Blueberry Heirloom Tomato...

[igarden]

has anyone grown or heard of this tomato, 'Blueberry Heirloom Tomato'? i did a search and couldn't find anything discussed here about it. also, i don't see it listed in Tatianna's tom-base.

i got the seeds from here, the Heirloom Tomato Patch, in our state...

http://heirloomtomatopatch.com/heirl...rry_tomato.php

out of one packet, only three seeds germinated. i have two out in the garden and one in a pot in the greenhouse. they are just as described with blueish tint to the plants stems more so than leaves.

the one in the greenhouse had one fruit ripen and the taste was wonderful...tomatoey-acid and yet a bit of sweet. they're much like the OSU Blue, but, more cherry-like in size...nd better flavor...

[carolyn137]

Nope, never heard of any so called blue tomato variety, whether it be OSU BLue or its P20 , bred by conventional means, or the one in England where an actual blueberry gene was bred in and that variety has not been publically released, except I've seen a couple of folks who say they have it; ;it's a GMO.

So I can't see anything coming from recently bred blue types being called an heirloom. I Don't have time right now to look at the other listings from that link but will later to see what I can see.

Edited to add that I forgot to mention the one being developed in Italy as well, pictures shown here and there but also not released as far as I know. In any case not an heirloom variety either.

[Worth1]

I noticed several other tomatoes that aren't heirloom. Green Zebra for one.

Worth

[swamper]

Many say is that it is OSU Blue renamed.

[carolyn137]

I said I'd be back to look at the site b'c this AM I had an MD appt but I had to cancel b'c of rain, problems handwalking along the side of the car re my walker, so it was supposed to be this afternoon, I just went out and the car is totally dead, I mean totally. Was just driven out by Freda two weeks ago and I can't see the battery being dead, but she's going to take a look at it tomorrow.

All to say that in their lsit of varieties there are many varieties with incomplete or wrong names. I scanned quickly and these are ones that are not heirloom varieties, and I may have missed a few:

Ananas Noir
Bear Creek
Black Cherry
Black Crimson
Brad's Black Heart
Cherokee Chocolate
Vorlon
Xsmas Grape
Green Grape
Green Zebra
Flame
Goldman's Italian American
Box Car Willie
Mule Team

[Jeannine Anne]

Hi, I have one called Blueberry which came from Europe, it is another of the blues like the OSU but it is no way an heirloom, on the contrary it is new. It has been discussed on here before.

I think there were mixed feelings about the blueberry gene being in it and others said it was the same as OSU. I grew them both last year and found the Blueberry was a shorter plant and the fruit was smaller..but I can't help beyond that, I kept an open mind as there was so much that was unsure about it.

Not much help, sorry.
XX Jeannine

[igarden]

i appreciate all your help!

i'm going to keep diggingfor info.

[nctomatoman]

I will add to the list of varieties that are not heirlooms, but recent discoveries/creations, and some that are likely crosses or mistakes:

1884 Purple
Akers's West Virginia Black
Black Mystery
Black Oxheart
Carbon
Gary O'Sena
Roger's Best Black
Spudakee
Oregon Spring
Winsall PL

Just on first glance

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I will add to the list of varieties that are not heirlooms, but recent discoveries/creations, and some that are likely crosses or mistakes:

1884 Purple
Akers's West Virginia Black
Black Mystery
Black Oxheart
Carbon
Gary O'Sena
Roger's Best Black
Spudakee
Oregon Spring
Winsall PL

Just on first glance

Clearly I was scanning too quickly so thanks for the additions Craig.

Right now my mind is still on that car of mine and what the problem might be.

[Stepheninky]

The one from England is a GMO and not distributed to my knowledge. but who knows.

I think the one the OP listed if my memory serves me right is the one that was handed out by the female lab worker and people called it Blueberry Tomato. It is considered not to be very refined and a bad representation of the breeders work.
There is a post here or on one of the other forums all about it somewhere.

I do remember though reading people called it Blueberry tomato because of the color,

The one in England is GMO and has blueberry genes but pretty sure is not the one the OP refers to.

Maybe that will jog someones memory a bit and we will get more info.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Stepheninky

The one from England is a GMO and not distributed to my knowledge. but who knows.

I think the one the OP listed if my memory serves me right is the one that was handed out by the female lab worker and people called it Blueberry Tomato. It is considered not to be very refined and a bad representation of the breeders work.
There is a post here or on one of the other forums all about it somewhere.

I do remember though reading people called it Blueberry tomato because of the color,

The one in England is GMO and has blueberry genes but pretty sure is not the one the OP refers to.

Maybe that will jog someones memory a bit and we will get more info.

I was present at DG when the lady lab worker started a thread and offered to send seeds of what she called OSU Blue to anyone who wanted them and she owried in the lab of Dr. Jim Myers who was behind the development of the initial variety. This was shortly after some others had gotten OSU BLue, before the P20 and were distributing them and I knew that those who got them had to sign a paper saying they were using them for breeding purposes only, so I asked her if she was supposed to be distributing them to anyone who wanted them.

And she said something to the effect that no one told her she couldn't.

It was others who got mixed up with the English one where a gene from an actual blueberry had been inserted, thus the GMO, who started alling Dr. Jim Myers OSU ones Blueberry as well, and that kind of spread and caused lots of confusion and still is b'c some are still calling the OSU one blueberry/.

So yeah, I was there when the deed was done, and no, I didn't ask for any seeds b'c I'd been sent a few fruits and thought the taste was lousy.

[Jeannine Anne]

I still don't know what mine is, I know it is different to the OSU for sure, no doubt about that .My seeds came from Holland and I was told they were bred in Europe not the UK. The taste was not exceptional by any means but it was edible, about the same as the average supermarket tomato.

I got my OSU and Blueberry from the same person. I grew them side by side and they were different.

XX Jeannine

[jamiegrows]

I thought the gene used in the British blue all the way through tomato is from the snapdragon not the blueberry: "British researchers have used genes from the snapdragon flower to increase tomatoes' cancer-fighting powers."

[Stepheninky]

Originally Posted by jamiegrows

I thought the gene used in the British blue all the way through tomato is from the snapdragon not the blueberry: "British researchers have used genes from the snapdragon flower to increase tomatoes' cancer-fighting powers."

Yes I think you are correct on that. I may have gotten it confused.

There is also another GMO blue from Italy as well. I think the Nickname for the Britain one was blueberry though.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by jamiegrows

I thought the gene used in the British blue all the way through tomato is from the snapdragon not the blueberry: "British researchers have used genes from the snapdragon flower to increase tomatoes' cancer-fighting powers."

Correct and I keep forgetting that and as was just posted most of us think of the UK one as blueberry and I don't know who started that but many followed with that name.

A question for the oiriginal poster.

I think we've seen that a huge number of varieties that the seed site you referenced, while having a title of Heirloom Tomatoes, are not selling primarily heirloom tomatoes, and for those many folks who perhaps don't know all those varieties they would assume that all listed were heirloom varieties.

Which I'm very uncomfortable with.

Do you intend to send them a link to this thread so that they can see the ones that Craig and I listed or cut and paste them to an e-mail, and if not if you don't feel comfrotable doing that should one of us here do it to help them out as best we can?