From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Simi valley, ca

Weird i completely forgot about the Big Zaks because they were germinated over 30 days ago, But several just came up! Strange!!

5/27/2009 5:56:53 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Big Zac, in my experience is the last plant to ever count out for tomatoes.

Now keep in mind I am NOT being paid to say this, I do not work for nor have ever been employed by http://www.totallytomato.com/ and I do not personally know Maria Zacaria.

Big Zac is THE plant for Giant tomatoes. True, some heirlooms grow large, but I have NEVER seen a plant so disease resistant, and so tough, and aggressive. I actually had to prune the plant a lot as it would even try to gorw secondary shoots from its leaves! No, not the regular place at the leaf joints, but the segments of stalk between the smaller leaf subsections. It was freaky, like a Mutant with Giantism.

5/29/2009 2:50:08 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

In my garden last year I had a fight with disease that started on my SuperSteak hybrids, growing very close to my Big Zacs. While http://www.totallytomato.com/ does not list BigZac as disease resistant, the may just mean they have not been tested for it. Eventually the diseases spread to all of my other tomato plants, as the SS’s it started in had good resistance to start with, and if it infects them, it should nail everything. Not the Big Zac’s however. Even though I had low leaves partially sitting on the ground, as they were 2ft long, yet with virtually no problems. They may not be immune, but they were the only plants not effected by disease of any kind. I have never encountered a more disease resistant variety.

Temperature tolerant too. I had fruit ripening into late October, when all the other plants were dead. I have had fruit set at over 90 degree too, on my Big Zac’s, when no other plant was setting fruit at the time.

I also had a tomato last year, you can see in these pictures. You will just get the idea of how large it was in volume looking these pics:

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6470/meatheadsbigzac2vx2.jpg

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/108/meatheadsbigzac6ae4.jpg

5/29/2009 2:50:20 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

That tomato in the pictures was also just a SINGLE stamen flower. Now imagine what some of the Mega-Blooms could do.

While Delicius may hold the WR, I would not put all my confidence in that variety. The plant Gordon grew his on was around 50ft long, with only one tomato, and much of the vine rooting as well as the tomato being a very mega bloom. While it was an awesome fruit, my bet is still resting on the BZ for consitent grower of giant tomatoes over 4 pounds, and I would not be shocked if the next WR comes from this hybrid freaky plant.

I am not surprised at all that even after you thought these beasties were down for the count, sure enough they spring back. I would plant them, and don’t wory about it getting into June, as last year the BZ plants I grew got late starts, and I still had giants by September.

5/29/2009 2:50:28 PM

sevierville, Tn

meathead320, Is that correct "Gordon grew his on was around 50ft long" fifty feet ???

6/1/2009 2:01:16 PM

Colorado Springs, CO

The phenomenon of the mega-bloom is quite amazing yet all too often seems to forecast eventual growth into an odd and mis-shapened piece of fruit. There is something about a tomato maintaining a sense of total "roundness" and still growing to desired proportions of mega-ness that is far more desirable.

In the end I still want to eat that sucker too.

6/1/2009 11:30:06 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

I should look it up again, it was a very big plant, with only one fruit on it. I'll try google...

http://hydromall.com/web/content/view/41/1/

53 foot six inches, another WR at the time. It was growing on the ground, and likely had a lot of root pushing that mega-bloom.

6/1/2009 11:30:28 PM