Tomato: Ailsa Craig
The Ailsa Craig tomato is famed for its flavour, with just the right balance of sweetness and acidity combined. This is the tomato with the taste that many measure other varieties against.
Bright red, medium-sized, juicy fruits.
The indeterminate (cordon) plants can be grown undercover or outside in favoured spots and give early crops. Bred in Scotland in the early 1900s, this variety also does well in Wales.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Sue Stickland and volunteers at Newtown community
garden, mid Wales.
Approx 40 seeds per packet.
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.
Tomato: Darby Striped
An early/mid season red-yellow striped tomato. Produces generous trusses of mid-sized, round fruit. Thin skinned with excellent flavour, best grown under cover.
Stewarded by Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Chris Vernon on his One Planet smallholding in South Wales.
Approx 25 seeds per packet.
Tomato: Irish Gardeners’ Delight
Cherry tomato producing very long trusses of exceptionally sweet and tangy fruit. The fruit are on the small side but wonderfully glossy, bright red. Best grown under cover.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Chris Vernon on his One Planet smallholding in South Wales.
Approx 25 seeds per packet.
Tomato: Gardeners’ Ecstasy
This fantastic variety was bred in south west Wales by tomato grower extraordinaire Tony Haigh. A tall, vine tomato, it produces loads of beautifully sweet, zingy, cherry sizes fruits. Great in kids lunch boxes, or eaten straight off the vine.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Carolyn Moody on her One Planet smallholding in Pontyates, Wales.
Approx 25 seeds per packet.
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.
The tomatoes themselves are a ‘vine type’, so will get pretty tall if you let them, and will need stringing or staking, however they will grow and continue to set fruit throughout the summer and into the autumn, resulting in a really long cropping period. This particular variety is super prolific, so you’ll get hundreds of tomatoes over the season, with just the right balance of sweetness and zing. Start the seeds off with a bit of warmth at the end of Feb / beginning of March and pinch out the side shoots as they grow, confining the growth to the main stalk. They start ripening early, which is great for Wales as you’ll have already had most of the harvest before the chance of blight, and they can also be successfully grown outdoors in warmer areas. As a cherry tomato, they’re great in salads, pic-nics and lunch boxes, and also roasted with a bit of garlic, 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’!
Tomato: Peacevine cherry
As well as being sweet and delicious, these heritage cherry tomatoes contain a high level of Vitamin C. They are named ‘Peacevine’ on account of containing high levels of an amino acid which is associated with relieving anxiety.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Tilly Gomersall.
Approx 20 seeds per packet.
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
Seed grown using agroecological principles. We are licenced to sell seed and issue plant passports. Reg number: 7710.