It is April 15 and the first tomato blossoms are opening. For the 2017 Sunnyvale garden, we are cutting back on our tomato varieties…only 9 this year. On January 16, I planted 2 seeds in each seedling pot, 6 pots per row, covered the tray, and turned on the seedling heating mat. Seven days later, almost of the cotyledon leaves have sprouted. I gave away about half of the seedlings. I have 40 plants in 16 pots.
For the past 15 years, Marie always orders the seeds from www.tomatofest.com, a local nursery in Carmel.
Airyleaf
These organic tomato seeds produce big spindly, regular leaf tomato plants that yield abundant crops of deep-red, meaty, elongated tomatoes, 2×4 inches. Airyleaf tomatoes have big delicious flavors with a good amount of acid content balanced with just enough sweetness.
Days: 75
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Red
Season: Mid-Season
Type: Heirloom
Brad’s Black Heart
From Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms in California who found it in a patch of Black Krim and stabilized the seed: indeterminate, droopy regular-leaf plants that yield copious amounts of 12 oz., pink-black, heart-shaped tomatoes (mostly flattened hearts…some pointy, some blunt) with exceptionally rich sweet complex flavors. A good producer in cooler growing regions as well as warmer regions. Disease resistant.
Days: 75
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Purple-Black
Season: Mid-Season
Type: Open-Pollinated
Dad’s Sunset
Uniformly round, meaty, 10 -16 oz., golden-orange fruit (the color of the setting sun) . Good disease resistance. Slightly tart (yet sweet) flavor and good visual appeal. The origin of the name is from the owner Gary Ibsen: On cloudy days,when my sons were small they would occasionally deliver me one of these delights from the garden at the end of the day to bring me the “sunset.”
Days: 78
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Yellow-Orange
Season: Mid Season
Type: Heirloom
Heart of Compassion
A TomatoFest exclusive. A huge, 4 to 5-inch, slightly flattened, jade-pink, heart-shaped, very meaty heirloom tomato with thin skin, few seeds and terrific taste. Sure to become one of your favored garden jewel
Days: 78
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Pink
Season: Mid-Season
Orange Russian
A cross between Russian 117 and Georgia Streak producing 1 to 2 lb., heart-shaped fruit, yellow-orange with a pink blush, very meaty with a red center. Flavor is well balanced, big and fantastic.
Days: 83
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Bi-Colored
Season: Late-Season
Neves Azorean Red
From Anthony Neves, who brought seeds from the Azores: indeterminate, regular-leaf tomato plants with a large central stem that have moderate to heavy yield of huge, 1-3 pound, deep-red, beefsteak tomatoes with terrific, bold, complex flavors. This tomato packs such a wonderful flavor punch you will want to keep it as one of your favored tomato varieties to grow each year. Great disease resistance and produces till frost.
Days: 75
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Red
Season: Mid-Season
Type: Open Pollinated
Sprite
One of the best grape tomatoes. And if you love grape tomatoes and do not have the space for bigger indeterminate plants this tomato variety is perfectly suited to small gardens and patio gardening. Our organic tomato seeds produce short, very productive , regular-leaf tomato plants that yield small brilliant red, oval grape tomatoes borne in large numbers with refreshingly sweet flavors. Just like the original grape tomatoes these have thin skins and are packed with sweet juice. Produces tomatoes continuously all season until first frost. An early season tomato. Excellent in salads or eating fresh
Days: 60
Size: Determinate
Color: Cherry
Season: Early Season
Type: Open-Pollinated
Vintage Wine
A wonderful new addition to your garden. Pink with gold-striped, pastel-hued, 1 lb. tomato with pronounced, elegant sweet delicious flavor. Tall potato-leaf plant producing lots of fruit
Days: 84
Size: Indeterminate.
Color: Bi-Colored
Season: Mid-Season
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow
Named after Dr. Wyche who supposedly lived in the mountains and fertilized his garden with manure from a nearby zoo. A beefsteak heirloom that produces slightly flattened, smooth, blemish-free, golden-yellow fruit with a meaty interior and few seeds. It’s rich flavor and larger size sets this variety apart from other yellow heirlooms.
Days: 78
Size: Indeterminate
Color: Yellow-Orange
Season: Mid-Season
Type: Heirloom