The Trusty Gardener-Planting Heirloom Tomato Seeds
Are You Craving Garden Grown Heirloom Tomatoes?
Welcome back, fellow gardeners. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Tomatoes. Ah, Tomatoes. It takes time. But it all starts with the seeds.
What I planted, however, are not just plain old tomatoes. They are heirlooms! The flavor can’t be beat. I encourage you to try them.
I have been writing articles on specific heirloom varieties, I have written 3 to date, with many more to follow. My latest article featured the Brandywine tomato, a very popular heirloom.
Recently, on March 20th, I planted the tomato seeds. I normally plant them around this date, which gives ample time for the plants to grow to a decent size by late May. Here in central NY State, late May is the target planting date for most garden vegetables, except cold-tolerant ones like onions, lettuce, kale, peas. etc., which can be planted in late April or early May.
Normally, I plant specific tomato varieties. Sometimes, however, I purchase blends, which gives a kind of surprise when planting. This year I found an heirloom blend on Amazon©. It is called Rainbow Deluxe Tomato Seeds, and is said to contain the following heirloom varieties:
Black Krim, Costoluto Genovese, Giant Belgium Pink, Giant German Johnson, Giant Old German, Chocolate Stripes, Cherokee Purple, French Marmande, Giant Mortgage Lifter, Roma, Giant Pink Oxheart, San Marzano, Ukrainian Purple, Amish Paste, Giant Mr. Stripey, Brandywine Red, Brandywine Yellow, Pineapple Tomato.
It will be fun to see which ones I end up with since I probably will only choose 8 or 10 plants from this grouping. This mixture is from Harley Seeds©, a company that sells seeds, most of which are mixtures. I wasn’t able to find a website, it seems they sell just on Amazon©.
In addition, I also planted Matt’s Wild Cherry, which I featured in a previous story. Finally, I am trying Black Sea Man, which is a Russian heirloom.
I did plant a few individual varieties including Costoluto, Cherokee Purple, and Brandywine, to ensure I have some of these even though they are included in the heirloom mix. As I said above, the mixture ends up being somewhat of a surprise.
Costoluto Genovese is an Italian paste-type tomato that I am trying this year. I have never grown these, and am planting them instead of San Marzano and Amish Paste. I am looking forward to trying these.
I used a Jiffy 12 greenhouse with 12 peat pellets. These are easy to use and work well. Just add water and seeds. They even include a plastic lid to retain moisture and to help keep the soil warm. Be sure to cover the seeds with a good potting soil according to the recommended seed planting depth, and water carefully using a spray bottle.
As always, keep in a warm place to enhance germination. As far as germination, warmth is your friend. Consistent warmth is the best.
Stay tuned.
