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Old August 21, 2013   #11
Fusion_power
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The story of King Humbert is even more interesting than has been posted here so far. It is an old Italian variety selected and named after King Humbert and listed by Vilmorin in 1885. It was lost in Italy but survived in a U.S. seed bank where it was resurrected and carried back to Italy in the mid 1950's. Since then, it has crossed the water back and forth a few more times. It is used as a Piennolo tomato in Italy today along with Lampedusa, Fiaschella, and Principe Borghese.

If you want to have fun with Italian tomatoes, there are a few names worth mentioning. San Marzano, Costoluto Genovese, Principe Borghese, King Humbert, Christopher Columbus (a re-named Italian variety), Borgo Celano, and the Piennolo del Vesuvio that Craig Lehoullier got from a friend's visit to Italy.

DarJones
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