Talk:Jefferson Giant
--Tatiana 16:13, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
It looks like the first mention of oblate (not heart) shape appears in 1996 when Chuck Wyatt offered it in the SSE Yearbook, his seed was from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange .
Then in 1998 Neil Lockhart echoes the description saying 'globes', his seed is also from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange . Pretty much after that most of the SSE listings are referring to it as 'globes' or not giving any shape description at all.
Now, that's interesting... I am growing Jefferson Giant this year, my seed came in a trade, and originally they were obtained from Neil Lockhart around 2005. Only 1 seed germinated, so I do not have lots of plants to compare, but the baby tomatoes I am seeing on this plant are certainly heart-shaped.
In 2007 SSE Yearbook another SSE member mentions heart shape, seeds from Chuck Wyatt!
Which gives two possibilities:
- Southern Exposure Seed Exchange offered seed of Jefferson Giant that were either mixed up or crossed - that's why Chuck and Neil observed globes, and not hearts.
- Chuck's and Neil's description were erroneous, and they actually had hearts not globes.
In the 2010 SSE Yearbook there is only 1 listing, that of Neil and he describes it as globes. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange does not offer this tomato anymore.