With the big cross-country eclipse coming up in April and all the exciting things happening with Space X lately, I though it might be fun to try out some space-themed tomato varieties to release this year. Two tomato varieties in particular did not disappoint. Here is the first of the two space-themed varieties Grow Your Health Gardening is releasing this growing season:
Heaven Oregon
Heaven Oregon Tomato is an open pollinated variety and a favorite in 2021 by other growers and I can see why. It is an unusually shaped tomato. It is primarily red with a globe-shape that comes to a point at its base like a tear-drop and has purple shoulders. It has a hint of orange flecking and shading on the lower half near the purple shoulder on the skin (see photo below), but the interior flesh is bright red throughout. Its flesh is watery and best for slicing. Heaven Oregon tomato is about the size of a golf ball and looks so pretty on a plate!
Heaven Oregon Tomato has a tear drop shape and is about the size of a golf ball (around 1.75″ in circumference.) Photo copyright 2024 Grow Your Health Gardening.
This is an indeterminate tomato and needs support as it grows to around 70 inches tall. I enjoyed watching it ripen on the vine. As you’ll see from the photo below, the Heaven Oregon tomato as a whole is green with dark purple shoulders while it is growing. It slowly fades to red as it ripens. She’s a no-fuss tomato with no disease issues or cracking. The hard part for you as a grower will be to be patient enough until it reaches that deep red indicating it is ready to enjoy!
One tip I want to offer is to harvest the whole cluster and keep the vine that holds the cluster attached if you want it to hold a couple of days indoors. Do not put these in the fridge. They’re best enjoyed harvest to table in my opinion. They are especially lovely roasted whole and added to any dish — especially pasta (yummmm)!
Our line of seed for sale comes from Oregon Heaven Tomato plants that were grown hydroponically / aeroponically in zone 7B Atlanta, Georgia, so unlike the line of seeds that come from the NW, we’ve adapted this variety to grow hydroponically in hot and humid conditions as well. As we have discussed in the past, research has found that plants can store 5+ years of environmental survival conditions in its DNA for future generations. Our seed will be adapted especially for hydroponic growers, but soil growers should also have no problem growing it.
Heaven Oregon hangs on the vine to ripen a little bit more. Photo copyright 2024 Grow Your Health Gardening.
I tried to track down the back-story on this pretty tomato. One grower said it was developed by Dr. James “Jim” Ronald Baggett, a professor for 30 years who in 1973 became the head of the vegetable breeding program at Oregon State University OSU.1I could not find anything that supported that claim. Baggett has been credited for developing Oregon Eleven tomato, Oregon Spring, and Oregon Star, so it’s quite possible Heaven Oregon might be part of his work given the similarity with naming (even though it doesn’t seem to start with Oregon?) As a side note and nod to another great variety to try, Honey Boat Squash was also bred by Baggett’s program.
For now, I am not going to attribute Heaven Oregon Tomato to him until I get confirmation. For now, Heaven Oregon Tomato’s history remains unknown to us. If you happen to have a source to show Baggett should be attributed as the breeder, please feel free to share with our community in the comments below.
This is a chef’s delight and perfect for the home grower alike. You definitely won’t find this as a seedling start at any big box retailer garden center as a start, so it’s best to grow from seed. You also won’t find it in the grocery store where produce is bred to last 10+ days from harvest (yuck old food!) Grow this beautiful tomato and enjoy it at home knowing that you get to try what most folks miss out on!
This is part 2 of what we’ve trialed in new tomato varieties as we continue to bring you our fav’s! If you missed part 1, you can read it here, otherwise, let’s keep cruise’n and share the rest of our new tomato variety releases for 2024 highlights!
All of the varieties mentioned here can be found on our store.growyourhealthgardening.com (and if you sign-up for our newsletter on our store, you’ll get a 15% off coupon to save money on any $15 seed order. Remember, we always include a free package of seeds with every order!)
Chocolate Stripes Tomato
I had first listened to expert market grower, Craig Schaaf, on a podcast where he was being interviewed by Alabama market grower and homesteading pro, Noah Sanders. (I love how Noah shares his passion and wants to help others through the Well Watered Garden Project.) In the podcast, Craig shared his experience growing warm season crops early in the season in his cold Northern climate and how epigenetics played a key role in why he saved his seeds season-after-season. What he shared really inspired me to dive deeper into epigenetics and to keep on my path of saving my own southern soil and hydroponic-adapted seeds every growing season.
Fast forward to the following year when I was bedridden with Covid… I entertained myself doing research for the upcoming growing season on my computer. It was then that I happened-upon Craig’s videos through social media and recalled his interview with Noah. I decided to reach out to him and I was thrilled when he responded! It was great to have him connect me with other like-minded growers on his social media channel. I enjoyed learning more about the Korean Farming Technique (KFT) method he uses to grow his own crops. (Craig has a heart to help others learn, so I encourage you to check out his videos on Gab @Schaafcraig which are chalk-full of experienced growing tips if you haven’t already.)
All that to say that Craig and I exchanged some seeds last year as he was interested in testing some micro-dwarf tomato varieties. I sent him my fav’s and he sent me his tomato fav’s. One of his choices he liked was Chocolate Stripes tomato. I couldn’t wait to test Chocolate Stripes Tomato in our Tower Garden aeroponic / hydroponic system and she did fantastic! I have to agree with him that it is a wonderful homegrown tomato variety. It reminds me a lot of Cherokee Purple and Paul Robeson. It looks beautiful when sliced due to its striped coloration. I enjoyed how it tasted so much that I wanted to offer the next generation from his shared seeds here (he gave his permission of course.)
But don’t just take our word that it tastes wonderful! Chocolate Stripes tomato was also voted as one of the “Top 3” “best tasting” tomatoes by TomatoFest attendees along with the event’s “tasting panel”. It was also voted on by thousands of TomatoFest customers purchasing seeds. This is a sure win as a great BLT sandwich tomato as well as to add to salsa’s and salads for full flavor.
Besides the fantastic taste and ease of growing, here’s the thing that makes this seed stock special… Craig said he would start this seed in early spring and be the first to market using his growing techniques in the northern region of Michigan where he lives. (I think he has a video on his technique on the channel I mentioned earlier in the article.) This seed stock has been adapted to grow in colder conditions according to Craig, yet it also grew beautifully for me in my hot and humid growing region of Atlanta, Georgia (zone 7b).
For those of you who have been following GYHG for awhile, you probably recall me sharing that seeds can hold 5+ years of survival traits in their seed DNA so that the next generation can thrive all the more. That means that our seed from this variety will be especially suited in either soil northern conditions all the way to the south where it gots hot and humid. Furthermore, if you grow hydroponically, your seed will be right at home and produce better for you than the first generation — that’s why we call this seed “hydroponic adapted”.
When I was doing some research online to find out more about its history, it appears that it has come from the Seed Saver Exchange (SSE). I did find some detailed information from a European blogger:
The ‘Chocolate Stripes’ tomato variety was bred by Ohio American John Siegel and was created in the early 2000s by crossing ‘Shimmeig Creg’ with a pink beefsteak tomato. Between 2006 and 2007, the new variety entered the seed bank Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) via Al Anderson, an association for the transmission and preservation of seed-resistant varieties. ˈChocolate Stripesˈ promptly won the award for one of the top three flavors at the Carmel TomatoFest event that same year and the following year. 1
My plants were grown in an aeroponic / hydroponic Tower Garden and I had no problems with cracking or fungal diseases. If you see this in photos online on other pages or videos, it’s either the seed stock is not strong and/or growing methods. This tomato grew beautifully for me and I will grow it again.
Again, you can’t find this variety as a seedling in most big box garden centers or definitely in the produce aisle of your grocery store. This variety is best started from seed and harvested going from garden to table. It’ll keep a little while inside once harvested, but I really think it’s best enjoyed straight from the vine as you’ll get all those good nutrients it offers the closer to harvest you eat it.
Just looking at these pics from last year’s harvest makes my mouth water! I can’t hardly wait for tomato season to be here again!
We’ve trialed new tomato varieties and are bringing you our seven fav’s over the course of a week we will release more information about each one. So much of why I grow the food I do is because I cannot find these amazing tasting varieties at the grocery store. They are just best enjoyed from garden to table and so worth the time and little effort involved in growing them at home.
All of the varieties mentioned here can be found on our store.growyourhealthgardening.com (and if you sign-up for our newsletter on our store, you’ll get a 15% off coupon to save money on any $15 seed order. Remember, we always include a free package of seeds with every order!)
Without further adieu, here are our new tomato seed varieties we have home grown and offer to our customers:
Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato. Photo copyright 2024 Grow Your Health Gardening
Aunt Ruby’s Green German Tomato
My husband loves to try out barbecue places across the southeast and whenever we go to any barbecue restaurant there are two things we always try if they are on the menu: banana pudding and fried green tomatoes. So, for the past 20+ years we have taste-tested our way across the southeast and I wanted to pair that knowledge with testing varieties at home to find the perfect green tomato variety to make our southern favorite, Fried Green Tomatoes! And I am officially declaring that Aunt Ruby’s German Green tomato did not disappoint! (It’s also a great addition to any salsa verde!)
Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato variety has been listed in the top 10 tomatoes by many chefs and home growers alike as well as won several taste tests.1 Slow Food USA ( slowfoodusa.org ) nominated this tomato to the Ark of Taste Program. This is also one of the 100 varieties described in Carolyn J. Male’s book “100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden“. In fact, Chuck Wyatt, Seedsmen Hall of Fame and long-time grower and fan of vintage tomato varieties had this to say about Aunt Ruby’s German Green;
“Excellent flavor and texture, good slicer, or for salads. THE OUTSTANDING GREEN VARIETY. If you have never tried a tomato that stays green when ripe, you should try this one, This is the biggest surprise I have ever experienced in tomatoes,”2
— Charles Atwood ‘Chuck’ Wyatt, “A Grower of Vintage Tomatoes” and Seedmen Hall of Fame Recipient
According to my research, Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato is a family heirloom from Germany. It purportedly was first introduced in the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) 1993 Yearbook by Bill Minkey of Darien, Wisconsin. According to Tatiana’s TOMATObase, Minkey received the seed from Nita Hofstrom of Clinton, Wisconsin. Hofstrom’s Aunt Ruby E. Arnold (1915-1997) lived in Greeneville, Tennessee, and had grown it for years and according to Aunt Ruby, the seed originally came to the United States with her German immigrant grandfather. Aunt Ruby had simply called it ‘German Green’. Minkey asked Aunt Ruby for permission to rename this variety and he called it ‘Aunt Ruby’s German Green‘ after Ruby Arnold.3 You should know that I couldn’t find anything on the SSE’s web site to confirm or deny this account, but we have reached out to them for comment as it contradicts another account given by Victory Seeds Co.
We have not tested the pH level on this particular tomato, but according to tomatoabout.com, green tomatoes tend to have a high acidity level with a pH range of 3.5 – 4.2 pH.4 If you’re not sensitive to the acidity in tomatoes, this one will help support healthy stomach acid which you want to break down food easily in your stomach.
One of the advantages of growing your own homegrown green tomatoes is how you can control when to harvest tomatoes. By allowing them to fully ripen on the vine, you can increase sweetness and reduce tart green flavors while also getting the most nutritional benefit from your homegrown tomatoes, because it is not sitting on a store shelf somewhere aging. You also get THE BEST green tomatoes to make Fried Green Tomatoes or salsa verde and this variety is worth growing if you like either of those sides.
The seed stock we sell comes from plants grown hydroponically on a Tower Garden. They are open-pollinated and our parent plant produced multiple large beefsteak green tomatoes (see photo below) weighing 10-16 oz or more each. With proper pruning and timed fertilizing, you could reach 1 pound or more.
Plants do vine, so you will need a strong support cage. It typically ripens late in the season taking around 85 days to be ready for harvest after transplanting outdoors when overnight temps are a consistent 64ºF. This variety you’ll want to start from seed as it is typically difficult to find starts of this tomato from local greenhouses or big box stores.
You can find and purchase Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato here (and if you sign-up for our newsletter on our store, you’ll get a 15% off coupon to save money on any $15 seed order. Remember, we always include a free package of seeds with every order!)
And if you have a favorite Fried Green Tomato or Salsa Verde Recipe, feel free to share with the GYHG community in the comments below!
Here’s a look at how abundant Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato is on the vine. The darker yellowish green is how you know when the fruit is ready to pick and enjoy. Photo copyright 2024 Grow Your Health Gardening
Use the following chart to help jog your memory on when it is best to prune either a fruit tree or a bush. We will come back to this list periodically to add to it as we have updates. And after you have pruned, be ready for when blooms emerge as spring is an ideal time to fertilize once you see new growth.
Fruit Trees:
Apple
Winter or early spring
Train tree for low head and prune moderately. Keep the center of the tree open with main branches well-spaced around the tree. Avoid sharp V-shaped crotches.
Cherry
Winter or early spring
Prune moderately, cut back slightly the most vigorous shoots.
Citrus
Spring after risk of freeze has passed,
Prune after risk of freeze has passed, but well in advance of summer heat. Water sprouts, a.k.a. “suckers”, emerge frequently, especially the first few years of the tree’s life. It’s best to remove suckers as they appear, otherwise, they take energy from the tree. The thorns also make harvest difficult. If the suckers do produce fruit, it is usually bitter and unpalatable.
Peach
Early spring before buds
Prune vigorously removing one-half of the previous year’s growth keeping the tree headed low and well thinned out.
Plum
Early spring
Remove dead and diseased branches, keep tree shaped up by cutting back rank growth. Prune moderately.
Quince
Early spring
Cut back young trees to form low, open head. Little pruning of older trees is required except to remove dead and weak growth and keep airflow.
Flowering Japanese Magnolia
Early spring
Before buds open, trim off side limbs that cross another limb. Keep center of tree open for airflow and birds will nest in it.
Fruit Bushes, Flowering Bushes, and Vining Plants
Blackberry
After bearing and summer
Remove at ground canes that bore last crop.In summer, but back new shoots 3.5′ high.
Boxwood
Early spring
Trim and shape before new growth occurs.
Blueberry
Winter while plants are dormant
Blueberries only grow on branches that are at least one year old, but the older the branch, the fewer the berries produced. You must prune the bushes so that they provide enough new growth for blueberry production the following year.
Raspberry
After bearing and summer
Remove at the ground in fall canes which bore last crop. In summer, head back new canes 20 ” to 22″ inches high.
Currant
Early spring
Remove old unfruitful growth and encourage new shoots.
Gardenia
Right after blooms have faded
Pruning your gardenia every other year typically keeps the size manageable. Gardenia blooms on new growth, so pruning after bloom cycle is ideal.
Gooseberry
Early spring
Same as currant—cut back shoots at 12″ inch and side shoots to two buds.
Grape
Late winter or early spring
Requires heavy pruning of old wood to encourage new bearing wood. Remove all old branches back to main vine. Cut back the previous year’s new growth to four buds.
Hydrangea
Early spring
Hills of Snow variety cut back to ground. Other varieties: remove dead and weak growth, cut old flowering stems back
Elderberry
After fruiting (Sept/Oct)
Prune severely. Remove one-half of season’s growth on established plants.
Roses, Tea, Hybrid, Perpetual
Early spring
Cut away all dead and weak growth and shorten all remaining branches or canes to four buds for weak growers and five buds for vigorous varieties.
Roses, Climbing
After flowering
Cut away all dead and weak growth and shorten all remaining branches or canes to four buds for weak growers and five buds for vigorous varieties.
I love lavender. It’s one of my go-to essential oils and a good lavender foot soak with salt is THE BEST! So, when my husband surprised me with a special mother/daughter lavender farm tour and workshop in Thomson, Georgia I was thrilled! Of course, it is more fun to travel as a family so I asked if he and one of our sons could tag along.
When we arrived at our hotel Friday evening, we were given two wonderful gift bags full of information on what we could do during our stay as well as treats and Thomson, GA swag (like a fun tumbler, luggage tags, vinyl stickers, and a drink cozy) and a couple of gift cards to use in the area (which we were delighted to take advantage of to stretch our dollars!
I’ve never been to Thomson before, but it’s a quaint town just outside of Augusta that is evidently known for a local music event called the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival (note: this Jazz festival is coming up Sept 23, 2023) and the Belle Meade Hunt Opening Meet which it hosts annually the first Saturday in November. There are also some large nurseries in the area that grow and ship out to the local region that used to have a large plant sale once a year, but when I checked out the event Web site, they hadn’t had the event the past three years for some reason. Bummer. Love me a good plant sale.
McDuffie Public Fishing Area near Thomson, Georgia is stocked from the nearby fish hatchery with plenty of room to fish.
Saturday morning we enjoyed a complementary breakfast at our hotel (nice spread with plenty of options) and then headed toward the fishing area where we planned to drop-off my husband and son at the lake which was five minutes away from where our tour and workshop was to take place at White Hills Farm.
Our Tour, Workshop, and Luncheon at White Hills Farm
The owner, Amy, was friendly and made us immediately feel welcome. She has a beautiful shop on site where she hangs her lavender bundles to dry. You could smell the lavender in the air and the cool A/C was a welcome already at 10 am in the morning.
She immediately took us on a tour of her gardens where we saw not only the lavender she grew, but also rosemary and other herbs, veggies, and legumes.
Varieties to plant in the Southeast and how to plant
When she showed me her newly planted lavender bed, she said that lavender likes sandy soil with good drainage. She recommended a mix of 1 part sand, 1 part potting soil, & 1 part compost. She recommended to water daily at first & then wait a day, water, & then 2 days, water, & then 3 days, water, and so forth until established continuing to spread time out between waterings while watching the young plant for any stress. In the Southeast, you will want to look for varieties that tolerate heat and humidity of course. She likes the varieties “Grosso” and “Lavendula X Intermedia” (aka: Provence) for cuttings & “Lavendula Angustifolia” aka: English Lavender for culinary use.
We grabbed a refreshing cool drink of Hibiscus Tea with lavender simple syrup and went out to harvest some lavender from her established hybrid lavender plants which were buzzing with busy bees. Amy showed us how to harvest, focusing only on stalks with larger flower bud heads and cutting the stem low, but where it was still green. If you cut down into the woody area, it will not continue to grow stalks from that area.
Workshop on how to make your own bundles to dry
We sat down to make bundles of our lavender to dry and a little vase to fill with culinary herbs Amy had collected while we walked and talked earlier on the garden tour. We were then treated to a nice lunch under two 100 year old pecans. The shade was lovely and the spread was beautiful and tasty as well!
Rosemary and lavender bundles to dry and a sweet little culinary herb bouquet to take home.Rolls, chicken salad, pimento cheese, garden-to-table cucumber, and grape salad with yogurt, pecans and brown sugar (YUM!)Strawberry cup cake on pretty floral plates.
My daughter and I had quite the laugh when one of the farm cats jumped up onto the table to try and sample our chicken salad. Another farm cat came along and soon the two were vying to compete for the food they knew was close by. Lunch and entertainment! LOL
Tips for Drying Lavender for Herbal Use in Tinctures, Salves, Sachets, and More
When drying herbs, you can make bunches to hang and secure them with a rubber band, but don’t make too large or you may get fungal issues in the center of the bunch. Your lavender needs warm air circulating around it to dry well. Amy also had some screens positioned to dry other herbs she was growing in her garden in her workshop and store area. If you use screens, just make sure you don’t use metal screens, but nylon. If you have a dehydrator (how I dry mine) lay out (flowers still on stem, without overlapping) & keep heat circulating 90°-100°F for 24-48 hrs until stem is crispy dry. Defoliate (strip) petals from stem and store in an amber jar with a lid that seals in a cool dry place until you are ready to use.
Can you see the bee?Gift shop with fresh herbal teas to drink and cool off while you enjoy the farm.
Ideas for using culinary lavender
Amy also kindly shared some ideas for using lavender to enjoy with food:
Make a lavender simple syrup and add to most any beverage (teas, juice, cocktails, or sparkling water). If you’re wanting to try making your own lavender simple syrup, you can grab the recipe here.
Make infused sugar or infused salt (add several sprigs to a jar of sugar and let it sit up to six (6) weeks
Add lavender buds to your scrambled eggs or omelette while cooking (eggs and lavender pair well together).
Add to salad dressings and marinades.
Cook in lavender when making jams and jelly.
Decorate tops of cakes, cupcakes, desserts.
Bake with lavender (for most recipes, add about 1 Tbsp ground lavender to recipe.)
Roast chicken or port with a little lavender (and rosemary , too!)
Lavender Simple Syrup Flower Essence
I first enjoyed this at White Hill Farm in Dearborn, GA with Hibiscus Tea. The owner, Amy, shared this recipe with me and it was so fun to try I wanted to share with you!
Way to Heat Purified Water
Container with lid to store simple syrup in fridge when not using
Mixing Spoon
1-cup measuring cup
1 cup sugar
1 cup purified filtered water
8 or 10 sprigs dried lavender
Add boiling water to sugar in a a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup and stir (or boil together in small saucepan on stove.)
When sure is dissolved, break apart lavender stems and add to sugar mixture.
Let steep for 30-60 minutes until desired taste, then strain out lavender.
Lavender syrup will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks.
Lavender Lemonade: 1 cup lavender simple syrup (recipe above) 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice from 4-6 lemons 4 cups of filtered cold water
Combine all ingredients and taste. Add more syrup or juice if desired. Serve chilled or over ice.
Beverage ideas for herbal syrups:
Make a simple syrup using fresh mint, rosemary, basil, thyme, organic rose petals, hibiscus, or your favorite herb.
Add to unsweetened black or green tea.
Add fresh fruit juice and syrup to unflavored carbonated water (such as La Croix, Perrier, or soda water) to create your own bubbly sodas.
flower essence, lavender, simple syrup, syrup
If you’re interested in visiting Amy’s lavender farm, White Hills Farm, and staying in Thomson, you can enjoy the same package we did by using this link. Be sure to let them know you heard about it from Grow Your Health Gardening! (We don’t get a kick back, but it helps them know how to best serve future interested visitors.)
Thomson, Georgia has some good local eateries
A few other highlights from the trip included eating at a barbecue place called Pigg-ah-boo’s. It was recommended by Amy whose husband liked to smoke meat as well. My husband makes amazing barbecue as well, so we love to try out other barbecue places while traveling. To be honest, when we first arrived I had my doubts. There was no one else there and the place lacked ambiance. But we sat down and soon others started to arrive to get food as well. Everything tasted fantastic!
Pigg-ah-Boos was worth the stop if you like good barbecue.
The next day we tried Fernanda’s Grill and Pizzeria because it was one of the few restaurants opened (and was also one of the recommendations Amy gave us. The food there did not disappoint either and we ate well! The above pizza pictured is called the “Fahgetaboutit” and was super filling. The service was good and we didn’t have to wait long to get our food on Father’s Day even though the place was busy.
Travel midweek and call ahead for tour of Georgia’s first all-robotic Dairy Farm
We tried to check out the first robotic dairy farm in Georgia, but you have to organize a tour in advance and minimum is $100 for them to even give a tour. They only tour through the week, so if you’re a week-end traveler, skip this option or call in advance to make arrangements.
Fun shopping, but shop before 3 pm on Saturday!
We did find some cool vintage stuff at a place called Aunt Tique and Uncle Junks. It was so nice that they stayed open until 6 pm as most of the shops in town closed at 3 pm and were closed on Sunday. I picked myself up a few vintage medicine glass pieces to put herbal tinctures in at a later date.
Aunt Tique and Uncle Junks is worth the stop (closed Sundays).Check out E.T. hanging out in the VW in front of the store.Vintage goods high and low, but easy to shop. We found some treasures!
All in all, a fun week-end getaway. If we were to go again, I would research places on our interest list and when they are open/closed because we missed out on some neat looking gift shops because of our Saturday morning plans and didn’t realize most of the stores shut down at 3 pm on a Saturday and then are closed on Sunday. I also wish the hotel’s pool had been open, because our kids would have really enjoyed swimming. But we were glad to know that fishing wasn’t too far away, because the guys really were able to relax lakeside for a few hours each day which was nice. I also loved the farm tour and am planning where I can plant some of the cultivars that Amy recommended. I would eat at the same places again and try to squeeze in a few more local restaurants instead of opting for familiar chain eats near the hotel our first night.
Part of the fun of traveling is trying new foods and seeing new things, so getting our game plan ahead of time would be helpful. If you want to visit Thomson, GA, check out this page they have created for out-of-towners visiting. If you live in the Atlanta area, be sure to check it out sometime! And don’t forget to plant some lavender this year!
If you’re looking to grow really big — I mean REALLY BIG — tomatoes… the kind you might even break a state record size of tomato, you’ll need to start with good seed DNA. There are certain tomato varieties that tend to grow to a larger size when given proper nutrients, pH, and pruning.
Pomodoro Farina Gigante is a great tasting BIG tomato slicer that is reputed to break records from Italy.
At the time of publication, the current 2021 Guinness Book of World Records for the heaviest tomato was grown by Dan Sutherland (USA). His monster tomato was of the “Domingo” variety and weighed 10 lb 12.7 oz (4.896 kg) when measured in Walla Walla, Washington, USA, on 15 July 2020. The achievement was authenticated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC).
It had a circumference of 33 in (83.8 cm), contributed to by a number of outgrowths on the fruit known as “dingleberries” — something that can be common among giant tomatoes. This is the second time that Sullivan has held this Guinness record. He grew a 3.906-kg (8.61-lb) tomato in August 2016. According to Guinness, “the mother seed for this new record-breaker was derived from the previous record plant.”
No matter if you’re wanting to grow a record breaking monster-size tomato to win titles or simply wanting a nice big tasty slicer for your summer time BLTs, these are the varieties that typically grow larger in girth.
Big Rainbow Heirloom Tomato is a great producing bi-color slicer. As you can see, she produces thick stems to easily handle the weight of big fruit in clusters of 4-6 buds.Great White Heirloom Tomato is a low-acid tomato that produces big slicers almost 5″ wide.Apricot Brandywine Tomato is a large slicer producing not only great tasting tomatoes but a good crop of them. This particular variety produced the most weight overall when compared to our other cultivars.
Happy New Year! As we look forward to the year ahead, it’s time to start thinking about what kind of nutritious food can be grown!
We’ve wrapped up our trials from 2021 and data and out of all the many cultivars grown of tomatoes, I’ve settled on these being my favorites to try in 2022.
When growing tomatoes, it’s always a good idea to think about HOW you plant to consume and use them. It will be a big help to you to evaluate this as it will determine what kind of tomato you should grow. And the BEST part of growing tomatoes is you can enjoy great taste as well that surpass anything that can be found at your local grocery store!
Here’s Erin’s tried and tested picks:
Casady’s Folly Paste Tomato(Sauce or Slicing) Why Erin chose it: “This variety is from tomato and potato breeder, Tom Wagner, of Washington State. It is a fantastic producer and beautiful on and off the vine. It is super versatile as well… you can slice it and add to any recipe that asks for a chopped tomato. It excels for making sauce. When compared to equal number of plants, it even out-performed 3.65x times the popular similar Speckled Roman paste variety. Casady’s Folly had more bud production and peaked in mid-July, but just kept pumping out the tomatoes until the end of September earning its spot as my top pick this growing season.”
Cancelmo Family Heirloom Paste Tomato(Sauce or Slicing) Why Erin chose it: “Cancelmo Family Heirloom Paste Tomato is a wonderful oxheart-type tomato variety. It steadily produces good size meaty fruit making it a wonderful option for great tasting sauce, but can also make a nice slicer for BLT sandwiches as the size fits a slice of bread well and has low seed/pulp ratio. Because doesn’t produce as many seeds, we may swap in another variety once we sell out of our inventory with another variety that also performed well, so grab it while it’s part of the collection while you can.”
Charlie Chapman Heirloom Tomato(Slicing or Stuffer) Why Erin chose it: “I was originally attracted to Charlie Chapman Heirloom Tomato for it’s ruffled mid-size appearance and that it was touted as a good stuffing cultivar. I think part of the fun of growing food you can’t find in the store is using it in new ways in the kitchen. It’s a great way to add interest to what you’re eating and delights younger children as well. It did not disappoint and actually produced well throughout the growing season. This is a red tomato, but an orange-tinted red. I love how they look like miniature pumpkins.“
Cherokee Purple Tomatoor Paul Robeson Tomato ((Sauce or Slicing) Why Erin chose it: “Cherokee Purple is one of our favorite tasting tomatoes. It’s not our biggest producer, but I chose this variety based on its flavor profile. Our seed comes from local stock and has been adapted over several generations. In fact, when I compared my seed to other seed providers, our seed was larger and more plump — these are traits that World Guinness Book Record holder, Charles Wilber, recommends looking for in seed with good DNA.“
Wagners Salad Green Tomato (aka: Green Elf) (Sauce or Slicing) Why Erin chose it: “We love fried green tomatoes and this determinate variety just pumped out nice firm green tomatoes much to our delight. The multiple buds it produced and actually set was amazing. I did have to prune it a bit for the Southern climate and for airflow, but I loved the thick sturdy stalk it had and the amount of production we got out of it. It’s a versatile tomato that looks pretty when added to red varieties in diced salsas or topping tacos or salads as well. “
Nostrano Grasso Italian Tomato(Sauce or Slicing) Why Erin chose it: “I was drawn to this variety because of the rariety of it in the United States as an Italian variety. I also thought the slight ruffled look of it was pretty and it did not disappoint. The production was wonderful and the tomato taste true Italian tomato flavors rang through checking all the boxes for me for a fantastic cultivar to grow. “
Blue Cream Berries Cherry Tomato(Salad Topper or Snacking) Why Erin chose it: “This is a most unusual tomato. It looks unimpressive on the vine, but I always love to share it with my guests that come to the garden, just to see their look of surprise when they taste it. Your mind thinks it’s going to tart, but it’s not. It’s unlike any other tomato I have tried to date and the fact that it is known to also have those purple shoulders containing anthocyanans, well, it’s a tomato we should all be enjoying on salads or for snacking. What’s interesting is that the second year of adapting this variety the first fruits that came on where actually bigger than the previous year. This will be one I continue to grow out and adapt through hydroponics in the Southeast.“
Black Cherry Tomato(Salad Topper or Snacking) Why Erin chose it: “Our entire family loves the Black Cherry Tomato variety. Cherry Tomatoes are also easier to grow in the Southeast, so it’s a good starter tomato for anyone who hasn’t grown tomatoes before from seed. Like our other cultivars that have been adapted through hydroponic growing conditions, Black Cherry Tomatoes were larger and super tasty — especially early on in the season. These can be used for snacking, salads, sliced for tacos, or even sun-dried. “
+ Bonus: Naughty Marietta French Marigold(Co-planting and other beneficial uses) Why Erin chose it: “I wanted to include a marigold to encourage new growers to think of co-planting beneficial plants near one another. The marigold is fantastic for keeping some pest pressure down. You can grow and place in-between and around your plants that are growing, but the real benefit will be if you harvest some leaves and petals and make a biological tea and spray on your tomato plants once a week as a pro-active pest deterrent. “
If you want to learn more about this collection, feel free to click here. We wish you the best and a wonderful 2022 Growing Season! Be sure to let us know in the comments below what your favorite tomato variety was from your last growing season. We all learn from each other through sharing!
There are some fantastic faux pumpkins you can find at the craft store these days, but there’s nothing quite like having a fresh pumpkin for the front porch. If you’re heading out to your local pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin, be sure to pick up three additional items from the store to help preserve your pumpkin (if you don’t have these already): bleach, dish soap and matte paint spray sealer.
When you return home with your freshly harvested pumpkin, before placing your treasure on the front porch, do this:
In a large sink or tub, prepare a mixture of bleach, water and dish soap: one (1) gallon of water, 2 tablespoons bleach, and a two drops of dish soap. Soak the pumpkin(s) in the mixture for 15-30 minutes.
Next, rinse the pumpkin(s) with cool water and dry completely.
After the pumpkins have dried all the way around them, take outside and give it a coat of spray matte sealer which will help preserve them even longer!
Have fun picking out your pumpkins! And be sure to share pics of your pumpkins with us on social media! Tag us at #gyhg or #growyourhealthgardening on Instagram, Gab, Google My Business, or Facebook.
Beauty Lottringa growing on the vine. Such a pretty tomato!
We are loving eating BLTs (Bacon, Lettuce + Tomato with Mayo on a slice of bread) fresh from the garden with tasty hydroponically-grown heirloom tomatoes! (So juicy!)
And this rare variety from Russia called Beauty Lottringa makes a tasty AND beautiful plating! Can you believe that each tomato has less than five seeds in it?! WOW! I personally love how each slice looks like a red flower.
Slice of Beauty Lottringa on a BLT Sandwich. This variety only has about 5 seeds or less on average in each tomato!
BLT Sandwich with Black Passion and Beauty Lottringa featured in photo above. To shop all our hydroponic-adapted exclusive line of seeds visit store.growyourhealthgardening.com
I’m still debating on whether to sell this variety because of the low seed count, but I may end up doing a giveaway, so be sure to visit store.growyourhealthgardening.com and sign-up for our email updates and tips to be the first to hear when our new hydroponically-adapted line of seeds release or if we do a give-away on this particular variety.
Do you love BLTs as well? What is your favorite slicer variety?
We have been busy seeding tomatoes this week inside in preparation for the 2021 growing season and we look forward to bringing you hydroponic adapted seeds once our trials have completed. I search far and wide for unique varieties that cannot be found at the grocery store or big box gardening centers and even from large seed producers. We even have some rare varieties we are excited to try and share with you if they do well in our trials.
Every season, I feel it’s important to have FUN while you grow food for you and your family, so here are some of my personal FUN goals…
In particular, this year, I think I’m going to try and tackle growing the largest tomato I’ve ever grown. I’m thinking like, state fair size. My seed stock for this challenge comes from a private grower in Italy and we shall see how it adapts to our growing region.
I’m also focusing on more plum varieties this year, so we can make some amazing sauce and preserve it for the winter to feed our family of seven. I did some extra research and selected varieties that were favored by other tomato connoisseurs.
I’m also particularly excited about our new line-up of micro-dwarf tomatoes that don’t require a trellis and have usually one or two flushes of tomatoes before they complete their growing cycle. Because of their compact habit, they are ideal for growing in the vertical Tower Garden and for those who want to grow in small spaces like in the Aerogarden, Farm Stand, or even in a pot on your back patio or deck.
Our seed is adapted to hydroponic growing conditions in Zone 7 just west of Atlanta, Georgia. I share this info not because tomatoes are a perennial (which is typically the reason for looking at growing zones), but instead to help our home growers know where their seed is grown, so they can match it to their own growing conditions for success. Our tomatoes are all grown outdoors in heat and humidity and hand-pollinated with the exception of our micro-dwarfs which are grown indoors to limit cross-pollination.
We give our mature tomatoes a PPM range of 1400-2000 and a pH of 6.0-6.5 for maximum nutrient uptake. We recommend using the Tower Garden Mineral Blend for healthy plants and maximum growth. If you’re wondering what grows well with tomatoes in a hydroponic system, we encourage you to visit this page on our Grow Your Health Gardening Web site for more information.
If you wonder why tomato seeds can cost more than other seeds, know that tomatoes are very time-and-labor intensive to grow and require a lot of personal management with seed starting, pruning, scouting for any pest pressure, or any efforts to boost immune system through foliar application of comfrey tea and molasses tea (which helps to bring out flavor).
15 Slicer Tomato Variaties:
Apricot Brandywine Tomato
Black Passion Tomato
Big Rainbow Tomato
Delice De Nevilly Tomato (Rare)
Genovese Tomato (Rare)
Great White Heirloom Tomato (Low-Acid)
Green Elf (Tom Wagner Variety)
Merveille Des Marches Tomato (Rare)
Nostrano Grasso Tomato (Rare)
Orange Orangutan Tomato
Paul Robeson
Pineapple Tomato
Pomodoro Gigante Farina Tomato (Rare)
Thornburn’s Terra Cotta Tomato (Rare)
Wagner Blue Green Tomato (Tom Wagner Variety)
8 Paste Tomato Variaties:
Black Plum Paste Tomato
Cancelmo Family Ox Heart Tomato
Cassidy’s Folly Plum Tomato (Tom Wagner Variety)
Cream Sausage Plum Tomato (Tom Wagner Variety)
Dwarf Sneaky Sauce Micro-Dwarf Plum Tomato
Goatbag Plum Tomato
San Marzano Plum Tomato
Speckled Roman Plum Tomato
8 Cherry Tomato Variaties:
Black Cherry Tomato
Blue Cream Berries Cherry Tomato
Brad’s Atomic Grape Cherry Tomato
Green Doctor’s Frosted Tomato
Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato
Red Pear Cherry Tomato
Sweetheart Cherry Tomato
Yellow Pear Cherry Tomato (Low Acid)
24 Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomatoes:
Annie’s Singapore Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Bonsai Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Dwarf Suzy’s Beauty Tomato
Gold Pearl Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Fat Frog Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Florida Petite Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Hahms Gelbe Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Hardins Miniature Micro-Dwarf Tomato
Inkspot Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Kookaburra Cackle Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Little Red Riding Hood Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Mo Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Monetka Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Olga’s Round Chicken Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Peachy Keen Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Pigmy Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Purple Reign Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Regina Red Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Regina Yellow Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Snegirjok Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Vilma Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Wherokowhai Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
Willa’s Cariboo Rose Micro-Dwarf Tomato
Yellow Canary Micro-Dwarf Cherry Tomato
What do you look for in a tomato? What are your tomato aspirations for the upcoming growing season? Drop us a line in the comment section below!
Happy Growing! — Erin
Tips for Hydroponic, Aquaponic, and Soil-based Gardening Methods
Grow Your Health Gardening 