If you’re looking for a tomato plant that:
- withstands soil borne plant diseases
- improves plant production and boosts overall health and vitality
- substantially increases yield
- increases length of the harvest season
- decreases and eliminates dependence on pesticides
Then you’ve come to the right place.
Hi, I’m Sarah and welcome to my site on tomato heirlooms and other organic tomatoes.
What is an Heirloom Tomato ?
An heirloom tomato is usually considered a tomato plant variety that’s been passed down through several generations, hence the term “heirloom.” Because of its valued characteristics, these tomatoes have become very popular in the past few years and proved very important for commercial purposes.
The first known use of the word “heirloom” in plants was by a professor of the University of New Hampshire, William Hepler who used it to describe some beans that his friend gave him back in the 1940s.
Organic tomato heirloom plants can be classified into 4 categories:
- Family Heirlooms are tomato seeds passed down from several generations of a family.
- Commercial Heirlooms are the open-pollinated varieties of tomato heirloom plants that were introduced before the 1940s.
- Created Heirlooms are a result of a cross pollination between two known parent tomato plants. These can either be two types of heirloom tomatoes or one heirloom crossed with a hybrid. Then these crosses are dehybridized for many years or generations (usually at least 8 years) in order to eliminate the undesirable characteristics of the resulting crosses while stabilizing the desired ones.
- Mystery Heirlooms are the result of a cross pollination among different heirloom tomato varieties.
Different Types of an Heirloom Tomato Plant
Here I will share with you some 10 common types of organic tomato heirloom plants. Heirloom tomato types can be present up to hundreds.
Brandywine – is an Amish variety of heirloom tomato since 1885 that’s dubbed “the superstar of all heirloom tomatoes.” The fruits are large, with up to a pound and a half in weight. Superbly flavored, brandywine is potato-leafed with ripe ones ranging in colors from pink, gold, or blackish purple.
Marmande – is the favorite of the French that’s lightly ribbed and red. The flavor of this heirloom type is full, rich and considered “very European.” This type can produce fruits even during cool weather. Fruits yield can range from medium to large sizes. This is considered a productive type and used popularly as a market variety.
Principe Borghese – is the Italian heirloom variety well-known for the fruit’s extremely high quality in terms of sun drying ability. The fruits have delicious flavors and are grape in shape, with very few seeds. Principe Borghese varieties only weigh 1-2 ounces. They abundantly grow in clusters and commonly used in sauces or eaten fresh.
English Generation – is an heirloom type that’s been handed down since pre-World War II. This has a large fruit size with a pinkish color when ripe. This excellently flavored heirloom is also of a potato leaf variety.
Orange Banana – is an heirloom tomato variety greatly used in paste, drying, or canning. The fruits are colored orange and are sweet and fruity in taste. They are popular as market varieties and enjoyed when eaten fresh.
Big Rainbow – is an heirloom variety first preserved by members of the Seed Savers Exchange. The flavor of this plant is sweet and delicious with ripe fruits reaching up to 2 pounds in weight. When sliced, the fruit produces a startling combination of yellow colored flesh with red streaks of crimson throughout.
Thai Pink Egg – this is another heirloom tomato that’s grape in shape and weighs an ounce each. As the name suggests, this is very popular in Thailand. The fruits of this type are bright pink in color, crisp, and very full-flavored, sweet-tasting tomatoes.
Pink Accordion – this type of heirloom is mildly flavored with a slightly flat, heavily ribbed look like an accordion. When sliced this heirloom tomato variety produces beautiful shapes because of the semi-hollow structure inside.
Galinas – is an heirloom variety coming from Siberia. The fruits can yield small sizes with golden yellow colors. The taste is a combination of sweet and tangy. With vigorous vines, galinas varieties yield productive tomatoes.
Plum Lemon – an heirloom variety from Moscow that produces fruits with brilliant canary yellow color, this type reaches about 3 inches in length. The fruits also resemble real lemons, are sweet tasting and good-flavored.
Growing Organic Heirloom Tomatoes: The Magic Revealed
Now, I will share with you an extremely valuable info on successfully growing tomato heirlooms and other organic tomatoes. I am recommending The 3 Secrets to Growing Incredible Tomatoes. I’m amazed at how useful this has really become. I thought I would just search on how to successfully grow tomatoes and learn more about heirlooms and I would be able to grow my own tomato heirloom plants well. But no. Good thing I came across this because you will really learn a lot from this product, I swear. Now I’m enjoying as I learn more about growing different varieties of tomatoes with heavy yield. I guarantee you won’t regret this.