the appearance of tonys italian and prue right now

[tjg911]

this is the 1st year growing tonys italian. when i read about it here i was curious and wanted to grow it because it sounds so similar to prue. i asked carolyn if there's any possibility that prue could be tonys italian or vice versa and she said they taste different and she feels they are definitely not the same tomato so i know they are not the same.

i just spent some time examining all my tomato plants, fruits and flowers and i am absolutely amazed how much tonys italian and prue look alike. they are separated by 6' so they're close enough to look at one and then shift my head and see the other. both have very sparse foliage, droopy twisted leaves and even the shape of the fruits are the same! i always plant 2 prue in 1 crw cage as the plants are so sparse and i certainly could have done the same with tonys italian, there's a lot of room in that cage!

i absolutely know that i did not mix them up when i seeded or transplanted or put them into the garden i am 100% certain of that as i am very careful. yet if i had any doubt at all as to which plant was which variety of the 3 plants i have growing, i could not tell right now, they are virtually identical.

i think i would know by the taste if i was uncertain because prue has a unique taste i never experienced in any other tomato. since i am the original source for prue, i feel certain i can id a prue when i eat one.

this should be very interesting when tonys italian is ready to eat!

btw i am growing yellow prue, i have 2 plants. one plant looks like prue and the fruits are the right shape and the other plant has oblate shaped fruits so who knows what it is! the 2 yellow prue are in 1 cage and as far from prue as possible so i can't compare them to prue or tonys italian that easily. so while the one yellow prue looks correct it's so crowded with that other plants i can't be sure it is as wispy and droopy as the prue or tonys italian but it is wispy and droopy with the correct fruit shape.

tom

[carolyn137]

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/w...ny%27s_Italian

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Prue

Tom, the size of the two is very very different, Tony's has consistently sized fruits and shapes while Prue has variable shapes and sizes. And the origins of the two are different as well.

I'm the one who got the seeds from an SSE member and started offering it in my seed offers many years ago and Suze in particular highly praised it, as I do as well, posted it as such and then many others got interested. I also listed it in the SSE YEarbook for a few years.

As for taste, well, that's in the mouth of the beholder and note that Tania says it tasted to her like Prue but I don't think it does at all, but as we all know taste is both personal and perceptual.

I think the taste of both is excellent and can see a use for both varieties in lots of tomato gardens. Tony's I see as more of a paste variety whereas I see Prue as a non-paste fresh use variety.

[Ruth_10]

I grew both Prue and Tony's Italian in 2008 and they tasted quite different to me. As I recall, early on the plants and fruits looked quite similar, but as the season matured the differences showed up.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Tom, the size of the two is very very different, Tony's has consistently sized fruits and shapes while Prue has variable shapes and sizes.

yes prue does have variable sized mature fruits but as ruth said

As I recall, early on the plants and fruits looked quite similar

and it is early on right now. i wasn't aware how tonys italian size consistency or not will be but apparently it is not variable as prue is or shape.

tom

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by tjg911

this is the 1st year growing tonys italian. when i read about it here i was curious and wanted to grow it because it sounds so similar to prue. i asked carolyn if there's any possibility that prue could be tonys italian or vice versa and she said they taste different and she feels they are definitely not the same tomato so i know they are not the same.

i just spent some time examining all my tomato plants, fruits and flowers and i am absolutely amazed how much tonys italian and prue look alike. they are separated by 6' so they're close enough to look at one and then shift my head and see the other. both have very sparse foliage, droopy twisted leaves and even the shape of the fruits are the same! i always plant 2 prue in 1 crw cage as the plants are so sparse and i certainly could have done the same with tonys italian, there's a lot of room in that cage!

The plants will look very similar. But once you taste them, you'll immediately see the difference. Prue is the pinnacle of that heart/plum/whatever flavor, but is quite different from a pink or purple beefsteak in my opinion. Prue is great, but I've actually felt that most hearts are kind of one dimensional as far as smooth and meaty, but no bite, no spice, no character. Tony's Italian takes that to the next level and combines the flavor of a purple beefsteak with a heart. When I grew it, it had tons of personality and still that smooth meatyness of other hearts.

I do grow 2 Tony's Italian per cage and intend to have at least 4 plants next time around. And don't forget Wessel's Purple Pride which was known for a couple of days as Cherokee Sausage (since it's a CP x S cross) until it was changed to WPP. That's another one I'd grow lots of, although I don't know if it would appreciate being stuck 2-to-a-cage.