Introduction
Tomatoes have been cultivated around the world for centuries. The origin of tomatoes is considered to be the western coast of South America, in present day Peru, where eight species in the tomato genus still grow wild in the Andes Mountains.
During those centuries of cultivation, tomato seeds were saved year after year for next year's crop, allowing the farmer or gardener to choose tomato seeds from plants with particular qualities. For example, seeds were saved from plants that produced an especially good aroma, texture or flavor.
Plants, by nature, are very adaptable. They reproduce their species year after year, but sometimes with a slight natural change, such as fruit-set a day or two earlier. This could be viewed as nature's way of assuring survival. Those plants which do not adapt to their growing conditions will die out. Those plants that do adapt new traits in order to survive their growing conditions will begin to increase in number. And the new trait can be counted on to reproduce in the majority of the offspring year.
Grocery Store Tomatoes
When the United States agricultural boom occured it brought with it centralized agricultural. Large corporate farms growing food on thousands of acres instead a dozen or few hundred. Agribusiness - as these corporate farms are collectively known - uses mechanized harvesting and packing, and ships food over long distances. Every tomato [1] raised by the agribusiness model must survive the rough handling and the time it takes to get it from the field onto the consumer's dinner plate.
But what makes tomatoes so appealing: vine-ripened, thin tender skin, loaded with enzymes (which also means they break down quickly after harvest), plump juiciness; is the opposite of what agribusiness needed. Corporate agribusiness needed tough skins, drier fruits, and fruits with a long shelf life.
Agribusiness turned to hybridization in order to create the new traits as fast as possible. Hybridization crosses two parent plants to create offspring with new traits. However, seed from the offspring will go back to one of the parent plants, rather than re-creating the hybrid. Meaning, gardeners and farmers had to re-purchase their seed from the company that hybridized them. The 'new hybrids' may have seemed exciting at first, because some appeared to guarantee disease resistance and perfect fruits. But as the ages-old method of selecting better and better off-spring from open-pollinated seeds gave way to purchasing hybrids year after year. The decision of what would be available and grown commercially has become dependent upon what corporate agribusiness dictates.
While the new hybrids were a breakthrough for commercial growers the qualities that make tomatoes so delectable were sacrificed for the more necessary traits related to transportation and storage.
What Is An Heirloom Tomato?
What is an heirloom tomato? All heirloom [2] tomatoes are open-pollinated, but not all open pollinated crops are heirlooms. According to Taylor's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables, a tomato [3]must meet these three criteria to be considered an heirloom variety:
- The variety must be 'true to type' from seed saved from each fruit,
- Seed must have been available for more than fifty years,
- The tomato variety must have a history or folklore of its own.
Heirloom Tomatoes and Diseases
According to Dr. Carolyn Male, heirloom tomato expert and author of 100 Heirloom Tomatoes, both hybrid and heirloom paste tomatoes can be susceptible to blossom end rot, and in both hybrids and heirlooms, the later maturing fruits tend to be more flavorful than the early ripening varieties. Like all tomatoes, infection with fusarium wilt, verticillum wilt, and root knot nematode needs to be dealt with. Good air circulation, healthy soil and plants, and clean growing conditions will help, and some of the potato-leafed heirlooms have better resistance to foliage-based diseases.
The Heirloom Tomato Appeal
Most agree that sheer variety and delightful texture, flavor, aroma and tenderness are the most direct and obvious advantages of growing heirlooms over commercial hybrids. Heirlooms come in ripened colors of purple, striped and even white! There are stuffers, old-fashioned beefsteaks, and even a tomato shaped like an accordion. Being part of history and the ongoing human march towards natural selection is another advantage many heirloom growers describe. Below is just a sampler of the hundreds of heirlooms currently available from the growing number of independent seed suppliers.
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Some say this bright green ripening tomato is more flavorful than those that ripen red! A family heirloom originating in Germany, it is a large beefsteak. The fruits can grow to one pound.
Big Rainbow
This heirloom was first preserved by members of the Seed Savers Exchange. The flavor is considered sweet and delicious. The giant fruits ripen up to two pounds! What's more, the color is striking when sliced: yellow flesh with crimson red streaks throughout.
Brandywine
This Amish heirloom from 1885 wins many taste tests, and is considered by many to be the superstar of all heirloom tomatoes. The fruits are large - up to a pound and a half each - and the flavor superb. Brandywine comes in a variety of ripening colors, from pink to gold to blackish purple, and the plants are potato-leafed.
Break O-Day
Here is an heirloom introduced in 1931 that offers uniform red fruits considered great for canning or marketing to outlets that need that smooth globe-shaped, bright red shape and color. Flavor is described as good and tangy. Dr. Carolyn Male, heirloom tomato expert and author of 100 Heirloom Tomatoes, describes it as a 'workhorse of a tomato.'
Cherokee Purple
Described as a 'Cherokee Indian heirloom,' by Jere Gettle, publisher of The Heirloom Gardener, this pre-1890s variety ripens to deep, dusky, purple-pink. It produces very flavorful large fruits.
English Rose
Since before World War II, English Rose had been handed down in the same family, generation after generation. Early for its large size, the ripe fruits are pink with excellent flavor. The plants are the potato leaf variety.
Galinas
This early heirloom comes from Siberia. The fruits are small, golden yellow, and a combination of both sweet and tangy. The vines are very vigorous and the yield is heavy.
Marmande
This lightly ribbed red tomato is an old French favorite. The flavor is considered very 'European,' full and rich. The fruits are medium to large, and will produce even in cool weather. The plants are considered productive, and are sometimes used as a market variety.
Old German
Considered one of the most exquisitely flavored heirlooms, this variety originated with the Mennonites. Fruits are large, and are yellow with brilliant red streaks, mottles and marbling that show both on the skin and within the flesh.
Orange Banana
Here is a great tomato for paste, drying or canning. A rare orange paste tomato, the fruits are sweet and fruity. They are also enjoyed fresh and make a pretty addition to specialty market tomatoes.
Pink Accordion
The mild-flavored fruits of this variety are slightly flat and heavily ribbed to look ruffled like an accordion. They make beautiful shapes when sliced. Because of their semi-hollow insides, they are good for stuffing.
Plum Lemon
From Moscow, the fruits of Plum Lemon are brilliant canary yellow. Fruits are about three inches long and resemble real lemons. They are sweet and good-flavored.
Principe Borghese
This is the Italian heirloom well known for its fruits, and high quality sun-drying ability. Fruits are grape-shaped, have very few seeds, delicious flavor, and are only one to two ounces. They grow abundantly in clusters, and are also successfully used for sauces and fresh eating.
Thai Pink Egg
Another grape-shaped tomato, this one was found to be very popular in Thailand. The fruits are bright pink, crisp, sweet, uniform and very full-flavored. Each fruit is about one ounce.
Tigerella Orange Slicing Tomato
Reddish-orange, small to medium tomatoes are striped with golden yellow and are described as having a very pleasing tangy flavor. Very productive vines produce huge disease resistant yields.
White Currant
This is a wild type producing huge yields of cherry tomatoes in clusters. The ripened fruit is creamy white with yellow-tinged skin. It is very sweet with well-loved flavor.
References
Mullins, D.E., "Old-Timey Tomatoes", Pensacola News Journal, January 2004, http://www.co.santa-rosa.fl.us/santa_rosa/extension/articles/oldtimeytomatoes021904.html, Last Accessed June 2004.
Male, C.J., et al, "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden", Workman Publishing 1999.