Tomato

Tomato: Graham’s Tom Thumb

Seed Story: Graham’s Tom Thumb is a delicious thin-skinned cherry tomato with a of Welsh history. We received the seed originally from Adam Alexander, the Seed Detective, who had been given the seed by a grower in Cardiff who’d been growing and saving the seed since the 1970s. He in turn had received seed from his neighbour who’d been growing it for at least 40 years previously! We’re looking at a century of successful Welsh cultivation!

Graham’s Tom Thumb produces incredible double trusses with a couple dozen fruit.

Tomato: Darby Striped

Tomato: Lulu’s Best Ever

Seed Story: This Tomato really is the best ever beef steak tomato! The taste is incredible and they have few seeds around the edge of the tomato, meaning you have pure flesh to eat without lots of seeds and gloop. Great for salads, fermenting and cooking.

Peni was given a seedling of this tomato from a close family friend  called Lulu. Peni was very reluctant to have yet another tomato plant that April but was told they were the best ever. To Peni’s surprise they really were the best ever, Peni grew them for three years before now growing and selling them as a seed crop, Peni named them Lulu’s best ever. They originally seeds came from a lady in Serbia who gave them to Lulu through her son the plumber. The last was crippled but still grew this wonderful tomato and prepared the seeds. 

Lolu herself is very happy that Peni has grown them for the seed as she didn’t save any seeds as she had a crop failure due to some one over watering, and the old Serbian woman has now passed away, so Peni has kept this heritage variety alive

Tomato: Irish Gardeners’ Delight

Tomato: Gardeners’ Ecstasy

Seed Story: This particular variety was bred in Pembrokeshire by the the fantastic Tony Haigh. Tony lived at the Brithdir Mawr Community where I was lucky enough to stay for long enough to learn his best tomato growing secrets. Tony himself was not a commercial grower, but he was the ‘God of Growing’ at the Community, with much of his time spent teaching us lesser mortals how to grow copious amounts of fantastic veg in the often inhospitable Welsh climate! We had a pretty regular turnover of residents at Brithdir as well as literally hundreds of volunteers in the near on 20 years Tony was there, so who knows how many people now grow great tomatoes because of him. He was a passionate Welsh speaker and was really pleased that his own variety of tomatoes were going to be sold through the Wales Seed Hub. As a cherry tomato, they’re great in salads, pic-nics and lunch boxes, and also roasted with a pinch of salt and a shake of balsamic vinegar. If you’re already a fan of the much loved and easy to grow ‘Gardener’s Delight’, give these ones a try and you’ll soon know why they were named ‘Gardener’s Ecstasy’!

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Tomato: Peacevine cherry

Tomato: Black Cherry

Tomato: Ailsa Craig

Seed Story: An old variety that has stood the test of time. Grown undercover (or outside in favoured spots), it crops reliably, producing rich red medium-sized juicy fruit which ripen early and are famed for their flavour – tangy yet with the right level of sweetness. The plants are indeterminate (cordons), needing stakes or strings for support. The variety was bred in Scotland in the early 1900s – Ailsa Craig is an island in the Firth of Forth – and has remained a garden favourite ever since.

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Why not save your own seeds!? All our seeds are open pollinated, non-hybrid varieties.
See our seed saving guidelines here: Save Your Own Seeds

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Growing instructions – Tomatoes

Because of our cool, short summers, all tomatoes need starting early, so they’ll have a chance to ripen before the weather gets too cold for them.  Sow them in modules or a seed tray with some seed compost any time between mid Feb and the end of March.  Keep them in a propagator between 18 to 22 degrees, then, once germinated (usually within 14 days), move them somewhere nice and light to stop them getting thin and leggy, but still indoors where it’s warm.  Pot them on when they get a bit bigger, then plant them out once the weather’s warmer – normally at the end of April, but this will depend on local conditions, and whether they’re going in a greenhouse, or outside.  Dig in plenty of organic matter initially, and feed and water regularly throughout the season.

Maintaining your plants will then depend on the type of tomato they are…

Vine / Indeterminate tomatoes grow tall (over 8ft if you let them) and skinny, so will need strong supports – either a very tall stake, or string.  We attach ours to an overhead line with string, and wind it round the plant as it grows.  They will require their side shoots ‘pinching out’ regularly throughout the season, concentrating the growth within the central, fruit producing stem, and you can also pinch out the top if they get too tall, which will also result in the fruit ripening quicker.  Fruit trusses are generally long, and the tomatoes will ripen slowly over the season, resulting in a long cropping period and a heavier crop for the amount of space the plant takes up.  

Bush / Determinate tomatoes only grow to about 3-4ft tall, but are wider and bushier.  They may not require supporting, unless heavily laden with fruit, nor should you pinch out any ‘side-shoots’, so are far less fuss.  Smaller varieties can even be grown in hanging baskets and left to trail over the sides.  Their side shoots are quite short, so they will fruit quicker, resulting in most of your tomatoes ripening in a much smaller space of time. 

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Seed grown using agroecological principles. We are licenced to sell seed and issue plant passports. Reg number: 7710.