Origins:
Although tomatoes originated in South America as a weed in fields of corn, they were domesticated in Mexico and Central America.
The name tomato comes from the word tomatl in the Anahuac language spoken by ancient Mexicans. The Spanish called them tomata. When they were taken to Europe by Colombus, they were suspected of being poisonous.
In a Vilmorin seed catalogue of 1760, they were featured as ornamentals and it took another century for them to be offered as a vegetable by the same seed house.
Its Italian name pomodoro ("golden apple") is evidence that yellow varieties predominated. They were called love apples in 19th century England.
Plant Description:
Determinate tomatoes are very productive but do not have a long bearing time. After one set of flowers appears at the end of a branch they stop producing more flowers. The fruits all ripen at about the same time.
The indeterminate type keeps on producing terminal buds and is therefore productive for longer and needs staking as it continues to grow. The fruits ripen in sequence, over a period of time.
Potentially perennial in warm climates, even indeterminate tomatoes are nearly always grown as annuals.
Variety Notes:
Lack of flavour in tomatoes is a very common complaint. Luckily some tasty ones are still being preserved by ardent gardeners. Of all the types of seeds sent to Seed Savers, tomatoes come in the most frequently.
Tomato colours range through yellow, orange, pink and red. Early types were quite uneven in shape and when the first famous smooth type was bred it was called Grosse Lisse, meaning "fat and smooth" in French.
Look for these varieties: Australian Large Red, Bendigo Smooth Large Red, Big Boy, Bonny Best, Burwood Prize, Earliana, King Humbert, Klondyke Red, Matchless, Orange Prolific, Peach, Ponderosa, Rutgers, Tatura Dwarf, Walker’s Recruit, Wilding’s Prolific.
Some of the more popular tomatoes sent to Seed Savers are:
Burbank, a famous variety bred by Luther Burbank and assessed by seed saver Linden Green as having fruit that is very even in size and shape, and as having a good flavour, juice content and texture. He says that this bush tomato survived a frost just nearby and that it produces a heavy crop that ripens simultaneously (determinate). A brilliant tomato.
Burwood Prize is a vigorous early maturing plant with heavy foliage (potato leaf style) and flattish globe-shaped, medium-sized scarlet fruit.
Pink Ponderosa is a massive indeterminate plant that needs staking, and has fleshy and pink fruits that reach 250 grams (eight ounces). Like a lot of other cooking tomatoes, it does not store well because it is soft.
Rouge de Marmande is a very early maturing, dwarf, compact grower with light green foliage that sets fruit in cooler conditions than most other varieties. Its fruits are flattish, ridged and medium to large.
White Beauty has fruits that change from green to white to pale yellow. They are not very easy to grow and are really only worth the effort for their novelty value.
Although unavailable commercially now, Manalucie has been grown by a subscriber from Rockhampton since the 1930's. It was then a popular winter tomato variety in south east Queensland.
The golf ball-sized yellow fruit grows on an indeterminate (rambling) vine which produces many continuous crops in cooler weather.
Mac Howe of Frankston writes:
“My brother and I were big tomato growers years ago. I grow only a few now in my garden, mostly Rouge de Marmande.
I started working with tomatoes when I was about eight years old and saw many varieties come and go.
I have kept the Tatinta that was grown after the war. It is a large dwarf, a heavy producer, thin skinned and with a flat shaped fruit. The leaves are inclined to fold and you would think there was something wrong with them. They like new ground, no pruning or staking. It was crossed with the Burwood Wonder, a round thin skinned tomato, and that one was called the Intermediate.
The way for a small grower to save seeds: pick when real ripe, dig out with a knife and spread on a sheet of paper in a line. Cut into strips, paper and all, when it comes time to plant.“
Des and Ada from the Atherton Tableland swear by Sioux tomato: "They were grown in western Queensland early this century, are resistant to lots of pest and diseases, and will bear fruit in our hot climate. You are welcome to the seeds."
Rutgers is also recommended for warm areas. It is determinate in growth habit and has globular, medium-sized bright red fruits.
At the time of writing there are more than two hundred varieties in Seed Savers.
