Heirloom Gardening

Heirloom tomato plants come in many several shapes and colors, from the yellow pear to pumpkin shaped tomatoes that range in color from green to a dark red.

 Heirloom tomatoes have one distinctive advantage over hybrid tomatoes, the taste. Hybrid tomatoes are developed by companies to withstand long trips from the field to the grocery and they are manufactured to keep their bright red color. The flavor is sacrificed in the harvesting process because the tomato is picked green not allowing it to be ripened on the vine.

 Here are a few heirloom tomato varieties:

1. beefsteak heirloom tomato – a large meaty tomato with a distinct sweet flavor
2. Amish paste tomato – a meaty and full of juice tomato that is used frequently for sauces and pastes
3. German Green tomato – sweet tasting tomato that stays green
4. Black tomato – found in Europe and America has blackish, purple color with streaks of green
5. black Krim tomato – originally from Russia is chocolate colored
6. Brandywine tomato – wonderful flavor in this large pink colored tomato

 

This is just a few of hundreds of varieties of heirloom tomatoes!