Smaller Plants for Containers

Black Prince ($4.95) F/C    (E) (SM) 70 days. One of the most intensely 'tomatoey' flavored heirlooms, rich and juicy, a smaller plant, very prolific, easy to grow, it loads up in only 70 days with clusters of gorgeous 6-8 oz. deep, dark mahogany-red fruits the color of rubies at midnight.

 

 

 

New for 2009!   Black Sea Man (4.95) 75 days (D) So many customers have gone wild over this tomato that I have decided to include it for 2009 as one of our premier varieties. A Russian tomato, the smallish determinate plants produce an enticing mahogany color fruit with olive green shoulders when mature.

Inside, the flesh is deep dark red with a beautiful hint of dark green and loaded with full-bodied, complex, intense, creamy tomato flavors.  Wonderful for medium sized (10 to 15 gallon) containers, Black Sea Man has entered the running for the best black tomato in the world.

 

 

 Dona ($4.95) (E)        75 days. This delightful French heirloom was carefully bred for discriminating French market customers, for whom great flavor and superb quality are mandatory. The bright red fruit is perfectly round and lovely with a sweet, juicy and slightly tangy aftertaste. The heavily producing plants yield 6 ounce fruits and shows very good disease resistance.  

 

 

Gardener's Delight (Aka Sugar Lump)($4.95) F/C  (VE) (SM) (Ch)   65 days. You'll get an amazingly heavy production of precious sparkling-red 1" cherry tomatoes, which are loaded with sugary sweet tomato flavor. A special treat for tomato fans of all ages for eating right from the vine or in salads if they ever make it into the house. Gardener's Delight is also called 'Sugar Lump' for a very good reason. 

 

 

 

   Gold Dust ($4.95) (VE) 60 days. This beautiful, delicious, meaty variety was developed at the University of New Hampshire produces the prettiest, yummiest 2" round tomatoes you've ever seen.  Early ripening and an abundant yield make this semi-determinate fruit a favorite for bountiful early tomatoes in your garden.

 

 

Green Grape ($5.25) 60 days. F/C (VE) (SM) These 1" by 1 ½" ripe fruits are yellow-green with an amber blush on the blossom end, and lovely translucent pale-green on the inside growing on a small yet very prolific plant. After tasting it again at TomatoFest this year I decided to include it on the list for 2008.  You will love it.

This compact plant was developed by Tom Wagner who crossed Yellow Pear with Evergreen. Its fruit has become wildly popular in restaurants and markets because of its unique and very elaborate flavor, a certain tanginess balanced with just the perfect touch of sweetness, stunning beauty and marvelous flavor--Green Grape really stands out as great choice for the discerning tomato maniac. 

 

 

 

Green Sausage ($4.95) (D) (VE) (SM) 65 days. Look at this gorgeous fruit! Easy to grow and early ripening, its resplendent shape, sparkling green and amber color and tantalizing taste have made Green Sausage one of the most sought after tomatoes this season and a huge favorite at Farmer's Markets. Another great one developed by my friend Tom Wagner who originally called it Green Sleeves, the very prolific Green Sausage is a small plant and produces an early, abundant harvest of 4" long fruits in clusters of 6 or 7 fruits. With flavor similar to Green Zebra but with a meatier flesh, it is tangy, rich, and juicy and sweet--just out of this world. This photograph was taken by my friend Cynthia Sandberg, grower extraordinaire and owner of Love Apple Farm in Ben Lomond, California. www.loveapplefarm.biz  

 

 

  Japanese Black Trifele (TRY-feluh) AKA Truffle Black ($5.25)      (SM) 80 days. Japanese Black Trifele, which translates to truffle, is a big juicy 6 -10 ounce pear-shaped, deep purple-black tomato with pretty green shoulders. In Russia the Trifele varieties of tomatoes--of which there are several colors--are highly prized and command high prices. Growing on a short potato-leafed plant, it's the size and shape of a Bartlett pear and among the darkest hued and finest flavored of the black tomatoes.

The skin is smooth and crack resistant and production is huge. Flavor is deep, chocolaty, smoky and rich, just wonderful. Took their picture and ate 'em.

 

 

Lemon Boy ($4.95) (H)       (E) 72 days. A perfect jewel. Lemon Boy is sunshine yellow, perfectly round and occasionally lemon-shaped, from 6-10 oz. with a rich satisfying flavor, bright, smooth, juicy, luscious and very prolific. Slightly tangy, low-acid, very sweet with lingering overtones of citrus. Bountiful on the vine, easy to grow, beautiful and all around winner--one of my top 5 favorite hybrids. So prolific, you will be giving fruit to your friends and neighbors.

 

 

 Lime Green Salad ($4.95) (VSM) (D)   (E)   52 days. This tomato has become one of my passions. I grew only one Lime Green Salad plant the first season and wish I'd grown 10.

This petite plant, about 18" to 20" tall--great for small containers like 2 to 5 gallons, or in your main garden, produces early abundant harvests of luscious tangy-sweet 3 to 4 oz. round lime-green tomatoes which literally burst with intricate, sweet refreshing citrusy flavors when you bite into them. The flesh inside is a gorgeous chartreuse, juicy...the flavor lingers. Unforgettable.  

 

 

 

Martino's Roma (D) ($4.95)  (P-S) (E) (SM) 75 days. This extremely prolific plant produces a huge yield--the fruit loads up in amazing quantities on a small 3 foot plant. Its yummy crop of  3" red pear-shaped Roma tomatoes that are great for cooking and sweet and luscious enough to enjoy fresh right out of your hand. Very meaty with few seeds, highly productive, marvelous for canning, and for your favorite tomato sauce recipe. The flavor intensifies exponentially during cooking.

 

 

 

 

Sophie's Choice ($4.95) 50 days. (D)  (VSM)  (EE)    

From Canada, this succulent family heirloom is unique among the super-early producing plants. The slightly flattened round red fruits are borne in clusters of 3, quite large for an early bearer, with firm-when-ripe great flavored fruits from 6 to 8 oz.  Sophie's Choice is a very small compact determinate plant.

This little shrub of a plant reaches about 18" tall and bears loads of delicious tomatoes. It tends to fall over with its heavy fruit burden, so be sure to give it some support. With its very high fruit production, tenacious growth habit and sweet refreshing taste, it's a fun and rewarding plant to grow. Very disease resistant, it is one tomato plant which requires more water than other varieties during early growth.

 

 

Sweet Baby Girl $4.95) (H)  (SM) (Ch)     (VE) 60 days. This vigorous little hybrid plant from Holland has long clusters of sweet, flavorful dark red 1 oz. cherry tomatoes, producing abundantly on small, compact yet indeterminate plants. Its easy-to-pick fruit is produced all season long. 

Sweet Baby Girl's long shelf-life, marvelous taste and disease resistance have made it a new favorite for fitting into smaller gardens and producing bountiful bunches of fruit right up until first frost in containers  and in the garden.

Kids of all ages love it. Right after shooting this photograph of some of the 150 tomatoes we picked on February 8th, my employees and I ate the fruits. Every single one.