Fish Lake Oxheart
What can folks tell me about this variety?
I saw the thread about its DTM, and thought, "Hey, there's a Fish Lake near here in Prince Edward County, isn't that funny? Of course there must be lots of lakes called Fish Lake, so I'm sure it's named after some other one." But I looked in Tatiana's database, and darned if it doesn't say it was named for Fish Lake in Prince Edward County, Ontario, originally from the County's very own Ted Maczka, who is better known around here as the Fish Lake Garlic Man.
It looks like it was offered on SSE by Carolyn who got them from an Ontarian named Neil from Holland Landing, which is a few hours' distance from here.
I was laughing because just last night at the pub I was sitting next to a gentleman who lives on Fish Lake.
I'd love to know more about this variety.
I know this area had a big vegetable growing and canning industry from the late 19th c. through about the 1950s. I can see the mausoleum of one of the big canning industry magnates from my window as I type (a local cemetery is across the street from me). They say that at one time half the tomatoes eaten in Canada came from here.
I know of quite a few local varieties, including Quinte [the name of the region and the big bay], Moira [a river] and, I believe, Kimberly [no idea who she was/is!].
But I've not yet come across Fish Lake Oxheart till now. What can anyone tell me about it? Did the Ted the Garlic Man breed it recently? Or is it an heirloom from the area that he championed?
If it's a good tomato, I'd love to grow it and share plants & seed with some neighbours---so it can be more widely grown in the area.
Zabby
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