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Ontario, Canada.

http://gvgo.ca/mb/index.php?topic=3291.msg21297#msg21297

GPC Champion Giant Tomato up for AUCTION ubtil Sunday evening.

Lot 1. 7.33 Hunt 10 > 5.0 Timm x Self. 6 seeds

6 progeny over 4 pounds
4.97 Boudyo 11
4.46 Marley 11
4.51 Vincent 12
4.42 Landry 11
4.32 Hunt 12
4.00 Butler/Johnston 12
3.96 Huffer 13
3.90 Wescott 12
3.88 Vincent 12
3.85 Landry 11
3.72 Vincent 12
3.71 Delaney 11
3.65 Lyons 11
3.55 Sweet 11
3.50 Landry 11
3.40 Timm 11
3.28 Lyons 12
3.13 Hunt 12
3.08 Lorson 13

Bidding begins now and is open until Sunday Dec. 1st at 11pm Est.

Please reply with gvgo user name directly on the message board at GVGO.ca or cut and paste the link above.

11/28/2013 4:05:12 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Lots of great seeds from big tomatoes listed here. Which ones are from the Hunt line, the Timm Line, or the Brandt line? Are any of these seeds from Big Zac and, if so, which ones? The parentage of seeds is important if we are to know in the future which is which. The names should indicate the lineage. How else will we ever be able to keep track of the seeds as in, "What am I growing?"

11/29/2013 4:23:30 PM

Linden, Mi.,

Thank you, Marv !

11/29/2013 7:42:34 PM

Ontario, Canada.

All of the fruit listed above are offspring of the 7.33 Hunt.

11/30/2013 7:16:19 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Many have tried to grow a big tomato from the variety Delicious, the variety Gordon Graham used when he established the long standing world record. I received some seeds from England that Gordon had sent to a friend wrapped in tin foil. Minnie Z. was able to germinate one of the seeds from Gordon but the progeny of that seed never amounted to anything. Then along came the Hunts who, with Delicious seeds of no renoun,correct me if I am wrong, were purchased at a store in a seed pack, grew a 7+ pound tomato. Seeds from their tomato, which have been recognized now as "The Hunt strain of Delicious," have produced several really large tomatoes including my own 6.51 pounder. If you want a shot at a big tomato, the seeds being offered here give you that chance. Recall that Delicious is an heirloom variety and so the genetics of these seeds should be exactly the same as those in the Hunt tomato. With these seeds you will have the genetics and the rest will be up to you. Marv

11/30/2013 10:10:30 AM

Ontario

No, sorry, but you are wrong Marv. Phil and Jane grew their 7.33 lb tomato from the 5.0 Timm seed grown in 2008. The 5.0 Timm seed was grown from the 3.8 Timm seed from 2006. Prior to that, I am not sure, perhaps someone else knows the rest of the lineage.

11/30/2013 11:05:48 AM

Cameron

Thanks for the explanation. Our seed came from Brant Timm 5.0 Delicious variety. I'm not sure how far back it goes to when Brant bought the original seeds. I hope this helps.

Jane & Phil

11/30/2013 11:06:14 AM

Cameron

So are there any bidders for these seeds? 6 - 7.33 Hunt seeds are rare.

I only have 4 seeds of my own left. All funds go to support the GVGO & the Ontario weigh offs. Thanks in advance.

Jane & Phil

11/30/2013 11:10:11 AM

Ontario

Yes, the bidding is open on the GVGO website and is currently sitting at $25

http://gvgo.ca/mb/index.php?topic=3291.0

11/30/2013 11:17:58 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Well, at least I had the Delicious part right. You can see that without good records the origination of seeds relative to variety can easily be lost.

11/30/2013 11:35:32 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Marv and all firstly my apology for not including this information. I have made changes to tomatoes that I know of on the GVGO web site. Is there anyplace we can go to find out the origination of seeds.

My question is where did the 3.8 Timm come from. I have contacted John B recently and he was unsure about his 5.50 but from what is posted I believe it was BZ. Maybe?

I sent an email this morning to Brant & Brandon Timm to find out. I will also contact Frank C. to find out the 3.90 and his 3.40 that grew my 5.42 which I have always believed to be delicious.

If anyone can help I would be happy to included this information in the future.

12/1/2013 5:41:53 AM

Ontario

I do believe most tomato growers are now making a concerted effort to include the strain on their seed packages if they know it. We unfortunately cannot change the past, but going forward I am sure most growers will make the effort to include the variety if they know it.

12/1/2013 8:48:00 AM

Ontario

The 5.50 J/B was from 5.58 Timm, and someone posted earlier that they believe it was Big Zac.

Many of our tomato's up here in Canada originated through Catapano and Timm, and perhaps they will be able to clear up what varieties they originated from.

12/1/2013 8:52:42 AM

Cameron

5.50 J/B & the 3.9 Catapano was a BZ.

Phil

12/1/2013 8:59:47 AM

Ontario

Hi Marv, The 3.9 Catapano was grown from my 4.59 tomato which was grown in 2006 and was grown directly from a B.Z. seed.There have been several direct decendants from both the 3.9 and 5.58 that have maintained a strong pedigree for the past few years. Chris

12/1/2013 8:34:27 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Chris:
You were the one who actually started it all. Your seeds were first in the line of what ultimately grew the Harp 7+ pounder and all the tomatoes being grown later by Boudyo in France. Had you not sent out seeds from your 4.59 Big Zac to Catapono we would not likely have reached the sizes being grown now on a regular basis. And think where we would be had your father not instilled in you your love of growing tomatoes?
Marv

12/2/2013 10:47:13 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Hi Russ,

The 5.0 is a seed line I started back in 2005. I purchased a pack of store bought Delicious seeds from Mr. Tomato in Winnipeg. I then grew a 2.0 that was first in Ottawa at the Byward Market that year. The 2.0 then grew my 3.8 in 06 that was first again for me at our first weigh-off in Pembroke, and then the 3.8 grew my 5.0 from 08 which was weighed at Port Elgin and was second to my 5.32. For some reason they did not record the 5.0 in the GPC standings. The 5.0 then grew the 7.33 hunt. To think this all started from a pack of seed, my goal was to see how big I could grow a tomato from a store bought seed and develop my own seed line that would hopefully improve the genetics for growing the next World Record. The Hunts took it to the next level and almost got it there and I was most excited for them when they weighed the 7.33 at Port Elgin. Since there has been a renewed interest in tomato growing maybe we will see the next Record in the near future. One thing I have noticed with this line is the fruit are very meaty and seem to weigh very heavy.

Store Bought Seed 05
2.0 Timm 05 Delicious Variety
3.8 Timm 06
5.0 Timm 08
7.33 Hunt 10

The 5.58 is Big Zac
It was grown from the 3.9 Catapano 07 which came from the 4.59 Lyons 06

Hope this helps and clears up the genetics on the seed lines.

Brant

12/4/2013 12:31:02 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Thank you so very much Brant. We must not lose the history of these seeds. Parentage will be important. Some growers don't seem to understand that good records are of value. Where would we be in the pumpkin world if good seed records were not kept? I fear the heritage of some of the tomato seeds has already been lost due to people naming the seeds after themselves without good records of where they came from.

12/5/2013 9:13:49 AM

Ontario, Canada.

I had a long talk on the phone with Frank this evening and discovered a few new facts that I never knew.

It turns out the origin of his seed line came from the Italian community in Toronto. It was described as a Heart shaped meaty tomato that he started growing in 1999. He says he never grew anything else over the years. Amazingly he never grew them for size. They were always grown for taste. Often he would have 20 to 30 pounds growing on a single plant. routinely they would reach 2 to 3 pounds with little effort. He would keep the biggest tomato each year for seeds. They were usually fused blossoms and often looked very gnarly but were also very tasty.

So from what he figures the Catapano seed line that he say's includes the 3.4 and the 3.9 May in fact be a completely different animal from Big Zac or Delicious. Not sure what to make of this in light of what we previously thought.

The more I dig into this the more confused I have become. Golly is this a can of worms!

12/5/2013 10:42:14 PM

Cameron

I have a feeling that he might have got his seeds from one of the top growers from the Great Tomato Hunt in Toronto. There were a couple growers that broke through 7# & I'm wondering if he didn't get his seed from one of those growers. Just a thought, but he is in the right area to communicate with those guys. If your talking to Frank Catapano, ask him if this is where his seed originates from. If so, we might be able to track down the variety. Thanks.

Jane & Phil

12/6/2013 9:27:36 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Are you saying that Catapano never grew the 2006 Lyons 4.59 and that his 2007 Catapano 3.9 actually came from his own seeds? Holey Moley!!! And if so his seed was probably an heirloom! And even more likely so if he got it from an Italian grower in Toronto who most likely weighed in at The Great Tomato Hunt there where 2 tomatoes over 7 pounds were weighed. Marv

12/7/2013 2:42:47 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Marv, that's not what I'm saying. It is what Frank is saying in an hour long conversation I had with on Thursday evening. He never mentioned he ever grew the 4.59.He said straight up that he always grew his own seed since 1999 over the years.

I am heading out for dinner this evening with The Hunts and Chris Lyons tonight. I will have more to report on Sunday. Then I will schedule a personal meeting with Frank at his office ASAP. I need dental check up anyways so I can kill two birds with one stone.

This kind of turns the Tomato world upside down doesn't it. I don't think he has any of the 3.4 left that grew my 5.41 but he may have 3.9's. I will let everyone know what I come up with.

Russ

12/7/2013 4:21:32 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

If it is true that Catapano grew only his own seed and if it was an heirloom then every tomato in line after that including all of the Boudyo tomatoes came from the 2007 Catapano 3.9. If the tomato had no name then we should call it the Catapano and many many of the seeds now being grown are actually Catapano. This changes things considerably.

12/7/2013 10:02:19 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Marv. I talked with Chris on Saturday and he is almost certain that Frank grew the 3.9 from his 4.59. I need to call Frank and talk to him one more time. However The 3.4 Catapano could still be his own line.

stay tuned.

Russ

12/10/2013 1:24:42 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Thanks. This will be significant if Catapano did not grow the Lyons seed or if it was not in the line. The question gets down to whether the 2007 Catapano 3.09 came from the Lyons seed or from his own. The 3.09 ultimately gave us Nick Harp's 7.18 as well as all of Boudyo's over 6 pound tomatoes.

12/10/2013 2:48:01 PM