70 Days, Open Pollinated, 30,000 to 50,000 SHU
A twist on the classic Cayenne pepper, this exceptionally ornamental pepper is one of the hottest Cayennes, with excellent flavor. Elegant 2’ tall plants are covered with dozens and dozens of light purple blossoms which turn into dark purple, thin peppers about 3” long, a bit smaller than a regular cayenne, that eventually ripen to deep red. They can be used fresh, pickled, dried, or ornamentally, as hot pepper flakes, in salsa or hot sauce, and in countless Latin American, Indian, Caribbean, African and Asian dishes. Eve has enjoyed growing Purple Cayenne in a 16” diameter pot in her front yard.
RED HOT CHERRY Hot Pepper
80-90 days, Heirloom, 2,500 to 5,000 SHU
Named for its pretty, cherry-like shape and color, Hot Cherry produces medium-heat peppers with a slightly sweet taste. They are very fleshy and juicy, perfect for pickling or stuffing. The 1” to 2” wide fruits grow on full, bushy, plants and mature from green to red when they have developed their full flavor. Frequent harvesting through summer will maximize the plant’s yield.
SERRANO HUASTECA Hot Pepper
75 days green, 100 red, Open pollinated, Hot
A small fruited Serrano pepper from the mountains of the Huasteca region on the Gulf coast side of Mexico. It produces flavorful, hot, dark green, 2-2 1/2” fruit even in cool summers. Serrano peppers are popular for their productivity and diverse utility in the kitchen, and are used almost as much in Mexican cuisine as jalapeños. Fairly juicy considering their small size, they are used in Mexican hot sauces and pico de gallo.
TABASCO Hot Pepper
85 days, Heirloom
Imported to the US in 1846 from Tabasco, Mexico, this pepper made its way to Avery Island, LA, where the McIlhenny family used it in a hot sauce that became so popular and famous that now Tabasco sauce is synonymous with hot sauce. The 2”-long, tapered Tabasco is a very hot pepper, borne in copious quantities on a short, compact plant.
AUNT RUBY’S GERMAN GREEN
85 days, Indeterminate, Heirloom, Open Pollinated
Just delicious, and one of the largest green beefsteaks, with fruits often weighing over 1 pound. Brilliant, neon-green flesh, both meaty and juicy, with a strong, sweet, and fruity flavor, at least as tasty as the best red tomatoes. Ripens early for its size, on strong healthy, productive vines. The winner of the 2003 Heirloom Garden Show’s taste test, and a star at our 2018 Taste of Tomato!
BEAM’S YELLOW PEAR
70-80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Introduced to Seed Savers Exchange in 1983 by John Hartman of Indiana. Superior to other yellow pear varieties in flavor, texture and performance. Provides a seemingly endless supply of 1½” fruits with great flavor. Ideal for salads. Kids love them!
BIG RAINBOW
80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
An heirloom preserved by members of Seed Savers Exchange, everything about this variety is BIG! Huge fruits up to 2 lbs. are borne in profusion on very large vines, and the delicious fruits are full of sweet, low-acid fruity flavor. The irregularly-shaped tomatoes are very striking sliced, as the yellow fruit has neon red streaking though the flesh. Even when harvested green at the end of the season, they will ripen beautifully indoors and still have a full, rich balance.
BLACK FROM TULA
70-80 days, Russian Heirloom, Indeterminate
The happiest, healthiest, most prolific and most delicious full-sized tomato in our experience. Vigorous, medium-sized plant bears loads of 3” to 4 ½” mahogany fruit with green shoulders and deep red interior flesh. The flavor is superb – rich, complex, sweet, tart, even spicy. Winner of Boulder Culinary Gardeners’ tomato-tasting in 2010, a fave at several Taste of Tomato events, and one of Eve and Mikl’s top favorites. Very heat-tolerant (produced in the heat of 2012 when many others did not). Also the only variety we know of that tolerates being planted in cooler soil without stunting or compromising the performance of the plant
BLACK KRIM
69-80 days, Russian heirloom, Indeterminate
One of the most productive heirloom tomatoes and early too! Striking fruits are black, green and iridescent purple-red on the outside, partly black in the glistening interior. Fruits average 12 to 18 oz. Has unusual flavor described as sweet, intense, smoky, and texture is juicy and meaty. Important – harvest Krims when half green and still firm – at that stage they are dead ripe and delicious. If you wait too long, they will be mealy and over-the-hill.
BLACK SEA MAN
75 days, Heirloom, Determinate,
One of the very few compact ‘black’ tomatoes (can be grown in a mid-sized container where it can produce 20+ fruits!), this potato-leafed Russian heirloom bears an early and abundant crop of beautiful, large round 12-16 oz tomatoes with no dimples or lobes. Skin is deep mahogany-colored with green shoulders and the deep red flesh is rich with excellent complex, full-bodied, flavors. Introduced by Seed Savers Exchange in the early 1990’s. We loved the gorgeous, huge specimens grown and donated by Boulder’s Cure Farm at our Taste of Tomato a few years ago!
BLACK TRUFFLE or JAPANESE BLACK TRIFELE
69-80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Pear-shaped, burgundy-black 6-8 oz. fruits with pretty green shoulders are high in both sugar and acid, with intense, complex, full-bodied flavor. Great for slicing, caprese, salads and roasting. Short potato-leaf plants have huge production of smooth, crack-resistant, medium-sized fruit. Don’t over-water and you’ll be rewarded with deep, chocolaty, smoky, rich-flavored tomatoes
BRANDYWINE, PINK (Sudduth’s strain)
90 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate
The Sudduth strain of Brandywine heirloom tomato is famous for its unforgettable, rich, and delightfully intense tomato flavor. Also called ‘Pink Brandywine’, these large pink beefsteak tomatoes can grow to be about 2 pounds. The large plants are potato-leaved, which tend to be healthier than other Brandywine strains. Requires support.
CHEROKEE PURPLE
77 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Delicious deep pink 3-4″ fruits now on Slow Food’s Ark of Taste. A favorite at our 2015 Taste of Tomato, and for many gardeners, the only tomato they will grow because it never disappoints.
CHIANTI ROSE
80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Abundant, big, rosy-red fruits of the beefsteak type. A crack-resistant Brandywine cross with superb flavor and creamy texture. Vigorous potato-leaf variety, tolerates cool summers.
CHOCOLATE CHERRY
70 days, Open pollinated, Indeterminate
Appearing in clusters of eight all over the fairly compact vine, the 1” to 1 ¼” fruits ripen from green to lavender to rich mahogany and are extremely flavorful. Fruits hold stems very well, resist cracking and can be picked several days before completely mature and allowed to ripen to perfection off the vine without sacrificing quality.
COSMONAUT VOLKOV
65-72 days, Heirloom, Semi-determinate
Always a taste-test winner, this Ukrainian tomato was a clear favorite at our 2012 Taste of Tomato. Compact, prolific plants dependably produce ripe fruits by early or mid-August, even in cold summers. The slightly flattened 8-12 oz. (2-3”) globes are deep red with greenish shoulders. Delivers true tomato taste – rich, balanced, both sweet and tangy. Superb home-garden variety and works well in high tunnels.
EARLY GIRL
F1 Hybrid, Indeterminate 59 days
We have added Early Girl in response to many customer requests. Early Girl is a medium-sized (4-8 oz.), round red slicing/salad tomato, popular with home gardeners because it is reliable, prolific and ripens early, with decent flavor. The tall, rambling vines need support. Early Girl can tolerate temperatures as low as 40° F and is also well-suited to hot, dry climates.
GOLD MEDAL
Indeterminate, 75-90 days
The beautiful, bi-colored fruit are deep yellow, blushing with rosy red that radiates from the blossom end. The flavorful firm flesh is fruity, sweet and mild, very little acid; great for fresh eating. From the late, legendary seed collector, Ben Quisenberry.
GOLD NUGGET
55-60 days, Open-pollinated, Ultra-Early, Semi-Determinate
Very prolific compact plant bears delicious 1”+ golden-yellow, pretty egg-shaped fruits packed with sweet tomato flavor. The skin is tender yet crack-free, and there are few seeds. Usually the very first to ripen; great for eating out of hand, in salads, or for drying. The healthy plants are great for growing in containers and small gardens.
GREEN ZEBRA
60-65 days, Determinate, Open-Pollinated
An old-fashioned tomato originally developed in 1986 by Tom Wagner of Tater Mater Seed Co. by crossing heirlooms Yellow Pear and Evergreen. The distinctive 1 ½” juicy, golden-green fruits are borne in clusters of 4-12 that resemble large muscat grapes and are translucent pale, lime-green inside. The high-yielding plant makes a compact bush – great for raised beds and small gardens. Green Grape tomato has become popular in restaurants and markets because of its excellent, crisp, fresh flavor and unique attractiveness. Great for snacking!
ISIS CANDY
67 days, Open Pollinated, Indeterminate
1″ round morsels of red and gold garden candy have a starburst pattern on the blossom end when ripe. Sweet and fruity, in clusters of 6-8, on large, prolific plants. A top 10 winner at tomato tastings, out-shining Sun Gold at our 2016 Taste of Tomato! Crack-resistant, regular leaf. Bred by Joe Bratka of New Jersey.
JAUNE FLAMME
70-80 days, French Heirloom, Indeterminate
Beautiful, small, deep orange, apricot-shaped fruits are 2-3 oz., great for fresh eating, but also for drying or sauce. Very prolific and dependable.
JULIET
60 days, Hybrid, Indeterminate
The 1999 All America Selection, this tomato plant produces deep red, 2″ (1 oz.), oval, crack-resistant fruit borne in large clusters. A versatile tomato perfect for fresh eating, drying, marinating. Vigorous plants are disease-resistant.
MARTINO’S ROMA
70-80 days, Italian Heirloom, Determinate
This classic paste variety has been aptly described as ‘bullet-proof’. I can attest that Martino’s is immune to blossom-end rot, resistant to early blight, and thoroughly reliable. Big yields of plum-shaped tomatoes on compact, bushy plants with attractive, rugose foliage. The paste-type fruit weigh 2-3 ounces, are dry-fleshed and very meaty with few seeds. Makes great sauces, salsas and pastes. The very heavy set of fruits ripen over a 2 week period.
MATT’S WILD CHERRY
55-70 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
These small deep red cherry/currant tomatoes explode with intense, sweet tomato flavor! Perfect to sprinkle on a salad. A cultivar ostensibly based on the original wild tomato plants, acquired by a friend of Dr. Matt Liebman in Hidalgo, Mexico. Liebman raised it in Maine, eventually releasing it under his own name. The tall, super-vigorous vines require staking and produce incredible numbers of delicious fruits in clusters. Reportedly resistant to Early Blight and somewhat resistant to Late Blight and frost. Kids love them, and they are highly nutritious!
MEXICO MIDGET CHERRY
60-70 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Old-time, south-of-the-border favorite that consistently proves its value as a salad tomato. Produces hundreds of little 1/2″, dark red, round, cherry-type fruits packed with irresistible flavor. Very reliable and prolific harvests throughout an extended growing season. Kids love them, and they’re highly nutritious!
MOSKVITCH
60 days, Open-Pollinated, Semi-determinate
Developed in the early 1970s at the famous N. I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, in Moscow, Moskvitch is very popular with gardeners in Colorado, especially at higher elevations in the foothills. The 4-6 ounce crack-resistant fruits are very uniform, globular and deep red, with outstanding flavor for fresh use or processing, and are produced extra-early and abundantly. Moskvitch performs well in cool conditions, like many of the Russian varieties.
PAUL ROBESON
78-90 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
This rare, maroon-brick 6-12 oz. slicer boasts prize winning distinctive sweet smoky flavor. We tasted this one in 2009 for the first time and were very impressed. Pick while shoulders are still green and the fruit is firm.
PEACEVINE CHERRY
78 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate,
Selected from old favorite ‘Sweet 100’ hybrid and almost identical in fruit size, flavor, and rampant vining habit. The rampant vines bear gazillions of sweet 1″ nutritious red fruit in clusters, very high in vitamin C and gamma-amino butyric acid (a natural nervous system sedative).
PINK BERKELEY TIE-DYE
68 days, Beefsteak, Compact Indeterminate, Open-Pollinated
Regarded as the best of the Wild Boar series from breeder Brad Gates, this tomato has everything going for it: great heirloom flavor, early productivity, size, disease tolerance, and gorgeous good looks! These are ‘beefsteak’ tomatoes, averaging 9 oz., with the color of port wine and metallic green stripes. Many of our local market farmers have had great success with this variety and make it a mainstay of their tomato production.
PRUDEN’S PURPLE
72 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Large, dark pink, wonderful flavor, exceptionally early and delicious Brandywine-type.
RED ROBIN
72 days, Open Pollinated, Dwarf Determinate
This attractive miniature cherry tomato, studded with bright red fruit, is so compact, you can put it in a 6-inch flowerpot or let it billow over the sides of a window box or hanging basket. Red Robin is a charming ornamental that also happens to set a nice crop of sweet, tangy fruit. Setting all of its crop at once, Red Robin sports 1-inch-diameter round fruits that resist cracking and offer a nice tangy-sweet bite. The semi-weeping plants are well-branched, and the dark green leaves offer some protection from sunscald. Red Robin actually prefers afternoon shade or dappled shade.
SASHA’S ALTAI
59 days, Siberian Heirloom, Indeterminate
These slightly flattened 3”, 5-8 oz. bright red fruits are incredibly early, sweet, flavorful and prolific, consistently winning blind taste tests. It performs really well in the foothills, where the growing season is short. Bred by a home gardener in a small Siberian town, Sasha’s Altai has a good story behind it, so if you ever get to hear seedsman Bill McDorman speak, be sure to ask him about it.
STUPICE
65 days, Czech Heirloom, Compact Indeterminate
A great potato-leaf variety that comes from the former Czechoslovakia. So early, so productive, so tasty, and such a healthy plant, tolerant of cold and heat! One of the best early tomatoes, this is among the earliest. Excellent flavor for an early type; these produce lots of 2” red fruit over a very long season. Highly popular in areas with short summers.
SUN GOLD CHERRY
57 days, Hybrid, Indeterminate
Candy on a vine! Plentiful, plump, tangerine-colored, 3/4″ fruit, very sweet and juicy. The earliest and most famous cherry tomato, usually winning 1st place at our Taste of Tomato event, and a customer favorite. Fully ripened fruit have best flavor but are very prone to cracking. Vines can grow very large and are extremely productive until frost.
SUPER SIOUX / SUPER LAKOTAH
71 days, Heirloom, Semi-determinate
This versatile tomato has old-fashioned flavor, combining complex, earthy flavors and sweetness with a pronounced tartness. The 4 oz. round, bright red fruits are meaty and thick-walled, crack-free, and are great for sandwiches & burgers, canning and sauce. Very dependable and highly productive, continuing to set fruit even in extended hot, dry spells as well as cool weather. ‘Super Sioux’ was developed by D. V. Burrell Seed Growers of Colorado and is an improved version of the old variety ‘Sioux’ which had been bred at the Nebraska Experimental Station and introduced in 1944.
SUPER SWEET 100
65 days, Hybrid, Indeterminate
With the same great flavor that made its predecessor Sweet 100 a garden standard for many years, Super Sweet 100 has extra sweetness and better disease resistance (Verticillium and Fusarium wilts) and reportedly offers the highest Vitamin C content of any tomato. Bright red, 1″ globes are amazingly sweet and ripen prolifically on long pendulous clusters right up to frost.
TAXI
68 days, Open-Pollinated, Determinate
A very popular bright yellow tomato for short season gardeners. This compact, bushy, heirloom, determinate variety grows to about 2’ tall x 2’ wide. Expect heavy yields of 4-6 oz. meaty, sweet, mild, non-acid tomatoes for 3-4 weeks. Great for salads, sandwich slices and salsas.
THESSALONIKI
75 days, Greek Heirloom, Indeterminate
Beautiful, smooth, round, red, baseball-sized (5 to 8 oz.) tomatoes with outstanding, rich, balanced, classic flavor. Resists cracking, blemish, sun scald and rot. Great for slicing, salads, canning and keeps well. Plants are very productive and very dependable, and Eve always includes Thessaloniki in her tomato patch. If you have room for just one indeterminate tomato variety, this may be the one!
Holiday Gift Market
At Harlequin’s Gardens we always knew that nurseries in Colorado are seasonal, but our commitment to local, sustainable, high quality, beautiful, delightful, unusual and innovative is eternal. One of our owners, Eve Reshetnik Brawner, also happened to be a multi genre artist with artisan friends making amazing items without enough ways to sell them. So nine years ago we germinated the idea of a Holiday Gift Market that would not only provide our cherished customers with items that reflected the reputation we’ve tended with our outstanding nursery stock and sustainable garden center items, but would also keep our dedicated and amazing staff working in the off-season.
The market has flourished under Eve’s care and every year new artisans bloom and are discovered, while like a favorite perennial, beloved returning artisans continue to intrigue us and bring forth new delights, too. So regardless of whether you’ve been coming since that very first opening weekend or have yet to discover the most rewarding, enjoyable and entertaining place to shop for your holiday gifts (or yourself) please join us![Read More]
Alpha One
A locally made organic fertilizer: 7-2-2. It is an alfalfa-based product with a high organic matter content, very high humic acid value, low pH for Colorado alkaline soils, and is non-burning. It also contains blood meal, cottonseed meal and bone meal. Excellent for vegetable gardens and lawns. Slow releasing over a long time. Feeds soil microbes.
BUILDING TOPSOIL AND SOIL FERTILITY by Mikl Brawner
“Where can I get some good topsoil?” That’s a question I hear frequently at our nursery. And I often look wistfully towards the plains and say, only half-jokingly, “You can get good topsoil about 800 miles east of here.” That’s where I grew up, in Iowa, and where two tomato plants feed a family of six. It’s not that local suppliers are trying to deceive us when they sell Colorado clay as topsoil; it’s just that the glaciers didn’t dump three feet of loam on top of our clay.[Read More]
Native Plants We Often Have for Sale
These are native plants that we often have for sale. Availability does change every year, but we grow and buy a wide variety of natives because they are so successful in our gardens.
KEY: t = tree, s = shrub, v = vine, gr = grass, gc = ground cover, p = perennial,
b = biennial, a = annual
Abronia fragrans (Sand Verbena) (p)
Acer glabrum (Rocky Mt. Maple) (t)
Acer grandidentatum (Bigtooth Maple) (t)
Achillea lanulosa (Native White Yarrow) (p)
Agastache cana (Hummingbird Mint) (p)
Agave parryi (Hardy Century Plant) (s)[Read More]
Native Plants In Harlequin’s Gardens Display Gardens
Achillea lanulosa (Achillea millefolium var. lanulosa) (Yarrow)
Agave havardii (Havard’s Century Plant)
Agave parryi neomexicana (New Mexico Century Plant)
Amelanchier alnifolia (Serviceberry)
Amorpha canescens (Leadplant)
Amorpha fruticosa (False Indigo)[Read More]
Engrid’s Haystack Gardens Fruit Preserves – Harlequin’s Exclusive!
Many of you already know that our long-time staffer, Engrid Winslow, makes jams and jellies that make you close your eyes and sigh with pleasure. She uses fresh fruit, (local and organic whenever possible) and very little sugar, so the fruit flavors shine. She makes the classics as well as many delicious originals, like Pear with Vanilla Bean, and Blueberry Lemonade, to name just a couple.
You’ll find delicious uses for Engrid’s preserves, in breakfasts, hors d’oeuvres, salad dressings, glazes, and desserts. This year’s flavors include Apricot, Peach, Ginger Peach, Black Raspberry, Raspberry Peach, Raspberry Strawberry, Mixed Berry, Santa Rosa Plum, Sour Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Blueberry Lemon, and Pear & Vanilla Bean.
Bone Meal
A natural source of phosphorus which is responsible for root development, fruiting and flower production in plants.
Bush Doctor Sledgehammer
encourages water movement through soil and soilless media. High fertilizer use can compromise plant growth over time due to concentrated mineral salt deposits. This product is a unique rinse formula designed to remove fertilizer buildup which may relieve nutrient lockout. Derived from saponin, an extract of the Yucca schidigera plant. Can be used for both hydroponic and soil applications
Corn Gluten Meal
A non-toxic, weed-and-feed with 9% nitrogen. It inhibits seed germination, but is harmless to plants with root systems, people, worms, and microorganisms. The effect can last up to 6 months and is especially useful in lawns.
“Applied in September / October, and again in late February / March it will prevent the majority of existing weed seeds from germinating. By doing this every year, you can virtually eliminate your weed problem.”
Kelly Grummons: Timberline Gardens, July 2010
Dave Thompson’s Organic Healthy Grow
Organic Healthy Grow Plant Food for Acid-Loving Plants: Derived from composted chicken manure from an egg farm, feather meal, and sulfate of potash (non-synthetic mined mineral-Sul-Po-Mag)
Organic Healthy Grow Plant Food for Tomatoes: Derived from composted chicken manure from an egg farm, feather meal, & sulfate of potash (non-synthetic mined mineral – Sul-Po-Mag)
Expanded Shale
Mined south of Boulder, then fired. A superior clay buster, loosens and aerates clay soils, holds water & air, and supports microorganisms. Excellent for Roses and Fruit Trees. Used at Texas A&M and recommended by Joan Franson, Rosarian.