Tomatoes with a history

These plants have a past.


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    OLD-FASHIONED TASTE: Heirloom tomatoes offer a variety of colors and tastes.
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What’s an heirloom?

Heirloom tomatoes differ from the modern hybrids on a number of counts. Heirlooms tend to have a wider variety of fruit colors and shapes. The fruits are softer so they are more difficult to ship long distances. That’s why they aren’t as available commercially as modern hybrids.

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Five Favorite Heirloom Tomatoes

Big Rainbow (90 days) - This attractive, bicolored, beefsteak-type features 2-pound golden orange fruits with light yellow shoulders and red streaks throughout the flesh.

Black Cherry (65 days) - This large, round cherry tomato features chocolate-black fruits. The fruits are produced in abundance and have a rich, earthy, complex flavor.

Brandywine (85 days) - Originally from the Brandywine Valley of Pennsylvania, this is probably the most widely known heirloom variety. One-pound fruits are pink, red, or yellow, depending on the strain, and have a perfect blend of sugars and acids. The plants feature unusual potato-shaped leaves.

Consoluto Genovese (78 days) - This Italian heirloom produces deep red, juicy, heavily ribbed fruits that produce well in hot weather.

Stupice (52 days) - This Czech Republic heirloom is very cold-tolerant. Plants produce very early, 2-ounce, red fruits.

Growing heirloom tomatoes

If you use seed, sow them indoors six to eight weeks before your last frost date in 2-inch-diameter pots filled with sterilized seed-starting soil. Thin the seedlings to one per pot after germination and keep them under grow lights for 14 hours a day. Keep the lights within inches of the seedling tops. Water and feed the transplants lightly.


For container growing, plant in a 12-inch-diameter pot filled with potting soil. In the garden amend the soil with compost and stake or cage these varieties to keep them upright.

For more information on growing heirloom tomatoes and other edibles, youcan sign up for my free Edible Landscaping newsletter.

– From Family Features

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