Heirloom Tomato Plants
All tomato and basil plants are sold out!
I still have some hot pepper plants.
Last chance for what's left will be through Saturday, May 8.
I grow a variety of heirloom tomato plants, as well as some hot pepper and basil plants to sell each spring. These are large plants, organically grown, with deep, well-developed root systems. The number of days noted after each variety are the approximate number of days (according to the seed catalogs) it takes to get a ripe tomato after you set the plant in your garden. My large plants will often produce ripe fruit a little sooner in your garden. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for some basic tomato-growing tips, if you're new to the game.
Tomato plants will be available by April 1st. I will have them at both farmers markets. You can also come out to the farm for plants by appointment (email me at wildonionfarms@yahoo.com.) Plants are usually sold out by late April or early May.
Tomato plants are $4 each; pepper and basil plants are $3 each.
The varieties below will be spring (2010)'s offerings; the list is roughly sorted by color. Chile pepper and basil varieties are listed at the bottom of the page. This is where I indulge my love for the weird and unusual and revel in nature's diversity. You want 'Better Boys,' you can find those just about anywhere. I also went a little nuts with the cherry tomatoes this year. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a catchy name. Really, how can you not want to grow lollipops, jujubes, and snowberries? And there's a new "sauce & canning" category - these beauties are perfect for transforming into sauce and hold up well to canning.
Red Tomatoes
Royal Hillbilly (80) Huge drippy juicy red fruits make the perfect summer tomato sandwich. Need I say more?
Millionaire (85) Great eaten fresh or canned, good sweet/tart balanced flavor. From Missouri, 1930s.
Fireworks (65) An early, mid-sized, all-purpose, red tomato. Productive; real tomato flavor that's unusual for an early tomato - far better tasting than 'Early Girl' hybrids.
Old Italian (85) Very large red beefsteak type. Italian origin, 1940s.
Brandywine (85) Large tomatoes with legendary flavor that some feel sets the standard for all other tomatoes. Juicy, few seeds, a perfect balance of sugars and acid. Up to 1 1/2 pounds each. Old heirloom variety from Pennsylvania. These are more productive in northern growing areas, but the flavor makes them worth the trouble in the south.
Principe Borghese (75) Italian heirloom bred for sun-drying. Small fruits with low moisture & intense flavor.
Pink Tomatoes
German Johnson (80) The famous North Carolina heirloom tomato. Large pink fruits grow 1-2 pounds each. Sweet, low-acid, very few seeds.
Rose (75) Amazing flavor is similar to Brandywine, but the plants are earlier, more productive and better suited to southern climates. The rose-colored fruits weigh about one pound each.
Pink Firefly (80) One-pound fruits are deep pink, sweet & tangy, full-flavored. Potato-leaved foliage is fairly disease-resistant. Iridescent skin said to sparkle like a firefly. From Kentucky, @1890.
Purple Tomatoes
Cherokee Purple (80) Another famous North Carolina heirloom, said to have originated with the Cherokee tribe in western NC, refined by Craig LeHoullier of Raleigh. Fruits have a fabulous sweet, smoky flavor, and can grow up to one pound each. These are the ugliest, but best-tasting tomatoes you'll ever grow.
Southern Night (85) deep dark maroon color, sweet, juicy, and luscious as a warm southern summer night.
Orange/Yellow Tomatoes
Kellogg's Breakfast (80) Deep brilliant orange one-pound tomatoes have a fabulous flavor. Very meaty but still juicy, not too many seeds, sweet but still tangy. Wildly productive. I tried growing these for the first time last summer, and they instantly became my new favorite!
Persimmon (80) Beautiful golden-orange tomatoes are sweet and low-acid. Fruits are very meaty with few seeds, averaging 1-2 pounds each. The seed catalogs claim these aren't very productive, but mine have always produced mountains every summer.
Green Tomatoes
Green Zebra (70) One of my favorites. Small to mid-sized fruits are green-and-gold striped when ripe. Excellent yields, the plants are robust but not too big, and one of the hardiest, most disease-resistant tomatoes I've ever grown. The tomatoes have a sweet flavor that's well balanced by a zippy tang - the perfect salad tomato.
Aunt Ruby's German Green (80) Large one-pound beefsteak type w/ strong sweet fruity flavor. Neon green and soft to the touch when ripe.
Striped/Bicolor Tomatoes
Big Rainbow (85) average two-pound fruits, flesh is yellow streaked w/ red, very striking in a platter or salad of sliced tomatoes. Sweet & juicy.
Small-Fruited/Cherry Tomatoes
Green Grape (70) cherry tomato about the size of a green grape, color & flavor similar to Green Zebra.
Mini Orange (75) tiny tangerine-orange 2-oz tomatoes, perfect for snacking & salads
Lollipop (75) lemon-yellow sweet mild cherry tomatoes in clusters; high yielding
Snowberry (75) creamy pale yellow, almost white small cherry in long trusses. Fruity; great eaten out of hand, in fruit salads,
Black Cherry (70) dusky purple cherry tomatoes, sweet rich flavor
Chadwick Cherry (70) huge yields, disease-resistant plants, sweet red 1-oz cherry tomatoes
Jujube Cherry (70) little red grape tomatoes.
Red Fig (70) small sweet red pear-shaped fruits
Matt's Wild Cherry (60) small currant-sized red sweet tomatoes. From eastern Mexico, near Hidalgo.
Tess' Land Race Currant (75) red, pink, yellow & gold currant tomatoes all one one plant in long tresses. Bred by Brett Grosghal of Even'Star Farm in Maryland.
Sauce & Canning
Goldman's Italian-American (80) Large red pear-shaped fruits grow up to one pound. Exceptional flavor and few seeds. Featured in Amy Goldman's gorgeous book The Heirloom Tomato. Makes fabulous tomato sauce, but also good eaten fresh.
Orange Banana (80) unique orange roma-type tomato. Good for drying, canning, sauce. Fruity & sweet.
Jersey Devil (75) a Jersey classic. Large, six-inch long pepper or banana shaped fruit. Thick rich flesh better tasting than most roma types. Easy to grow, great for canning.
Reif Red Heart (80) Red heart-shaped tomatoes with an intense, concentrated flavor and overpowering aroma. Meaty, dense flesh has few seeds. Tomatoes average about one pound. My favorite tomatoes for cooking.
Hot Pepper Plants
You can't live off of them, but life wouldn't be the same without them.
(roughly in order from mildest to hottest)
Spanish Spice For the tender-hearted, a large green chile with just a trace of heat. Great stuffed, roasted, or grilled.
SOLD OUT Pepperoncini The Greek pepper you see pickled in jars in the store. Mild and sweet with just a hint of heat. Great pickled or eaten fresh.
SOLD OUT Anaheim Long green mild chiles from New Mexico are good in almost anything; not very spicy, you can even eat them raw. Also great stuffed, roasted or grilled.
Pasilla One of my favorites, they have a kick but aren't too hot, with a great smoky flavor. Traditionally used to make mole sauces in Mexican cuisine, also great in chili. Long skinny peppers dry well.
Padron A novelty pepper from Spain, where they're often grilled or roasted & served as tapas. Picked small, most are quite mild, maybe 1 in 10 will be hotter than h^%#$&^. For those who like to play Russian Roulette with their food.
Jalapeno You know what they are…
Leutschauer Paprika A sweet-&-hot pepper from Hungary, great for drying.
SOLD OUT Thai Hot Tiny red firey chiles from Thailand frequently used in southeastern Asian cooking. Sometimes referred to as "bird chiles.".
SOLD OUT Tabasco The hot, hot, hot pepper from Louisiana, traditionally used to make tabasco sauce. Put them in a blender with vinegar & a little salt to make your own; this will last forever in the fridge.
Fatalii As hot as hot gets, flavor and heat are very much like Scotch bonnets or habaneras, but Fatalii will bear peppers much sooner than habanera plants do.
Basil Plants SOLD OUT
Genovese (Italian sweet) Basil ~ Thai Basil ~ Lemon Basil
I still have some hot pepper plants.
Last chance for what's left will be through Saturday, May 8.
I grow a variety of heirloom tomato plants, as well as some hot pepper and basil plants to sell each spring. These are large plants, organically grown, with deep, well-developed root systems. The number of days noted after each variety are the approximate number of days (according to the seed catalogs) it takes to get a ripe tomato after you set the plant in your garden. My large plants will often produce ripe fruit a little sooner in your garden. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for some basic tomato-growing tips, if you're new to the game.
Tomato plants will be available by April 1st. I will have them at both farmers markets. You can also come out to the farm for plants by appointment (email me at wildonionfarms@yahoo.com.) Plants are usually sold out by late April or early May.
Tomato plants are $4 each; pepper and basil plants are $3 each.
The varieties below will be spring (2010)'s offerings; the list is roughly sorted by color. Chile pepper and basil varieties are listed at the bottom of the page. This is where I indulge my love for the weird and unusual and revel in nature's diversity. You want 'Better Boys,' you can find those just about anywhere. I also went a little nuts with the cherry tomatoes this year. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a catchy name. Really, how can you not want to grow lollipops, jujubes, and snowberries? And there's a new "sauce & canning" category - these beauties are perfect for transforming into sauce and hold up well to canning.
Red Tomatoes
Royal Hillbilly (80) Huge drippy juicy red fruits make the perfect summer tomato sandwich. Need I say more?
Millionaire (85) Great eaten fresh or canned, good sweet/tart balanced flavor. From Missouri, 1930s.
Fireworks (65) An early, mid-sized, all-purpose, red tomato. Productive; real tomato flavor that's unusual for an early tomato - far better tasting than 'Early Girl' hybrids.
Old Italian (85) Very large red beefsteak type. Italian origin, 1940s.
Brandywine (85) Large tomatoes with legendary flavor that some feel sets the standard for all other tomatoes. Juicy, few seeds, a perfect balance of sugars and acid. Up to 1 1/2 pounds each. Old heirloom variety from Pennsylvania. These are more productive in northern growing areas, but the flavor makes them worth the trouble in the south.
Principe Borghese (75) Italian heirloom bred for sun-drying. Small fruits with low moisture & intense flavor.
Pink Tomatoes
German Johnson (80) The famous North Carolina heirloom tomato. Large pink fruits grow 1-2 pounds each. Sweet, low-acid, very few seeds.
Rose (75) Amazing flavor is similar to Brandywine, but the plants are earlier, more productive and better suited to southern climates. The rose-colored fruits weigh about one pound each.
Pink Firefly (80) One-pound fruits are deep pink, sweet & tangy, full-flavored. Potato-leaved foliage is fairly disease-resistant. Iridescent skin said to sparkle like a firefly. From Kentucky, @1890.
Purple Tomatoes
Cherokee Purple (80) Another famous North Carolina heirloom, said to have originated with the Cherokee tribe in western NC, refined by Craig LeHoullier of Raleigh. Fruits have a fabulous sweet, smoky flavor, and can grow up to one pound each. These are the ugliest, but best-tasting tomatoes you'll ever grow.
Southern Night (85) deep dark maroon color, sweet, juicy, and luscious as a warm southern summer night.
Orange/Yellow Tomatoes
Kellogg's Breakfast (80) Deep brilliant orange one-pound tomatoes have a fabulous flavor. Very meaty but still juicy, not too many seeds, sweet but still tangy. Wildly productive. I tried growing these for the first time last summer, and they instantly became my new favorite!
Persimmon (80) Beautiful golden-orange tomatoes are sweet and low-acid. Fruits are very meaty with few seeds, averaging 1-2 pounds each. The seed catalogs claim these aren't very productive, but mine have always produced mountains every summer.
Green Tomatoes
Green Zebra (70) One of my favorites. Small to mid-sized fruits are green-and-gold striped when ripe. Excellent yields, the plants are robust but not too big, and one of the hardiest, most disease-resistant tomatoes I've ever grown. The tomatoes have a sweet flavor that's well balanced by a zippy tang - the perfect salad tomato.
Aunt Ruby's German Green (80) Large one-pound beefsteak type w/ strong sweet fruity flavor. Neon green and soft to the touch when ripe.
Striped/Bicolor Tomatoes
Big Rainbow (85) average two-pound fruits, flesh is yellow streaked w/ red, very striking in a platter or salad of sliced tomatoes. Sweet & juicy.
Small-Fruited/Cherry Tomatoes
Green Grape (70) cherry tomato about the size of a green grape, color & flavor similar to Green Zebra.
Mini Orange (75) tiny tangerine-orange 2-oz tomatoes, perfect for snacking & salads
Lollipop (75) lemon-yellow sweet mild cherry tomatoes in clusters; high yielding
Snowberry (75) creamy pale yellow, almost white small cherry in long trusses. Fruity; great eaten out of hand, in fruit salads,
Black Cherry (70) dusky purple cherry tomatoes, sweet rich flavor
Chadwick Cherry (70) huge yields, disease-resistant plants, sweet red 1-oz cherry tomatoes
Jujube Cherry (70) little red grape tomatoes.
Red Fig (70) small sweet red pear-shaped fruits
Matt's Wild Cherry (60) small currant-sized red sweet tomatoes. From eastern Mexico, near Hidalgo.
Tess' Land Race Currant (75) red, pink, yellow & gold currant tomatoes all one one plant in long tresses. Bred by Brett Grosghal of Even'Star Farm in Maryland.
Sauce & Canning
Goldman's Italian-American (80) Large red pear-shaped fruits grow up to one pound. Exceptional flavor and few seeds. Featured in Amy Goldman's gorgeous book The Heirloom Tomato. Makes fabulous tomato sauce, but also good eaten fresh.
Orange Banana (80) unique orange roma-type tomato. Good for drying, canning, sauce. Fruity & sweet.
Jersey Devil (75) a Jersey classic. Large, six-inch long pepper or banana shaped fruit. Thick rich flesh better tasting than most roma types. Easy to grow, great for canning.
Reif Red Heart (80) Red heart-shaped tomatoes with an intense, concentrated flavor and overpowering aroma. Meaty, dense flesh has few seeds. Tomatoes average about one pound. My favorite tomatoes for cooking.
Hot Pepper Plants
You can't live off of them, but life wouldn't be the same without them.
(roughly in order from mildest to hottest)
Spanish Spice For the tender-hearted, a large green chile with just a trace of heat. Great stuffed, roasted, or grilled.
SOLD OUT Pepperoncini The Greek pepper you see pickled in jars in the store. Mild and sweet with just a hint of heat. Great pickled or eaten fresh.
SOLD OUT Anaheim Long green mild chiles from New Mexico are good in almost anything; not very spicy, you can even eat them raw. Also great stuffed, roasted or grilled.
Pasilla One of my favorites, they have a kick but aren't too hot, with a great smoky flavor. Traditionally used to make mole sauces in Mexican cuisine, also great in chili. Long skinny peppers dry well.
Padron A novelty pepper from Spain, where they're often grilled or roasted & served as tapas. Picked small, most are quite mild, maybe 1 in 10 will be hotter than h^%#$&^. For those who like to play Russian Roulette with their food.
Jalapeno You know what they are…
Leutschauer Paprika A sweet-&-hot pepper from Hungary, great for drying.
SOLD OUT Thai Hot Tiny red firey chiles from Thailand frequently used in southeastern Asian cooking. Sometimes referred to as "bird chiles.".
SOLD OUT Tabasco The hot, hot, hot pepper from Louisiana, traditionally used to make tabasco sauce. Put them in a blender with vinegar & a little salt to make your own; this will last forever in the fridge.
Fatalii As hot as hot gets, flavor and heat are very much like Scotch bonnets or habaneras, but Fatalii will bear peppers much sooner than habanera plants do.
Basil Plants SOLD OUT
Genovese (Italian sweet) Basil ~ Thai Basil ~ Lemon Basil
Tips for growing great tomatoes
Some basic advice for getting your tomatoes to a bountiful harvest...
Soil Preparation:
Start with good garden soil in a location that gets at least six hours of sun per day. There's no such thing as a tomato that will grow in shade. Sprinkle a little limestone (for calcium, to help prevent blossom end rot) and kelp meal (to help prevent disease and provide micronutrients) in your planting area and scratch them shallowly into the soil surface. A few shovelfuls of compost are also a good idea. Don't over-fertilize with nitrogen or you'll end up with a plant that makes a lot of leaves, but sets no flowers or fruit. Have some mulch handy.
Planting:
Dig a hole with a trowel large enough to accommodate the rootball of your plant. Pinch off any blossoms or discolored leaves. Place the plant in the ground up to the first set of leaves. If your tomato plant is looking tall and leggy, you can plant it sideways, burying the stem, right up to the first or second set of leaves. The plant will root all along the buried part of the stem. Water in well. Mulch around the base of the plant. Mulch will keep the soil moisture even (which will prevent the tomatoes from cracking), keep the foliage from coming in contact with the soil (see "Pests & Diseases") and will let you sit on the porch sipping lemonade instead of grubbing weeds out of the ground all summer.
Container planting:
While hot peppers and basil plants will do just fine in containers, your tomato will be most productive if you plant it in the ground. If you must plant in a pot, give each tomato plant a large container (at least a 5-gallon size). You'll probably need to water daily. You'll still need to provide a stake or other support for the plant. No, I don't recommend those "topsy-turvy" planters.
Staking:
These are all large, sprawling, indeterminate or vining types of tomatoes; they'll need some kind of support. You can use sturdy stakes, a trellis, fenceposts, tomato cages, anything that will hold it up off the ground. Here on the farm I use long rows of 5-foot wire mesh fencing supported with T-posts or rebar, and tie the plants up to the fence as they grow.
Watering:
Stick your finger in the soil up to your second knuckle. If the soil is dry at your fingertip, give the plant some water. Container plants should be checked daily, as the soil will dry out much faster. Even moisture is best (mulch it!).
Pruning:
I don't. That's a lot of extra work. And they grow just fine without it.
Pests, Diseases, and Other Problems:
The most common tomato pest you'll find are tomato hornworms. They'll defoliate large portions of the plant in no time. Since these guys are the exact same shade of green as the foliage on your plant, they're easiest to find by looking for the large castings (yes, worm poop) on the ground. You'll usually find the worm lounging on a newly-stripped stem, digesting it's snack. My favorite method is to snip them in two with pruners or scissors. Other 4-footed pests may include groundhogs, deer, etc. There are a lot of gimmicky sprays and products out there that claim to keep the varmints away; in the long run the cheapest and best solution is a fence. Entire books have been written on diseases that can afflict tomatoes. Your best defense is in careful soil preparation and proper staking to keep the plant's foliage off the ground. Check your plants regularly. If you see unhappy-looking (discolored or spotty) leaves, strip them off and discard them somewhere else. Cracked fruits are caused by an uneven supply of water. Mulch to keep the ground evenly moist, and don't overwater. Sometimes we get a lot of rain all at once, your near-ripe tomatoes will crack, there's not much you can do about it. Blossom end rot looks like a black, sunken spot on the bottom of the tomato. This is due to an insufficient supply of calcium in the soil. Sprinkle some limestone around the plant and scratch it into the soil. Catfacing is caused by extremely hot weather when the blossoms are setting fruit. It's just a cosmetic thing, go ahead and eat that tomato anyway!
Harvesting:
Especially with the more unusual-colored tomatoes, the best way of knowing when your tomato is ripe is by touch and smell. A ripe tomato will feel slightly soft to the touch, and smell gorgeous...like a ripe tomato. If it still feels hard, it's not ready yet. These are all indeterminate vining plants, which will produce ripe tomatoes for at least 6-8 weeks, possibly much longer, not all at once. One of the most common questions I get from new gardeners is "how many tomatoes will I get per plant?" It depends on the specific variety you choose and how well it is grown. It's not easy to put a number on that. I've noted in the list above which varieties I've found to be more prolific than others.
Soil Preparation:
Start with good garden soil in a location that gets at least six hours of sun per day. There's no such thing as a tomato that will grow in shade. Sprinkle a little limestone (for calcium, to help prevent blossom end rot) and kelp meal (to help prevent disease and provide micronutrients) in your planting area and scratch them shallowly into the soil surface. A few shovelfuls of compost are also a good idea. Don't over-fertilize with nitrogen or you'll end up with a plant that makes a lot of leaves, but sets no flowers or fruit. Have some mulch handy.
Planting:
Dig a hole with a trowel large enough to accommodate the rootball of your plant. Pinch off any blossoms or discolored leaves. Place the plant in the ground up to the first set of leaves. If your tomato plant is looking tall and leggy, you can plant it sideways, burying the stem, right up to the first or second set of leaves. The plant will root all along the buried part of the stem. Water in well. Mulch around the base of the plant. Mulch will keep the soil moisture even (which will prevent the tomatoes from cracking), keep the foliage from coming in contact with the soil (see "Pests & Diseases") and will let you sit on the porch sipping lemonade instead of grubbing weeds out of the ground all summer.
Container planting:
While hot peppers and basil plants will do just fine in containers, your tomato will be most productive if you plant it in the ground. If you must plant in a pot, give each tomato plant a large container (at least a 5-gallon size). You'll probably need to water daily. You'll still need to provide a stake or other support for the plant. No, I don't recommend those "topsy-turvy" planters.
Staking:
These are all large, sprawling, indeterminate or vining types of tomatoes; they'll need some kind of support. You can use sturdy stakes, a trellis, fenceposts, tomato cages, anything that will hold it up off the ground. Here on the farm I use long rows of 5-foot wire mesh fencing supported with T-posts or rebar, and tie the plants up to the fence as they grow.
Watering:
Stick your finger in the soil up to your second knuckle. If the soil is dry at your fingertip, give the plant some water. Container plants should be checked daily, as the soil will dry out much faster. Even moisture is best (mulch it!).
Pruning:
I don't. That's a lot of extra work. And they grow just fine without it.
Pests, Diseases, and Other Problems:
The most common tomato pest you'll find are tomato hornworms. They'll defoliate large portions of the plant in no time. Since these guys are the exact same shade of green as the foliage on your plant, they're easiest to find by looking for the large castings (yes, worm poop) on the ground. You'll usually find the worm lounging on a newly-stripped stem, digesting it's snack. My favorite method is to snip them in two with pruners or scissors. Other 4-footed pests may include groundhogs, deer, etc. There are a lot of gimmicky sprays and products out there that claim to keep the varmints away; in the long run the cheapest and best solution is a fence. Entire books have been written on diseases that can afflict tomatoes. Your best defense is in careful soil preparation and proper staking to keep the plant's foliage off the ground. Check your plants regularly. If you see unhappy-looking (discolored or spotty) leaves, strip them off and discard them somewhere else. Cracked fruits are caused by an uneven supply of water. Mulch to keep the ground evenly moist, and don't overwater. Sometimes we get a lot of rain all at once, your near-ripe tomatoes will crack, there's not much you can do about it. Blossom end rot looks like a black, sunken spot on the bottom of the tomato. This is due to an insufficient supply of calcium in the soil. Sprinkle some limestone around the plant and scratch it into the soil. Catfacing is caused by extremely hot weather when the blossoms are setting fruit. It's just a cosmetic thing, go ahead and eat that tomato anyway!
Harvesting:
Especially with the more unusual-colored tomatoes, the best way of knowing when your tomato is ripe is by touch and smell. A ripe tomato will feel slightly soft to the touch, and smell gorgeous...like a ripe tomato. If it still feels hard, it's not ready yet. These are all indeterminate vining plants, which will produce ripe tomatoes for at least 6-8 weeks, possibly much longer, not all at once. One of the most common questions I get from new gardeners is "how many tomatoes will I get per plant?" It depends on the specific variety you choose and how well it is grown. It's not easy to put a number on that. I've noted in the list above which varieties I've found to be more prolific than others.