Got pictures?

I have a few I can post when I get home, but the way it's growing now - if I had to name it from scratch based on how it looks I'd call it "Bush Roma", lol.

It's so dense and compact that I can barely fit my hand into the center of the cage to get a look at the tomatoes.

The opalka seeds I got from seed savers exchange seem to be the right variety.

For what it's worth I'm the person who first listed Opalka in the SSE YEarbooks many years ago and I described the foliage as " medium cover of regular leaf foliage" and the plant habit as indeterminate.

Seeds originally from Carl Swidorski.

Yes, many paste varieties do have wispy, narrow leaves with serrated edges, and droopy looking, but Opalka is not one of them.

I'll be curious to see the pictures.

Carolyn

Here are the pictures of the plant in question:

Plant from a distance:

Plant foliage close-up:

Two pictures of the fruit trusses:

definitely not opalka. First time opalka grower here, I have my first fruit set and it's pointed at the blossom end, plus the foliage is a lot more wispy than in your pics. Sorry you got the wrong variety! hope this mystery one tastes good though.

Homegardenpa,

What you describe is exactly the same results I got two years ago with Oplaka seed from Tomatofest. Last year I bought my Opalka seeds from TGS and got the classic Opalka - elongated pepper shaped tomatoes with pointy tips and somewhat sparse, wispy foliage. Now that I know I have the right one I saved the seeds, and will each year.

TomNJ

"What you describe is exactly the same results I got two years ago with Oplaka seed from Tomatofest."

I figured it was the wrong variety based on what I've seen. Actually, it's the second wrong variety in one order from TomatoFest (got a PL red brandywine as well). Do you remember if the tomato that you got from this variety was worthwhile at all? I grow out at least two of any variety I grow, so I'm hoping it's not a complete waste of two spots in the garden.

PL red brandywine...wasn't a good tomato in my opinion. I got the seeds from tomatobob.com last year, only complaint about tomatobob is that they often have wrong seeds. For example this year my sparkler radishes aren't white-tipped like they should be. I'm just crossing my fingers that their (newly arrived) Bhut Jolokia peppers are true to type. they haven't set fruit yet. I didn't really buy tomato seeds from them this year, I traded instead.

Hi Homegardenpa,

I also received a PL Red Brandywine from Tomatofest two years ago, along with the "fauxpalka". When I wrote to Tomatofest to advise them that the Red Brandywine should be RL, they replied "this strain of Brandywine, Red is a potato leaf". Three strikes and they were out.

My recollection of the fauxpalka plants is that they produced like other Roma types. I used them in salsa, so I don't recall how they tasted.

TomNJ

These are my Opalkas growing right now from a seed trade, the first a little blurry but showing the definitive characteristic:

And a rather large zucchini along with one we'll eat tonight!

It appears that you are correct about at least that tomato not looking like an Opalka if they're all rounded on the bottom. One of the key characteristics of Opalkas is, I thought, its nippled blossom end, though of course it will be more pronounced in some of the fruits on a single plant than others just because it will!

Yes Tomatofest does sell the red PL brandywine as red brandywine. It is a legitamate variety even if TF markets it a bit untruthfully, IMO. I have also gotten several packets with stray seed and at least one mislabeled packet. That does not mean they are selling one variety as something else, just that their quality control is poor. They blamed student workers in my case.

Dix Doights du Naples has that robust tree like growth early on like in your picture. It has Opalka shaped fruit but they are smaller and in clusters. But if it is a TF quality control problem you could have anything.

They are good about replacing mislableed seed packets....Except for the Brandywine....I did get a stray seed from Rose in with my Red PL Brandywine. It was a much better variety. I also got Limmony and Lucky Cross grown out from stray seeds. Other varieties were not so easy to identify.

Yes Tomatofest does sell the red PL brandywine as red brandywine. It is a legitamate variety

****

Sorry, but I disagree. ( Smile)

Seeds by Design in CA is repsonsible for distributing two RB's, one PL, one RL, and neither one is Red Brandywine and both are offered by TGS. WHich is why Linda went out and got another one she got from the Landis Museum which she says is a strain, but there are no strains of RB.

The PL RB was offered for sale at a marked down price at TF I'm told and it wasnn't Ided as being PL which is how quite a few folks got it.

True RB is RL and has all other traits that match the original description of this variety.

Carolyn

It all sounds so familiar... (see link)

To summarize that link: Fauxpalka seeds had come from Sandhill and Totally Tomatoes. Tomato Growers Supply had true Opalka seeds.

I was totally unimpressed with Fauxpalka tomatoes last year(that is, before everything was totally wiped out by Late Blight). They were early, that's about all I can say for them. But small and tasteless.

I am growing what I am pretty sure is true Opalka this year, and the foliage is a little "wispy", but not dramatically so. It's like some of my plants that are supposed to produce heart shaped fruit - Bobbie, Donskoi, etc. But Fauxpalka has really distinctive foliage, I thought - very dense and compact.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fauxpalka discussion 2009

Here is my opalka from Seed Savers Exchange. I forgot to take a photo of the wispy leaves unfortunately.

Ok, so I'm determined that I will actually get and grow the true Opalka next year. I know this has been passed around before, but can anyone confirm a solid seed source for true Opalka? I'm looking for someone who got seed, grew it out already and can confirm the seed from one specific supplier.

I've heard Sandhill mentioned and TGS as well, but I've also heard of bad years where the seed was wrong. Hell, I'd pay 20 bucks at this point if I could just be guaranteed the seed was right; I'd rather that than waste another growing season on a variety I don't want.

Once I get a confirmed true-to-type plant, I'll be saving seed for sure.

You can try Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org/). I ordered opalka, amish paste, brandywine sudduth, gold medal tomatoes and ping tung eggplant from them this year, and everything seems to be right variety. Their selection is huge too for heirloom tomatoes.

Ok, SSE it is. I'm going to try to stay on top of things this year and order seed in the next few months for next years planting. I'll order what I can from SSE, then Victory seeds (which I've had perfect success rate with so far), then whatever varieties I can't find from them, I'm not sure. I've generally heard good things about TGS and Sandhill - just the occasional slip-up so I guess they'll be my go to places for other varieties.

Homegardenpa,

I grew true Opalkas last year from seeds from TGS, and saved the seeds from my tomatoes. If you'd like to send me your mailing address by PM I'll be happy to send you some seeds. By growing plants from multiple sources you can be sure to get some true Opalkas for next year.

TomNJ

I ordered opalka from someone on ebay this year, and ended up with a short, bushy plant similar to the pictures above. To my disappointment, it appears some kind of no/faux palka. The tomatoes look like bell peppers, with 4 lobes, and hollowed out like they'd be good for stuffing. I wanted to rip them up, but curiosity won the better of me and I'm going to wait and see what the ripened fruit is like.

Welll buyers beware. The Fauxpalkas are still out there in 2013. I too ordered seed (from an EBay) source and wound up with the same plants as pictured and described by HomeGardenPa.