Sauce, Paste and Canning Tomatoes

 

Image result for Sauce tomatoes 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE! Folks, remember to water sparingly or moderately when your tomatoes start to ripen. Otherwise you'll have a waterlogged, mushy, cracked tomato! This goes for ALL of your heirlooms! Don't sabotage your garden....

 

The Biggest Tomatoes 

1884 ($8.95)
 (B)    ((HG) (E) (P-S) 78 days.

1884 is a superbly flavored old-time tomato which grows on a strong vigorous plant and produces big luscious 2 lb. deep dark pink fruit with luxurious flavor and sets fruit readily in hot weather. \

It is said that the original seeds were discovered in 1884 by a Mr. Williamson in the debris after the big flood in Friendly, West Virginia. 

This grand fruit has taken top mention year after year in tomato tastings all over the country.

Easy to grow and very productive. Marvelous for fresh eating and makes a luscious sauce.

 

          

 

   

Anthony's Passionate Heart ($8.95)
    

 

Chosen by my friend Gary Ibsen to honor Anthony Bourdain, here is Anthony's Passionate Heart.

 

In our garden it withstood heat waves in the high 90's when other plants gave up the ghost. No cracking, high production, dreamy texture, disease free. A proven winner.

 

In Gary's words: "Anthony's Passionate Heart produces beautiful big, red heart-shaped 1 lb. fruits with particularly bold fruity-sweet flavors and good acidity for a perfect balance."

 

"Anthony Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, author, and television personality who explored the cuisines, culture, joys and essentials of human existence around the world. He was an icon to me, and many others, who love food and cooking as a most enjoyable way of gathering people together to celebrate our humanity."

 

"Naming this tomato is our tribute to Anthony Bourdain’s life by honoring his legacy with a tomato heretofore unknown... 'Anthony's Passionate Heart' tomato. We found it suitable that 'the world’s most popular fruit', a tomato, would carry the message of Anthony's valued and storied life through future generations in a way that would enrich the lives of many."

 

 

 

 

 

Apricot Brandywine ($8.95) Easy to grow everywhere!
80 days.

These fabulous tomatoes are a perfect golden/apricot color -- not yellow -- and grow huge!  Up 1½ pounds in clusters of 4 or 5 huge tomatoes on rugged potato-leafed plants.

Apricot Brandywine produces a lot more tomatoes than the other Brandywines, much more than I've ever seen on other Brandywine plants except Brandywine OTV and the taste is unforgettable. Just incredible.

One of my favorite qualities of Apricot Brandywine is that the stunning, meaty flesh inside is exactly the same color of the skin when you cut it open, or just take a giant chomp! WOW! Mind blowing. Makes INCREDIBLE sauce!

This plant has strong thick sturdy stems.  It really has to have stems like this to support all of the huge fruits! Be sure to give it a strong cage like Our TomatOH Holders, to help it stay up!

We think it originated from Great Britain some 30 years ago, the actual origin is unknown, but I'm researching it!

 

 

 NEW FOR 2024!

 

Beefsteak Classic ($8.95) 78 days    

 

Here is the original old time Beefsteak tomato from which subsequent big tomatoes got the description of "beefsteak". Take a thick slice from the center and see the shape of a juicy steak!

 

Beloved for more than 100 years, Beefsteak Classic plants are big, hearty and lush producing 4 to 5 inch brilliant, bright red tomatoes with sweet delicious flavors and great disease resistance.

 

These big beauties give you meaty, thick, fragrant slices for your tomato sandwiches and salads. 

 

Great for canning and sauce, too.

 

 

 

 

 

Belle Rouge( $8.95) 75 days                                   

 

One Sunday morning in 2014 during an open house plant sale at my nursery, a handsome young Frenchman waited in line to chat with me.  :)  He had been visiting a friend nearby who told him about us.

 

When he got to my table he held out to me a tiny vial of tomato seeds. A perfume sample vial.

 

This charming traveler from Le Mans, in Northwestern France, where the Oceanic Belt influence creates fragrant tomatoes with complex, layered flavors, had been given the seeds by his aunt. She grew them in one of the huge community gardens for which Le Mans is famous (along with auto production and motor racing).

 

He could not remember what type of fruit it was, just that it was magnifique! And as yet unnamed.

 

The vial was so tiny, I misplaced it for years. Adrienne finally found it this spring wedged at the bottom of a harvest basket which had been on the table all those years ago.

 

We were thrilled to grow out this mystery seed and find out what it was! We planted the seeds, Adrienne called it 'Perfume Sample". I made 'Perfume Sample' labels for the plants we grew out.

 

To our delight, those magical seeds produced the most beautiful, full flavored tomatoes starting out a pale, delicate orange, then ripening to deepest red, 'rouge' in French, meaty, heavy with juice, shaped like bells and double-bell hearts, 6-8 ounce fruits.

 

Great for sauce, too!

 

And the flavor is, yes, magnifique! In Adrienne's photo you can see one of the 'double' fruits.

 

So beautiful! With out-of-this-world flavors, heavy in the hand, complex, layered and fragrant. So I named this French beauty Belle Rouge.

 

 

 

    

Black Mamba ($8.95) 78 days      (B) 

 

New to our list this season, Black Mamba is a big, bodacious, purple/black beefsteak tomato. Elaborate smoky flavor with touch of sassy tang make this one an irresistible delight for your tomato garden.

A natural 'surprise' cross of Lucky Cross with an unknown black variety-- from the size and flavor my guess is Carbon -- Black Mamba's flavor is enticing, rich, sweet and luscious.

Your plants will produce big crops of stunning, irresistible tomatoes. Really meaty and full-flavored, this is also a fabulous fresh eating and sauce tomato.

From the garden of the late, beloved, old-timey tomato grower Millard Murdock.

 

 

 

Campari plants, available for the first time anywhere!

Campari ($8.95)
65 days
   

The legendary Campari is one of the greatest flavored tomatoes ever grown. This de-hybridized version of the original Campari hybrid has the same outstanding flavor, high productivity and bright red color as the hybrid.

Meaty and juicy, Campari is a delight in your salads, sandwiches and for sauce and canning.

The 2" inch brilliant red fruits on a compact plant grow in clusters of 9 to 13 perfect tomatoes.

Featured prominently in a 2002 episode of The Sopranos, customers have asked us for it over and over.

Seeds were not available then, but now we have the plants for you!

 

  NEW FOR 2024!

Druzba  (DROOSH-Bah) ($8.95)
78 days.
            

 

The Perfect Main-Crop Red Tomato

 

This is your perfect main-crop red, round tomato. A favorite for gift giving! Druzba is a Bulgarian word meaning friendship. It is the perfect gift for the gardener who has everything!

 

Very robust, highly intense tomato flavor in  smooth, perfectly round, deep-red, blemish-free 7 to 10 oz. fruit with outstanding disease resistance.

 

Bright sparkling color, huge flavor, rich meaty texture. Reliably easy to grow, every Druzba tomato is a magical treasure.

 

Fabulous for sauce, Druzba is a very special favorite of mine which I grow every season in my personal stash. Anyone who tries it goes berserk with tomato love.

 

Perfect texture, firm but not hard. Thin skin, extraordinary flavor and very high production.

 

Try it! You'll never want to be without it.

 

 

 

 

 Goldman's Italian-American ($8.95)
80 days.    

 

Heirloom Guru Extraordinaire, Amy Goldman, found this delightful full-figured, big-flavored tomato at a roadside stand in Cernobbio, Italy and named it for her father's Brooklyn, NY grocery store.

 

With very few seeds, Goldman's Italian-American is a terrific choice for cooking--makes a very silky sauce, creamy paste and adds some magic to soups and stews.

 

Pear shaped, blood red, juicy and meaty, growing to about 12 to 16 ounces with a beguiling ruffled shape, it is in high demand with chef's and home gardeners alike.

 

Photograph of Goldman's Italian-American is the property of Baker Creek Seeds and used here with their gracious permission. The second photo is mine.

 

 

 

  

Italian Heirloom ($8.95)
      (P-S) 85 days.

 

The name says it all. A fabulous classic from Italy and a top seller here.

 

Very high production-- loads of fat, juicy, delicious, 5 to 10 oz. brilliant red, meaty, some slightly pear-shaped tomatoes, some more rounded, with an abundance of rich, complex flavors you'd expect from the best Italian varieties.

 

This tomato is revered by the Italians for its BIG taste and high production. Whether for fresh eating or cooking, you will fall in love with Italian Heirloom.

 

The photo of sliced Italian Heirloom is from our customer Julie Smolarek of Corvallis Oregon. Wowza! Thank you Julie!

 

 

 

 

 

Jutland ($8.95)
  
      (E) 72 days. (Pronounced Jut-land or Yoot-lahnd)

 

Looks like a paste tomato doesn't it?  It's not!  Looks like a Roma, too. But it's not!

 

This is my new 'go to' variety for the best dang tomato for BLT's and every other fresh tomato use. A perfect 3 to 5 ounce, thin-skinned Dutch tomato, Jutland is plum shaped -- some perfectly smooth, some with a pointed tip but all have the most sublime flavor we've found in a red tomato, ever.

 

It appears in several different shapes on the same plant -- some elongated, some short and plump, and, as with many tomatoes of this shape, the foliage is sort of wispy. Sliced into 'coins' it is my new favorite for salads, sandwiches and cooking.

 

This is less than half of one day's ripe harvest picked from one plant on August 12th -- my kids and grandkids took the rest of them. "Dang it, put those back! Wait'll we take the pictures!"

 

Trust me. Try it. Juicy, sweet, tangy, delicious, old-fashioned tomato flavor make Jutland a must-grow for the most dedicated and adventuresome heirloom tomato fans.
 

 

 

Polish  ($8.95)
75 - 85 days.

 

As many of you know, when I am selecting varieties for your garden, I have thousands of heirlooms to consider. It takes me months and often years to grow out and test these tomatoes until I'm sure you get only the best from me.

 

My criteria are:

 

Fabulous flavor, excellent texture, reliable production and gorgeousness. Makes a fabulous sauce!

 

Huge, brick red to dark pink, heavy 1 to 3 lb. fruits growing in extraordinary clusters of 3 to 5 huge tomatoes, all with superb flavor.

 

Polish are sweet, rich, meaty and juicy with exquisite flavors. Just breathtaking.

 

There are many heirloom tomatoes with 'Polish' in their names. But I have chosen for you the classic Polish. Don't miss it. You will love me for it.

 

This beautiful, disease resistant, potato leafed plant gets big! Give it extra support -- when it's loaded with tomatoes it will be heavy and unruly.

 

 

 

NEW FOR 2024!

 

Raspberry Mochi ($8.95)
72 days.
   

 

Here is the stunningly beautiful Raspberry Mochi, one of my absolute favorite offerings for your 2024 garden.

 

Raspberry colored skin surrounds plump tender walls of this medium size tomato -- you can see them in the photograph -- along with sweet flesh and luscious gel.

 

These beautiful fruits reach 8 to 10 oz. with a small core, very little waste, just pure tomato love -- makes an incredible sauce!

 

Developed and named by my awesome tomato buddy, Ellie, of Bunny Hop Seeds, Raspberry Mochi is named for one of her favorite sweet treats, 

mochi, the popular Japanese confection. A very sweet treat!  If you've ever had one, you know what I mean. If not, you have a surprise waiting.

 

Raspberry Mochi is easy to grow in even the most challenging soil conditions. Grows beautifully everywhere, even in heat and humidity, does well in sandy soil.

 

Raspberry Mochi photograph is the property of Ellie Pong, Bunny Hops / Heritage Seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

Red Mamba ($8.95)
80 days.  

 

In a patch of Black Mamba plants, we were stunned to see several plants producing huge, gorgeous, deep red and pink 2 pound tomatoes!

 

Some fruits are round, some are heart-shaped. All are big, meaty, delicious and juicy!

 

"I remember saying, "What are you guys doing here?" The exact shape and size as Black Mamba, but this gorgeous red color.

 

Their flavor was heavenly! Made the best dang tomato sandwich I ever had. Classic old time, rich yummy tomatoes with a sensuous mouth-feel and exquisite flavors that explode in your mouth!

 

My guess is that, with the help of a bee or a summer breeze, Black Mamba may have crossed with Tati's Wedding or Queen of the Sea -- they were in adjacent rows for a couple of seasons. The seeds I saved produced this marvelous cross in 2021. But we'll never know....

 

We loved it so much we grew them out, saved seeds again and here it is for you: Red Mamba!

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Marzano Redorta ($8.95)
      80 days.

 

Largest of the San Marzano tomatoes and among the best of the Italian sauce tomatoes, this big, luscious high-producing fruit is named for Pizzo di Redorta, (Redorta Peak), one of the highest peaks in the Bergamo Alps of Lombardy, Northern Italy.

 

At 8 to 12 ounces, and reaching 16 ounces, and 4" to 7" long and a fat banana shape, it is a much larger tomato with far better flavor than its smaller cousin, San Marzano.

 

San Marzano Redorta is marvelously rich, extremely productive and good enough to eat fresh, right off the vine.

 

This is an outstanding sauce and paste tomato and great for canning and fresh eating, too!

 

Photo on the left, copyright 2018, Betty Lessmueller. Green on the vine photo from Adrienne 'AJ' Park-Tucker, 2023.

 

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