Multi-Colored Tomatoes
Part
of The Zebra Collection
Yellow Zebra, Green
Zebra, Black Zebra, Valhalla, Blood Gulch and more Yellow Zebras.
Photograph courtesy of
Krystal Elser.
Big Rainbow
($4.95) 75 days.
(BB) Big it is...2 lbs. or
more, sweet and
voluptuous,
fruity, juicy, rich tri-colored tomato, dappled red, orange and yellow,
inside and out. Just enchanting. Big Rainbow is a best seller, and among my all-time
favorites. Heavy, juicy and gorgeous, growing singly or in pairs, it takes me 2 hands to pick. A prize worth
every luscious bite.
New for 2010!
Big Zebra
($4.95) 85 days.
(B)
This spectacular fruit is the largest of the Zebras. Weighing up to 2
pounds, the ripe fruits are orangey-red and green on the outside and dazzling
green and pink on the inside. Growing abundantly on a huge plant, these
tomatoes are absolutely loaded with deliciously robust flavors. A real
show-stopper when ripening the colorful fruits of Big Zebra will astonish
passers by and become a showpiece in your garden.
Black Zebra
($4.95)
80 days. This stunning,
perfectly round 1½" to 2" fruits with tender, deep dark red to caramel colored skin beneath vertical
dark green and mahogany streaks is the favorite tomato of Amazing Terry.
Black Zebra has opulent, rich
flavor with hints of smoke and sweetness, a big favorite around here which
somehow disappear mysteriously from the plants as soon as they ripen.
New for 2010!
Blood Gulch ($5.95)
85
to 90 days.
Wow! This tomato is my new favorite. Cut into
this magnificent fruit to reveal the deepest, darkest, blood-red flesh I've ever
seen in a tomato. Decadent and delicious!
A deep reddish-purple with
luminescent green streaking, this 2 to 3 ounce fruit is an offspring of a pure
platinum-silver tomato with darker silver stripes. This beautifully
bizarre and stunning tomato is descended from that silver tomato discovered by
Krystal Elser in a patch of Black Zebras. Krystal saved 8 seeds, 2
germinated. Grown out and stabilized, two delightful varieties resulted from
that silver pearlescent fruit. Blood Gulch and Valhalla , also available this
season. This is how a lot of the heirlooms came about. Mother Nature at her
best! Blood Gulch was named after The Blood Gulch Chronicles as Krystal is a
Halo fan.
A Laurel's exclusive.
This photograph of Blood Gulch is the property of
Krystal Elser or Elser's Country Farms and
used here with her very kind permission.
www.elserscountryfarm.com
Chocolate Stripes (5.25) 78 days.
This big beautiful yummy 4" fruit was among the top 3 favorites at TomatoFest
2007. A stunning mahogany with swirls of deep olive-green inside and out,
similar to Black Zebra,
and a flavor
that stands up to the best of the blacks.
Smokey, rich, earthy and sweet, with a silken texture, Chocolate Stripes is
taking the tomato world by storm. Growing on a really big plant and standing up
to cooler weather, it continues to produce well into fall.
Green Zebra ($4.95)
(E)
72
days. Visually enchanting, abundantly productive, this 2-inch round fruit ripens
to a beautiful amber gold with dark green zebra-like stripes over the amber
background. Inside, the flesh is beautiful, sparkling green. Another wonderful
variety from Tom Wagner, it is gorgeous to behold, tangy and deeply sweet with
lingering flavors, like fine wine. This exquisite tomato was chosen by
chef extraordinaire, Alice Waters, for her restaurant, Chez Panisse in Berkeley,
California. In my top 5.
Dagma's
Perfection ($4.95)
(E)
72 days. As
described by Gary Ibsen, renowned tomato expert, gourmet, author, connoisseur,
and owner of Carmel TomatoFest, who named this extraordinary tomato for his lady
love. "This
vigorous and abundant plant offers a
bountiful harvest of medium-sized, 3" 12 oz., light yellow beefsteak fruits with
beautifully delicate red striping. Deliciously flavorful with lingering sweet overtones of
tropical fruit and subtle hints of lime, it is firm, juicy and elegant in the
mouth. An enchanting tomato...delightful and jewel-like, just
marvelous. "
Dagma's
Perfection is a best seller.
Hillbilly
($4.95)
(BB)
(E)
78
days. This old time heirloom from the hills of West Virginia, growing to 2
lbs., has stunning yellow and red dappled skin with sunset-hued rainbow
stripes inside; makes gorgeous slices. Very sweet. Another top vote getter at
TomatoFest in Carmel, California. This one has sold out early every year.
Flammée (
Flah MAY) AKA
Jaune Flammée (Zsahn FLamme, Zs-pronounced as in Zsa Zsa)($4.95)
(E) 70 days. Very
prolific and stunningly beautiful, Flammé is an unforgettable tomato. Intensely orange with a reddish blush on the blossom end, these flame-colored 2 ounce globes
have a rich, tangy
and exciting flavor that literally bursts in your mouth. Cut open to reveal a
deep red interior, this fruit reminds me of a blood orange with its spectacular
contrasting colors. Fruits of Flammé appear to glow on the vine against a backdrop
of deep green foliage. Just marvelous.
Laurel's
California Gold
($4.95) 80 days.
This very sweet, delicious new
variety arose in my garden in the summer of 2001. I walked out to the garden one
golden summer morning, saw the fruit and yelled "You're yellow!"
This is one of the best tasting fruits I've ever had. Fruity, sweet with
tropical overtones, it's among my favorites.
We expected it to ripen deep pink from a
Brandywine-Cherokee Purple cross called 'Brandokee',
developed by Keith Mueller, but from one of the plants
we got this magnificent yellow-golden fruit with pink streaking here and there
and a winsome blush on the blossom
end. I took one bite and was hooked.
Sweet as it can be with
just a touch of tang,
Laurel's California Gold is juicy and rich with a tender skin and rich, fruity,
tropical flavor. Weighing from 12 to 16 ounces it measures about 4" across. It
was first nicknamed 'Blondokee' by Keith, after my hair
color and its parent plants. I asked Amazing Terry to give it a
permanent name; he decided
on 'Laurel's California Gold'...(garsh). Growing on a big hearty-vined
regular-leaf plant, it really is very sweet and satisfying--a beautiful,
delicious tomato!
Marvel Striped
($4.95) (B)
(E)
75
days. This big splendid heirloom variety has become a gardeners' favorite among
the bicolored tomatoes because of its beauty, size, and taste. Gorgeous
yellow-orange fruits are streaked with stunning ruby red and have a sweet,
fruity taste that is absolutely delicious. Tomatoes weigh about 1 lb., although
they often grow to 2 lbs. or even more. Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, its
large harvests on vigorous vines make
Marvel Striped a garden staple.
Berkeley Tie Dye ($6.25) 80 days. This rare and wild
exotic fruit with big bold luscious flavors looks just like its name implies
-- with spectacular streaks and swirls of green and yellow and red and orange
and green dappling inside and out. From 8 to 12 ounces, Berkeley Tie Dye is
another fabulous variety from tomato breeder Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms here
in California.
A portion of the proceeds of Berkeley
Tie Dye will be donated to TACA, Talk About Curing Autism in the names of two
very winsome young fellows.
Northern
Lights
($4.95) (VE)
60
days. An absolutely striking tomato. This big,
heavy 4-5", 10 oz. gorgeous yellow-orange beefsteak, with
a red blush on the blossom end and spectacular red patterning in the center, is reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis,
or Northern Lights, for which it is named.
The flavor is sweet, intense, tangy and luscious. This marvelous tomato, only about 60
to 65 days from plant out until ripe fruit, bears beautiful tomatoes right through the cold
weather up until the first frost.
Striped German ($4.95) 80 days. Wow. I can't say enough about this
tomato. Its bold yet nuanced tropical flavor, sweetness, fragrance and creamy
juicy nectar have blown me away time and again. When I have one in front of me,
ready to slice it open, I experience a feeling of anticipation that can
only be described as, well...passionate. These startlingly beautiful 1 to 2 lb.
tomatoes are sparkling shades of red-yellow-pink-peach, a veritable rainbow in
your hand. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.
New for 2010!
Valhalla
($5.95)
85 to 90 days.
This rare and gorgeous deep pink and yellow
zebra-striped fruit arose a few years ago in the garden of Krystal Elser of
Elser's Country farm. Descended from a pure silver tomato with darker
silver streaks found in a patch of Black Zebras, its stunning pearlescent hues
give way to elaborate flavors with sweet citrusy notes and a background of
melon. Marvelous! Its sister fruit, Blood Gulch, is deep reddish-purple with
green streaking and is also new for 2010. Bountiful on the vine, Valhalla
will give you loads of 2" fruits and produce up until frost. Truly a delightful
new variety for your heirloom garden.
A Laurel's exclusive.
This photograph of Valhalla is the property of
Krystal Elser of Elser's Country Farms and
used here with her very kind permission.
www.elserscountryfarm.com
Vintage Wine ($5.25) 85 days. A gorgeous deep
pink tomato with golden streaks, Vintage Wine is a stunning, pastel hued, 1 lb.
tomato with elaborate, elegant, sweet delicious flavors. Growing on tall
potato-leaf plants, this very prolific and exquisite tomato is for the
discerning tomato lover. Producing loads of scrumptious fruit, Vintage Wine will
be a
spectacular addition to your garden. Another fine selection from Tom
Wagner.
New for 2010!
Yellow Zebra
($5.25)
72 days. Look
at this fruit! This dazzling tomato was such a surprise for me this summer
during my tomato tastings.
I saw it relaxing on the table there and
hollered "Hey there, who are you?!"
I found it a local farmer's market and one bite
convinced me to include it this year. The tantalizing appearance just blew me
away. Its bright zingy flavors have a perfectly balanced sweetness with plenty
of juice. High productivity, long shelf life and incredible beauty make Yellow
Zebra more than a new discovery. It's a new favorite! The same size and
shape of Green Zebra, bigger than a gold ball, smaller than a handball.
Fabulous!
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varieties