I heard that some people turn away from my tomatoes with cracks at the top or what is considered not ripe or discoloured. I'm shocked by this. The tomatoes I grow are field grown heirloom tomatoes and I follow with a quote from the Cottage Gardeners Heirloom Seedhouse website, from were I buy the bulk of my seeds.
"All our seeds are non-gmo, non-hybrid, non-patented, untreated and open-pollinated. They include rare & endangered heirloom varieties that have been loved and saved for generations and newer varieties developed specifically for organic agriculture."
For much more information on
each type of seed and tomato you can check out their lovely website.
Amethyst Cream Cherry
– the best cherry tomato I have ever grown.
There’s no mistaking it’s beautiful burgundy shoulders and cream
coloured bottom. Then there’s the taste –
oh my, the taste – nothing compares.
Blanche du Quebec
– a Canadian Heirloom which name speaks
for itself. The medium fruit is white to
pale yellow and has a wonderful sweet flavour.
Black Plum and Black
Prince – the ones which add so much colour to sauces. They are heirloom tomatoes and are not so
much disease resistant but the flavour is worth every bit of cracked top you
may have to take off to get to the real good stuff. Try them and you’ll understand exactly what I
mean.
Ceylon – small
red ruffled little pumpkin shaped tomatoes, perfect for salads and keep well a
few days after picking
Crimean Rose and
Black Cherry – I get these two mixed up when I’m picking, they resemble
each other. They are good sized cherry
tomatoes with lovely dark tops and rose-coloured bottoms. Both have great flavours.
Gilbertie Paste –
my most favourite paste tomato. They are
long like a pepper with a little point at the end. I like them because they slice nice and
evenly so are great for the dehydrator, which makes for wonderful tomatoeyness
mid-winter on pizzas, etc. The cut off
ends go into anything I might be making at the time.
Green Zebra – How
can a tomato taste so different than any other tomato? I call it citrus-like. Aside form the absolutely brilliant, flashy
yellow and green stripes, these tomatoes add quite a statement to any dish whether
it be a tray of slices or a salsa. I
always chop some to add to my quacamole.
Jaune Flamme Cherry –
I’ve been saving seeds for this cherry for years because it keeps popping up
voluntarily in the greenhouse. I let a
few plants grow so we can enjoy their bounty after the field ones are gone and
to save the seeds. They are so delicate
that some split from the time I pick them in the field to when I get them into
the house. They should have a little
teeny label on them saying “Handle with great care” or “Eat immediately” which
of course I very often do.
Martino’s Roma and San
Marzano –the paste tomatoes used for most sauces. I vote these the “Most Considerate Tomatoes”
of all. They are not bothered by bugs or
weather. When I approach the plant to
pick I can almost hear it saying “Ok, here she is, all tomatoes that are ripe drop
gently to the ground to make it easier for her.” The tomatoes have the decency even to stay on
the ground if they’ve fallen when they’re not quite ripe enough and say “You
don’t want us yet? No problem, we’ll
just lay here and ripen up in the sun until you come back in a day or two.” And they do and are still perfectly firm.
Matt’s Wild Cherry
– small red cherry tomatoes from seeds I’ve been saving for years – great in
the Mix.
Tangerine Orange –
I must have purchased the seeds for these a few years ago and have been saving
them since then. They are the favourite
smallish tomato of everyone who works here.
Not only is the flavour as sweet as candy, the smell when you’re slicing
it is enough to make your mouth water.
Thorburn’s Terra
Cotta – This one is the brown/clay coloured tomato in the mix. Apparently, the seeds were introduced in 1893,
disappeared in 1921 and re-appeared in 1993!
If not for its wonderful taste, why not for its unusual colour, name and
history. I love growing them for this reason.
Yellow Pear – again
a name speaking for itself. These are
just fun to grow, to have in a mix and to eat.
These are most of the varieties I love to grow from year to
year. I grow mostly paste tomatoes for
my sauces but find it hard to resist the colours and flavours of the other
heirlooms.
I save several of my own seeds from year to year and would
be happy to trade with you if you have some unusual varieties. Let me know.
