Tomato 'Aker's West Virginia' 23W33 Tomato S1- (Aker, 1990) Red Tomato, Mature plant size: 90day, RED, USDA Hardiness Zone Veg, Michigan Bloom Month -, In Garden Bed S1 for 146 DAYS (Victory). Planted in 2023.

Victory Seeds: 90 days, indeterminate — The regular leaf vines of 'Aker's West Virginia' remain fairly compact, only reaching four to five feet in height, and with flower clusters a bit closer together that typical indeterminate varieties. They produce ample amounts of red colored, round to oblate shaped, six to twenty ounce fruit that are meaty and quite delicious with an "old fashioned" well balanced flavor. On our farm in Oregon, the plants continued producing beautiful, huge fruit, even after the fall rainy season began. The tomatoes are unusual in that they do not develop green shoulders as immature fruit like other reds.

We received or sample of 'Aker's West Virginia' from Craig LeHoullier. In 1996, Craig was given this variety from Pennsylvania tomato enthusiast, the late Carl Aker. Craig explained that he had met Carl at a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Harvest Festival in 1990, and that throughout the 1990s, he and Carl had corresponded and shared many tomato varieties. One packet of seeds that Craig received from Carl was simply labeled, "West Virginia," so Craig added the "Aker's" designation to distinguish it from other tomatoes with that name.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan.

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I tried this tomato last year and I was very pleased with it. It behaved more like a hybrid than an heirloom in shape, conformity, and productivity. It was a very bad year for tomatoes here because of all the rain, yet this tomato produced very well and was very tasty. I have added it to my list of keepers!

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