"Roma Grande" paste tomato

9 years ago

This spring I chose seed unknown to me, Roma Grande paste tomato from Burpee, marketed at Lowes. I chose it for fruit size, up to four ounces.

This Roma Grande is very productive. I found little on the internet about it, but one person had it in a trial of 17 paste tomatoes and it out-bore the others by far--31.1 pounds per plant. I think I am on track for getting 17 pounds per plant, and I've given them no fertilizer, no attention to bugs (which they do have!), too little space and probably a tad less water than they'd prefer. I did not even prepare good planting holes, or apply compost.

I'd like to save seed. Am I wrong to assume this is not a hybrid, as it does not say so on the package? It also makes no claims to disease resistance, unfortunately.

The taste is not my favorite, but for sauces it is suitable enough.

If you've grown Roma Grande or know anything about it, please tell me.

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Comments (7)

PupillaCharites
9 years ago
Roma Rio Grande a.k.a. Rio Grande, sounds like what you have and it is an OP seed, so no problem saving. Info says it's from Italy, but no more history.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rio Grande
matthias_lang
Original Author
9 years ago
I think my plants are indeterminate, but I could be wrong. Rio Grande is said to be determinate at Tatiana's site which you have linked. My plants are 7-7.5 feet. I will watch to see if they continue to grow and bloom. They are still blooming now They were 90 days from seed to first fruit. I've been harvesting for 41 days and look to be only at the beginning of the harvest. Many fruit are still forming and there are new flowers, too.
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At the bottom I linked to Libby's Pride, and yes, I was the first to list it in the 2010 SSE Yearbook and sent seeds to Mike at Victory Seeds, who offers it now. I'd have to look at some back Yearbooks b'c I don't rememember what I thought about it but I did send seeds to an SSE friend who lists it in the 2014 yearbook and knowing her I'd say that her description was on the luke warm side, I haven't grown the Aunt Lucy one and there are no listings for it in the 2014 Yearbook and here's Tania's page for it, seeds offered by Tomatofest. http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Aunt_Lucy%27s_Italian_Paste#tab=General_Info And yes I've grown Dix Doight de Naples which is the correct name for it and it looks like both Bill Minkey and I first listed it in the 1997 SSE YEarbook. http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Dix_Doights_de_Naples#tab=General_Info And I did think very highly of the above and remember it well b/c it was the first variety I ever got a somatic mutation with, same as a sport with apples, etc, and one branch had fruits that were still red but an entirely different shape. I've also grown the Martino's Roma you mentioned, listed that one in 1993. Maybe it was the year you grew it since it always turned red for me here in zone 5 upstate NY. I don't know where your grandfather came from but all of the above originally came from different areas of Italy. If Italy is you focus I can also highly suggest Mama Leone http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Mama_Leone That one was introduced by Nancy, the same person who who still lists Libby's Pride in the 2014 Yearbook. I should mention that none of the tomato varieties that are in the SSE Yearbooks are available to folks who are not SsE members if you aren't familiar with SSE. Please forget about the various Costolutos and San Marzanos from Italy b'c IMO while they once had excellent reputations, not so for most folks today. Hope that helps, Carolyn Here is a link that might be useful: Libby's Pride
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The reason I asked whether you figured out what the problem was is that you could easily switch varieties and still end up with disease. If it's something like early blight, some varieties may be more resistant, or you may switch varieties and get disease anyway. Or it could be a disease like septoria to which there is no variety developed for resistance or tolerance. Or it could be a soilborne disease which would be handled very well using hybrids bred specifically to resist them, whereas switching to another open pollinated or heirloom variety would do you no good. Or it could have been a pest and not a disease, in which case, it's only very minimally about variety. IMO, a key thing is to figure out what your problem is this year and prepare for it appropriately in subsequent years. For example, it may be a disease that can be controlled well by pre-emptive regular spraying of fungicide, in which case, if you like what you're growing this year for taste and how well it cans, you may just want to grow it again but spray preventively from day 1 of plant-out to ward it off longer so you can get a plentiful harvest. There are also practices like how you support plants in order to provide good airflow and spacing, etc. It may be due to a pest that can be controlled if you watch for them and catch them early. As Dave points out, there's no perfect. It's about finding a combination of variety characteristics and cultural practices that work for you. IMO, it's unrealistic to expect perfect disease resistance from any variety. You also need to give plants an assist with your cultural practices, and to do that, you need to figure out what's going on in your garden in terms of prevalent disease and pest organisms.
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Why pull them? They are from Africa and can take the heat and can set in waves all summer? So what if they are slow---if they are still producing, they're worth having. My Heidis in the first bed are about done, but have produced heavily. My Heidis in the final summer bed (which got a hodge podge of leftover plants that I think mostly are Heidi planted in late April) have only ripened 1 fruit, but there's tons of green ones. They will ripen when they're ready. I guess if whatever bugs are on your plants are something like stink bugs or leaf-footed bugs and are ruining the fruit, that might be a reason to take out the plants. My experience with stink bugs and leaf footed bugs is that once the little brats (I wanted to use other b words, but I restrained myself) are present in large enough numbers, they ruin the fruit and the fruit really are not worth eating once covered with cloudy spot....so if that is what you're seeing, I understand why you'd pull the plants.
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PupillaCharites
9 years ago
"Colorado Seed Co" says Rio Grande is a popular variety in Europe that is very prolific, and they call it Rio Grande in Europe and Roma Grande here, if that isn't a typo.

A US reviewer, Sarah, on the Franchi seed site calls Rio Grande semi-determinate and someone in another community says it kept yielding cluster after cluster right till frost.

Roma Grande in a Pennsylvania trial last year was the #1 paste tomatoes for production and #5 for flavor. The grower in charge of the trial mentions the package was available as Burpee seeds in Lowes but not in the online catalog. I bet that is the study you reference since the 31.1 pound/plant yield is there, except it was 24 plants, not 17 as you mentioned.

Also, The package of tomatoes was part (1/5 packs of seeds) of the now discontinued Burpee Bamboo salsa kit.

Cook's Garden seeds according to an Uncle Wayne else called Roma Grande an OP indeterminate. I bet if you contacted Franchi, Cook's or Colorado you would get your answers as to your cultivar, and it wouldn't surprise me if someting dumb happened, like Burpee not identifying the paste tomato in its kit with the real name, so it wouldn't be seen as an endorsement as being a favorite LOL Maybe they just buy a little from someone like Franchi and rebrand it under the table, since people in many big marketing departments tend to be more concerned with ... marketing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roma (Rio) Grande
suncitylinda
9 years ago
MANY comments on various gardening forums over the years about Burpee re- naming known varieties.
matthias_lang
Original Author
9 years ago
What good information. Thank you! Yes, that Pennsylvania Vegetable Research Program study was what I had found. Don't know why I was remembering a peculiar number 17.

That is disappointing if Burpee is renaming varieties. It is frustrating enough with nursery grown plants mislabeled or renamed, or of course, not named at all. I had thought that growing from seed, I might have more certainty.

At least the packet told the truth where it said "high yielding."

I think I'll be saving these seeds.
Doc Holliday
8 years ago
matthias_lang: I am curious. Did you plant Rio Grande from your saved seed, and if you did--how did they do in 2015? Thanks--Doc
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I grew one Rio Grande (from seed) this year. I am totally disappointed. So far have picked 2 or 3 fruits off of it.

In the same bed Legend, Siletz and Willamette have been Gang Busters.

There it goes into my ZAP list.

Sey

"Roma Grande" paste tomato

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PupillaCharites

matthias_lang
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"Roma Grande" paste tomato

Comments (7)

PupillaCharites

matthias_langOriginal Author

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suncitylinda

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matthias_lang
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