TOMATOES

ADAM’S ACCIDENT (indeterminate) So named because I thought it was Salt Spring Sunrise which is a bush tomato.  Either the result of accidental crossing or a mutation or probably incorrect labelling, this outdoor cordon shows high resistance to blight with heavy trusses of 5cm fruit with a fine balance of acidity and sweetness.  Delicious

2023 SEED AVAILABLE

African Queen (indeterminate) A large and attractive late-cropping American heirloom of excellent quality.  The trusses, when heavy with fruit can benefit from support. Best grown under glass.  Superb in salads of course but a great cooker too.

Aruija-Zabava (indeterminate).  Originally bred in Russia, this rare variety has a beautiful hour-glass shape which is complemented by a quite excellent flavour. Fruits up to 12cms in length with meaty, sweet flesh make it excellent as a cooker but also terrific sliced in a salad with olive oil and basil.  Good crops and does well outside as it tolerates cool and damp weather.

 

(Note: this photo includes some Nello’s plum in the basket! I should have taken more and better photos – sorry!)

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

 

AWESOME EMMA (indeterminate). The result of six years of careful selection in Graz, Austria by two new generation open source plant breeders Josef Obermoser and Ulli Klein, this delicious and beautiful two-tone yellow and purple cherry is finally available to enjoy and share.  Indeterminate, outdoor but suitable for cultivation under glass too.

2023 AVAILABLE NOW

Bear Claw (indeterminate) A delicious American heritage tomato.  Prolific crops of large fruit that are as good in a salad as they are in a sandwich.  Great cooked too.  Do well outside in a sheltered and sunny place but grow to four trusses.

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

Burmese Sour Tomato (indeterminate) I discovered this remarkable tomato in a market in Yangon.  There is nothing sour about its flavour however.  The name refers to its use in sour cuisine. I love it sliced, sprinkled with salt and a dash of olive oil on bread. Grow under glass.

Cherokee Purple (Semi-indeterminate).  My favourite salad tomato.  Heavy crops of large fruit and delicious sweet fruit.  A wonderful US heirloom.  Perfect with mozzarella and basil.  Crops over a long season.

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

Corneu des Andes (Indeterminate).  A wonderful tomato for passata and cooking generally.  Terrific also dried and bottled.  Firm flesh and thin skinned.  Given to me by a fellow seed-saver in Denmark.  Yummy.

2023 STOCK AVAILABLE

 

Coyote (Indeterminate).  A lovely, heavy-cropping American heritage variety.  Can be grown outside in a wrm, sunny and sheltered spot.  Does best under cover.

Graham’s Tom Thumb (indeterminate). I was given seed of this tasty and easy to grow Welsh heirloom by a man called Graham who had been growing it in his garden in Cardiff for 40 years.  His neighbour had given him seed and he had been growing it for at least the previous 30 years. Can be grown outside in a warm summer but best under glass.

2023 STOCK AVAILABLE

Hoy (indeterminate)  A fine American heirloom beefsteak originally from West Virginia.  LArge, meaty and rich fruits with good balance of acidity and sweetness, makes this variety ideal sliced in sandwiches, salads and for cooking.  Highly recommended.

Llagosterz tomate de Penjar (indeterminate) I was given this Catalan heritage variety of storing tomato by Jesus Vargas.  Translated as the lobster tomato, it is harvested in late autumn as the fruits are ripening.  Complete trusses are cut and hung up in a cool, airy shed or garage where they will keep through the winter.  The flesh is a wonderful lobster colour.  Traditionally cut open and spread on bread this tomato is wonderfully versatile:  great with scrambled eggs, on a quiche, or added to curries.  I also like it on bread with marmite and/or peanut butter!

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

Nello’s Plum (indeterminate) I was given this Tuscan heirloom by the cousin of a chef I was making a TV series about.  My favourite cooking tomato it makes the best passata and is great bottled. Best grown under glass.

 

Piel de Melocoton (peach-skinned storing tomato – indeterminate) A very useful storing tomato from Catalonia that is excellent sliced with a dash of olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Multi-purpose so great for cooking and excellent grilled for breakfast.  Slow to ripen so best sown in late spring and harvested in October when trusses can be hung in a cool and airy shed or garage until late winter.

Pink Princess (indeterminate) Give to me by my friend Eva in Denmark, this is a new variety of open pollinated cherry tomato bred by Runabergs Fröer in Sweden.  It is not yet entirely stable so fruit size can vary from plant to plant.  However, the taste is superb, very sweet, prolific, with short trusses and crops over a long period.  I harvested in 2022 until the end of November.  Ripens well indoors too.  Can split if over watered.

2023 STOCK AVAILABLE

Radio (indeterminate) This sensational tomato is a mystery addition to my library.   Seed was given to me by a stranger at a talk I gave.  Apparently it was grown in the UK during WWII as part of the Dig for Victory campaign.  It is believed to have originated in Germany and the name refers to a brand of razor!  Perhaps the name is wrong but I grow it regularly. Best grown under glass but does well outside in a sunny and sheltered spot.

Raf (indeterminate) I came across this Marmande type growing as a winter crop in Almeria, southern Spain.  First bred in Spain sixty years ago it thrives in saline conditions. Great for growing as a late crop its name means resistance to the fusarium fungus.  Now replaced by modern hybrids, it has great flavour and superb balance of sweetness and acidity grows well into the autumn in my garden. Adding a little salt when watering enhances the flavour and increases vigour. Does well grown outside in the UK.

Raskoje  Naslazhdenie (indeterminate).

The name means ” An escape to heaven” which apparently is fully deserved,from the taste. ln Russia it is called “Paradise Delight”.

This tomato is included in the State 1997 Register of Achievements for the Russian Federation. It is a unique variety with fruits of an unusual shape,a large harvest and is almost immune to disease.It can be grown outdoors and reaches six feet.The variety is good for eating,with a bright red skin, not prone to cracking.It was bred by Transnistria growers which is now a breakaway state of Moldovia and borders Ukraine.

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

Santa Cruz Karda (indeterminate) I have found this tasty tomato grows well outside in our climate.  Meaty and firm fruit that are best left to fully ripen before harvest.  Most importantly, I have fond the variety shows great resistance to blight.  Does really well in a pot too.

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

Speckled Roman (indeterminate) A favourite cooking tomato, one that I regularly grow to bottle and for passata, this American-bred heritage variety is as pretty as it is flavoursome; so named for it lovely golden speckled skin.  A classic Italian-type plum tomato

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

Syrian Stuffer (indeterminate).  Originally from Future Seeds in Syria, they look nothing like the photo on the seed packet!  A very tasty and firm beefsteak which is ideal for stuffing and great in salads too.

Wild tomato Pimpinellifolium (semi indeterminate)  From the regions of Ecuador and Peru in South America, this is the true wild parent of most of the tomatoes we eat today.  This lovely plant is bomb-proof.  Unaffected by blight and perfect to grow outdoors in the flower border or a pot or, as I do, on the edge of a field where it happily self seeds, coming up along the fence line in late May..  The birds adore the tiny and unimpeachably sweet fruit which continue until the first frosts.  Real taste explosions that kids love too.

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK

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