Grow Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes add interest and great taste to summer dishes. It is quite economical to grow your own and even to do so organically. Heirloom tomatoes must be open-pollinated and must not be genetically altered. Some experts believe heirloom tomatoes are ones grown between 50 to 100 years ago. No matter the age the deciding factor is open-pollination and no genetic manipulation of the fruit. Tomatoes are technically a fruit (further classified as a berry) as they have smooth skins and internal seeds. Vegetables do not. [1] Wikipedia Tomatoes Botanical Description.

Steps

  1. Buy your seeds from a reputable source. There are several online sources for heirloom seeds.
  2. It's important to start germination early. For most temperate zones, you'll want to start around March.
  3. Plant the seeds indoors in small pots about 6 to 8 weeks before moving them to the garden. Some gardeners use foam cups to plant the seeds indoors.
  4. Plant the seeds in sterile soil about 1/8-inch deep in the small pots.
  5. Keep the soil moist until the seedlings emerge.
  6. Make sure the seedlings get plenty of light. Use natural sunlight or fluorescent lights.
  7. Move the plants to larger pots once leaves appear.
  8. Harden off the seedlings by gradually placing them in a cold environment. Be sure the temperature does not drop to 40 degrees or below. Bring the plants to a warmer environment when temperatures become too cold.
  9. Once the tomato plants have adapted to the cold environment they are ready to plant outdoors.
  10. Plant the heirloom tomatoes well away from non-heirloom plants to prevent cross pollination.
  11. Plant the seedlings in well fertilized soil using the trench method or by digging deep holes. Either way plant the tomatoes so they are planted to their first true leaves.
  12. Apply a starter fertilizer to the Start a Vegetable Garden.
  13. Tie Tomatoes Using the Florida Weave or use a Make an Inverted Hanging Tomato Planter to train the plants.
  14. Weed plants regularly.
  15. Water tomato plants often, based on how the plants look, try not to spray the leaves. Water by giving the plants a good soaking.
  16. Take appropriate action to keep pests such as nematodes or the tomato worm at bay.
  17. Save the heirloom tomato seeds for next year's garden or to share with other heirloom tomato farmers. There are seed exchanges available and can be found by doing a net search.

Heirloom Tomatoes

  1. Heritage and heirloom varieties with exceptional taste include:
    • 'Aunt Ruby's German Green' (spicy green beefsteak type)
    • 'Azoychka' (Russian yellow variety)
    • 'Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red' (red beefsteak)
    • 'Backfield' (deep red indeterminate beefsteak type)
    • 'Black Cherry' (black/brown cherry)
    • 'Box Car Willie' (red beefsteak)
    • 'Brandywine' (red beefsteak, sudduth strain)
    • 'Cherokee Purple' (purple beefsteak)
    • 'crnkovic Yugoslavian' (red beefsteak)
    • 'Earl’s Faux' (pink/red beefsteak)
    • 'Elbe' (orange beefsteak)
    • 'German Johnson (sweet beefsteak type)
    • 'Great Divide' (red beefsteak)
    • 'Ispolin' (pink Siberian strain)
    • 'Lucky Cross' (bi-color red/orange)
    • 'Marianna’s Peace' (red beefsteak)
    • 'Mortgage Lifter' (red beefsteak, various strains)
    • 'Red Pear' (pear shaped salad cherry type with beefsteak flavor)
    • 'Rose' (very large sweet Amish beefsteak type)
    • 'Urbikany' (Siberian variety)

Seed Savers Exchange

The Seed Savers Exchange is located in Decorah, Iowa. It is a non-profit organization that collects heirloom seeds of all types. The organization is credited for rediscovering the heirloom Brandywine tomato. [2] Wikipedia Seed Savors



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Sources and Citations

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