Tomato Sale 2018

 

Tomato Sale 2018

 

 

Hello gardeners,

Well it's that time again - yes, my annual tomato plant sale. This year I am growing over 20 different varieties - I know, I must be mad !! Some old favorites and some new ones to try.
Date yet to be finalized, but like the last few years, towards the middle of February, depending on how fast the little darling plants grow !!
See list below for detailed descriptions of each variety.

 As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions and feel free to spread the words to your gardening friends who might be interested.
Looking forward to seeing both new faces and old friends.
Further details on exact date, time and place of sale to follow.

 Happy gardening everyone !

 

Tomatoes planted 2018

Most are Heirloom and all are organically grown. Seeds are from Baker Creek, Botanical Interests, Native Seed Search or Italy.

Plants will be $3 to $5 depending on plant size.

Speckled Roman – 85 days. Indeterminate Paste tomato with orange and yellow stripes. Very meaty, amazing flavor, good for sauce and canning. My favorite tomato taste wise !!

Money Maker – 75-80 days. Indeterminate. An old English heirloom, greenhouse variety; produces 4 to 6-oz globes that are intensely red, smooth, and of very high quality. This variety grows well in hot, humid climates and greenhouses; sets in most any weather. Flavorful and becoming rare.

Silvery Fir Tree – 58 days. Determinate. Compact silvery foliage that looks like carrot leaves. A tomato that is only 58 days and recommended for here, because it is only 58 days !!!

St Pierre - 78 days. A beautiful French heirloom, the tender fruits have a full, rich tomato flavor and are large in size; great for canning or fresh eating. They are deep red and excellent producers, even in bad conditions. Popular in Europe

Beeksteak – 96 days. Indeterminate. Huge tomatoes – May even weigh up to 2 pounds ! Old heirloom.

Henderson’s  Pink Ponderosa - 85 days. Huge size, some over 2 lbs; a meaty pink-red beefsteak introduced by Peter Henderson & Co. in 1891, and the most famous of their varieties. In 1903 their catalog said “Quality Beyond Praise, Rich and meaty-sliced. Thick and delicious canned.” Still popular with gardeners

Jersey Devil - 90 days. Pendulant, pointed, pepper-like fruits are slow to set on but yield very heavily. 5-6- inch, ruby-red, paste-type fruits are very meaty and have but few seeds. Incredible flavor.

Black Beauty – Worlds Darkest tomato !! May even turn blue black on skin. Great taste. Stores well with flavor improving at room temperature. From Wild Boar Farms. Rare seeds.

Dark Galaxy – 75 days.  Mottled skin, red/black color with orange stripes. 2-8 oz fruits. From Wild Boar Farms. Rare seeds.

Black Krim – 70-90 days.  Indeterminate- Fruit ripens throughout the season. Fruits are violet-brown and purple-red. Sun exposure darkens the color. Beefsteak tomatoes. Excellent flavor. Grows well here.

Moonglow – Indeterminate. Orange tomato with great rich flavor that has won awards for taste. Keeps well. Rich in lycopene. From Native Seed Search.

Tie Dye Green - 75-80 days. Incredibly colorful and delicious large-fruited slicing variety! Fruits run 8 to 16 ounces. Exterior color is green with stripes in red and yellow. But the flesh is truly tri-color! Creamy green flesh infused with various shades of red and yellow. Each of these colors has a different flavor resulting in a spicy, sweet, tart tomato with good acid all in one fruit. Fair to good production. A truly incredible new open-pollinated variety, and a new favorite of many chefs

Amana Orange - 75-80 days. Indeterminate. This is one of my all-time favorite slicing tomatoes. The beautiful fruit is large (4or 5 inches in diameter) with a non-acidic, delicious flavor. Unlike many tomatoes in our hot dry climate, Amana continues to produce some fruit during 100-plus degree summers. I have grown this before and it does extremely well here.

Pantano Romanesco – 70 days.  Indeterminate.   A Roman heirloom from Italy. The fruit are large and are deep red with almost a purple tint. The flesh is very rich, flavorful and juicy. An excellent tomato for home and market gardeners; very rare and delicious.

Cherokee Purple – 80 days. Cherokee Purple is indeterminate, so it keeps growing and setting new fruit all summer long. You will find it very easy to grow and heavy bearing. For extra-large tomatoes, remove all but a few flowers, so the plant can concentrate its energy into fewer fruit. Grows well here.

Garden Treasure – 70-75 days. Indeterminate. This cultivar is the result of a cross between a very large, great tasting Brandywine-type tomato with soft, extremely short shelf life fruits and very poor yields. Garden Treasure produces a large (about 8-9 ounces), round fruit with vastly better yields, increased firmness and great taste. Garden Treasure was rated at the top of large-fruited cultivars.                                                          Note – these Seeds are not available to the public yet – this is a trial variety from the University of Florida, which seems to be showing great success. I was given them to try.

Blush – 70 days. Cherry. Indeterminate. Fruits are 2.5” long, 1.5 wide. Golden, tiger stripe with ruby streaks. Flavor is mellow, complex and not too sweet. Good to grow in AZ.

Galapagos Wild - (Solanum/Lycopersicon cheesmanii) Unique and rare, wild, small cherry tomato from the rocky, lava flow areas of Ecuador’s famed Galapagos Islands. These cherry shaped, yellowish-orange fruited tomatoes are flavorful and have lemon scented foliage. They enjoy heat and tolerate drought. Similar to cultivated tomatoes in flavor but with more disease and insect tolerance, as well as salt water tolerance. Plants typically vine, are very productive, and easy to grow. This hearty plant is favored by amateur plant breeders as a tasty variety that lends more disease, drought, and heat tolerance to tomatoes it is crossed with; making it an excellent choice for beginner tomato breeders

Canestrino - A rare & prized heirloom sauce tomato from  Italy. A very dry sauce tomato with a deep, rich red color, and unique flavor.

Flamenco – Open Pollinated tomato from the SW. Cross between Silvery Fir Tree for earliness and feathery foliage and Floridae for heat and disease resistance. From Native Seed Search.  Semi-determinate bush type plant with highly flavored 2” round fruit. Keeps on producing in hot weather when others stop – not grown it before, so we shall see !

Violet Jasper - They have pretty violet-purple fruits with iridescent green streaks! Fruits weigh 1-3 ounces, are smooth and have good tasting, dark purplish-red flesh.

Special Yellow Cherry – Unknown from Carol’s garden. This was an unknown “feral” tomato that just sprouted all on its own and just went mad in my garden ! The fruits were a yellow orange color but the taste was out of this world, unlike anything I have ever tasted before. I saved the seeds and am growing the plants this year. Hopefully they will be as amazing as the parent !