Golden Queen

[Wi-sunflower]

I thought i should split this off from the 1908 Stokes catalog thread

I found my Golden Queen plants and my memory wasn't as good as I thought.

Here is what Craig had posted in the other thread about what the true / USDA Golden Queen should be -

The keys are growth habit and color. The "real" Golden Queen (as introduced by Livingston) is a pale, bright yellow, oblate, not all that large (varies in size on the plant), and very vigorously indeterminate. Some of the fruit get a pinkish blush on the blossom end when very ripe.

The "other", later Golden Queen seems to be described as more of a determinant type or semi-indeterminate growth, larger rounder fruit, and more of a light orange color, not bright yellow, with no blush.
__________________
Craig

Actually what I found out in the field doesn't look like either description or any of the 3 pages at Tatiana's.

The plant is big and definately indeterminate. The fruit is more rounded and in the 8 oz range. The color is a bright golden orange with no blush outside or in. Taste was decent to good, tho I didn't have anything in the house to compare it with.

Here are some pics of my Golden Queen as offered by the current stokes company maybe 10 years ago. Whoops Looks like I will have to edit the pics before I can upload them. I'll post them in a few minutes.

Carol

[Wi-sunflower]

Here are the pics. The one of just the plant is to show how big the plant is. The center of the plant is that bare part. The plant extends both ways at least a full step.

Hubby found our copy of Carolyn's book and now I'm more confused than ever. The pic with her description of Golden Queen looks a lot what I have. The brighter orange tomato in the center bottom looks almost exactly like the one I picked. Some of mine are a bit larger tho also.

What is described as a pink blush, to me just looks like a very ripe tomato. On the slice of the one I brought in, on one side there is a small section of very orange flesh that could almost be called red. I'll see if I can get a decent pic of that.

Carol

[Wi-sunflower]

Here is the sliced pic of the same tomato in the above post. Where the 2 slices nearly meat is where I think it's almost red.

Carol

[JoAnne]

Hi Wi-sunflower,

I've grown both strains of Golden Queen and it looks to me like you have the other strain. The USDA strain (which I like much better) is indeed a pale yellow color with a bright pink star-like blush on the end. It looks very different from your photo. The USDA strain is one of my favorite tomatoes and is a yearly must-grow for me.
-JoAnne

[carolyn137]

Carol, you mentioned several times that your fruits were orange but GQ is not orange, it ripens up to gold. In my book I said a "deep golden with a pearly pink blush at maturity" and I should have said pink blush at the blossom end as was the original.

There are many white and yellow and gold varieties that do develop a pink blush at the blossom end, and sometimes a bit can be seen inside, but those who described their GQ from earlier don't speak to the blush or give other traits that allow it to be called the same as or very similar to the original Livingston release.

And yes, it's indet as well, and these traits from the GQ we obtained from the USDA. Also 8-12 oz, oblate and clusters of 3-5.

So if what you have is orange I'm not sure what it is.

[nctomatoman]

What you are showing, Carol, is what I've seen when growing out Jubilee (sometimes called Golden Jubilee) - in fact, I wonder if Jubilee ended up picking up a different name from seed company - essentially the name changed from Jubilee to Golden Queen? just a guess...it wouldn't be the first time a company renamed a tomato...

[KevinCT]

these are Livingston Golden Queens that I picked today , I started them from seed that I got from Victory Seed Co. They are pretty small, but ripe. I have some larger , paler ones still on the vine.

[cozy]

Golden Jubilee ( as I got seeds named that) on top of Golden Queen with perhaps the blush of GQ mentioned in the middle. Hope it helps.

[Wi-sunflower]

OK it looks like whatever Stokes was selling as Golden Queen is different than the USDA GQ and is who knows what.

It also looks a bit different than that slice of Golden Jubilee. Your slice seems a uniform orange color thruout. Mine is orange on the outside but much lighter on the inside. And mine was definately very ripe to the point of being soft.

So whatever Stokes was selling back about 10+ years ago, it's a nice productive tomato and i still have plenty of seeds that I've been growing and saving.

Like Craig mentioned, Stokes did often have "unique" varieties that I wondered if they were just a rename of something else. I've caught other companies doing the same thing tho so Stokes wasn't alone in doing stuff like that. I would almost bet that most of Burpee's "exclusives" are just renames. But that's a whole nother thread.

Carol

[camochef]

I've grown a tomato for the last 2 years that I received from a grower in British Columbia. She called it Golden Queen. I grew a couple the first year and only one this past year. It was like nothing shown here or at Tatiana's.
Mine were more pinkish with a slight yellow at the blossom end and into the interior there. They averaged about 8 oz. and were globular. They were the last tomato to ripen both years. Almost at season's end. Now last year I was quite late, starting seeds and planting out, but the year before I had a more normal schedule and they still didn't ripen till near the end of Sept.
None of this matters that much, except for the fact that they were a great tasting tomato. Usually, I'm not fond of most bi-colors but these have been exceptional in taste and fairly productive once they begin to ripen. Most years, there's very little competiton for them to be compared to, which increases their consideration as a very tasty tomato. I'll probably never know with any degree of certainy as what they are, not even sure if I have any seed left as they would have been on the table during the dog incident for sure. But I just had to mention the facts as I have them recorded.
Camo

[carolyn137]

Mine were more pinkish with a slight yellow at the blossom end and into the interior there. They averaged about 8 oz. and were globular

******

Camo, if they were pinkish with yellow at the blossom end then that's not Golden Queen.

But if you meant to say that they were yellow with a pink blush at the blossom end and sometimes, depending on weather, that exterior blush can spread to the interior near the bottom.

Golden Queen is not a red/gold bicolor.

Prior to about 1995 most of the Golden Queen sold in the US was pure yellow, or a darker shade if you prefer, but what Livingston released in 1882 did have a pink blush at the blossom end most of the time, as do several other yellow varieties as well as some so called whites.

In 1994 Craig L got Golden Queen out of the USDA, called it Golden Queen ( USDA) and it is what the original should be.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...l=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Above is a Google search for Golden Queen (USDA) and you can see the number of references to it and it shows that Tania also grew it and if you look at the link for my book there should be a desription there as well and there's a picture in my book.There are also links to pictures in the above search.

So if what you grew was really pink with yellow at the blossom end then that wasn't Golden Queen, either the USDA one, or not.

[camochef]

Carolyn,
I thought I made it clear in my posting that I know they aren't Golden Queen, even though that's the name that was on them when I received them. Maybe my writing skills are deteriating as fast as my spelling skills.
I'll probably never know what they really are, or they may be a cross of some sort. For two years they've been the very last tomato to begin ripening, much later than anything else I've planted. Thing is, once they start... they produce a really tasty tomato, not as large as I would like a tomato to be, but quite nice on the palette. Especially with a slight touch of that creole seasoning!
They need almost twice as long to ripen as my favorite slicers. Definately a long season tomato, which amazes me as they came from a grower in British Columbia.
Stay warm!
Camo

[carolyn137]

Camo, yes you did say it wasn't Golden Queen but I thought maybe you'd reversed the colors and meant to say that the fruits were yellow with a pink blush at the stem end instead of the opposite.

And I was just pointing out that true Golden Queen isn't a bicolor.

And I wasn't sure why you were telling us about something that you knew wasn't Golden Queen in a thread about Golden Queen. No matter, as you yourself said above, it is an interesting something that you have there and if you like it that's all that's important.

British Columbia nearest the coast especially, is not that cold, rather, its very rainy and temps are usually temperate. it's where Tania lives and gardens and she's a zone 7b.

[beefyboy]

I am growing a golden Queen this year and have in previous years. It is the other version sold by pinetree seeds and is an orange. I happened to grow it last years and the taste was so sweet and delicious that I saved seed and it is putting out good size tomatoes in larger than expected numbers. I am comparing this one to KBX, KB, Orange minsk, Tobolsk, Orange Strawberry, Dr. Wyches, Hawaiin Pineapple, and earl of Edgecomb!
Let the contest begin!! lol

[camochef]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Camo, yes you did say it wasn't Golden Queen but I thought maybe you'd reversed the colors and meant to say that the fruits were yellow with a pink blush at the stem end instead of the opposite.

And I was just pointing out that true Golden Queen isn't a bicolor.

And I wasn't sure why you were telling us about something that you knew wasn't Golden Queen in a thread about Golden Queen. No matter, as you yourself said above, it is an interesting something that you have there and if you like it that's all that's important.

British Columbia nearest the coast especially, is not that cold, rather, its very rainy and temps are usually temperate. it's where Tania lives and gardens and she's a zone 7b.

Carolyn,
I was supplying the information in hopes that I could gain more information myself, but after spending some time searching through my jars of seeds from each year, it no longer seems important. Apparantly, any seeds I had for them, were destroyed during the dog incident and I no longer have any to worry about.
I must admit that I didn't realize British Columbia was warmer than here in southern Pa. I'm only a half mile from the Maryland border, maybe less in a straight line, and significantly further south than the Canadian border. We're 6B here. I think your a 5 Hard to imagine 7B so much more north than where you are. Live and learn! Thanks!
Camo