Show us your heirloom tomatoes

How do you identify heirloom tomatoes?
What's the difference between hybrid and heirloom tomatoes?
Why are heirloom tomatoes illegal?
What is the difference between heirloom tomatoes and regular tomatoes?
What is the most flavorful tomato?
What does an heirloom tomato taste like?
Why is it called heirloom tomato?
Do Heirloom Tomatoes need full sun?
Are heirloom tomatoes healthier?
Why is it illegal to save seeds?
What is the most expensive tomato?
Do heirloom tomatoes come back every year?

How do you identify heirloom tomatoes?

Heirlooms usually haven't been hybridized for qualities that include shelf life, color and uniform appearance. They are often "ugly" with deep cracks and bumps. The colors are variegated and range from deep browns and purples to light yellows, pinks and everything in between.

What's the difference between hybrid and heirloom tomatoes?

While hybrid plants typically yield fruit that is uniform in appearance (like what you'd see at the supermarket), heirloom vegetables produce a harvest that can be mixed, and may produce less predictably. Fruit size can vary greatly, even on the same plant.

Why are heirloom tomatoes illegal?

Patented genes travel in pollen, creating seeds that can remain viable for up to ten years. If a farmer's fields contain the patented seed, and he has not purchased it, it's illegal to harvest them. He also cannot save the seeds for future crops.

What is the difference between heirloom tomatoes and regular tomatoes?

Heirloom tomatoes are varieties that have been grown without crossbreeding for 40 or more years. This is in contrast to the typical supermarket tomatoes, which are hybrids that have been carefully crossbred to have particular characteristics.

What is the most flavorful tomato?

The Roma Grape (also called Juliet) tomato is a bit larger and has lots of uses. For rich, balanced flavor try Bonnie Original, Big Beef, Red Beefsteak heirloom, Better Boy, flavor favorite Cherokee Purple, and any All America Winner. Full-size tomatoes with sweet or low-acid characteristics include Lemon Boy, Mr.

What does an heirloom tomato taste like?

While often referred to as “black” tomatoes, most of these heirloom tomato varieties are more of a maroon or purple-brown color. Black tomatoes tend to have an earthy, almost smoky sweetness to them, with a bit less acid than red tomatoes. The flavor profile is often referred to as “smoky, complex and wine-like”.

Why is it called heirloom tomato?

The seeds are what make an heirloom tomato an heirloom tomato. They are passed down from season to season, taken by the farmers from the tomato plants that produced the best fruit. ... Heirloom tomatoes are also often open-pollinated, which means that they are pollinated naturally, by birds, insects, wind, or human hands.

Do Heirloom Tomatoes need full sun?

Light. When it comes to sunlight, heirloom tomatoes are one of the hungriest plants out there, along with plants like sunflowers or corn. These are plants that need full, direct sunlight all day long.

Are heirloom tomatoes healthier?

Health Benefits

Heirloom tomatoes contain lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. Lycopene has also been shown to protect the skin from harmful UV rays. Lycopene may also help relieve the oxidative stress of people who already have diabetes.

Why is it illegal to save seeds?

Farmers who choose to grow genetically modified (GM, or GMO) seed sign a contract stating that they will not save their seed to grow next year. GMO seed is protected under intellectual property laws. To save this seed to plant again the next year will violate a contract and is illegal under Intellectual Property law.

What is the most expensive tomato?

These lovely little red ruby cherry tomatoes (tomate cerise) from my Place Monge market cost 9 EUROS!!!!! That's about $12 give or take a dollar....

Do heirloom tomatoes come back every year?

Do I have to replant tomatoes every year, or do the plants come back when the time is right? Tomatoes are annuals that are killed by frost. They need to be replanted each year.