Start Date: March 20th 2012
End Date: April 10th 2012
Shipping Date: March 21st thru April 15th 2012
Email: [email protected]
Minimum Purchase for Co-op Pricing: 3 plants of mixed cultivars
Cost of Plants: 3 for $11.25
Shipping:
$6.95 for 3 or 6 plants.
$8.95 for 9 to 12 plants.
Inquire for cost higher than 12.
(Lycopersion lycopersicum)
All tomatoes benefit from being grown in full sun under a drip irrigation system. These plants have been raised without the use of chemicals from organically raised seed-stock. The following selections are chosen because of their productivity, resistance to disease and adaptability to Central Texas weather patterns. Several of these selections were brought to Texas with early settlers and during their long history have likely been classed as 'production tomatoes'. Today, they are more difficult to find because of the more commonly available hybrids.
Indeterminate - An indeterminate tomato is sometimes called a 'Vining Tomato' because the plant will continue to grow in length through the season. An indeterminate will continue to produce fruit until the plant is killed by frost.
Open-pollinated - Open-pollinated plants produce plants and fruit identical to the parent. [All heirlooms are open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated are heirlooms.]
Heirloom - Heirloom varieties are passed down through multiple generations because of a unique or distinguishing characteristic. Traditionally speaking, Heirlooms are identified by four separate categories:
• Commercial heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties introduced prior to 1935.
• Family heirlooms have been passed down through generations of a single family.
• Created heirlooms is a hybrid-crossing of two heirloom parents or more.
• Mystery heirlooms are most often naturally occurring or found hybrids of other heirloom varieties.
Want them all? Confused as to which tomato to plant?...we will be happy to put together a selection appropriate to your growing area...
The well-rooted plants are approximately 60 days old with multiple leaves and approximately 8" tall to-growth. They are ready to plant out in the garden or 'drop' into a large container. They will be shipped without containers but with soil retained and encased in dampened materials and plastic. All tomatoes will be clearly labeled.
ORGANIC: CHERRY TOMATO PLANTS
'Black Cherry' is the only true black tomato. The fruit is a dark red and brown both outside and when opened. The vines are vigorous, indeterminate, and heavy producers. The tomatoes are round, 1" in size and sweet with a strong tomato flavor.
'Chocolate Cherry' is an indeterminate that grows to 6' but produces over a long period. We have counted as many as 70 fruit at one time on one vine! The fruits are a rich, dark red, approximately 1" in size and very sweet. This is a great plant for children because of the ease of growing, high production and small size that just fits into the mouth in one bite!
'Egg Yolk' is a prolific indeterminate that produces 12 to 16' long vines. The fruit is the size, shape and color of a yolk of a chicken egg. The taste is sweet and juicy and beautiful fresh in salads.
'Ildi' is an indeterminate, open-minded variety that vigorously grows 8 to 10'. The vines are Huge and often covered in small pear-shaped fruit in a lovely bright yellow. The vines are highly productive and produces from an early age. This created heirloom is best used fresh in salads.
'Isis Candy' produces sweet, bi-color fruit that can exhibit yellow, gold and red in the same medium to small sized fruit. The plant is indeterminate, open-pollinated and can grow to 6' in length. The fruit is best used fresh and is excellent for drying.
'Jujube' is a shorter indeterminate vine and a large producer. The fruit are soft red and grape-sized. The taste is very sweet and juicy. This is a good choice for children to grow.
'Red Currant' is a large plant that needs solid staking. It can easily out-grow a 5' tomato cage. The plant is highly productive and often produces 10,000 or more grape-sized tomatoes in a season. It blooms early and is a heavy producer and then it often expires after about 3 months of heavy production. The color is a deep red when ripe and is an attractive addition to salad. This is a great plant for children because they can see and harvest the bright colored fruit and there is always enough to harvest! The children can eat them directly or they can be added into salads. They are very acidic so they are good dried and packed in oil.
'Red Pear' is an indeterminate, open-pollinated variety that produces small grape-sized pear-shaped cherry tomatoes. The vines are highly productive and can often reach 4 to 6'. This is an easy one to grow and works well in a hanging basket if kept trimmed and fertilized.
'Snow White' grows 4 to 6' in length and produces small, cherry-sized fruit. When the fruit is mature, it is a creamy white or soft yellow. The fruit is sweet and excellent used fresh or for drying. The plant is indeterminate, open-pollinated, and a big producer.
'Sun Gold' (F, V, N, and T resistant) is an American indeterminate hybrid. The fruit is small, grape-sized and golden orange in color. It can grow 4 to 6' in length and is highly productive.
'Thai Purple Egg' produces one of the most beautiful fruit, which is pink-purple, smooth-skinned and cherry-sized. The fruit is egg-shaped and usually 2" long when mature. The plants are smaller and often only grow to 4' in a shrub-shape. It is indeterminate and open-pollinated. The taste is mild and sweet and excellent in salads or dried.
'White Currant' produces creamy white, yellow or lime green tomatoes on 8' indeterminate plants. The fruit size is current or grape-sized and best fresh eaten raw or in salads. This tomato is a huge producer.
ORGANIC: LARGE AND MEDIUM TOMATO PLANTS
'Black Pineapple' is a developed heirloom. The vines are indeterminate, growing 4-6' in length and are considered high production plants. The fruit are beefsteak size producing medium to large fruit of one to two pounds. The color is reason enough to grow this one. Color is often green, yellow, red and purple on the outside at the same time and the flesh exhibits predominately green color with red or dark purple splotches. This is a beautiful slicing and salad tomato.
'Black Seaman' is an old Russian heirloom grown for the beautiful coloration of the fruit, especially when sliced for eating. The fruit skin is a rich mahogany with dark green top color. The fruits are an odd shape, but the shape only enhances the vivid coloration of dark green and red when the fruit is sliced.
'Cream Sausage' produces 2 to 3" long creamy white or soft yellow fruit with a good tomato flavor. The plant requires no staking and is a heavy producer. The tomatoes are excellent5 in salsa or pale pasta sauces.
'Hillbilly' is an old Ohio Heirloom Beefsteak that produces 1 to 2 pound fruit on indeterminate vines. The tomatoes are an orange/yellow color with red shading. It is very sweet and excellent for slicing because of the larger size.
'Limmony' aka 'Lemony' produces abundant, sweet yellow fruit that averages one pound each and is most often 4 to 5" across. It is an old Russian beefsteak that has a sweet, fruity taste and is most often grown for home canning or sold in markets.
'Great White' grows 8 to 10' and benefits from staking. The fruits are medium-sized and a light yellow or creamy white. This is an open-pollinated type that produces late, but abundantly. Use fresh or stewed.
'Moneymaker' is an old English greenhouse variety that sets fruit well in humid climates. It is highly prolific in a hoop-house or greenhouse, but can get rather large. It can be trimmed without cutting significantly into the production. The plant produces 4 ounce globe-shaped red tomatoes that have a sweet, fruity taste. This tomato is excellent for canning, cooking, drying and fresh in salads.
'Paul Robeson' is a Beefsteak sized red/black tomato that is excellent fresh or sliced. It grows 4-6' in an indeterminate manner and is open-pollinated. (4 in stock)
'Principle Borghese' is a short-growing indeterminate that produces clusters of red, 2 oz. fruit that are plum-shaped. Similar to Roma, it is an excellent substitute for Roma and can be grown in locations difficult for Roma to produce. Principle Borghese is an old Italian heirloom and is most often the tomato used by commercial pasta sauce companies because it retains flavor so well when cooked. Besides being an sauce tomato, it is excellent for drying or packed in oil.
'Purple Calabash' produces beautiful flat, deeply ruffled fruit that is a dark purple or chocolate brown with green and darker chocolate shading. The plant is drought-tolerant and crack-resistant in the heat. It produces small to medium (3") fruit that has a deep flavor and stores well.
'Rainbow' aka 'Big Rainbow' is a beautiful slicing tomato and high producer. The vines are large, sprawling and indeterminate. The Rainbow produces well even in shorter summers, producing large, 2 pound beefsteak tomatoes. The younger fruit is yellow/gold and then matures to display yellow, orange, gold and red with tinges of dark green. It is very juicy and has a sweet taste. The tomatoes are beautiful when sliced to show the golden flesh of the fruit that also has red splotches irregularly through the fruit.
'Variegated Leaf' has been re-named and marketed as Splash of Cream or more simply Splash. This tomato is easily identified because of the light green or white variegation on the foliage. It can be grown in a flowerbed with staking for trained onto a small arbor for display. The plant can reach 4-6' but can also be pruned. The fruits are medium-sized and a bicolor of red and orange. This is a historic heirloom from Ireland that is open-pollinated and indeterminate.
