The hybrid evolution of Agi Red
 

We have a new tomato variety - Agi Red

It is a little red tomato with yellow stripes. Fruits start out saladette size and end up cherry size late in the season.

Fruit flavor is well balanced and bright.

The fruits hold well on the vine and off the vine, however unlike many long-shelf-life varieties, they are not rubbery or crunchy.

It is a tomato that growers and gardeners will love, specifically because it has very high end flavor, in fruits that are consistently good for an extended period after harvest.

Agi Red is a hybrid and this balance of fruit characteristics -- Gourmet flavor and texture, with long shelf life and heavy production -- is something we have not accomplished with our OP varieties (Blush, Sunrise Bumblebee, Lucky Tiger etc.). All of our OP varieties have very good flavor, but deficiencies in shelf-life.

I would not say that it it is impossible to get an OP with the balance of fruit characteristics that Agi Red has. But my experience tells me that it would be much, much more difficult to do so.

Over the course of breeding many OP varieties and now hybrids like Agi Red, I have learned not to assume that OP varieties can be everything that hybrids can be. I still grow, appreciate and develop new OP varieties. But I also appreciate the unique things that hybrids can be, particularly for small growers, like myself, who need to [B]consistently[/B] deliver fruits with high end flavor to customers.

Agi Red is a tomato I have been trying to breed for over 15 years, and I do not believe it would have happened if my thinking about hybrids had not evolved.

Thanks for mentioning that it's not crunchy. You have my attention :). It sounds wonderful! (You forgot to mention about disease resistance here and that's a big plus for many of us!)

How do you spell the name again? :)

Linda

Disease resistance has been very good over the past 3 years in our field, and collaborators in Belgium and Upstate NY said it performed very well for them this year in pretty tough conditions.

That's all we know for now. No specific resistances are claimed at this time.

The name is Agi Red. It was Aga Red for a couple of days before I learned that "Agi" is a better translation of "Baby" from Korean, compared to "Aga".

Would love to see some pics of the Baby, Fred. :D

[QUOTE=bower;745389]Would love to see some pics of the Baby, Fred. :D[/QUOTE]

[IMG]https://store.growartisan.com/images/50260034d4/cache/images/50260034d4/site/products/proportion/Agi%20Red%20Fruits_w960_h923/Agi%20Red%20Fruits_09050122.jpg[/IMG]

Agi Red

[IMG]https://store.growartisan.com/images/50260034d4/site/products/Agi%20Red(1).jpg[/IMG]

It's very pretty. InDeterminate or determinate?

Wispy foliage?

Thick or thin skin? Do you notice the skin when eating it?

Indeterminate

Regular leaf.

Not wispy foliage.

Vigorous plants.

Not thick skin. Not super thin either, but much thinner than typical Long Shelf Life tomatoes and I think this is going to be a major trait that people like about it. It has texture characteristics similar to quick-ripening varieties.

Thanks Fred. Can you provide the same info on your other new F1 varieties?

Green Bee

Regular leaf

Not wispy

The most vigorous plant in our field this year.

Super thick skin


Madera

Indeterminate

Regular leaf

Not wispy foliage

Not as aggressive vegetatively as Green Bee and Agi Red. More open architecture.

Intermediate skin.


Talvez

Regular Leaf.

Not Wispy foliage.

Vigorous plants. Can be a bit leggy under some circumstances.

Skin on the thicker side of normal. And fruits with nice shelf life.

Does this new Agi red taste very different from the Tiger series?

My Green Bee tomatoes have been untouched by the leaf-footed bugs (stink bugs), and I just realized it's because of the thick skins! There's major damage on some of my larger tomatoes.

I’m looking forward to trying it!
Sounds like the best of both worlds
Karen

Similar sweetness, but more tomatoey.

[QUOTE=NarnianGarden;745496]Does this new Agi red taste very different from the Tiger series?[/QUOTE]

Maybe "stinkbug resistant" should be on the seed packet.

I hate those things.


[QUOTE=habitat_gardener;745506]My Green Bee tomatoes have been untouched by the leaf-footed bugs (stink bugs), and I just realized it's because of the thick skins! There's major damage on some of my larger tomatoes.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Fred Hempel;745516]Similar sweetness, but more tomatoey.[/QUOTE]

A tomato that tastes tomatoey?! Wow, [I]that[/I] is exotic..;)

Just kidding - I love varieties with fruity, less tomato-like flavors.. but perhaps I need to expand my horizon a little bit.

We have an [URL="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1742317361/agi-red-what-a-tomato"]Agi Red kickstarter[/URL] we just put up.

It is a good way to get larger numbers of seeds, and a good way to get seeds outside the US.

I want to support the Agi Red project. Can I pay with PayPal?
Vladimír

Yes. I am fine with this kind of arrangement. Will send you a message.

[QUOTE=MrBig46;749147]I want to support the Agi Red project. Can I pay with PayPal?
Vladimír[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your work Fred! I went in on the KS and will be eager to try these out next year :)

Thank you Sean!

There is usually a 2-3 week delay between project end and when I get addresses from backers. If you want your seeds earlier, just PM me your address.

I think you are going to be very happy with Agi Red.


[QUOTE=SeanInVa;749156]Thanks for your work Fred! I went in on the KS and will be eager to try these out next year :)[/QUOTE]

Fred, I too would like to help out on the Agi Red kickstarter; but like Vladimir would prefer to do it by Paypal. If it is not convenient, please let me know.

I'd be happy to support this, but ditto PayPal.
-Larry


Edit: (Anybody...) I'm not very familiar Kickstarter. If the amount pledged exceeds the original goal, the campaign keeps on going?

Yes. If goal is met, project is good to go. But more funds can be raised until the deadline.

And, in all honesty it is less a site for "supporting projects" as it is a site for early access to cool things.

The rewards are essentially, in most cases, set up to be a good value for the person who pledges, as opposed to some sort of "donation".

I do Kickstarter projects to get my tomatoes into the hands of people who would probably not grow them otherwise, but they like interesting new things.

[QUOTE=Greatgardens;749498]I'd be happy to support this, but ditto PayPal.
-Larry


Edit: (Anybody...) I'm not very familiar Kickstarter. If the amount pledged exceeds the original goal, the campaign keeps on going?[/QUOTE]

The rewards are great value when you look at the high seed counts especially! As well, generally Artisan only ships within the US so this is a good opportunity for those of us in other countries because we can get seeds we normally can’t.
I’m looking forward to growing the ones I’m getting , especially Agi Red. Green bee was the last plant standing in my garden this year. All the way to the second frost and I still have fruit in the garage that should last a while yet that were picked well over a month ago.
KarenO

I am in Fred! My Green Bee plants from the seeds you sent generously to Tville folks last season got obliterated by hail. Glad to try your new varieties along with another shot at Green Bee.
Heide

That's great! Except for the Green Bee/hail thing...

[QUOTE=hl2601;749518]I am in Fred! My Green Bee plants from the seeds you sent generously to Tville folks last season got obliterated by hail. Glad to try your new varieties along with another shot at Green Bee.
Heide[/QUOTE]

I've done a couple of your kickstarter projects before and I think one was Green Bee. This would have been around 2016. Is that the same Green Bee or did you rerelease it a few years later. Agi Red looks beautiful.

This may not be clear, but Agi Red is also on our website -- $4.95 for 30 seeds (no shipping, only US)

The Kickstarter has a discount for a larger pack size -- $8 for 100 seeds etc. (no shipping in US)

I apologize for the confusion. We are working for the day that it is easier to get our varieties.

Hi Barb,

That first Green Bee Kickstarter never attracted enough interest. So it never got funded, and you should not have paid anything or received anything.

Indeed it was a 2016 project.

It is still the same Green Bee! Just too weird to catch on very quickly.

Agi Red is beautiful. We have been trying for a very long time to come up with a good red tomato with yellow stripes to generally release and be proud of.

Of course some Tville folks will remember the "Red Jazz" disaster, and I am probably stupid for bringing it up. In our experience, red tomatoes are HARD...

[QUOTE=Barb_FL;749525]I've done a couple of your kickstarter projects before and I think one was Green Bee. This would have been around 2016. Is that the same Green Bee or did you rerelease it a few years later. Agi Red looks beautiful.[/QUOTE]