Tomato Starts

70-75 Days, Open-Pollinated, Indeterminate
A mysterious and delicious entry in our Taste of Tomato at one of our early tomato tastings, sharing second place (with Pineapple). You won’t find this tomato from seed companies, as we saved seed from the tomatoes donated by the participant who simply said that it came from the location of an Anasazi ruin. The very dark red/purple/black, 2″, round or oval fruit have rich, complex, old-fashioned tomato flavor and pleasing texture and begin ripening in mid-season. The productive plant is indeterminate, with regular leaves. It has been a star in Eve’s garden, and she collects and processes seed for us every year. If you grow this one, please let us know what you think and how it performs in your garden!

60-65 days, Open-Pollinated, Determinate
This tomato from Siberia is named for the Aurora Borealis. Compact, bushy, determinate plants produce large, early crops of 2-5 oz., red, round, blemish-free, oblate tomatoes with acidic but delicious, rich, old-fashioned tomato flavor. Produces well in cooler climates, coastal climates or high altitudes, in the field, in the greenhouse or containers. An excellent choice for a great slicing or canning tomato.

60 days, Russian Heirloom, Indeterminate
Highly productive, reliable plants typically bear 40 to 50 tasty, gold beefsteak tomatoes that have a citrusy flavor with a good balance of sweet and acid. Many people prefer these to the milder and sweeter flavor of most other yellow tomatoes. Fruits are smooth, round and slightly flattened, weighing from 10 to 16 ounces.

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!

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.

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

Heirloom, Indeterminate 70-80 days
A wonderful, rare heirloom, variously reported as originating in Ukraine, Russia, or Hungary, despite being named Ethiopian. Nevertheless, the large, vigorous 4-5’ tall plants yield heavy crops mahogany-bronze, 5-oz., plum-shaped fruits with exceptional, rich flavor that’s both tangy and sweet. At our first annual Taste of Tomato, acclaimed local chef Bradford Heap chose Black Ethiopian as his top favorite.

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.

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!

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.

76 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate
This delicious, highly productive black heirloom tomato bears blocky-round, 10-14 oz. fruit with dark olive shoulders fading into a very dark, brick red. They possess the signature rich flavor and meaty texture of a classic black tomato. Yields and fruit quality are excellent, and plants are productive over a very long period. Vigorous plants have well-balanced plant habit and fruit resists cracking and cat-facing better than other large, black heirloom varieties.

Hybrid, Indeterminate, 70 days
A classic French slicing tomato, Carmello has a deservedly great reputation both in America and Europe due to its wonderful flavor, perfect sugar/acid balance, and crack-resistant skin.  It produces heavy clusters of round fruit on strong, uniform plants. Especially impressive is its generous-size 10-12oz. fruit and well-developed flavor for such an early hybrid tomato. Bright red juicy tomatoes have a beautiful round shape. Expect very high yields on exceptionally disease-resistant plants.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Open pollinated, indeterminate, 75 days
A small, currant-like cherry tomato that is extremely prolific, producing hundreds to even a few thousand fruits on a single plant. Flavor is rich, sweet and high quality. Fruits ripen to very light yellow–really a creamy, translucent color. This variety was originally found growing wild in Mexico.

70 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
This curious and striking tomato is sure to turn heads as well as satisfy appetites. Its name is simply Italian for “ox heart” and it’s been a favorite in Italy for many years. The shape is bottom-heavy reminding you of a pouch with a gathered top. A large, 12 oz., sweet and tasty saucing type with dense flesh and lustrous, orange-red skin, it can be eaten fresh as well as cooked. Hard to find.

55 days, Open-pollinated, Ultra-Early, Semi-Determinate
Glacier will be one of your first ripe tomatoes of summer, and one of your last in the fall! This 30″h x 36”w plant sets fruit earlier and in cooler temperatures than other varieties, and continues to produce throughout the season. When planted in a Solar Cap in mid-April, Glacier can deliver delicious, ripe fruit as early as mid-June! Attractive 2-3 oz. orangey-red round fruits with smooth texture have sweetness combined with moderate acidity creating wonderfully complex flavor. Perfect for salads or sandwiches, and have rated very high at our tastings. The potato-leaf plants are short and open and support should be provided. Great for containers!

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.

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!

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.

80 days, Open-pollinated, Determinate
The classic heirloom Italian paste and canning tomato, also used to add body to soups and juices. Early maturing, rich-flavored, firm, meaty, plum-shaped, 3” fruits have few seeds. The compact plants, to 3’ tall and 1.5’ wide, bear abundantly, up to 200 fruits per plant, mostly ripening at the same time. They also grow well in containers.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

50-65 days, Open-Pollinated, Determinate
Considered the best super early yellow determinate tomato. Flavorful 3-4 oz. lemon yellow fruit. As early as subarctic tomatoes with much more flavor – very sweet with a nice tomato finish – and larger size. Very productive, with multiple concentrated yields on healthy bushes. Crack resistant and blemish free. Grows well in containers and even better in the ground. Bred by Tim Peters of Peters Seed and Research.

65 days, Open-pollinated, Semi-Determinate
One of the earliest full-size tomatoes to ripen and one of the best producers of early tennis-ball-size, very meaty, bright orange globes that can weigh up to ¾ lb. Blemish-free and durable fruit grow on stocky 3’ bushes that are easy to cage. An excellent short-season slicing variety, it has great low-acid, sweet, fruity flavor. There are a few varieties with the same name but this Orange King was bred by Tim Peters of Peters Seed and Research in Oregon.

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.

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.

72 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Large, dark pink, wonderful flavor, exceptionally early and delicious Brandywine-type.

73 days, OP, Indeterminate
The original Rutgers tomato, developed at Rutgers University for the Campbell’s Soup Co. in 1928 for processing, but also an excellent slicer. Fruits are uniform, 7 ounce, brilliant red, with good, full-bodied flavor. Very healthy, reliable producer.

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.

50 days, Heirloom, Dwarf
Yes, it’s true – fruits ripen only 50 days from transplant, and they’re really delicious!! The bright red, perfectly balanced sweet and flavorful little tomatoes, ranging from 2 to 5 oz., are borne in clusters on compact plants. They’re wonderful for salads, slicing and drying. ‘Siberian’ has been a great favorite at our tomato tastings, and I grow it every year. The dwarf plant sets fruit very early; it is reportedly capable of setting fruit even at 38 degrees. A great choice for small gardens, large containers, and cooler, short-season/high altitude gardens.

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 1^st 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.

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.

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.

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!

Cherry, Indeterminate, Heirloom Open-Pollinated, ~70 days

Tommy Toe is a great old heirloom from the Ozark Mountains that produces huge numbers of large, 1.5 oz red cherries with old fashioned flavor reminiscent of heirloom ‘beefsteak’ tomatoes. The large, vigorous plants will need staking/trellising to control.