Tomato Peruvianum

Description

The very long succession of ripe, darker-striped, pale green fruits have been described as having a "sweet" and "tomato-like" flavour, although a tasting committee here described the almost identical-sized medium to small fruits as having a kiwi fruit consistency with sweet but slightly cucumber flavour. A famous American tomato breeder maintains that it is better than many supermarket tomatoes! On trial here it appears to have more cold tolerance than typical tomatoes, and as another remarkable asset, it initially bears most attractive clusters of big yellow flowers, its bold display making it ideal in the flower garden! A rare, beautiful and exotic heirloom fruit , it is actually a wild Peruvian tomato from South America (mainly northern Chile to central Peru), and is not a domesticated species, but is collected and eaten from the wild in its native habitat. This super resilient plant contains a great diversity of genes which will undoubtedly be soon incorporated into the mainstream of tomato breeding. Indeed, we are finding some incredible, quite astonishingly-marked, quite sizeable, tasty, thick-skinned UNIQUE NEW! hybrids with our black tomatoes appearing amongst our seedlings this year, so do let us know if any super surprises turn up for you. Cordon

Sowing Advice

Cover seeds only slightly. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Containers are held in warm conditions until sprouts appear, which may take 3-10 days. Move sprouting plantings immediately to bright light conditions, eg a window. Inadequate light is a frequent cause of failure of young seedlings. Around time of last frost, set seedlings into pots. Remove side-shoots and support the plant. An amazing plant which is truly perennial, and in bright, warm conditions can fruit for 12 months!

Key Facts