I got free seeds from TGS last year and grew MP. They were PL, pink and not completely smooth. They were ribbed but not extremely. They were a similar shape to Polish and Brandy Boy except maybe a little taller. Very good flavor. This came up last season as to what a true MP tomato should look like. Try searching for that thread here. I think I came to the conclusion that even if I did not have the real MP I would grow it again as it was so tasty and productive.

Here is a photo from Mr. Kraft's website:

http://mitglied.lycos.de/rkraft/Tomatenfotos/Mariannas-Peace.jpg

Carla in Sac

I've cut and pasted the following, posted in 2005 here at GW to indicate that Marianna's Peace has not been stable from day 1 and that some folks get smooth shoulders and others ribbed shoulders ( although not specified in this clip, just a general comment about instability) to varying degrees.

And the person who posted what follows also got a RED, RL one out which he named Marianna's Conflict. ( smile)

From what I've read since this variety was offered, at $4/seed by Gary at Tomatofest, some think it's wonderful and others think it's ordinary. So it's up to the -person growing it to compare with others of the same type grown and see how they like it.

*****

Cut and pasted from a 2005 thread here at GW:

......"Marianna's whatever has apparently been wrong from day one, which was 6 years ago. If it were a old stable variety, there should have been ample time to correct any possible mixed seed problem with a single growout. But if the best that they can offer now is maybe an F5, it's probably still better odds than getting them through SSE or another GW member. As I recall, 20% wrong type showed up in early releases. By now, perhaps it's down to 10% or less if the sale inventory is being maintained annually by fresh seed.

Oh, I got mine from a GW member whom I would definitely trust as much as I would trust myself when it comes to seed saving. And yet I have what appears to be two entirely different varieties, neither fitting the accepted standards for Marianna's Peace.

*****

Carolyn, who says if you Google this variety or do a search here in the backposts you'll find similar comments about the differences that some folks get with MP as to smooth versus ribbed.

My MP seeds were from TGS (The freebies). I LOVE this tomato! Here's what mine looked like. If this isn't the real deal I hope TGS keeps it anyway because it's a winner:

big daddy, the folks who got their seeds from TF first tended to get the ribbed version and that version is still around, witness your picture. Who knows when and where the smooth shoulder one originated from.

Carolyn

I grew them last year (from purchased seedlings) and they were slightly ribbed. The taste was fantastic!

So the down and dirty is not what you would think.

The original Marianna's Peace is a smooth shouldered rampant indeterminate variety that ripens a deep pink color. It is very dense with what I call a 'bowling ball' feel when you pick one up. The fruit tends to ripen pink on the bottom but with green shoulders. Do not pick the fruit at the green shoulder stage, wait until the shoulders turn pink. It tends to develop radial cracks near the stem and can easily get fungal infections in the cracks. The true Marianna's Peace is a very stable variety that has very little variability indicating many years of growing un-crossed.

The ribbed shouldered variety showed up in seed from Gary Ibsen in 2003 and 2004. They are also good flavored but not as good as the original, less likely to develop radial cracks, less dense, and ripen through the green shoulder stage faster. They are unstable with significant variation from seed to seed and year to year. The plants are vigorous and productive. Flavor is slightly less intense and sweetness is a bit lower.

Gary grows his seed in a huge garden area that encourages crossing. The first Marianna's Peace seed that I got was from a trade with a wonderful lady out west who had bought them from Gary Ibsen in 2002. The seed I got produced 3 regular leaf and 5 potato leaf plants. This told me that the seed were crossed and possibly not true to type. I carefully planted and cared for the remaining 5 potato leaf plants. Of the 5, two turned out to be obvious crosses. I could tell by the way the plants grew. Three plants were true to type in all respects. Those three plants produced about 10,000 seed. One of them had runners 15 feet long and made well over 50 pounds of fruit.

All in all, I prefer the original Marianna's Peace to the ribbed shoulder version.

DarJones

In 2006, I grew Marianna's Peace, Stump of the World, and Earl's Faux, all potatoleafed pinks. They were all pretty much smooth shouldered, and I think would have been hard to tell apart by solely by appearance. In taste though, EF was by far the most distinctive, and I couldn't tell too much difference between the flavors of Stump and MP.

All in all, I prefer the original Marianna's Peace to the ribbed shoulder version.

*****

And I think it's safe to say that the MP situation has been mixed up from the get go as regards smooth vs ribbed shoulders. Lots of folks bought the original seed from Gary and if they got the two PL versions and passed one or the other onwards thru trades or whatever, then there's no way of going back now b/c of wide dispersal of seed of both types.

I also think it's safe to say that some seed sources are selling the smooth version and some the ribbed version.

And I also think it's safe to say that some like the ribbed version and unless they've grown both versions, have no basis for comparison and vice versa.

Carolyn, who grew the smooth version from seed produced by Darrel.

I got my seeds from Victoryseeds and it came out just like their picture. Link below

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1346142}}

I have the smooth version. I'll have to check the seed source. I got them several years ago. I remember that I had heard about MP and wanted it, but the seeds were outrageously priced so I waited until I could find a reliable source for trading or the price to go down.

I get hybrids every year so I too have the TGS free packet, but it's unopened. I haven't grown MP in several years. If I think of it I might grow a plant or two of each of my sources next year and see if there are differences.

Randy

Darrel Jones verified via email that his seed of the origional Marianna's Peace with smooth shoulders was given to Sand Hill Seeds. (if anyone is interested in a source)

Please see the post from DarJones, above.

John