Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-5 Experience)
This variety translates to Earl’s Faux. The history goes like this: Earl Cadenhead found a rogue seed of this variety in a pack of Brandywine seeds. Since he loved the off-type so much, he decided to share these seeds with members of Garden Web and Tomatoville. That’s how it gradually won over so many collectors and hobbyists.
Indeterminate, mid-season (leaning toward early) potato leaf variety. Fruits are oblate pink beefsteaks. Delicious! The plant is a very heavy yielder. I got my seeds for this one from Lena Leo.
Grew it for the first time this year. Big thanks to gggalina for the seeds! Haven’t even tasted them yet, but I’m already blown away by the size and yields! In the greenhouse I pruned it to two stems. Height was about 6 feet (1.8 m). Outdoors in the dirt it stayed around 3 feet (1 m) and the fruits were a bit smaller…
Just pulled the biggest fruit from the greenhouse! Weighed in at 21.7 oz (617 g)! That’s a personal record for me so far! Funny thing, two days later the fruit “shrank” a bit and weighed 21.5 oz (610 g) 🙂 Flavor…. Lovely… I really liked it! Definitely growing it again next year.
I’ve actually tried weighing different varieties when they’re green and then again when they’re ripe. The ripe ones always weighed less. 😲
Second year in a row this variety delivers excellent flavor. Yields were good, grew it outdoors.
I can’t exactly call it a heavy yielder. I’ll be growing it again strictly for the flavor, it gets a solid 5 out of 5. The harvest in 2015 was only 6.4 lbs (2.9 kg) per plant, which for my conditions is just an average yield. If a plant gives me less than 6.5 lbs (3 kg), I usually drop the variety, but this one is coming back just for the taste.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, potato leaf, mid-to-early season. In a greenhouse, it reaches around 6 ft (1.8 m), while outdoor plants stay shorter at about 3 ft (1 m). The fruits are oblate pink beefsteaks that can grow extremely large; one grower recorded a tomato weighing 21.7 oz (617 g).
- 📈 Yield: Mixed experiences. ElenaN and mamaGalya reported fantastic, heavy yields. Aleksander found it to be a moderate producer, yielding about 6.4 lbs (2.9 kg) per plant in his garden.
- 👅 Taste: Universally praised. The flavor is the absolute standout feature of this variety, earning a “solid 5 out of 5” and described as excellent and lovely. Growers are willing to forgive average yields just to have this taste in their garden again.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: 4 growers participated in this thread, spanning USDA Zones 3 through 5.
