Re: [tomato] Creating your own heirlooms?
Greg Park (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Wed, 31 Mar 1999 09:55:17 -0800
Chuck, Louis, and others,
Very interesting...all of the replies. My intent was not to stir up debate
on messing with nature to the degree of artificially splicing the genes of 2
different phyla...I would think that everyone on this NG is opposed to that
kind of science-gone-berserk. I was actually thinking how I might get my
children interested in gardening while also giving them a head start in
biology 101.
In addition, I have thought it would be useful to perhaps cross pollinate
two varieties (or more) to achieve certain characteristics not found in a
tomato you are familiar with. For example, if you really like the taste and
texture of a certain variety but it doesn't grow in your climate, perhaps
you could (in a controlled environment) cross and stabilize it with a
variety that does. From the discussions, it seems that the stabilizing such
a variant could be next to be impossible, but perhaps worth a try. Is this
easier than trying a multitude of existing varieties? Maybe not. However,
it might be more interesting/rewarding depending on the inclinations of the
individual :^)
>By definition an heirloom tomato is one that is open pollinated AND had
>been in existence since WWII.
I guess we would just call it open pollinated and stabilized.
Sorry, didn't mean to misuse the semantics of what an "heirloom" tomato is.
I agree with Louis. I was talking about creating your own stabilized OP
variety. In my mind though, if you were successful and passed it on to your
children, then it could become a family heirloom...er, never mind.
Still waiting for seeds,
Greg Park
CEO-in-Training
Park Steel Company, Inc.
Park.Steel@worldnet.att.net
Zone 10