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Quote from: JanG on October 03, 2025, 15:16:04Tomatoes for the seed circle.


OSU Blue. I love the anthocyanin colouring of dark tomatoes and this one is bigger than some and a real winner in my book. It's quite heavy cropping and tastes good. OSU stands for Oregon State University where this variety was experimentally developed by Jim Myers in the first years of this century. It's one of the earliest anthocyanin varieties. My original seed was from an exchange.

It is actually  t h e  earliest non GM blue tomato ever created.  Here is a bit more of its origin.  https://www.tomatofifou.com/en/produit/osu-blue-p20/

A sample of tomato OSU Blue aka P20 'left' OSU, when it was in its late development stages and was avidly shared in seed communities.  And called 'OSU Blue'.  Later the final product was selected, which is now being sold as 'Indigo Rose', which I believe we also shared in the seed circle.  Indigo Rose is a little larger than OSU Blue, but OSU Blue was not yet the finished article, when it was 'liberated' from the lab.  This is the grandparent of  a l l  the very many blue varieties we now enjoy. 

Quote from: juliev on October 20, 2025, 18:09:23JanG, yes, the amaranth is supposed to pop a bit like popcorn, or maybe more like puffed rice? What I can't figure out is if all grain amaranth (the cream/beige seeds) have the ability to puff... Looks like I've got some experiments ahead of me!
re Kakai, what are your chances of pure seeds? Are you going to grow out a few and see?

ok, tomato list:
black strawberry - pink/red stripy cherry, beautiful and shiny!
indigo fireball - yellow with antho top, quite big for a cherry
Mlle Foriers - beautiful pink/red with antho shoulders, med/big
Marsha's Starfighter - beautiful dark stripy antho beefsteak

As you have noticed, I select tomatoes on looks 

I found some interesting online ways of using popped amaranth - as breakfast cereal, as a snack flavoured like popcorn, as a topping on a stir-fry etc. All tempting ideas.
A search on whether all grain amaranths can be popped came up with, " All grain amaranths (species cultivated for edible seeds, primarily Amaranthus caudatus, A. cruentus, and A. hypochondriacus) can be popped, though with varying success depending on freshness, dryness, and seed size. While each grain type will pop under high dry heat, some varieties expand more fully than others. For instance, A. cruentus (common in Mexico for making the traditional candy alegría) tends to pop most efficiently and evenly. A. caudatus and A. hypochondriacus will also puff, but their grains may produce smaller pops due to differences in seed coat and moisture content." Do you know which species your popping types are? I'll be interested to hear the results of any experimenting.

On Kakai coming true from seed - very little chance with mine. I have several other C.pepo varieties within easy reach. I won't try to grow them on as that's a lot of space taken by a squash which might well have neither usable flesh nor seeds.

Your tomatoes sound amazing. I can't resist a good looker either! 

Quote from: markfield rover on October 20, 2025, 12:42:17I was eyeing up the glassine paper that my bread came in to repurpose as seed packets!

Your seed packets are always a bit special, Markfield Rover.  I will never part with the hand painted ones we had one year. They are treasured. 

They do sound really nice Juliev.  Are they all fairly modern varieties?

JanG, yes, the amaranth is supposed to pop a bit like popcorn, or maybe more like puffed rice? What I can't figure out is if all grain amaranth (the cream/beige seeds) have the ability to puff... Looks like I've got some experiments ahead of me!
re Kakai, what are your chances of pure seeds? Are you going to grow out a few and see?

ok, tomato list:
black strawberry - pink/red stripy cherry, beautiful and shiny!
indigo fireball - yellow with antho top, quite big for a cherry
Mlle Foriers - beautiful pink/red with antho shoulders, med/big
Marsha's Starfighter - beautiful dark stripy antho beefsteak

As you have noticed, I select tomatoes on looks 

Hello everyone,

sorry it's been a bit crazy around here...

I have a lot to replies to catch up on... I'll start with the latest:
JanG, I have received the final details, thank you!

Markfield Rover, I also have your message, thank you!

Thank you . It's all getting exciting now ! I was eyeing up the glassine paper that my bread came in to repurpose as seed packets!

That's mysterious, MR. Vetivert's missing email had a simple explanation but I have no idea why you're having trouble. I'll send the admin email to you again.

Sorry , just to add I sent a PM to juliev yesterday and that's lost too !

It's probably me , but I can't find PMs or notifications of ! And JanG yours has disappeared! Anyone else ? Cheers.

Sorry about that Vetivert. I sent your message to the person who once upon a time used the other name you sometimes use elsewhere!
It is now sent under your present A4A user name.