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Costoluto or Maskotka? (yes, I'm an idiot)

LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
edited June 2023 in Fruit & veg
I made the classic booboo of thinking I would remember :s . I grew two Costoluto fiorentino (big beefsteak) tomatoes and two Maskotka (bush, cherry, smallish). When I potted them on I had marked that two were one sort and two were the other... but didn't actually name them for some reason. I felt an idiot, but hoped the plants would distinguish themselves from each other as they grew  But they're still exactly the same! Same height, same leaf colour, same everything. Two have a very slightly thicker stem tham the other two, but tbh there's hardly anything in it, I might even be imagining it. Aaarrgggh. I need to start removing side shoots of the Costoluto and leave them on the Maskotka. Does anyone have any tips of differences to look out for before flowers and fruits? Or shall I just treat them the same and see how it goes? If so - remove side shoots or not?
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
- Cicero

Posts

  • mawsbellmawsbell Posts: 11
    I'd go by stem size if you reckon the difference becomes clear, just keep the side shoots for now I suppose. With the amount of sun we're having at the moment, you'd be able to assess w more certainty by the end of the week.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Look at the flowers when they appear.
    Costoluto has double flowers, Maskotka has single flowers


     Costoluto-


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    edited June 2023
    Thanks both. And thank you for not making me feel any more of a fool than I already do!

    That's a very good tip, @Pete.8 - but mine are C. fiorentino not C. Genovese - do they both have double flowers? 
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Almost certainly.
    AFIK all beefsteak type tomatoes have double flowers.
    Just wait a while till someone comes along and proves me wrong :)

    I grow Rose de Berne which is just a large tomatoe and that has double flowers too, but not as double as the really big toms - they seem to have double double flowers :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    I have grown them before but not for a few years and can't remember. I'll retain the side shoots until I'm sure... which may be a bit late to do anything about it! I still can't believe I didn't label them properly 🤦🏻‍♂️
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I've done it plenty of times and still do - I'm getting quite good at it now 🤣
    Last year I took lots of cuttings to overwinter assuming I'd know which are which so I didn't label them - several died over winter and I'm still not sure what some of them are


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    edited June 2023
    correct most beefsteak varieties do produced
    conjoined flowers but usually only one. when I did research
    for giant tomato growing for a book we had a lot info on that subject. 
    Gordon graham and Marvin H. Meisner also did some work on this
    subject. Clarence Dailey  and colin bowcock  did some of early work on
    subject. 
  • scrogginscroggin Posts: 437
    @LG_, not sure if this helps, but this is my Maskotka plant this year, compared to the other Tom varieties I've grown this year, the leaves seem a ' lighter' green. It might be just my perception of course 🤣.
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    Thanks @scroggin - but mine are exactly the same colour 😫
    Worse still, I meant to report back - they all have single flowers 😫😫

    Still, it won't be long before the mystery is solved I suppose.
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
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