Description
- A bright red, pear-shaped heirloom with an American pedigree that goes back to Colonial times. Attractive and tasty, the 1-2" long fruits are delicious in salads or roasted in the oven. Indeterminate. This species produces small, tasty, red tomatoes that have a fun and unusual pear shape. The plant gives a lot of sweet fruits that are ideal for healthy snacking.
- For greenhouse crops, sow indoors January-April. A warm kitchen windowsill is all you need for starting these seeds. Sow thinly, 0.5cm (¼") deep, in a pot of compost. Water well and place in a warm position. A temperature of 15-20°C (60-68°F) is ideal. Keep moist. Seedlings usually appear in 7-14 days. Transplant to individual pots when 10-15cm (4-6") tall. Grow on in cooler, but not cold conditions. Plant out April to May to large pots, growing bags or greenhouse border.
- For outdoor crops, delay indoor sowing until March or April. Gradually accustom plants to outside conditions (avoid frosts), before planting out into warm, well-drained soil, 45cm (18") apart, when frosts are over. Harvest from August onwards.
- When the temperature no longer falls below 50F (10°C), the tomato plants can be planted out in the vegetable garden or greenhouse. Plant the plants in a warm and sheltered place and give them plenty of water, to rinse the soil well around the roots. The plants do not need much water during the rest of the cultivation. Let the soil around the plant first dry out, and then water them well. Watering too often gives the plants a lot of leaves, but few tomatoes.
- Viridis Hortus offers discounted postage costs for multiple purchases - you only pay one postage price regardless of the mix of varieties or quantities of packets you purchase per order UK only:
Cultivating: • When the temperature no longer falls below 50F (10°C), the tomato plants can be planted out in the vegetable garden or greenhouse. Plant the plants in a warm and sheltered place and give them plenty of water, to rinse the soil well around the roots. The plants do not need much water during the rest of the cultivation. Let the soil around the plant first dry out, and then water them well. Watering too often gives the plants a lot of leaves, but few tomatoes. • Tie the tomato plants onto a rope or put a stick nearby. Pull the side shoots off on a regular basis. By keeping one main stem, the plant has much more strength left over to make the tomatoes better and bigger. Make sure that the tomato plants have adequate nutrition by working extra fertilizer into the soil now and then. Once the first tomato branch blooms, it takes another 2 months before you can pick the first tomatoes. Six weeks before the end of cultivation, it's best to remove the head of the plant. This will make the fruits on the last branch much larger. • This is an indeterminate variety and best grown as a cordon (vine). • For best yields and size of fruit - stop at 6th truss if growing under protection (4th outside). • Whilst the best crops will be grown under protection, this variety can also be grown outside. Suitable for the vegetable garden, allotments and containers. Be prepared to water well and supplement feed with high-potash feed during season. Regular feeding is recommended.
