What are some good varieties of heirloom tomatoes?

Heirloom Tomatoes

Big Rainbow – One of dozens of large fruited yellow tomatoes with red swirls, having a mild, sweet flavor.

Hillbilly, is another. According to some sources, tomatoes of this color were never sold by American seed companies; their origin is not known.

Blaby Special – A red fruited cultivar grown in the village of Blaby in Leicestershire until just after World War II. It was the main tomato cultivar supplied through England during the war. The cultivar ceased to be cultivated when the Shoult's Tomato Farm was closed after the war. The cultivar was brought back into cultivation in 2006 as a result of a campaign by Russell Sharp of Lancaster University. It may have resulted from either a mutation or cross-breed of an older cultivar known as Anwell.

Black Krim – A dark red to brown cultivar often cited online as being from from the "island of Krim" in the Black Sea. It is likely that this is a translation error, since there is no island of Krim, and the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea is known in Ukrainian as Krim.

Brandywine – A wide ranging family of heirloom tomatoes, from yellow to dark purple. Fruits are large, often a pound or more.

Cherokee Purple – One of the very first known "black", or deep dusky rose colored cultivars that are becoming so popular. Named in 1990 by Craig LeHoullier, who received seeds of an unnamed cultivar in the mail from J. D. Green of Tennessee. Mr. Green indicated that the "purple" tomato cultivar was given by the Cherokee Indians to his neighbor "100 years ago".

Jubilee – A heavy yielding, golden fruit. Released by Burpee Seed Co. in 1943.

Mortgage Lifter – One of the more famous heirlooms due to its fanciful history, described in great detail in the catalog of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange company. The enormous pink tomatoes are sweet and tasty.

Traveler – An open pollinated pink tomato in the 6 ounce range. Another cultivar commonly referred to as an heirloom and just as often erroneously listed as "Arkansas Traveler". Released by the University of Arkansas in 1970.

See Related Links

See the Related Links for "Seed Savers Exchange" to the bottom for the answer. This is the non - profit American Seed Savers Exchange where you can obtain many heirlooms, and their descriptions as well. Most countries have some similar organization dedicated to preventing these varieties disappearing from our gardens.

First answer by Ksmail. Last edit by Grevillea. Contributor trust: 1168 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 49 [recommend question]