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euarto_gullible

Anybody Grown Nile River ?

euarto_gullible
13 years ago

I received a variety called Nile River in a trade with a small seed company. Is this the same thing as Nile River Egyptian? I grew 5 plants. 4 out of 5 are potato leaf. Tatiana's TomatoBase has Nile River Egyptian listed as a RL heart. When I emailed the person who sent me the seeds, he insisted the seed came from a reputable grower in Canada. I planted 3 of the PL and the 1 RL and they do all appear to have the same growth habit, (taller and earlier to sprawl than all my other varieties), and the same type of blossoms. Any thoughts?

Comments (4)

  • digdirt2
    13 years ago

    Can't even find much info about it much less a source of seeds so it must be a rare duck indeed and only available via trades - and that opens up all sorts of mis-labeled or mis-named possibilities. Only mention of it I can find is in a couple of food-related articles.

    So let us know how they turns out.

    Dave

  • carolyn137
    13 years ago

    I find one listing for it in the 2010 SSE YEarbook from a person in Quebec.

    80-85 days. medium to large Oxheart, incredible paste tomato, low production, few seeds.

    ( there was no comment about taste)

    And the seed source is Greta's Organic Gardens.

    The proper name is Nile River Egyptian and I didn't go to her site but I can tell you that there are NO tomatoes that date back to the Egyptians, none at all. Tomatoes didn't leave South America until the Spanish took some in the 1500's, which is several thousands of years after there were any Nile River Egyptians.

    There used to be a variety listed in the SSE YEarbooks called Oos Oos Pei which someone said dated back to the Egyptians, no way, just creative descriptions to make something look rare, exclusive, etc.

    I find the description the person gave above as a bit strange saying it was an oxheart and then saying it was a paste variety since most hearts have few seeds anyway but that doesn't make them typical pasters, but most folks who want to make sauce want fruits with few seeds anyway. Ah well. ( smile)

    Carolyn

  • carolyn137
    13 years ago

    Just to add that I would believe what Tania says as she grew it and that I just took a peek at that Greta's site and I'm not so sure I'd call it a reputable dealer after I found that she was also listing Sandia Gem, which is another joke variety, parden me, and she also shows NOT a heart but a more typical long paste type in the picture.

    She also gives no info about anything having to do with leaf type, plant habit, etc., at least for the few that I scanned.

    If I were you I'd grow it, enjoy it for what it is but would not consider the seeds you received that gave PL plants to be a specific known variety.

    Carolyn

  • euarto_gullible
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the replies. If they turn out to be any good/unusual, I'll post pics and a description of the taste.