Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
starflakes

Big Boy Tomatoe

starflakes
18 years ago

In looking for the tomatoe my grandfather grew 35 years ago for the variety which I remember as the acidic tomatoe taste, I have been running the gambit from Brandywine to Sioux. It had me doing research and I wanted to share an observation on Big Boy and it's breeder, Dr. Oved Shifriss.

There has been alot of mystery concerning the parents of Big Boy. Dr. Carolyn has stated plainly that Dr. Shifriss told her the parents, one of which is Teddy Jones, a large pink tomatoe. The other in a quote is:

Posted by: Carolyn137 z4/5 NY (My Page) on Sun, Jul 11, 04 at 23:55

I forgot to say that Teddy Jones is not a Ukrainaian variety for my whole search to track it down started with an older SSE member who contacted me who lived on the farm next to where the folks who had Teddy jones lived, and knew them and knew the variety.

And the other parent is absolutly NOT a Ukrainian variety, you'll just have to trust me on that.

end quote.

* So that means George Ball was pulling people's legs when he mentioned Black Krim in the same sentence with Big Boy.

What I wanted to put into the public thought is the possible deduction of the other parent which has always been in plain sight.

There was a tomatoe bred from Globe and a Marvel (which was European) cross, which became open pollinated Marglobe in 1917 by Fred Prichard of the USDA.

This variety went on to become the parent of alot of tomatoes from Break o' Day to the legendary Rutgers bred by Campbell's Soup Company in 1934 which was crossed with JTD. Rutgers at one time accounted for 70% of all processed tomatoes in America grown mostly in New Jersey.

As Sherlock Holmes professed in logical deduction, the other parent of Big Boy should be a proven disease resistant variety, proven in crossing successful hybrids, crack resistant, high yields, early, determinate and processes well in handling...and when crossed with a large pink Teddy Jones for increasing size Big Boy would be the result in 1949.

The Marglobe line fits this profile perfectly as it is listed as the parent of a number of varieties.

Perhaps the only mystery was Teddy Jones in people never figuring out that was the other parent as it was obscure, because every plant breeder of that generation was utilizing Marglobe as it was popular and Rutgers went into Rock Star status.

I am just thankful it was produced and that others have now made it open pollinated so it can settle it's own pollination status and occur naturally in the world for those who love acidic tomatoes with hybrid qualities and heirloom virtue.

Comment

    Sponsored
    HEMAX Construction Services & Landscaping, LLC
    Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars34 Reviews
    Innovative & Creative Landscape Contractors Servicing VA