Bonny Best

puttgirl · February 28, 2011

I remember seeing and reading about Bonny best and John Baer being sometimes referred to as the same tomato. I was fairly certain that they were two different varieties, and that has been pretty much confimed by others more knowledgeable than myself. I also read that it was named after the Bonnie plant farm in Alabama. I just got a book from the library, The Total Tomato, by Fred DuBose (1985), that also mentions the (false) association with John Baer, but states that "Bonny Best was the find of one George W. Middleton, of Jeffersonville, PA, who saved seed from a superior plant he found growing in a field of Chalk's Early Jewel, a variety common around the turn of the century". That was one thing that I never heard of. It goes on to tell how a seed co. introduced his seed in 1908.
Mr. DuBose also states that it averages 4oz. and has a disappointing yield, with not particularly good disease resistance. It's been a few years since I've grown it, but I remember it being a bit bigger and not nearly as bad as he described it. In fact, his description of a variety just named "Bonnie" sounds more like the Bonny best that I grew.
Wondering what some of you pros thought, am I wrong, is he wrong or something in between?

February 28, 2011	#1
puttgirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: SW PA Posts: 281	Bonny Best I remember seeing and reading about Bonny best and John Baer being sometimes referred to as the same tomato. I was fairly certain that they were two different varieties, and that has been pretty much confimed by others more knowledgeable than myself. I also read that it was named after the Bonnie plant farm in Alabama. I just got a book from the library, The Total Tomato, by Fred DuBose (1985), that also mentions the (false) association with John Baer, but states that "Bonny Best was the find of one George W. Middleton, of Jeffersonville, PA, who saved seed from a superior plant he found growing in a field of Chalk's Early Jewel, a variety common around the turn of the century". That was one thing that I never heard of. It goes on to tell how a seed co. introduced his seed in 1908. Mr. DuBose also states that it averages 4oz. and has a disappointing yield, with not particularly good disease resistance. It's been a few years since I've grown it, but I remember it being a bit bigger and not nearly as bad as he described it. In fact, his description of a variety just named "Bonnie" sounds more like the Bonny best that I grew. Wondering what some of you pros thought, am I wrong, is he wrong or something in between? Last edited by puttgirl; February 28, 2011 at 11:49 PM.