Quote:
Originally Posted by puttgirl
So Fred DuBose was right on-Middleton did select it. I did figure after all this time there's no guarantee what you may get. Carolyn, the descriptions given in your bulletin for Bonny best are accurate for what I grew, too. Like I stated, Fred had them a bit smaller and didn't think the production and taste were that great, but maybe HE just didn't care for them. I suppose the changes could be natural variations (mutations) over the years.
What was so striking about the book was the fact that the book was published in 1985 (not that long ago for this ole gal), and so many of tomatoes in the book are already very hard to find.
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Yes, the information he gave as to Middleton was correct and had been known for decades before his 1985 book.
I know the book only through nctomatoman, my best tomato friend, who also has had a copy for many years.
Rather than natural mutations I think it's far more likely that as I quoted from the MI Bulletin, that those three varieties were mixed up even pre-1939, so that today it would be difficult to know if someone was actually growing Bonny Best or just what were they growing.
Subtle mutations can and do happen, but they aren't that frequent and most of the time I think when folks refer to such mutations, it's just poor seed saving/seed production. Just my opinion.
One of the synonyms for BB is The Landreth, seeds from the USDA PC GRIN when it was still possible to request varieties which is a variety I've also grown and I swear you couldn't tell it from BB, which I've also grown.