Arkansas Traveler

Incredibly delicious, this classic pink heirloom has traveled widely because of its solid dependability and distinct flavor. Tolerates high heat and humidity and is resistant to cracking and disease.indeterminate.5-7 oz. fruits. 85 . This is the classic description but where did it come from? Who developed it? What else is out there about this great tomato? I will try to answer these questions.A 100 year old heirloom tomato that was grown throughout the South from northwest Arkansas to North Carolina.

Traveler tomato is a homegrown tomato released in 1971 by Joe McFerran of the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department. It has a distinctive pinkish look due to the absence of a yellow pigment in the epidermis, a characteristic perpetuated during the breeding process to distinguish it as a high quality product. McFerran developed the cultivator for the tomato growers of southeastern Arkansas, but it's equally at home in the home garden.

McFerran, who retired from the university in 1986, grew up during the Depression on a farm near Charleston in Sebastian County. In 1954, he began working with the state's tomato industry.

The distinctive pink-fleshed Traveler tomato was a marketing advantage while the retail marketplace was dominated by mom-and-pop stores. But as supermarket chains began to dominate after the mid 1970s, buyers wanted everything to look the same. To them, tomatoes should be red. By 1990, the southeastern Arkansas industry began shifting to the red-fleshed "Mountain" series of cultivators developed in North Carolina. Tomato growers now often have 20 acres or more of production and rely heavily on migrant labor to assist in the harvest.

Traveler and Traveler 76 tomatoes are still around but it may take a treasure hunt to find them. Some of the independent garden centers still grow Traveler transplants in the spring, hoarding their remaining seeds like the rare gems they are.Thats about all I know or could find about the Arkansas Traveler.So untill next time see you in the tomato patch.

Greenhouse finally!

Yes I will finally have my green house this year. I bought one of those do it yourself hoop house benders that you see on eBay and I will be reporting on here what I think of it.Along with step by step pictures. A friend's house just burnt down and all that was left was a huge wood burning stove he had and I will be using that to heat the green house. All together I'm planning on spending about 4000.00 on a 20' x 96' greenhouse. The plastic is ridiculously priced at 1000.00 for 2 layers.Again blame that on the oil companies considering a big part of plastic is oil.The spring of 2010 I will have tomato and pepper plants for sale,well I hope. That's my plan anyways. I am also buying a 4' x 4000' plastic mulch this year,getting to old to weed all those tomatoes. My sales I'm happy to report have gone though the roof this year on my seed sales.Just search dr tomato.com if your interested.That about all for today,so I'll see ya in the tomato patch.

Giants oh my!

I was out in the tomato patch and I have been getting some real monsters this year.I'll post some pictures on here. Here's one I picked yesterday .It is a 3.5 pound 1884 tomato.Ok now that I posted it it is the one above me. That is a full sized plate it's sitting on. But you say you've never heard of a 1884.Well this is what i know. This heirloom tomato is said to have been discovered by James Lyde Williamson near Friendly W.Virginia in a pile of flood debris from the Ohio River in 1884. These organic heirloom tomato seeds produce a vigorous, regular leaf, tomato plant that yields large 1-2 lb.dark pink tomatoes and oviously bigger with lots of tomato flavors. Great tomatoes to include in your garden and on your table! Indeterminate 85 days.I grew this tomato as well as others with no special treatment. So I guess with some care it would or could be even bigger. See you in the tomato patch and hopefully to talk about tomatoes.

Woodstock ?

No I'm not talking about the peanuts character however cute he is. I'm talking about the one and only in New York that maid the Woodstock Generation,ME! I was not able to be present at this most wonderful of all things but I was in Ohio at the time and through others I know that were there and the documentaries I feel I was there. What a time to grow up, Nixon, Kennedy, Vietnam, Woodstock, the great flood here in Ohio on July 4th 1969, Me in my bell bottom pants,long hair and all. I don't still look or dress like that but I am the same person on the inside and I wear it proudly.
I still believe in all the same things, that's why I live in the country,raise organic heirloom tomatoes and live the way I do. To this day and beyond look at the pictures around here and you will see me.Peace and love to all and I'll see you in the tomato patch.

Arkansas Traveler ?

Every time I hear this name I think of Blues Traveler. If you don't know who they are look them up sometime.They have some pretty good music. Ok back to tomatoes.First the description .....Incredibly delicious, this classic pink heirloom has traveled widely because of its solid dependability and distinct flavor. Tolerates high heat and humidity and is resistant to cracking and disease.indeterminate . 5-7 oz. fruits. 85 days. What else do I know about this tomato,by the way another yummy one.Said to have been bred by Joe Mecfrran of the University of Arkansas and released as Traveler in 1971. 'Arkansas' got tacked onto the name somewhere along the way. Several sites have now amended the name and just called it Traveler .Also been called Traveler 76.For lots more information see Traveler

See you next time in the tomato patch.

Health care Bill

I know it's not about tomatoes but from time to time you'll see me rant and rave.The health care bill,I must admit I haven't read it yet but I'm all for the premises of it. I've seen to many people die including children because they couldn't pay for it or the greedy ,money grubbing ,worthless peices of crap insurance companies refused to pay for it. Now I'm not just on them,I also hate the lieing,greedy,worthless pile of crap pharmaceutical companies to. My wife had a blood clot and they wanted $100.00 a shot for 6 shots like we had that,we both were just laid off and didn't have insurance,not that they'd pay for it anyways. Which leads me to the greedy hospitals.They put my wife in the hospital and than gave her the shots,actually I gave her the shots becuase they said I needed to learn how to do it and than they charged us $300.00 per shot. $5.00 for a aspirin and $5.00 for a soda.They said its exspensive to keep someone there because they couldn't put someone else in that bed. Ok if it's so exspensive then why was the the other bed empty ?

The Russians are comming!!!! The Anna Russian

At least that's what we were lead to believe as I was growing up. We raced with them in the war machines,we raced with them in space but than the wall came tumbling down. But as you all know who read my blog my race is a slow one and is all about tomatoes. Today there are all sorts of Russian tomatoes and I raise lots of them myself. The Anna Russian tomato.This luscious sweet heirloom was reported to have been brought to Oregon by a Russian immigrant generations ago. Pinkish red, heart shaped fruits are large, early and juicy with outstanding flavor.weighing about one pound. indeterminate.70 day.This is the dicription you will find on most websites but I like to dig further. I like to find the whole story behind tomatoes when possible.When not I tell you what I do know and leave it up to you to tell me and other reader's more.Anna Russian was sent to Craig LeHoullier in 1989 by Brenda Getty Hillenius of Corvallis, Oregon. She received the variety from her grandfather, Kenneth Wilcox. Kenneth received the seeds from a Russian immigrant in the 1980s, who was sent the variety by his family, who lived in Russia. Craig LeHoullier introduced it to the SSE Yearbook in 1989.The original letter sent with this seed Letter
Thats it for today.Keep learning and I'll see ya in the tomato patch.