I see a big problem here,

Tomatofest is not perfect,noplacethatsellsOP seeds is, and from time to time they too make mistakes, but to have so many varieties that are not what they should be is of great concern to me and to others reading here.

Baker Creek is not perfect either and there are quite a few wrong varieties that they have sent out as well, and that doesn't make them a bad place to buy seeds from either.

Have you grown true;

Opalka
Anna Russian
Neves Azorean Red

to name a few and I'm the original source for Opalka and NAR and one of the first to grow Anna Russian back in the 90's..

Can you think of any reason for such confusion after the seed packs reached you?

I think I can,possibly,but I'll let you answer first.

Again, it concerns me that Tomatofest was spoken of negatively,and Baker Creek Positively,although they have sent out wrong varieties themselves,in terms of possibly suggesting to others that they should not order from Tomatofest but should from Baker Creek,

And I do know the owners of both seed companies.

I'm not discounting that you may have some wrong varieties, but that many in one order is of great concern,

Do you plan on contacting Gary at TF and telling him about it to see if others have reported the same? But if it were me I don't think I would until you can thinkof ways that some confusion might have occurred after the labelled seeds reached you.

I also think it might be very helpful if you list the varieties you got from Baker Creek as well.

Carolyn

Carolyn:

These are all new varieties for me. It was not my intention to smear TF. I know things happen and I'm sure they would not be in business as long as they have if this was a common occurrence. I was freaking out a little I guess as I was looking forward to these varieties and not knowing exactly what I had. As far as my end I can only say I am very meticulous, but of course mistakes can happen. After looking at the opalka plants with suspicion for a long while I noticed that my SMR were getting very long and slender and then finally they were unmistakably opalka. I thought then maybe I had made a mistake so I looked up the growth habit for both and they were indeterminate and what was supposed to be opalka were determinate. Also the Anna Russian were noticeably wrong. I think the Italian Heirloom are probably right. They are decribed as pear shaped and while a few look like hearts most are oblong with slightly pointy ends but more oblong than pear I would say. I will look again at the NAR as they might not be completely ripe. I was going to wait until the other varieties showed color before I reported anything. I was just wondering if anyone else was having any problems. From Baker Creek I got Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Kelloggs Breakfast, Pantano Romenesco, and Stupice. All of those excluding KB (which have not blushed) are looking good. Also I grew Yellow Brandywine, Black Krim, German Pink, and another variety that I got as a local heirloom that are all looking good. I will gather more info and see if I can figure anything out on my end but it looks like some are not showing true to anything that I was growing.

Upon further review:

I think the NAR are OK. I was either looking at the wrong plant or thought it was blushing pink. I have one on now that looks like it will be red.

I think what I thought was Italian Heirloom are in fact Anna Russian. Wispy foliage and the immature fruit are dead ringers on tatanias database. They were early as was reported. I would say they are more orange red than pinkish red though.

So either I have blundered badly, but only with the seeds from one vender or they are mis-labeled. All the packages are identical except for a printed label. I am going to try to start more seed and see if I can get them up big enough to at least identify them if not get some mature fruit. It's going to be pushing it with average first frost being early to mid-October. I do hope it was my mistake. I will report my findings. Thanks Carolyn.