An heirloom tomato (also called heritage tomato in the UK) is an open-pollinated, non-hybrid

heirloom In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a Family Bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery. The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in En ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

. They are classified as family heirlooms, commercial heirlooms, mystery heirlooms, or created heirlooms. They usually have a shorter shelf life and are less disease resistant than hybrids. They are grown for various reasons: for food, historical interest, access to wider varieties, and by people who wish to save seeds from year to year, as well as for their taste.

Taste

Many heirloom tomatoes are sweeter and lack a genetic mutation that gives tomatoes a uniform red color at the cost of the fruit's taste. Varieties bearing that mutation which have been favored by industry since the 1940s - that is, tomatoes which are not heirlooms - feature fruits with lower levels of

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, ...

s and a decreased ability to make sugar within the fruit.

Cultivars

Heirloom tomato cultivars can be found in a wide variety of colors, shapes, flavors, and sizes. Some heirloom cultivars can be prone to cracking or lack disease resistance. As with most garden plants, cultivars can be acclimated over several gardening seasons to thrive in a geographical location through careful selection and

seed saving A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

. Some of the most famous examples include Aunt Ruby's German Green, Banana Legs, Big Rainbow,

Black Krim The Black Krim (also known as Black Crimea and Noire de Crimée) is an heirloom tomato originating from Crimea. The plant is open-pollinated, indeterminate, bearing 8 ounce flattened globe fruits that are dark reddish-purple to black with gre ...

Brandywine Brandywine may refer to: Food and drink *Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine *Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato Geographic locations Canada * Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia * Brandywine Mountain, British ...

Cherokee Purple Cherokee Purple is the name of an old variety of tomato that develops a fruit with a deep, dusky-rose color while maintaining a somewhat greenish hue near the stem when mature for eating. The deep crimson interior and clear skin combination give ...

, Chocolate Cherry, Costoluto Genovese, Garden Peach, Gardener's Delight,

Green Zebra Green Zebra is a tomato cultivar with characteristic dark green and yellow stripes. Newer variations blush reddish instead of yellow when ripe. It is more tart (described as 'spicy' and 'zingy') than a regular tomato, and it is an early cultivar ...

, Hawaiian Pineapple,

Hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas we ...

, Lollypop, Marglobe, Matt's Wild Cherry,

Mortgage Lifter Mortgage Lifter is the name given to a cultivar of tomato developed by Willam Estler of Barboursville, West Virginia, in 1922. He registered the name in 1932, several years before "Radiator Charlie" and his "Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter" ...

, Mr. Stripey, Neville Tomatoes,

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

, Pruden's Purple,

Red Currant Red currant is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Ribes rubrum'', a shrub native to western Europe and widely cultivated * ''Ribes sanguineum ''Ribes sanguineum'', the flowering currant, redflower currant, red-flowering curra ...

, San Marzano, Silvery Fir Tree, Three Sisters, and

Yellow Pear Pear tomato or teardrop tomato is the common name for any one in a group of indeterminate heirloom tomatoes. There are yellow, orange, and red varieties of this tomato; the yellow variety being most common. They are generally sweet, and ar ...

Seed collecting

Heirloom seeds "

breed true Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the ...

," unlike the seeds of hybridized plants. Both sides of the DNA in an heirloom variety come from a common stable cultivar. Heirloom tomato varieties are open pollinating, so cross-pollination can occur. Generally, tomatoes most likely to cross are those with potato leaves, double flowers (found on beefsteak types), or currant tomatoes. All of these should be kept at least apart. All other tomatoes should be kept at least apart to reduce the possibility of cross-pollination. Seed should be saved from tomatoes picked from several different plants throughout the growing season that are true to type to preserve genetic diversity. These seeds should be mixed at the end of the growing season. There are two main ways to save heirloom tomato seeds. The first method is to let the tomato ripen completely, even to the point of beginning to rot, and then remove the seeds with a spoon and spread them on a piece of cloth or paper to dry. Some people spread them out on a paper towel, let them dry, and then plant the paper towel and seeds together in potting or germinating soil. The second method to save tomato seeds using the fermentation process. The tomatoes are allowed to overripen and then cut to expose the seed cavities. The seeds are then scooped out and put into a container. The tomatoes need to be stirred one or more times per day for three or more days until the seed mixture is soupy. As fermentation occurs, some fungal growth will appear on top of the mixture, but that is normal. At the end of the fermentation process, the seed mixture is stirred, and the seeds dislodge from the gel and sink to the bottom of the container. Water is then poured into the mixture; the pulp and the bad seeds will rise to the top and flow over the side of the container, while the good seeds sink to the bottom. Once the water becomes clear strain the remaining seeds, then spread the seeds out to dry. Once the seeds are dry, mix the seeds together, breaking apart any that are stuck together, and put the seeds in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Seeds should be dated, labeled, and stored at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. Heirloom tomato seeds may be stored for up to ten years.

References

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External links

Discussion forums for tomato growers with special emphasis on heirloom varietiesSeed Savers Exchange: Seed bank and resource on heirloom varietiesBBC article: Return of the Blaby TomatoesThe West Virginia 63 TomatoThe case against heirloom tomatoes
at Scientific American Biodiversity

Taste

Cultivars

Seed collecting

See also

References

External links