Visit to Marianna's Heirloom Tomato Farm

[Darth Slater]

Marianna is that kind of person, she also is a one woman operation..she also shows the colorchart {against others advice} but so does Brad gates and now Alan Bishop.
She has given more free seeds to folks, I don't know how she makes any money, Bill Jeffers was the crator of Dixiewine perhaps he can give some info.
Also, he has his own page on Mariannas for those who would like to persue a tomato they can name and hand down to their families..this is how heirlooms are created!!
It is the only site that offers these and all the results are fantastic!!
Some will be better in the heat than others, some also have disease resistance there is something for everyone, so, create you very own heirloom!

I ordered for the first time from Marianne this year.To say I am impressed with here selection would be an understatement.My main focus was one to get Dixiewine to see if it would do well here in Michigan.Also something that I use to bug Darth about was Italian tomatoes.Well she has a few ( don't take me literally on that ) I got what I could and intend to go back for more later this year.Yeah I am mater crazy but then again I would not have it any other way.Thanks Marianne for doing what you do for the garden community.





Kevin

[redneckplanter]

thanks ggg.
smiles

[G. Gordon Gumbo]

Originally Posted by LInFL

I went to her site yesterday and saw the heirloom crosses and the Dixiewine. The Dixiewine in particular intrigued me. Have any of you in the hot and humid South grown that one? How did it do for you? Taste? Disease resistance? Production (including setting fruit in the heat)?

Thanks for any experiences you can share.

Dixiewine is Marianna's personal selection at the 5th or 6th generation from my original cross of Brandywine x Neves Azorean Red. I sent several F2 seeds to Tom Micholas in New Jersey, who shared them with Ray Newstead of California. Ray grew a couple generations of the cross, and shared seeds with a fellow (whose name currently escapes me) in Washington State. The Washingtonian fellow grew a couple generations of the cross, and shared seeds with Marianna, who after a couple years growing them out, selected what she thought was a very good tomato. She named her tomato Dixiewine, and now offers it at her seed sales Web site.

With regard to heat setting abilities, I can only say that I did not have a problem with either of the original parent lines, or with the original F1 plants, and most of the subsequent lines that I have grown out from the cross did well in southwest Indiana's hot and humid summers. Marianna will have to answer to Dixiewine's heat setting abilities, as she grown tomatoes in southwest Tennessee between Nashville and Memphis, where it does get a bit hotter than where I live which is about 140 or so miles due north of Marianna's farm, as the buzzard flies (see Evansville, IN to Dickson, TN aerial mileage for exact distance).

The Brandywine parent I used was very productive for a Brandywine, setting and ripening 36 large tomatoes by August 15, at which time I harvested the tomatoes with the F1 seeds, and removed the vine from the garden. It would've produced more tomatoes had I left it until frost. The F1 vines from the cross set many, many tomatoes more than either parent, and subsequent lines I have grown from that cross have all be above average for Brandywine type tomatoes.

Two adjacent clusters of Brandywine tomatoes on the parent plant with a tagged tomato indicating F1 Brandywine x NAR seeds inside:


A typical tomato for size taken off the exact NAR parent plant that provided the pollen for the original cross:


The green fruit on an F1 Brandywine x NAR vine:


Fruit off the F1 Brandywine x NAR with notation of plant-out date and harvest date:

These F1s were much earlier than the Brandywine parent which I transplanted the year before on April 9, 2006, and did not get a ripe tomato until around 110 days later in August. It is not unusual for F1s, F2s, and subsequent selections (if you make them carefully) to ripen much earlier than either parent.

Leaf form on the F1 Brandywine x NAR:


Now, from the F2 seeds that I sent Tom Micholas, he and Ray Newstead both grew vines that had leaves with serrated edges. I've grown both serrated leaf types and smooth edged leaf types in subsequent generations. I think Dixiewine remains serrated edge leaf types, or what most folks would call "regular leaf" or "normal leaf" types.

Best I can answer all your questions is to tell you that every vine I've grown from any line originating from the cross has given me lots of old fashioned, very flavorful tomatoes, some pink, some red, all good. But my advice is to try Dixiewine for yourself. Marianna says it's one of her very favorite tomatoes.


GGG

Very nice maters GGG.I will let everyone know how Dixiewine does here.



Kevin

[carolyn137]

Cut and pasted from Bill's post above:


Dixiewine is Marianna's personal selection at the 5th or 6th generation from my original cross of Brandywine x Neves Azorean Red. I sent several F2 seeds to Tom Micholas in New Jersey, who shared them with Ray Newstead of California. Ray grew a couple generations of the cross, and shared seeds with a fellow (whose name currently escapes me) in Washington State. The Washingtonian fellow grew a couple generations of the cross, and shared seeds with Marianna, who after a couple years growing them out, selected what she thought was a very good tomato. She named her tomato Dixiewine, and now offers it at her seed sales Web site.

Bill, the person whose name you can't remember is Mike Owen and here's a long but to me at least and possibly others, interesting thread which starts with someone asking what the NAR X Bradywine ( sic) cross is that's listed at Marianne's site.


You might remember that I contacted you ASAP when this whole situation came b/c I knew you had done the initial cross and indeed had sent me seeds for it, as explained in the following link:

http://idigmygarden.com/forums/showt...andywine+X+NAR

Note posts 11 and 28 especially/

Hope the above helps.

Carolyn

[LInFL]

Thank you, GGG, for your very detailed and helpful answer! Your post and Carolyn's (and the thread she linked) were quite an education. I had no idea this variety had such an interesting history.

I'm looking forward to trying that tomato to see what it can do down here in Florida.

[butterbean]

Originally Posted by Blanesgarden

Closer Look!

Might have been 30,000...who knows?

Before all those go bad (lol) I'd love to have some for mid season transplants. The ones you gave me earlier are awsome looking and loaded with fruit. Yall know I'm a newbie at starting from seeds but it is sooo much better than buying plants. Mine look sooo much healthier than my neighbors and hes a great old gardener. I'm learning alot from all you gardening gurus. Thanks!!

[Darth Slater]

Wait until you see what will be offered this next season at Mariseeds!! We at P.K.S Heirlooms are throwing our whole collection of over 9,000 plus varieties into her data base, along with MANY new crosses and tons of new dwarf tomatoes {Not from the dwarf project at another forum} we have alot more.
We will also be featuring tomatoes that do well in the heat, this is a new idea I had and will have a page dedicated to tomatoes that do well in hot conditions.
Stay Tuned!!!
Also, for you folks that get seeds from there, please send your photos as there is a page dedicated to your sucessful tomato season!!

Hey Dean,

You beat I will provide pics.So far Dixiewine and Santorini are doing well as are Guido( from Dan) , Grandpa Charlie and Van Wert Ohio. Oh yes and Darth Mater


Kevin