Heirloom Tomato &ldquo;Super Sioux &rdquo; (50 Seeds) Great for Sandwiches, Salads, Slicing Growing your own vegetables can be fun and rewarding, bringing you a freshly picked harvest with little expense and only modest effort. Tomatoes are especially good choices, because their flavor improves greatly when they're allowed to mature on the plant. Heirloom tomatoes such as the "Super Sioux" variety (Solanum lycopersicum "Super Sioux") can be especially flavorful. The University of Nebraska developed and released a tomato plant called Sioux in 1944, the progenitor of the cultivar "Super Sioux," which was developed later by selecting plants that produced extra-large fruit. The plant grows as a vine, which is the typical growth habit of tomatoes. This variety is classified as an indeterminate plant because the vine continues getting taller as the season progresses, unlike determinate types that reach a particular height and then stop growing. "Super Sioux" produces its first ripe tomatoes about 70 days after planting, and continues yielding fruit throughout the summer and into early fall. "Super Sioux" tomatoes are bright red in color, usually between 2 and 4 inches in diameter and weigh 4 to 6 ounces each. The fruits have smooth skin and are thick-walled, with relatively small seed cavities. Their flavor is typical of an old-fashioned tomato, with sweetness mixed with an acidic "bite." They are versatile fruits and useful for fresh slicing, canning or making tomato sauce. Unlike some varieties, "Super Sioux" tolerates summer heat especially well, setting fruit even in extended dry spells. Their fruits also rarely crack during periods of uneven moisture, which is a common problem for some tomato cultivars. You can start "Super Sioux" tomato plants indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date, sowing 1 or 2 seeds in each peat pot or planting cell. Use sterile potting soil or a soil-less mix to minimize damping off, a fungal problem in young seedlings. In warm areas, you can direct-sow seeds once temperatures remain above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, choosing a site that receives full sun for most of the day. Plant seeds or seedlings 18 to 30 inches apart, in rows 3 or 4 feet apart. Plant seedlings deeply, since extra roots will develop on stems that are below the soil line. Adding calcium to each planting hole in the form of 1 tablespoon of ground lime, oyster shells or crushed eggshells can help prevent blossom end rot, a problem that delays fruit production. "Super Sioux" tomato plants do best with regular moisture, especially during the first few weeks after planting. Feeding the plants can also boost their growth and fruit production. Use a balanced, 10-10-10 formula diluted at the rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon every 3 or 4 weeks. Because they are tall, indeterminate plants, this variety needs a sturdy stake or a tomato cage for support. In late summer, you can cut back the top of the plant to help funnel its remaining energy into fruit production. Like all tomato plants, this variety grows as an annual but, because it's an open-pollinated heirloom, saving seeds and planting them the next spring will produce new "Super Sioux" plants.