Ananas Noir (Ah NAH nahs nwar) ($6.95)  85 days.     

 

A hugely popular tomato, Ananas Noir, French for Black Pineapple, is a stunning fruit -- incredibly beautiful. But what about flavor? What good is all that flashy gorgeousness if the flavor is dull? Well, it's not!  IT'S FABULOUS!

 

Fragrant and sweet, juicy, ambrosial with lingering notes of tropical fruit and sunshine, luscious, unending flavor that lingers on the palate.  One of my all-time favorites, I want you guys to try this one.  It will blow your mind.

 

 

   

 

Berkeley Tie Dye, Pink  ($6.95) 80 days.      Beautiful half-pound treasures!

 

This rare and exotic fruit with big, bold, luscious flavors looks just like its name implies with showy streaks and swirls of pink, yellow, lime green and orange patterning inside and out. From 8 to 12 ounces, chefs nationwide are ordering these plants for their restaurant gardens  -- tomato lovers are clamoring for this fabulous variety. (This pink version of Berkeley Tie Dye is exponentially more flavorful that the original Berkeley Tie Dye.)

 

Pink Berkeley Tie Dye is another fabulous variety from talented tomato breeder Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms here in California. Brad has forever changed and enlivened the world of heirloom tomatoes.

 

Photograph of cut-open Pink Berkeley Tie Dye is the property of Brad Gates/ www.wildboardfarms.com   Go see Brad's incredible varieties!

 

   TOP SELLER!

Black Beauty ($6.95) 85 days.

Beautiful to look at, the flavor of Black Beauty is deep, rich and complex. Combined in a tomato salad with red, pink, orange and yellow tomatoes - a real mind-blower!

A Note About Ripeness:  Be sure and wait for true ripeness! Black beauty takes a while to ripen but is definitely worth the wait.

These photographs are from our home garden and have not been retouched. The fruits and the stems are deep dark indigo-black. Inside, blood red. The first photo is a not quite ripe fruit, the second and third photos show the color change indicating ripeness.

So dark that some tomatoes turn solid blue-black on the skin. Deep red flesh is among the best tasting of all tomatoes. Rich, smooth and savory with earthy tones.

A dark, meaty, very rich-fleshed tomato with extreme anthocyanin effect, the same antioxidant in blueberries and blackberries. The emerging little fruits are deep black from the time they are tiny until big and almost ripe, then you will see some color changes as you can see in the photographs.

Keeps well on the vine and stores very well, and the flavor improves with room-temperature storage.

Baker Creek's Dave Kaiser tasted it at the 2015 National Heirloom Exposition and proclaimed it as the BEST tomato he had ever eaten! Yay Dave!

 

 

Blue Chocolate Cherry ($6.95) 75 days.

We are crazy in love with these yummy, gorgeous, 1½ oz. ping pong ball chocolate-brown fruits with exotic, blue shoulders.

Another stunner from the Amazing Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms. Perfectly round, ping pong ball size, sweet and rich flavored, they grow on big hearty plants in generous clusters.

These tomatoes hold well on the vine so you can let them stay there when ripe for a few days, they won't get soft and overripe for quite a while.

Blue Chocolate is crack resistant, (yay!) disease resistant (more yay!), easy to grow and a perfect salad and slicing tomato for your family.

This very unusual plant makes a fabulous gift for foodie friends, new and old, looking for something rare and wonderful from the heirloom world to grow in their tomato gardens.

 

Brad's Atomic Grape ($6.95) 75 days     

 

These elongated multi-colored, large grape type tomatoes grow in beautiful, colorful clusters on gorgeous wispy vines. The top seed seller at Wild Boar Farms, I've gotten numerous requests for the plants.
 

Lavender and purple striped at first, then turning to green, red and chocolate brown with deep blue stripes when fully ripe.

Inside, Atomic Grape glows green with a blush of deep red when fully ripe.  Sweet and fragrant, this amazing fruit holds well on the vine and has a long shelf life after picking. Another mind-blowing variety from Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farm, this photograph is Brad's.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Brown Derby ($6.95
) 75 to 80 days. 

 

My absolute favorite discovery of 2007, no contest. Combining the sweet succulence of the black tomatoes and the tangy spiciness of the greens, this is a spectacular cross of my all-time favorite, Paul Robeson, and the legendary Aunt Ruby's German Green.

 

Reaching up to 2 lbs., yhe flavor is tantalizing--tart and sweet, a perfect combination of tang to sweetness with plenty of juice and a rapturous brown and green color.

 

Elser's Brown Derby has become a much sought after favorite at Maria and Darrell's Farmer's Market stands where customers arrive early to get their hands on one of these treasures. I had to scramble to get this one. True story. I picked it up, another customer begged me for it; I did not budge, wouldn't give it up. I wanted it for the photograph because it was so beautiful. Then we ate it. A Laurel's exclusive.

 

 (This fruit is not related to Tom Wagner's Brown Derby line, arose independently from that line and was named without knowledge of it.)

 

 

 

Chocolate Stripes ($6.95
)   (B) 80 days.

After removing it from the list in 2009, I was bombarded by horrified customers who could not live without it and were freaked out by not seeing it. So it's back for good. Sorry.

 

Among the largest of the black tomatoes, this one was among the top 3 winners of TomatoFest 2007. Reaching 2½ lbs., ripening to mahogany with dark olive green stripes, these fruits have enormous old-time tomato flavor and an appearance similar to Black Zebra, but huge!

 

 A plentiful harvest, stunning beauty and out-of-this-world taste make Chocolate Stripes a rare treat in your garden.

 

Be sure not to over-water when the fruits are getting ripe because they will crack! Seriously. Be careful. Test the soil, if it is barely damp, turn off the hose and back away.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Dark Galaxy ($7.25) 75 days

The amazing Dark Galaxy bears fruits from 4 ounces up to 8 ounces on the same plant!  Layered in deep blue with red and orange stripes covered in random speckles, it is intoxicating to see.

When you taste the first ripe one, in only 75 days from planting out, you will instantly understand all the excitement Dark Galaxy has created in the heirloom world.

Another astounding fruit from Brad Gates, the vines themselves display a purple blush and grow 5-6 feet tall while producing excellent crops of delicious tomatoes that begin to ripen in only 75 days.

The yummy flavors are a perfect balance of tangy-sweetness -- really juicy and refreshing!  Each fruit a unique work of art, no two look alike, making Dark Galaxy a welcome gift for tomato loving friends and a garden-to-table centerpiece!

As it ripens it turns a sensuous, dusky red on the bottom with many shades of dark spots and flecks that almost give it a 3 dimensional look. Uniquely speckled, incredibly delicious, other-worldly, magnificent.

 

 

 

   

Dragon's Eye ($6.95
) 70 days.      

 

Gorgeous, fruity, juicy and sweet, Dragons' Eye tomatoes average about 3 to 5 ounces, grow in incredible delicious bountiful clusters. Perfect for fresh eating and roasting--make the best salsa, too! Beautiful pink-rose fruits have green streaking that turns gold at full ripeness.  They appear shimmery and luminescent as they ripen on the vine --inside , the flesh is deep dark red.  A real workhorse of a tomato, huge production!  This strong plant does beautifully in containers.

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Restoration Seeds.

(Dwarf) Tasmanian Chocolate ($6.95
)     (E)  65 days 

Big tomato, little plant, incredible flavor. Tasmanian Chocolate is a beautiful variety that produces huge tomatoes on very compact plants. Large, beefsteak style fruits can grow to almost a pound and ripen to a deep chocolate-mahogany. What really makes it unique is the dwarf growing habit, with small plants only growing to 2-3 feet, but still loaded with fruits! Great for small spaces and containers.

 

Tasmanian Chocolate has the same dark smoky flavor we've come to treasure in our darkest colored tomatoes.

 

Another delightful variety from the dedicated crew of the Dwarf Tomato Project for those growing in small gardens or containers or who want to fit more plants into their large garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

    Huge and smooth, delicious tropical flavors!

 

Great White ($6.95
) 75 days

 

Never tried a white tomato?  Don't let this unusual color fool you!  And don't let Uncle Louie tell it's too weird...

 

Hands down, these 1 to 3 pound giants with creamy white fruit have some of the best tomato flavors you'll ever find. I guarantee it. And I know my tomatoes. 

 

I want HUGE, mind-blowing flavor in my tomatoes! If you do too, then this is your huckleberry.

 

Some of the white tomatoes are mild, which some folks like. Not me! Great White has killer flavor. The Goddess of the Big Whites.

 

Delicious fruits, refreshing with tropical overtones of fresh-cut pineapple, melon, juicy honey mango and sweet lime.

 

Starting out glossy ivory and turning to palest moonlight gold when ripe, it will still feel firm with a pink blush on the bottom--that's how you know it's ripe!

 

Early ripening tomatoes, set fruit in high heat, with excellent disease resistance, fantastic flavor.

 

But Beware! The abundant fruit set makes for a heavy plant so use sturdy cages; you will need extra support for these guys.

 

 

Best of the Blues... awesome flavors!

Helsing Junction Blue ($6.95) 78 days

This strangely gorgeous fruit has won high fives and stunned looks in our test gardens. "Is that a plum?"

Clusters of delicious 2 to 3 ounce tomatoes salad tomatoes (not a cherry) with high production and disease resistance. Please give it a grow, highly recommended by me!

When Helsing Junction Blues are ripe, they have an intense, regal sweetness and enough balancing acid to make them the PERFECT tomato with rich flavors we love in the dark-fleshed varieties.

The gel and flesh turn turn deepest crimson when completely ripe. The flesh is really satisfying to bite into! Perfect and firm, not soft. Created by my old buddy Tom Wagner, he named it for Helsing Junction Farm in the Chehalis River Valley of Washington. 

The leaves curl genetically, so don't freak out and over-water or under-water them. These slightly curled leaves let more sunlight reach the fruits, turning them really  deep indigo. Looks awesome.

 

 

 

New for 2021!

 

Thorburn's Terra Cotta (Pronounced THOR-burns) ($6.95)    80 days. A Laurel's Favorite

We are so excited to be able to present Terra Cotta as our premier variety for 2021.

It's hard to know where begin in describing this extremely rare treasure with its incredible flavor, color and history!

Introduced more than 120 years ago, in 1893, by James Thorburn of New York, this is one of the most sensational tomatoes we have ever grown. With honey-brown skin, apricot colored flesh, and a beautiful green seed gel, this is a stunning tomato with out-of-this-world flavor.

Producing heavily during mid-season for fresh eating, sandwiches, salads and right out-of-hand, Terra Cotta is also great for cooking! Roasted, sauced, fresh from the garden--you name it.

 

 

   Rare and Delightful!

Thunder Mountain ($7.95) 80 days       

This big, stunning10 to 14 ounce beefsteak tomato was developed by Lee Goodwin of J & L Gardens. As the colors developed, they reminded Lee of the sun setting through thunder clouds in New Mexico.

With fruits ripening from deep gold to reddish-orange -- and all the other stormy sunset colors -- he called it Thunder Mountain.  

The flavors are rich, sweet, bold and beautifully balanced, reflecting its marvelous parent lines of Cherokee Purple, Big Rainbow and Bosque Blue.

Not a huge plant, Thunder Mountain grows on a compact vine and produces excellent crops of 10-14 oz., big-shouldered, orange-red-gold tomatoes with deep stormy-ocean blue around the stem and faint yellow streaking here and there. Grows easily everywhere.

J & L Gardens is in New Mexico's Rio Grande Valley where they grow tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, apples and all kinds of specialty crops for restaurants and Farmers' Markets.

 

 

 

 

 

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