Facts about the 'Amana Orange tomato

Dear Folks,

I am a life-long gardener, garden writer, and native of the Amana Colonies. I'm writing to advise you of the fact that the 'Amana Orange' tomato is not an heirloom tomato.

The name is quite deceptive. The tomato is not an heirloom from Amana but rather a mutation discovered in some seeds a Florida man, Gary Haley, received from the Seed Savers Exchange here in Iowa back in the 1980s. Haley was familiar with Amana, having once worked here . The Amana name is trademarked and thus cannot be used in commerce without permission from the Amana Society.

Haley does not have permission to use the name. The Amana Society has contacted him about the violation, but he has chosen to ignore it. There was some talk about a lawsuit, but so far nothing has come of it. Whenever I've come across a description of the tomato as an heirloom from the historic Amana Colonies, I've contacted the seller to let him know the tomato's real history.

Sincerely,
Lawrence Rettig
Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens
PO Box 107
South Amana, IA 52334