoes.
Thanks again for the call out."

I'm not questioning whether or not she should use her names. If they have been open pollinated for five decades and they have been selected for particular traits over those years, then they may differ enough to be called by another name. I don't really know.

My question has to do with the statement, "but as you know once a variety has been grown for 8 growing seasons it officially becomes a new variety of tomato."

I don't agree at all with that statement. My thought is that if the tomato still retains it's original characteristics, it is still the same tomato and should not be renamed.

If it differs in one significant way, such as color, then the name would change to reflect that, if possible. Like Cherokee Purple produced Cherokee Chocolate, and Cherokee Green. So you still have a clear link to the lineage.

My thought is that only if there are significant variations, should there be a complete name change.

To me, it only makes sense that if it is grown from Hybrid seed to become a stable OP variety that it should be (variety name) OP. So an Early Girl that has been stabilized as an OP would be Early Girl OP. But I suspect that isn't legal or practical, since there would likely be many many people doing the exact same thing and there would be a thousand Early Girl OP varieties out there.

So what would you call it? Are we doomed to have thousands of variations of Penny's Early Girl, Paige's Early Girl, Big Bob's Early Girly Boy, ect. .......All bred from the same tomato, and none of which is significantly different?

What are your thoughts? (I hope Carolyn feels better soon, because I know she would have some interesting things to say.)

February 11, 2012	#1
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	Renaming heirloom tomatoes? I was just reading a response from Penny of Penny's tomatoes and didn't want to Highjack the thread. I just had to ask others what they felt about this. From Penny's response: "The 4 Tomato varieties that you question with my name on it are Family heirlooms that go back at least 5 Decades....probably a lot longer from our farm in Arizona. They may have been Hybrids way back in the day...I don't know..but as you know once a variety has been grown for 8 growing seasons it officially becomes a new variety of tomato. These 4 varieties are Family Heirlooms that mean a lot to us for many reasons. We also checked from a legal perspective and we're good to go. I do need to stand by the name of these tomatoes. Thanks again for the call out." I'm not questioning whether or not she should use her names. If they have been open pollinated for five decades and they have been selected for particular traits over those years, then they may differ enough to be called by another name. I don't really know. My question has to do with the statement, "but as you know once a variety has been grown for 8 growing seasons it officially becomes a new variety of tomato." I don't agree at all with that statement. My thought is that if the tomato still retains it's original characteristics, it is still the same tomato and should not be renamed. If it differs in one significant way, such as color, then the name would change to reflect that, if possible. Like Cherokee Purple produced Cherokee Chocolate, and Cherokee Green. So you still have a clear link to the lineage. My thought is that only if there are significant variations, should there be a complete name change. To me, it only makes sense that if it is grown from Hybrid seed to become a stable OP variety that it should be (variety name) OP. So an Early Girl that has been stabilized as an OP would be Early Girl OP. But I suspect that isn't legal or practical, since there would likely be many many people doing the exact same thing and there would be a thousand Early Girl OP varieties out there. So what would you call it? Are we doomed to have thousands of variations of Penny's Early Girl, Paige's Early Girl, Big Bob's Early Girly Boy, ect. .......All bred from the same tomato, and none of which is significantly different? What are your thoughts? (I hope Carolyn feels better soon, because I know she would have some interesting things to say.)