Heirloom Tomatoes
“These tomatoes are really something special,”
a customer stated one early evening at the Los Altos farmer’s market,
“I can tell they're grown with love,” she says as she picks out her favorite varieties.
As the days grow shorter, and our tomato harvest season nearing its end, we are called to slow down and truly appreciate ever last mouthful of the juicy, delicious summer season with our heirloom tomato varieties. It’s hard to do this when we are swimming in boxes and boxes of our heirloom tomatoes packed, stacked, and ready to fly out the door on our delivery trucks!
Heirloom tomatoes are usually a tricky crop to grow, but after 3 years of growing them here, we’ve finally dialed into knowing which varieties do well in our growing region, and most importantly, are delicious enough to keep our customers coming back for more!
So, why do we work so hard to grow heirloom tomatoes?
Unlike a classic beefsteak tomato, heirloom varieties tend to be sweeter and more complex in flavor, in addition they are harder to transport and store. As your farm, right here in Santa Clara County, we are excited to share 7 different heirloom varieties with you this year.
What are some of your favorite varieties of heirloom tomatoes
that you would like us to try to grow next year? Let us know!
1. Green Zebra
With its gorgeous green striped coloring the Green Zebra adds a beautiful touch of green to any plate. With hints of cucumber and green apple these tomatoes have a subtle sour and tart flavor.
2. Sicilian
This is a smaller variety of heirloom tomato and is the most symmetrical and bright in color making it pleasing to the eye. However, this tomato variety has a slightly less complex, and subtle flavor.
3. Kellogg’s Breakfast
The perfect words to describe the taste of this tomato is “a juicy melon.” These tomatoes are large in size and so fruity you won’t even crave dessert after dinner!
4. Purple Cherokee
These tomatoes have a gorgeous contrast of wine colored hues with dark green shading. Their flavor will remind you of enjoying bing cherries during the early summer.
5. Marvel
The name says it all! These bright pink and orange tomatoes are marvelous in flavor with its bright, tropical notes of pineapple and citrus. They also have a gorgeous pink and yellow coloring on the inside adding a swirl of color to your summer salads.
6. Oxhearts
Earthy and hearty in flavor these tomatoes are reminiscent of a well-finished steak. They are pear shaped and smaller in size and are beautiful when cut down the middle and served with a little salt and herbs.
7. Pink Brandywine
This rosy pink tomato is the perfect slicing tomato for its large size and superb flavor. These will go great on your lunchtime sandwiches!
Lastly, a big thanks to Vickie, a valued farmer’s market customer, who shared this intriguing tomato pie recipe with our readers! We are so excited to try this recipe, post your photos of your tomato creations and tag us on social media @spadeandplow.
