Announcing “Top 10” Heirloom Tomatoes for 2014

Gary Ibsen, founder of TomatoFest® Heirloom Tomato Seeds, author of The Great Tomato Book, and grower of more than 600 varieties of certified organic, heirloom tomatoes, announces the “Top 10” favorite heirloom tomatoes for 2014:

Tomato Basket on Brown small

 

  1. Black Cherry (purple/black)
  2. Brandywine, Sudduth Strain (pink beefsteak)
  3. Chocolate Stripes (red/green striped)
  4. Blondkopfchen (yellow cherry)
  5. Black Krim (purple/black beefsteak)
  6. Brandywine, OTV (red beefsteak)
  7. Amana Orange (orange beefsteak)
  8. Azoychka (yellow/orange beefsteak)
  9. Delicious (red beefsteak)
  10. Dixie Golden Giant (yellow/orange beefsteak)

 

The “Top 10” heirloom tomatoes were selected from the top 10 most popular tomato varieties in 2013 from a TomatoFest customer base of more than 17,000 thousand home gardeners and tomato farmers.

“Our survey demonstrated soundly that consumers want the maximum of those “old fashioned” robust flavors in choosing what tomato varieties to grow in their home garden. The same with farmers growing for produce markets and restaurants. Taste reigns supreme,” says Ibsen. “And this is the essence of the continued popularity of heirloom tomatoes in America.”

The most popular tomato varieties continue to be the tomato varieties that offer that big burst of old-fashioned, complex, rich tomato flavors that provide a dependable acidic punch. The “heirloom tomato classics,” the old-time, favorite, red, pink and “black” beefsteak tomatoes, still provide the foundation of loyalty among tomato growers.

 

Up to 50% off on 300 favorite heirloom tomato varieties

This year our Annual Heirloom Tomato Seed Sale features 300 tomato varieties on sale, from our online tomato seed catalog of more than 600 certified organic, tomato varieties. (That’s almost 180 more tomato varieties on sale than in any previous year…50% of our tomato seed variety inventory on SALE.) Giving gardeners the opportunity to purchase their tomato seeds for the 2014 season at the lowest cost.  ( http://www.TomatoFest.com )

“The organic tomato seeds we have on sale are tomato varieties we recently harvested for the 2014 season. This year we added more items to our Annual Seed Sale than we have in the past simply because we harvested more seeds,” says Gary Ibsen, Founder of TomatoFest Heirloom Tomato Seeds.

“This is an opportunity we wanted to pass on to the growing number of folks who are choosing to grow more of their own food and are seeking opportunities to save money. We selected some of our most popular, and even rare heirloom tomato varieties for this sale pricing, most of them at $2 per pack of 30+ seeds. That’s up to a 50% savings from our regular price on most varieties.”

Now is The Perfect Time, at The Best Price, for gardeners to get their favorite tomato varieties and try some new tomato varieties for their own garden, or to provide the perfect gift for their favorite gardeners for the holidays.

Ibsen continued, “ We suggest that people take advantage of our tomato seed sale to acquire tomato seed for varieties they will want to grow, even if they do not have the space to grow them in 2014, because many of these varieties may not be on sale, or available in the future.” (Note: Tomato seeds will generally last 3-5 years if stored properly and the quality of TomatoFest Heirloom Tomato Seeds is guaranteed.)

“A collection of heirloom tomato seeds makes a perfect holiday gift for folks on a limited budget. Over the past few years we’ve seen more customers buying tomato seeds as ‘a gift of an abundant harvest’ for their favorite gardeners”, says Ibsen.

In the ‘spirit of gift giving’ TomatoFest continues to donate FREE tomato seeds to established community and educational non-profit organizations who share their harvest for others in need. School gardens, community gardens, urban gardens are invited to request free tomato seeds at (http://www.tomatofest.com/tomato-seed-donations.html).

Visit the TomatoFest Facebook Page

(https://www.facebook.com/pages/TomatoFest-Heirloom-Tomato-Seeds/178173712218025?ref=ts) and Like us for more updates and opportunities like these in the future!

 

[author][author_info]Gary Ibsen, author of The Great Tomato Book, founded TomatoFest Heirloom Tomato Seeds in 1991 and revitalized the appreciation and desire for heirloom tomatoes. Ibsen’s belief in sustainable, organic farming, seed saving and sharing seeds and the stories of their cultural histories, inspired him to grow heirloom tomato varieties for more than 30 years. For the 2013 season, he, and his partner, Dagma Lacey, grew more than 600 varieties of certified organic, heirloom tomatoes from seeds originally sourced from family farms around the world. Their personal, hands-on tomato production and seed harvest techniques ensure the highest quality seeds and help ensure that these precious heirloom tomato varieties will be sustained for years to come. In 2008 Ibsen retired from 18 years of producing the nationally celebrated Carmel TomatoFest event in Carmel, CA. to focus on their TomatoFest seed business. Through their TomatoFest Seed Donation Program, Gary and Dagma have donated heirloom tomato seeds to more than 380 non-profit, urban garden projects, school gardens, community outreach gardens around the U.S., India, Africa, Europe, and China. For additional information, visit: www.tomatofest.com/tomato-seed-donations.html[/author_info] [/author]

4 Comments

  • Elsie Reis

    Reply Reply December 2, 2013

    I would like to have your phone number as I do not order and pay on the internet. Thank you. My phone # is 608-483-2145.

    • Paul

      Reply Reply December 2, 2013

      Hi Elsie,

      I don’t believe that Gary takes orders over the phone but you could email him here: info [at] tomatofest.com

      Enjoy!

  • April

    Reply Reply December 14, 2014

    amazing ideas.. i love the way u make use of small places .. very creative

  • alkeenana

    Reply Reply December 19, 2014

    I never knew there was a contest for tomatos, they look great, its a shame that local stores are starting to sell GMO tomatos rather than organic.

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