On Christmas Day, as per family tradition, I started a few seeds of the drying tomatoes I like to grow early in the year, along with two indeterminate varieties that I wanted to get give a head start. I planted six seeds of each variety and kept them well moistened and on a heat mat under lights. Ten days in, here are the germination results:

‘Principe Borghese’ from Victory Seed Company, packed for 2009 = 100% germination
‘Principe Borghese’ from Pinetree Garden Seeds, packed for 2011 = 4 of 6
‘Principe Borghese’ from Franchi Sementi, packed for 2012/2013 = 3 of 6
‘Principe Borghese’ seed I saved in 2012 = 4 of 6
‘Oregon Spring’ from Territorial Seed Company, packed for 2009 = 4 of 6
‘Pruden’s Purple’ from Sustainable Seed Co., packed for 2011 = 5 of 6

Not the world’s strongest scientific evidence, but one thing I can tell you is those P. Borghese seeds from Victory Seed Company still rock!