I find great joy out of acquiring seeds for varieties that are rare. It’s one of the reasons I’ve started to request a small selection of seeds from Plant Gene Resources Canada every year to grow out for the seed bank. Through this I’ve also found that “Seed Exchange Technician” is an actual job that somebody has, and if it weren’t for the fact that it was located in Saskatchewan, I would do everything in my power to make that my job. Saskatchewan is just way too cold for me. Despite the fact I was raised on the prairies, I’m a huge wuss with the cold.
But I digress.
This year I kept it minimal because I still had a selection of varieties from last year to grow out (‘Green Lime’, ‘Platillo’, and ‘Americke Pyramidni’) so I restrained myself and only requested four varieties. Here’s a bit about them:
Tomato ‘Saint Pierre’ (CN 640). Originally from France, given to a collector in Alberta in 1966, then donated to PGRC in 1974. All that’s available on this one is that it has an oblate shape, is bi- or tri-coloured (red/orange/yellow) and that it’s late maturing.
Tomato ‘Scr 5’ (CN 18761). Collected from the Canary Islands of Spain in 1986 and given to PGRC. A late maturing red oblate fruit, regular leaf.
Tomato ‘Colorado Grueso’ (CN 1466). Collected originally from Argentina by the USDA in 1937, then obtained by a collector in Alberta, and ultimately donated to PGRC in 1967. Oblate bi- or tri- coloured fruit with an uneven pleated shape, smallish plant, but indetermiante. Early maturing.
Tomato ‘Agona Local’ (CN 18218). Seed donated to PGRC by a Mr. Agble in 1989. Variety originally from Ghana (and the name would suggest from the town of Agona). Later maturing determinate plant, regular leaf, red fruit.