Wisconsin Chief

Here's one that was almost lost. It was developed by the University of Wisconsin as a cross between Long Red and Victor. The 1957 release was when hybrids were taking over the commercial tomato crop in Wisconsin. There's no ready information as to how long it was available to commercial growers but several oldtimers only vaguely remember it. In 2010, seed was discovered in a European seed bank and it had been there for about 30 years while waiting to be rescued. That's now been done! The plants certainly impressed all who got them. Fruit not quite as red as Wisconsin 55 but averaged just a bit larger. Same size seed locules show that it was also meant more for processing than slicing. That is, juice and stew.Production was more than ample and growth is definitely semi-determinate. Despite that, there were still fruit ripening into October.