Most tomatoes self-pollinate, however there's still a chance of cross pollination from other varieties, especially by bees. Sungold has a very complex parentage, it's not a simple hybrid with 2 parents, so the chances of the volunteers being like Sungold will vary greatly. There's a chance if you get fruit that they can be orange, red, etc. If it were a simple hybrid bred from just 2 stable non-hybrid parents, you can usually expect something similar to either parent or something in-between the 2 parents. Many people attempted to "de-hybridize" Sungold and some have come up with an open pollinated stable variety, (actually a couple, Sungold Select and Sungold Select II) however they lack some of the outstanding flavor of the original F1 hybrid and many feel the original F1 is much better. There's a missing taste quality that amateur breeders & de-hybridizers cannot duplicate. Some have grown volunteers or saved seeds and have reportedly got similar tomatoes, though there's no real way of telling just how close to the original they are. And some have reported different colors and tastes. I think if you had that many plants, I'm sure they all should produce and maybe you can compare them to each other. The wild card in the mix is if they cross pollinated with the other varieties you grew last year, which would throw a monkey wrench into the predictions of what you'll get! So do grow them, compare them, and report your results. With so many plants between you and your friends, you may find one with that "missing ingredient." You'd get more replies about Sungold in the Tomato Forum at GardenWeb too, where others have grown both volunteers, later F generations, and intentional crosses. We'd be interested to hear/see your results! Hope this helps. Mark Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Web's Tomato Forum

Just an update - we went to largest syrup producer in the state (not far from us), I didn't ask specifically about mold but he said in tour that they get the syrup to 7.1-7.3 degrees above boiling water (so check your altitude but 219-220 sounds right). High-sugar sap at beginning of season doesn't take long to turn to syrup, lower-sugar end of season takes longer so it turns out more brown. But they use a hydrometer to check brix - want it 66-67% sugar. Too much sugar and it crystalizes, to little sugar and it's not legal maple syrup (and I guess it molds, b/c he said they boil the sap the day it's collected, and collect it every day, b/c the high water content is hospitable to bacteria and he doesn't want the bacteria eating all the sugar!). My mom's neighbor was making a batch on her woodfired evaporator last night, again she gets it to 219, puts it right into hot sterilized jars (doesn't let it cool much I guess - she wasn't jarring it when we were there), inverts them. Doesn't BWB but says that you don't want to allow much headspace at all, fill it right up to the top (?) then invert. But she only makes about 5 gallons a year, donates it to church for pancake supper in April so it doesn't get stored long. I imagine she keeps some for herself (3 gallons or so, she gave us about 12 oz in exchange for jars and blackberry jam), but maybe she refrigerates it. Mu mom just poured it into an almost-empty quart of store-bought (pure, not fake!) syrup in the fridge so she could give back the jar today, so I don't know how it would keep.

I know what it is like to be a new canner, because I am one. In my humble opinion, the only stupid question is the one left unasked. The goal here is to make a product that you can safely to put on yours or your families/friends table with confidence. Again, ccaggiano IMHO it is not stupid to ask any question that you are unsure of and I for one and truely grateful that there are people here who are willing to help us do it safely. There is so much to learn and there is no better place to learn than from those who have been there, done that. We are not born knowing this stuff, that doesn't make a question stupid. Good luck with your canning!

Hi! Just a quick note on planting times for daylilies..I have had a lot of luck with planting in the Fall also; it's a great time to get good deals at the garden centers, and also works out well when I need to divide and transplant, as I'm not so busy as in the Spring! Just do the usual cutting-back of the foliage, and be sure they get enough moisture before the ground freezes. The plants should be well-established by Spring, and you should get flowers, depending on the size of the scape. I have ordered online with success, but my favorite place to visit locally (I live between Rochester and Buffalo)is a place in Shelby called Cottage Gardens. They have a website also; just Google them..Happy gardening!