in 1965 the first short stigma varieties were developed. These were mostly put into modern hybrid breeding lines, but if you look closely, after several bees have bite-buzzed a tomato blossum to extract pollen the anthercone shrinks back from the damage exposing the stigma even on short stigma varieties. I do not know where the myth that potato leafed varieties cross pollinate more than regular leaf varieties came from other than that the short stigma varieties are/were RL, but that still leaves a lot of RL varieties out there that are not ancestors of the short stigma breeding lines. It is just easier to tell that your PL plant has been cross pollinated because you can see it as soon as the true leaves develop. When you are growing red RL varieties you usualy can't tell if they have been cross pollinated because the visible traits are all dominant (no matter what you cross with a red RL plant you will get red RL offspring the next year --unless it crossed with a cherry, which is also dominant). What is the rate of cross pollination? It depends on your area. I have a lot of bees, and in mid season I have about 20% of the seed from any one tomato crossed. This is an average of fruits showing from 0% to over 40% crossed seed, with the probability of crosses with like-leaved plants factored in (PL plants being crossed with other PL plants). My grow outs with a very small sample size indicate that a single blossom can get pollen from multiple other plants/varieties growing several feet away, so crowding/touching plants is not an issue. Bagging is simple, go to the Walmart party/wedding/fru-fru section and get a 12 pack of 4.5"x6.5" drawstring sachets (I bought some last night for $5/pack), and place them over trusses of unopened buds. You might have to pinch off the first opened flower. I find it easier to turn the sachets inside out so that the protruding cuff doesn't get in the way so much. Once you see fruits form, tie a brightly colored string around the truss to mark it and then sterilize the bag before using again. I drop them in boiling water for a minute or two, some people run a hot steam iron over them. That will kill any remaining pollen from the last plant. For peppers it is easier just to buy organza/tule netting at the Walmart fabric counter and bag entire branches or small plants.

Well, I think they call hot tomatoes, "salsa", and you can make peach, mango and strawberry salsa also. The fruit salsa's taste great with some balsamic vinegar along with the peppers for that kick! All you need is a bowl, a knife, and a spoon to mix it all up! Have fun! Suzi

Cross-pollination is only a bad thing if you are trying to save pure seed of a particular variety (such as a family heirloom), or if you intend to share seed with others. For your own use, there is no need to prevent crossing. The results will be unpredictable, but can be fun as well. Many heirlooms were originally created this way, by intentionally crossing varieties with good characteristics, and selecting from the best plants each year. You may - or may not - get crossing with tomatoes, even if you do nothing. Some varieties are more likely to cross than others: - potato leaf - currant - double blossoms - some older heirlooms Paste tomatoes, in my experience, seem the least prone to crossing. Even if you do get a cross with tomatoes, the result should still be edible. If snap beans cross with other beans, however, the result might be stringier than you would like. You can get some VERY strange crosses with squash.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, this is the first time I've planted the two types together. I guess my beans are coming on early this year for some reason. Not that I'm complaining at all. Perhaps it will make for a longer season, but then again, Scarlet Runners don't particularly like the hot weather coming up and might very well take a break and restart when it cools off a bit. This is a new experience, them coming on early. I have corn planted the SFG method and have tassels and a few silks showing. I think my neighbor, a farmer of many skills, came over to give it a looksie and see what it was doing (cause it was planted so close). He said it looked good and I'd probably get 1 ear but maybe two per stalk. Here's a pic of this, my 3rd year garden (the right side.) Squash, collards, tomatoes and turnips are unseen. Rosey