Emma's Damn

Canning tomato. Moderately sweet. Dark pink plum shaped fruit; pointed blossom end. Fruit measure 3.1-3.8" long, 1.4-2.6" wide, and weigh 3.6-7.5 oz. Low tendency to split. 3-5 fruit per cluster. Brix score 5.4. Mid season maturity. Indeterminate habit with dense foliage. Standard leaf type. Moderately productive. Emma's Damn tomatoes have been in Paula Zenker's Wisconsin family for at least 3 generations. Paula got this variety from her mother, Marjorie Wade Zenker, in 2005, who in turn got it from Emma (nee Doms or Dahms) Schroeder, Marjorie's husband's aunt, in the 1950s. Paula isn't sure how Emma's maiden name was spelled. Emma was born in 1883 or 1884 and lived in Wisconsin her entire life. The tomato variety came from Emma's family, but Paula isn't sure when they started growing it. Paula's earliest memory of this tomato was from her childhood in the late 1950s-60s. Her mother Marjorie would plant seeds every year, which would then get transplanted into the garden surrounded by a hollowed out coffee can. Paula remembers her mother canning 100 quarts of tomatoes, the smell of which Paula hated. Paula has kept growing the variety out of love and respect for her mother and her great aunt Emma. The family's name for this variety has shifted from 'Aunt Emma's tomato' to 'Emma Dams' Tomato' and finally 'Emma's Damn tomato,' which is said with a great deal of affection. SSE Accession # 132868