Talent

Red, medium-sized beefsteak tomato. Indeterminate growth habit. Standard leaves. Fruit are remarkably blemish-free. Very slight cat-facing on blossom end of some fruit. Slightly flattened fruit shape. Fruit have moderate ribbing at the stem end. 2-4 fruit per cluster. Fruit reach 2.5-3" long; 3.8-4.3" wide; and weigh up to one pound. Inserted flower stigma. Brix score: 4.2. Mid-season maturing. Moderately productive when grown in 2015 at Heritage Farm. This variety was once grown by farmers in southwest Oregon for the canning industry. It was selected in the early 1960s from a field of 'Medford' tomatoes by Clarence Holdridge, a fieldman at the Bagley Cannery in Ashland, OR. Popularity of the 'Talent' tomato grew rapidly among local growers, but was short-lived since the Bagley Cannery closed not long after. Seeds were donated to SSE in 2013 by Rebecca Merusi, who obtained the variety as seedlings offered by the Talent, Oregon Historical Society. SSE Accession # 132318