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Pleasant Hill, Or

We all know that you will never be able to grow a true giant pumpkin with store bought seeds. Can the same be said with tomatoes? I know the varieties that tend to grow the largest fruit, and they are available from many reputable seed catalogs, but would I be wasting my time with them? Are we to the point with tomatoes that we need to get seeds from dedicated growers to compete?

12/22/2009 1:21:12 AM

Belgium

I grew my 5.00 lber from the 4.59 Lyons but some of the biggest tomatoes in the world are grown from big zack seeds so I think store bought seeds sometimes can be good.
next year I will grow 3 X my 5.00lber, 2 x the 4.59Lyons, 2 X 5.00 Timm,2 X 5.32 Timm 08 and again 2 X 5.58 Timm 08.
I trust on the seeds of the growers and mostly you get them free so another bonus than.

12/22/2009 1:55:59 AM

British Columbia, Canada

My aunt was 2 LBS away from a World Record field pumpkin back in 2008, using seeds bought striaght from the store.
She also grew a 6 pound tomato with store bought.
Store bought seeds arn't useless, just so few growers plant them that they're true potential never gets revealed.

-Jordan.

12/22/2009 1:59:15 AM

ExtremeVegetables.com

I think so.
Mass produced seeds are grown for just that, seeds. They come from every size fruit in the field. Not saying that that 1/2 pounder isn't carrying the genetic trait that gives it the ability to grow large, just that I believe the chances are less likely.

Imagine each year the fields of Big Zac tomatoes grown by mass producers. If these seeds had the capabilty of producing a World Record, one would think, just due to the sheer number of plants and thousands of fruit produced each year, a world record could be found just laying in the field.

That 4.59 Lyons seed is a good example of genetic selection I don't believe you will see in mass produced seeds.
Let's say in the same garden the 4.59 Lyons was grown, there were many more plants. So out of several plants which each bore a single to a few fruits each, this particular tomato exhibited desirable traits. It made it to fruit, it didn't split, crack, become diseased, it was heavy and made it to weigh-off.
The following year, the pool for desirable selection became greater as several tomato growers grew this seed. Now let's say 10 growers grew 5 plants each of this seed the following year. Now we have selected fruit according to size and desirable traits from 50 plants and possibly hundreds of fruit from this particular variety. From those fruit was produced the 3.9 Catapano which was heavily planted amd selected from an even greater pool producing such fruit as the 5.58 Timm seed.
That seed was grown by a very large amount of people last season, from that 5.58 Timm seed were produced Several fruit over four pounds, a few over 5 and one over 7.

Dare I say that the 7.18 Harp seed will see more soil than any of the seeds mentioned above?

12/22/2009 6:40:27 AM

ExtremeVegetables.com

This all equals out to a large collective of individuals who are highly motivated on reaching their goal of producing the world's largest tomato. A much greater effort in producing fruit with desired traits than probably any breeding effort currently in progress by any mass producer of seeds.
The individuals in this "collaboration" may be unaware of their involvement in this great breeding effort, but I'm Not.
I'll be taking full advantage of this and planting the results of this effort in my garden this coming season.
I gave my last packs of Totally Tomatoes Big Zac seeds away to a new grower. Why waste my space?

12/22/2009 6:40:35 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Tomato records!!! Look out!!! You are now in the hands of some of the best growers in the WORLD!!! 10#'s aint far away!!!! I bet 10# tomato b/4 2K# pkn!!! Peace, Wayne

12/22/2009 7:40:39 PM