Available starting MID-APRIL at the COMOX VALLEY FARMERS’ MARKET or PICK-UP ON FARM.
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ROMA & SAUCE TOMATOES
ROMA VF TOMATO
Determinate. OP. High yields of 2½”, blocky, pear-shaped tomatoes, somewhat smaller than San Marzano. Compact vines are strong and vigorous. This has been our all-purpose canning and salad tomato for years now and we love it! 20-30 lbs per plant. It was originally introduced in 1963 by the Joseph Harris Seed Company of Rochester, New York, who crossed a Roma tomato with a California Red Top VR 9. As a result, the Roma VF is resistant to both Verticillium and Fusarium wilts (hence the “VF”).
SPECKLED ROMAN TOMATO
“Eye-catching red and yellow streaked roma tomato. Meaty red flesh has little juice, they are great for fresh eating, or cooking into sauce. Excellent flavor. Avg. 6-8 oz. fruits. You won’t ever see another Italian paste type tomato like this one! Stunning and unique; long-pointed red fruit have wavy golden stripes. One of the best for sauces, but also great for fresh eating. The vines are also distinctive, with a wispy, slightly droopy appearance. Indeterminate”
SAN MARZANO TOMATO
Indeterminate. Heirloom. Many consider the San Marzano Heirloom Tomato to be THE plum tomato for making sauces. It has exceptionally good flavour. In some Italian towns it is said to be against the law to use any other variety for their pizza sauces.
PRINCIPE BORGHESE
TOMATO
Determinate. Heirloom. This unique plum tomato is extra meaty, but is only 1-2 inches. Their size and fleshiness make them ideal for drying and making sauce, but they are also delicious fresh. Principe Borghese (pronouced prince-eep-ay bor-gae-say) produces masses of fruit clusters, making picking easy. Compact plants that are fairly upright. Most of the fruit will come on all at once. Seeds from Good Earth Farm.
LARGE SLICING TOMATOES
STRIPED GERMAN
Indeterminate. Heirloom. The flat, medium-to-large tomatoes with variable shoulder ribbing are shaded yellow and red. The marbled interior looks beautiful sliced. Complex, fruity flavor and smooth texture.
SILVERY FIR
Determinate. OP. Named for its fern-like leaves with a silvery colour, Silvery Firs compact size (grows to about 61 cm (24") high) make it ideal for smaller, urban plots, container gardening or balcony planters. Early and abundant production of rich-flavoured medium-sized scarlet red fruits that are 5-7 cm.
BLACK KRIM
Indeterminate. Heirloom. “originates from the Isle of Krim in the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The medium to large size fruit are oblate and usually have numerous cracks around the stem end. The color varies according to the climate but generally the hotter the climate the darker the fruit. Excellent for slicing, salads, and tomato sandwiches.”
MORTGAGE LIFTER
Indeterminate. Heirloom. Dating back to 1930s West Virginia, this classic heirloom beefsteak has pinkish skin, few seeds, and superb tomato flavour. Mortgage Lifter fruits are generally free from cracking and average 1-2 lbs each. They mature a little later in the season, but the classic heirloom tomato flavour is worth the wait.
CHERRY TOMATOES
TUMBLER
Determinate. Hybrid. “True hanging basket tomatoes. Plant three seedlings in a 10" pot and the branches will spread out and droop over the sides for really early tomatoes. Stand back and enjoy lovely 1 to 2" sweet clusters of tomatoes. Tuck some Lobelia, or fill with pansies in the pot for extra visual appeal, water well and fed every four to six weeks with a hanging basket fertilizer. Grow in partial shade and out of the rain for big, sweet, cherry tomatoes at eye level.”
CHERRY FALLS TOMATO
OP CHERRY TOMATO. DETERMINATE - BUSH. RED CHERRY TOMATO. Cherry Falls tomato is like TUMBLER tomato. A delightful, cascading variety perfect for containers, hanging baskets, and small garden spaces. This determinate tomato plant produces an abundance of sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes that ripen to a vibrant red. The vines, which reach about 18-24 inches in length, gracefully drape over the edges of containers, creating an attractive and productive display. Compact growth habit and prolific yield.
FARTHEST NORTH
Determinate. OP. “Produces very early and abundant bite sized, red cherry-type tomatoes with a nice, full flavour. Great for containers. Rare variety, bred at the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station by renowned horticulturalist, Dr. Albert F. Yeager from a stabilized cross between 'Bison' and a wild current-type, 'Solanum pimpinellifolium' tomato and introduced in 1934.” Seeds from Good Earth Farm.
SWEETIE RED CHERRY
Indeterminate. OP. “This super sweet red cherry tomato has amazing yields and is adaptable to adverse growing conditions. Plant out when night lows are above 10 degrees C; space plants 50-75cm apart in rows 1m apart and provide supports.” 55 days to maturity. Seeds from Saanich Organics.
SUNGOLD CHERRY TOMATO
Indeterminate. Hybrid. “Super sweet. A vigorous, indeterminate plant produces fruits which are exceptionally sweet and bright tangerine coloured. High resistance to Fusarium Wilt and Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Developed by the Tokita Seed Company in 1992. An F1 hybrid variety of two undisclosed parent plants.”
CHOCOLATE CHERRY
Indeterminate. heirloom. “Deep colour and complex flavour. Chocolate Cherry produces very purple cherry tomatoes in clusters of 6-8. Large trusses of seemingly endless fruit will keep producing until the frost.”
GOLD NUGGET TOMATO
HEIRLOOM CHERRY TOMATO. DETERMINATE - BUSH. Good luck keeping up with this productive bushy tomato. Just when you think you have picked all the fruits, you pull back the canopy to reveal a hidden treasure of golden deliciousness waiting to be harvested. Great for containers.
ELFIN
semi- Determinate. OP. “Grape Tomato that has the same wonderful sweet flavor, size, and shape as the original Grape, but has the advantage of shorter plants. Elfin's clusters of delicious, uniquely-flavored grape-shaped cherry tomatoes have a sweetness that is unmistakably 'grape.' “
YELLOW PEAR CHERRY
Indeterminate. Heirloom - 1800's. “An old time cherry tomato. It's yellow, pear shaped fruit are sweet with a creamy texture. Very prolific.”
SALAD TOMATOES
BLUEBERRY TOMATO
Indeterminate. OP. Named for it’s immature fruit which starts a as bright purple/blue before ripening to a deep red with black shoulders. 2-3 oz. Mild, fruity and sweet flavor. Very productive vines with broad leaves hold long graceful clusters of 8-15 fruit high in the phytonutrient, Anthocyanin. A unique addition to summer salads! Seeds from Good Earth Farm.
Blueberry Tomato immature fruit
JAUNE FLAMME
Indeterminate. Heirloom. Persimmon colored, apricot- sized fruits, great for salads with a sweet fruity flavor. Prolific!!
LATAH TOMATO
“LAY-tah” tomatoes are often the earliest tomatoes ready (along with Merville Rocket). Developed by the University of Idaho. Real tomato flavor too, juicy with bright acidity. Low bushy determinate plants bear 2-3 oz salad size fruits prolifically. Some tendency for green shoulders but, come on... Are you really going to nitpick such an early, delicious tomato? Great for containers. Determinate. 50-60 days.
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Toma Verde Tomatillo
OP. Tangy when fresh, and sweet when roasted. Delicious in Salsa Verde and Pozole Verde! Even though tomatillo means "little tomato" in Spanish, the fruit actually comes from a different plant and is tarter, more vegetal-tasting, and more acidic than most tomatoes. Green tomatoes and tomatillos are different plants and different fruits.
Early and PROLIFIC. Does not require pruning. Staking not required but will benefit from it. Fruits will be ready to pick when they fill the husk and the husk is breaking open slightly. Give each plant plenty of space, they get BIG. Seeds from Saanich Organics.
GROUND CHERRY
“Ground cherries, often called "husk cherries", are similar to tomatillos in appearance, but differ completely in flavour! Ground Cherries taste almost tropical and came be used in anything from jams, to ice creams and pies! Allow fruit to fall off the plant, then gather it up. Then allow to ripen a further week or two on the counter, husks on, for full sweetness.”
GROUND CHERRY
FUN TOMATO FACTS:
Determinate tomatoes or “BUSH types” bear a full crop all at once and only grow to a specific height. They are often good choices for container growing. Determinate types are preferred by commercial growers who wish to harvest a whole field at one time, or home growers interested in canning. Determinate varieties usually require little or no staking because of their stout and bushy nature.
Indeterminate tomatoes develop into VINES that continue producing indefinitely (indeterminately) or until killed by frost. Technically they are perennials and can grow for YEARS! This would be preferred by a grower who wants to pick ripe fruit consistently throughout the season. They generally take slightly longer to start producing than BUSH types, but continue producing longer. They will require staking or trellising and ideally, pruning.
“An heirloom tomato is an open-pollinated, non-hybrid heirloom cultivar of tomato. They are classified as family heirlooms, commercial heirlooms, mystery heirlooms, or created heirlooms. They usually have a shorter shelf life and are less disease resistant than hybrids. They are grown for various reasons: for food, historical interest, access to wider varieties, and by people who wish to save seeds from year to year, as well as for their taste.” - wikipedia
Hybrids or “FI” Hybrids are created when plant breeders cross-pollinate two different varieties. The purpose is to create an offspring that contains the best traits of the parents. Traits such as: bigger size fruit, extra sweetness, more yield, or better disease resistance. Cross-pollination is a natural process and can happen when plants are spaced close together. Saving the seeds from a Hybrid tomato, while they may sprout and grow, will revert to one of the genetic parent plants, which will probably be much different fruit than the hybrid. Hybrids are not the same as GMOs. We find it’s beneficial to grow a variety of hybrids and open pollinated types.
OP = Open Pollinated. Tomato flowers are self-pollinating, which means: they contain both the male and female parts. More than one plant is not needed for reproduction. The pollen falls within the flower to pollinate itself. That doesn't mean insects and wind aren't important, though! They can help pollinate self-pollinating plants; for example, when bees land on the flowers, the buzzing of their wings helps to shake the pollen into the flower. If bees or other winged insects do not have access to the tomato plants, like in a covered greenhouse, it is recommended to shake the tomato branches while they are flowering or touch them with an electric toothbrush to encourage fruit production. Growing open pollinated tomatoes means you can save the seed, and expect the same tomato as the one you started with (provided they don’t cross pollinate with something else). Heirlooms are open pollinated strains that have been self pollinated for many years. (all heirlooms are OP, but not all OP are heirlooms)
more to come…