This is taken from a post at Tomatoville.com
April 14, 2013 #6
carolyn137
Tomatoville® Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
Posts: 13,708
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Hillbilly is one of over maybe 200 known gold/red bicolors and first, a link from Tania's site:
http://t.tatianastomatobase.co...
And now a link to Google IMAGES and when looking at the various pictures click to enlarge to be sure it's Hillbilly you're looking at sijnce sometimes other ones get mixed in:
http://www.google.com/search?h...
I have mixed feelings about the gold/red bicolors. When they're good they're very good but when bad, really bad. Meaning, given one variety, one year they can be sweet and delicious and the next year bland and mealy, at least in my experience having grown many of them over the years, THey are very influenced by weather IMO.
In my area in upstatge NY the ones that have done well might include the following.
Big Rainbow
Lucky Cross
Virginia Sweets
Mary Robinson's German Bicolor
....... to name a few
And yes, I've grown Hillbilly and its PL variant.
These gold/red bicolors are felt to have originated in Germany or nearby and many were brought from there initially to the SE of the US.In the SE there are many that are grown that have no name and are generally referred to as Candystripe as a generic name.
My brother lives in NC and hisneighbor down the road has grown one all his life and my brother asked me if I wanted him to get seeds from him for me and I politely said no, b'c there's really not that much difference between them as I see it. Taste,, yes, sometimes, depending on where grown, soil,fertilizer and all those variables at work, the degree that the secondary exterior color extends from the blossom end upwards to the stem end, also yes.
Best thing I can suggest is to try them, several varieties over the years and see which ones do best.
A last link from Tania's site with a listing of some gold/red ones but a few other kinds of bicolors mixed in:
http://tatianastomatobase.com/...
And there are many many more of the gold/red ones listed in the SSE Yearbooks.
Hope that helps,
Carolyn, who can't help herself but there's one gold/red bicolor that's praised by a few and NOT praised by MANY and that's Mr. Stripey, the large beefsteak one, not Tigerella, aka Mr. Stripey, which is a small red with gold stripes and was bred in England along with Tigerella and Craigella from the same cross, but I do like the last two.
