OK, now that you've got us coveting the seed, where can we get it? Heirloom or OP?

Steve

Not sure if it qualifies as an heirloom because there are varying opinions on the definition of "heirloom", but it is an open pollinated variety - my seed came from TomatoFest.com, but there are a number of seed sellers that have this variety. The full name is "Neves Azorean Red."

I had heard good reviews of this variety in the past, but it's hard to filter out the hype sometimes. For me this is the first variety in a long time to live up to what I've read. A lot of "disease-resistant", "bold tomato taste", and "crack-resistant" varieties have proven to be anything but. For me in my zone 6 garden in PA, it has been a standout performer in the abnormally dry, hot, and humid weather.

Oh Yeah. Gotta love them NAR. Got three of 'em going in half whiskey barrels and they're tall and loaded. Did get a touch of early blight on one but it's gone now. Used to grow Beefmaster but learned that the NAR didn't have the woody core that Beefmaster did yet grew just as big. They've grown through a touch of broadleaf weed killer someone was using nearby. Now THAT had me nervous. Got most of the folks around here growing them too since they've seen the size and tasted them. Great producer.

I have grown 4 years. Two years EXCELLENT! Just like you describe. Two years not so good. I have an F4 Brandy/NAR growing this year but it was setback by EB but seems to have recovered.

YEs it's an heirloom and actually it was named Neves Azorean Red here at GW.

Short story b'c there are many threads here as to where it cane from.

I was teaching an adult ed class on heirloom tomatoes. One of the participants gave me some seeds, unnamed, from a cousin of his near Boston who had gotten them from the then owner of the Neptune Harvest Company, who make the seaweed and fish products.

Anthony Neves and his family had moved from the Azores to the Boston area and he had brought with him some seeds for a variety he had been growing in the Azores where he'd been trying to upsize it. Since those who settled in the Azores long ago came from Portugal there's a good possibility that was the ultimate origin.

Tony traded fruits for this variety with Ed, the owner, in return for fertilizer for his garden.

I grew it out and loved it ASAP. I told everyone how much I loved it but couldn't get enough seeds to list in the SSE YEarbook or give away in my free seed offers b'c the deer were eating the fruits . Sigh.

So it got called Perry's Teasum by some, Chuck Perry had been my seed source. LOL

When I had enough seeds I decided to let others know how one goes about naming an unnamed variety b'c I'd had to do that for many others so started a thread here, where I was doing most of my posting at the time, but don't any more, and gave all the background information I knew.

There were 22 folks who posted in that thread , the name Neves Azorean Red was the final result and I sent seeds for it to all 22 who participated in that thread.

For many years I've always sent the best of what I grow to several seed companies where I know the owners and trust them, for them to trial my new varieties.

And now seeds for NAR are widely available at many many seed sites.

I hope you all enjoy it as I have.

Carolyn, who is currently growing three newly found Portuguese ones, a PL heart, a paste and a beefsteak and hopes that she gets good seed production if they turn out to be really good varieties. Time will tell.