TOMATOES

EARLY TOMATOES

First Pick - A French variety popular for generations in the Baptiste family of Reims, France.  The deep red, globe shaped fruits  weigh 4 to 5 ounces each.  This plant sets fruit in cool weather, providing tasty tomatoes sooner than other “early” varieties!  Also does well as a fall crop, setting fruit in the cooler night temperatures.  Exceptional flavor for an early tomato!   

Bloody Butcher - An early season type that produces deep crimson colored, 4 ounce fruits in clusters.  Rich, tomato flavor and heavy crops make this variety a great choice. 

LARGE TOMATOES

Glacier - Glacier ripens around the same time as the sub-arctics with about the same size (1–2"), and almost no cosmetic defects except yellow shoulders, but there the comparisons end. Glacier’s rich tomato flavor relegates the insipid sub-arctics to the compost pile. It is also superior to the highly touted Siberia tomato, to Stupice, to Early Temptation to Bloody Butcher and, in fact, to every other tomato in the same class that we’ve tried. Originally from Sweden, 1985.  

Ida Gold -. Often these delightful orange 2-bite low-acid fruits are the first tomatoes to ripen for us. They are early and prolific even in bad tomato years. Developed specially for the North by the University of Idaho. An indifferent performer in so-so soil, but a bountiful yielder when fed compost and rotted manure.  

Pruden’s Purple – We (Fedco Seeds) usually cooperate well at Fedco and tolerate each others’ peculiarities except during tomato taste tests. When we compare tomatoes, about which we are all impassioned, tolerance evaporates and remarks are made about “people who have no taste buds,” who “eat yellow tomatoes” and who “put sugar in their sauce.” CR thinks you don’t need Pruden’s if you have Brandywine. Susan and David like Brandywine fine but think Pruden’s tastes better and ripens three weeks earlier in hot seasons. Opinions aside, Pruden’s is early for its size and makes a great sandwich tomato. Vigorous potato-leaf vines yield spreading irregular pink 1 lb. fruit with very few seeds, a silken texture and rich tomato taste, nicely tart with a balanced undertone of sweetness that is neither insipid nor cloying. Maryland grower Brett Grohsgal praises its flavor, productivity and disease resistance. 

Cherokee Purple  - No list of the best-tasting heirloom tomatoes would be complete without Cherokee Purple, an unusual variety from Tennesee, said to have originated with the Cherokee Indians. Fruits are globes to slightly oblate, averaging 10–13 oz, with dusky brownish-purple skin, dark green shoulders and brick-red flesh. Their real attraction is their rich taste, which has been described as “sweet rich juicy winey,” “delicious sweet,” and “rich Brandywine flavor” by aficionadoes maintaining it in the Seed Savers Exchange. Ranks in my top five for flavor. Expect some concentric cracking.  

Pineapple - The striped tomatoes are among my (Fedco seeds) favorites. They have great names like Hillbilly, Mr. Stripey-Tigerella, Georgia Streak and Pineapple, silky smooth textures and complex, fruity tastes. They often grow huge fruits in excess of 1 lb. that get a little funky cosmetically. Pineapple, Amy LeBlanc’s favorite salad tomato, is certainly characteristic—and may be the best of the genre. Cut in half, it looks like the interior of a pineapple except with yellow and red marbling. It doesn’t taste like a pineapple, though, nor like a typical red tomato, either. Its unique mild low-acid fruity sweetness needs a fruit name all its own. Originally from Kentucky, but our seed stock came from Martha Gottlieb of Common Ground Fair Exhibition Hall fame. “Despite their open cracked tops, our members vote them in every year,” says Anne Elder. “Big enough to spare cutting a bit off the top,” she concludes.  

Peacevine -. Selected by Peace Seeds from Sweet 100 cherry tomato and almost identical in fruit size and growth habit. Bears gazillions of sweet clusters each with 8 or so 1" fruits. Has the currant tomato in its ancestry. Very high in vitamin C and gamma-amino butyric acid, a natural nervous system sedative. That may be why Alan Kapuler named it Peacevine. Jan Sonstrom calls it, “dependable as ever, with wonderful sweet/tart rich flavor.” Certified biodynamically grown, Stellar NOP-certified organic.  

Giant Beefsteak -This very heavy producer of large, brilliant red tomatoes has been a favorite for years!  The solid, meaty fruits are 12 ounce to 2 pounds in size, and are excellent for slicing. 

 Golden Queen -This heirloom was first introduced in 1882!  A mild, sweet tomato with a vivid yellow color.  The delicious fruits average 8 - 12 ounces in size and are very meaty, with few seeds. 

Djena Lee’s Golden Girl  - This family heirloom dates back to 1929, when Djena Lee won 1st prize at the Chicago Fair 10 years in a row. The yellow/orange fruits have a richly balanced, sweet-tangy flavor.  Delicious, old-time taste. 

Great White  - The large, 14-16 oz. tomatoes have a mild, low acid taste preferred by many. The vigorous vines produce fruits that have white flesh throughout, with little cracking or catfacing.  Sweet and juicy. Different and unusual! 

PASTE TOMATOES

Orange Banana – I (Fedco Seeds) never would have believed that the best tomato sauce comes from an orange tomato. But the proof is in the eating and Orange Banana has been the perennial winner of our annual paste taste-offs. Comments from tasters include, “the best flavor and sweetness yet, wow!” and “gourmet candlelight.” No wonder Banana has become a staple of David’s famous tomato sauces. Its amazing sprightly sweet flavor, reminiscent of Sungold but with more depth and diverse tones, makes an ambrosial sauce by itself and adds a vivid fruity complexity to any sauce with other tomato varieties. Erica Myers-Russo in CT has found another use for it, growing it exclusively for drying. She claims it “makes the sweetest dried tomatoes ever.” Attractive cylindrical orange fruits 3–4" long average 4–5 oz. Susceptible to blossom-end rot and sometimes only a mediocre cropper. Originally offered by Moscow seedswoman Marina Danilenko in the 1996 Seed Savers Yearbook.  

Amish Paste - 22 seed savers can’t be wrong! That’s how many listed Amish Paste in the 2009 Seed Savers Yearbook, making it one of the most popular items in the Exchange. Their comments tell it all, “excellent sauce and canning tomato,” “heavy yield and good flavor,” “my favorite paste tomato for the past eight years,” “large, meaty, heart-shaped fruit,” “flavor...well-balanced, tending toward tartness.” Ranked as the 2nd best-tasting variety at the 2006 Heirloom Tomato Tasting at Decorah, IA. Though it has not fared that well in some of our sauce tests, its flavor has been consistently good even in poor tomato years such as 2008 and 2009. Strong producer of oxheart fruits up to 8 oz. Thick bright-red flesh. Larger and better than Roma. Wisconsin heirloom from Amish farmers in the 1870s, first surfaced in the 1987 SSE Yearbook. We have observed some inherent variation, based on how this variety responds to its environment.  

Banana Legs - This old heirloom has bright yellow fruit that is 4" long x 1 1/2" in diameter, resembling a small banana!  The flesh is meaty, with a low acid taste, while the plants have pretty, lacy foliage.  Very unusual! 

CHERRY TOMATOES

Fargo Yellow Pear -  Introduced 1934 by Oscar Will & Co. of Bismarck, ND, yet another of famous breeder A.F. Yaeger’s creations. He crossed Bison with Yellow Pear for earliness and higher yields. Our trialers all gave high ratings to Fargo. One called it “the first pear tomato that tastes like a tomato.” Each plant produces about three dozen of the sweet tasty 1 oz. fruits. About twice the size of regular pear tomatoes, the meaty morsels are crack resistant.  

Be My Baby Gene Pool - “Tasty, uniform, prolific and problem-free,” writes Anne Corbin of Philadelphia, PA. “Truly monsters for cherry tomatoes…several plants loaded with 50–70 fruits each,” echo Douglas and Lori Watts of Augusta, ME, who grew them in raised beds using mostly leaf compost. This productive cherry is the ongoing result of a cross of three famous tomatoes: an heirloom potato-leaf beefsteak and two cherries, one orange and one red. The crossing and selection process began in 1997.  Although it was selected for a red cherry with regular tomato foliage, a few plants will still be potato-leaved. Rogue them out because their flavor is not as desirable as the rest. The grape tomato in its background lends a rich sweet flavor somewhat akin to that of Sweet Baby Girl which it replaced. Bred by Relentless; Earth Passionate Agrarian™–grown. Mini Orange - This bright orange, golf ball size fruits grow in clusters of 4 to 6, with each having a smooth, round shape and a fine flavor.  A very unique variety!  

Berry Brown - All the rich, sweet flavor “dark” tomatoes are known for, contained in a cherry-size tomato.  This heavy producer of full-flavored fruits is a must for the cherry tomato lover. 

Christmas Grapes - Always sweet and juicy, the red, round, 1 inch fruits of this variety grow in clusters.  The tall vines will continue to produce steadily all season long.  

Green Grape – These green, ¾ inch cherry tomatoes are grown in clusters of 6-8 fruit, and have an amber blush when ripe.  The flesh has a unique, spicy sweetness that's simply delicious!  

Lemon Drop - Very tasty, these tiny ½ - ¾ inch lemon colored cherry tomatoes make the perfect addition to salads. This variety will surprise you with its tart and sweet flavor.