2018 Tomato plant list
With the addition of ground cherries and tomatillos, another Birch Mountain beauty, and one different yellow tomato, this year’s list closely resembles last year’s sellout, and the price still remains $4.75 each.
Seeds are saved by friends or us, but most are ordered from reputable growers who are GMO-free and the majority are organic. We germinate them here in the greenhouse and transplant later into quart pots. We use organic potting mix exclusively. You too can save seed from these plants and be assured of growing an exact duplicate of that plant the following year.
As many varieties sell out quickly we are happy to set aside plants for you. It’s easy – list your choices on an email to carole@topmostherbfarm.com and pay when you pick up your order – mid June at the latest. We accept checks or cash but not plastic.
Red and Pink Slicers
Birch Mountain
This tomato belongs to Connecticut! It is rapidly becoming a favorite, thanks to the efforts of generations of hard-working Italian farmers who live on Birch Mountain in Bolton. Among many others, the names Fiano, Soma, Morra and Albasi are familiar to many, but Topmost owes credit to Ray Soma, who obtained the seeds from Bob Morra, who received seeds years ago from a cousin in Italy. These prolific plants produce meaty, blocky, delicious tomatoes in an abundance of fruits that serve equally well as fresh slicers or cooked in sauce. Taste some history! Try a Fiano da Avellino also (in the Paste Tomato group).
Box Car Willie
A mid-season prolific producer of smooth, large, beautiful fruits with marvelous taste. Initially bred in New Jersey and for some strange reason, named after the king of the hoboes.
Brandywine
Flavor is the reason this Amish heirloom from the 19th century remains available. Large, rich tasting fruit is borne on vigorous vines and is often irregularly shaped. It is sometimes subject to catfacing, a physiological disorder of bands of dry, dark lesions on the shoulders which are harmless.
Cosmonaut Volkov
This heirloom is an excellent Northeast variety from the Ukraine which has a sweet/tangy flavor and positively celestial taste that is always good, occasionally sublime. Being fairly early, expect heavy yields of large fruit. Named for Russian cosmonaut Vladislav Volkov, who perished on a return flight from Earth’s first space station, by a Russian space engineer who was an avid gardener.
Costoluto Fiorentino
From Florence Italy, these flattened and ribbed tomatoes have a concentrated flavor, making them suitable both for sauce and fresh slicing. Robust plants produce fruits with outstanding taste.
Ligurian Oxheart
This heart-shaped Italian tomato is revered by Italian farmers in the region of Liguria. It was awarded the designation “Heart of an Ox” in appreciation of its massive fruits, smooth skin and marvelous taste.