I've been meaning to get started on this for years, but finally did it this year. I've wanted to start selecting some lines for keeping ability.
So back at the end of the summer (after a touch of frost) we'd picked every tomato off the vines. They've been in cardboard boxes in the garage ever since. A lot of the nicer ones have already been eaten by now but plenty have gone rotten along the way too. It's down to the end and I think it's time to save these last hold-outs for seed.
First picture shows the rejects. Second picture the last decent fruits. The reds are from some "wooly" lines that I've been intercrossing with larger-fruited varieties (like 'Beefsteak', 'Coustralee' and 'Mortgage Lifter'). That's why aside from being a little shriveled they might look a little "peach-fuzzy". The smaller yellows are from lines heavy in 'Yellow Pear' ancestry. And the cluster is from a line derived from 'Brandwine' and Lycopersicon hirsutum. Other than larger fruits, it's very similar to that species.
And not so bad for January 25th!!!
Impressive!
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