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carpi · July 31, 2013

i'm doing the same on a very small scale, so i think i can share my experience
i saved seeds from F1 BZ and now i'm growing F5
no special care, and no giants so far
i got a lot of 1 pounders, some 1 and a half, never reached 2 pounds
i would say that 2 pounds is definitely possible, but to get over that you would need special efforts (1 fruit per plant, etc)
that is without considering megablooms, which i dislike and usually take away as they produce ugly, almost uneatable and senseless tomatoes (in my opinion megablooms are sort of cheating, which should be also banned from competitions: I consider much more prize worty - and difficult- to get 3 pounds from a single fruit than to get 5 pounds from 5 fruits fused together)

what i like from my big zac line is that the plants are generally quite strong, starting from lively seedlings and almost always ending up to be the best plants in the yard (together with mexico, which is another of my favourite varieties)

last year, while growing F4, something interesting happened
i spotted beefteaks and hearts growing on the same plant
i don't know if it's a mutation, or just segregation or what, anyway i saved seeds from both, and this year i'm growing 5 of each type, and they are producing true to type
this season we had terrible weather, unusual cold and lots of rain in may and june, so i havent harvested my first tomato yet (i expect my first big zac heart to be redy in a couple of days) so plants are basically all late, small and not so good looking as usual
beefsteak type tend to look a bit better that hearts (but this is sort of normal, in general) except one plant which looks so much better than all the others (i call it Godzilla)
it is about 2 feet taller, much wider, actually bearing 12 fruits (+ i pruned 2, for a total of 14) compared to the 2-3-4 fruits of the other plants (with no pruning)
if they ripen and taste as expected, i will definitely save seeds from this one, and also from the best plant of the hearts (i feel they deserve another chance, as this season has been really horrible)

so, interesting things happen from segregation of BZ (and other hybrids too, i guess), i seem to remember somebody else got pink beefsteaks from BZ some years ago, and most likely will happen to you too (although i doubt that 3 pounds fruits will be the norm)

best luck with your selection!

July 31, 2013	#10
carpi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: italy Posts: 20	i'm doing the same on a very small scale, so i think i can share my experience i saved seeds from F1 BZ and now i'm growing F5 no special care, and no giants so far i got a lot of 1 pounders, some 1 and a half, never reached 2 pounds i would say that 2 pounds is definitely possible, but to get over that you would need special efforts (1 fruit per plant, etc) that is without considering megablooms, which i dislike and usually take away as they produce ugly, almost uneatable and senseless tomatoes (in my opinion megablooms are sort of cheating, which should be also banned from competitions: I consider much more prize worty - and difficult- to get 3 pounds from a single fruit than to get 5 pounds from 5 fruits fused together) what i like from my big zac line is that the plants are generally quite strong, starting from lively seedlings and almost always ending up to be the best plants in the yard (together with mexico, which is another of my favourite varieties) last year, while growing F4, something interesting happened i spotted beefteaks and hearts growing on the same plant i don't know if it's a mutation, or just segregation or what, anyway i saved seeds from both, and this year i'm growing 5 of each type, and they are producing true to type this season we had terrible weather, unusual cold and lots of rain in may and june, so i havent harvested my first tomato yet (i expect my first big zac heart to be redy in a couple of days) so plants are basically all late, small and not so good looking as usual beefsteak type tend to look a bit better that hearts (but this is sort of normal, in general) except one plant which looks so much better than all the others (i call it Godzilla) it is about 2 feet taller, much wider, actually bearing 12 fruits (+ i pruned 2, for a total of 14) compared to the 2-3-4 fruits of the other plants (with no pruning) if they ripen and taste as expected, i will definitely save seeds from this one, and also from the best plant of the hearts (i feel they deserve another chance, as this season has been really horrible) so, interesting things happen from segregation of BZ (and other hybrids too, i guess), i seem to remember somebody else got pink beefsteaks from BZ some years ago, and most likely will happen to you too (although i doubt that 3 pounds fruits will be the norm) best luck with your selection!