Posts Tagged ‘heirloom’
Heirloom Tomato Seeds
Heirloom tomato seeds aren’t any more difficult to plant than hybrid tomato seeds. The trick is finding the seeds you want to grow — and there is quite a variety!
But before I talk more about the seeds, let’s talk a little about what makes an heirloom tomato an heirloom.
About Heirloom Tomatoes
So what exactly is an heirloom tomato — what makes it different than “regular” tomatoes?
First of all, heirlooms are produced natually from seeds. In other words, if you save seeds from an heirloom, the resulting plants will be just like the parent. Not so with a hybrid tomato, because you’ll never know what you’ll get! This is because a hybrid is a cross between two varieties, neither of which may be great on their own (but wonderful together).
So that’s one; an heirloom produces plants like itself. The next is how long the plant has been producing tomatoes; that is, how many generations have been produced with consistent results. I’ve heard quite a few different numbers — 100 and 50 seem to be the two that pop up the most. Some people use the year 1945 as the cutoff; if the tomato variety was growing in 1945 with consistent fruit results, the plant can be considered an heirloom.
One other thing about heirloom tomatoes is their taste! In general, the heirlooms produce a sweet, meaty tomato. Many of the heirloom varieties produce big fruits — beefsteak or larger. If you love tomato sandwiches, you’ll love these tomatoes.
There is a downside, though. Heirloom tomatoes are pretty strong growers, but they are not necessarily disease-resistant. So especially if you live in a hot and humid climate, you need to keep a closer eye on your heirlooms. (But it is worth it!)
Heirlooms generally produce, on average, fewer tomatoes per plant than hybrids. If your household is small, that’s not always a bad thing, so you’re not drowning in too many tomatoes at once!
Heirloom Tomato Seeds
There are tons of varieties or heirlooms out there, and I’ve tried many of them in my day. But I keep coming back to a few that are the easiest for me to grow, but that also have fun results! I like red tomatoes for sure, but I also get a big kick out of the purple and the striped tomatoes. That being said, here are a few of my favorite heirloom tomato seeds.
Brandywine always seems to be on the list whenever I do my seed planting. I love the big fruits and the juicy meat of this heirloom tomato. The seeds germinate fairly quickly and transplant easily. I do have to keep my eye out for blight here in the south, though. Some of that can be circumvented by putting a protective layer of mulch over the soil. Whenever my friends ask for suggestions on tomato varieties, Brandywine is always on the list. This is an indeterminate plant that needs staking and bears fruit in about 80 days.
This is a fun tomato because it’s purple! OK, it’s not the kind of bright purple you might be imagining; it’s more of a dusky violet. The name comes about because it’s believed to have originated among the Cherokee people, and is over 120 years old. These are big tomatoes, which can weight a pound or more. Sweet and meaty, they are great for salads and sandwiches. But the purple does take a little getting used to, especially when you serve it to guests! Cherokee Purple is an indeterminate tomato that bears fruit in about 80 days and requires staking.
I plant these heirloom tomato seeds just about every time because my husband David loves them so much. He claims that they make the very best tomato sandwiches, and they sure are pretty. Why? Because Pineapple is a yellow-and-red striped tomato! They are absolutely gorgeous to look at, and deliciously sweet to taste. Pineapple is also a great way to introduce a tomato of a different color to people who have never eaten anything but a red tomato. This tomato is indeterminate, needs staking and is late-season, bearing fruit 85 to 95 days out, so it’s best grown in a warmer climate.
If you regularly use tomato sauce, you really need to consider growing this heirloom tomato. Once you make sauce from this red tomato, you won’t want to go back to store-bought. Not into sauces? You can eat this tomato fresh, too. This variety is among the smaller of the heirloom tomatoes, but is still nice-sized. One thing, Constoluto Genovese really likes warm weather, so it’s not great for cooler climates. Another indeterminate, this heirloom tomato needs staking and produces fruit at around 78 days.
The last of the heirloom tomato seeds I’ll talk about today is one that bears monster fruits — Big Rainbow. It’s also another of the striped tomato colors, with gold and red, so it’s very pretty to look at. Not to mention great to eat! This heirloom tomato can get fruits up to 2 pounds in size! Naturally that’s with optimum growing conditions, but 1+ pounds tomatoes can be expected on average. This tomato is also exceptional in that it’s one of the most disease-resistant of the heirlooms! (Reason enough to grow it.) Big Rainbow is an indeterminate, requires strong staking (possibly multiple stakes). It bears fruit roughly 90 days out.
So there you go; some wonderful heirloom tomato seeds for you to consider planting. For additional information on planting, check out the post on planting a tomato garden. Not to mention how to germinate tomato seeds!
Tomato Growing Terms
So, you’re taking the tomato growing step — having lush, ripe, flavorful tomatoes for your kitchen (and your tastebuds). Congratulations! You’ll be thrilled when you bite into your first ripe tomato, fresh from the vine. It’s a taste like no other.
But before you buy that packet of seeds or run to the garden shop for a plant, know whay you’re buying.
Tomato Growing Terms To Know
There are some terms you’ll hear from time to time, and you’ll want to know what they mean. Here are some of the most frequent and need to know terms, to get you on your tomato growing way!
- Determinate: This means that the tomato plant grows to a certain size (dictated by genetics), then produces all of its fruits at once. Great for canning, saucing, or if you just want lots of tomatoes!
- Heirloom/Open-Pollinated: These are tomato plants from yesteryear, whose seeds have been passed down for generations. These tomatos generally have that luscious taste you remember and long for, and many are very easy to grow.
- Hybrid: These tomato plants are generally higher-yielding, more uniform, and have more disease tolerance. These are the “no fuss” tomato plants, but they may somewhat lack the intense tomato taste of the Heirlooms.
- Indeterminate: These are tomato plants that grow a little, set some fruit, grow some more, set some fruit, etc., until the plant dies. Tomatoes are produced over a longer time period than for determinates, but fewer are produced at a time.
- Potato Leaf: This refers to the shape of the tomato plant’s leaves. Potato-leaf plants have leaves shaped like those on a potato plant (hence their name), which are more elongated and smoother than on a “regular” tomato plant.
Grow your own tomatoes and find out what fresh really means!
