Best Heirloom Tomatoes
Channel: ThreeDigitIQ
Date: 2012-06-14

Best Heirloom Tomatoes? What is an heirloom tomato? 

Botanikka ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/mnrsales

What is an heirloom tomato? It's basically a non-hybrid tomato. The tomatoes you find in your local grocery store are usually almost perfectly round, red and not grown locally. These are not heirloom tomatoes. Those are hybrid tomatoes grown specifically for supermarkets and mass consumption.

Heirloom tomatoes are usually odd shaped and not usually bright red. They can be many different colors and even color blends. I frequently find small selections available at local farmers markets.

Your typical heirloom will be denser and have less water and seeds than a standard hybrid. Therefore, the flavor is more concentrated and in most people's opinions (including my own), better tasting.

So, If heirlooms are better tasting, why don't supermarkets sell more of them?
By growing hybrids, farmers can select disease and bug resistant varieties. Also, hybrids are typically a smaller plant with higher yield. More fruit in less space with fewer problems. Also, hybrids have a thicker skin which makes them much easier to transport long distances without damaging the fruit.

Since most heirloom varieties are indeterminate, the plant can grow very large. 6 foot tall plants are not uncommon, so take this into consideration when growing heirlooms and selecting a proper trellis. 

As with other tomato varieties, plucking off the suckers will help your tomatoes grow larger.

The outside of an heirloom tomato does not grow evenly, so you may have overgrow spots or even splits. This is normal and does not indicate insects or a bad fruit.

The inside of an heirloom tomato can be a very different color from the outside. Orange, green, purple, black and pink are all normal colors for insides and/or outsides of heirloom tomatoes.

Since tomatoes ripen from the inside out, you can harvest them when you see the outside starting to change color. However, most growers prefer to wait an addition week or two after they see outside color changes.

A single hornworm can devour an entire tomato in a day and just two or three can completely destroy a plant in a week. You can easily pull them off your plant and discard of them.  I collect these caterpillars in a bucket and then feed them to the fish and ducks in the pond behind my house. 
To reduce the risk of invasive hornworms, you can put some whole supper hot peppers in a blender with some water, and blend. Then strain the water into a spray bottle and spray the leaves of your plants every few days. You can store your spray in the refrigerator for about a week. Be carefull not to get any on your skin or in your eyes.

If you are looking to obtain some heirloom tomato seeds and grow your own, just shop around. I buy my heirloom seeds from a guy out of Wisconsin known as Botanikka Seeds. The owner, Mr Ritter,  is nice and I have yet to be disappointed with any order. He sells packets of individual varieties. However, if you like surprises, he sells bags of mixed variety heirloom tomato seeds in quantities of 500 or 1000 on ebay, and he usually throws in a bonus at no extra cost. This will guarantee you have a random colorful selection come harvest time. I will leave a link to the Botanikka ebay store in the description of this video.
http://stores.ebay.com/mnrsales


As for eating heirloom tomatoes... They can be large and dense and are great for just about anything. In my house we enjoy a colorful caprice salad. Also thick sliced in a grilled cheese sandwich, or any sandwich for that matter, is incredible. A word of warning, once you eat an heirloom tomato, the store bought hybrids will no longer hold your interest.

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Thanks and happy growing.