SWEET PEA CURRANT TOMATO SEEDS

Solanum pimpinellifolium

True current tomatoes are teeny tiny and produced in long trusses on plants with teeny tiny leaves all along long prostrate branches. The wild species is native to Peru and was long gathered for food by indigenous peoples there. Having much in common with their wild forebears, even modern selections are a pain to corral in the kitchen garden and are best with ample space and sturdy support far from other tomatoes, with whom they readily cross.

For the trouble of keeping this beast in your garden, you will be rewarded with hundreds of flavorful little red fruits. Sweet Pea has rich classic tomato flavor, less sweet and fruity than Orange Currant, making it ideal for savory pasta dishes. This year I discovered that these fruits will dry into something like raisins if left in a single layer on a kitchen counter while you go away for the Labor Day weekend. Pierce and pack these little wrinkled treasures into olive oil as you would sun dried tomatoes!

Start these seeds indoors around 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Tuck seeds just below the surface of moist soil, pressing to keep seed snug, and mist generously with warm water. Cover with plastic to maintain moisture. Kept warm (75°-80°F) and moist in bright light the seeds will germinate within a week or so. Cooler temperatures will retard germination. Once germinated the seedlings of this species can also seem quite slow to grow so be patient. Carefully prick out seedlings with true leaves to grow on at warm temperatures in bright light in individual deep cells or pots. Take care to cull any plants that have common tomato foliage! Harden off before transplanting into warm soil in full sun after all danger of frost has passed. Mulch generously for several feet in all directions around each plant because it will be a real challenge to get at this ground to weed once these plants have begun to grow!

Very highly recommended for market growers that sell mixed baskets. In our market days we topped our cherry tomato baskets with currant tomatoes and it drew lots of attention. The long trusses of ripening fruit are also great for festooning tables and tents. These fruit rarely crack, and even held for us through a flood in late July.

Grown by Farmacie Isolde.

Packet contains at least 30 seeds.