WILD GALAPAGOS TOMATO SEEDS

Solanum lycopersicum

One of my absolute favorite tomatoes for over a decade. This delicious cherry has intense tomato flavor. It is sweet and salty and wonderfully tangy all at the same time. It is different from every other tomato I've grown, cherry-sized or otherwise. And I even like the color.

Originally from Terrior Seeds in Arizona, the packet was labeled Solanum cheesmaniae, but these plants are almost certainly a hybrid of a wild species and S. lycopersicum. The plant, though uniquely crazy in its growth habit, is easily identified as a common tomato. That doesn't mean that it isn't special. If it is a chance hybrid between species native to the Galapagos Islands and S. lycopersicum, it is nothing less than a miracle. It's that good.

Sow as you would any other tomato, indoors around 6 weeks before the last spring frost. Plants grow quickly, and in all directions. There is no way to stake or prune these beasts. They must be given lots of space. They will happily drape themselves over a cage or trellis once they've outgrown it, and drape themselves over neighboring plants as well. Best to grow them separately from other tomatoes, and anything else really.

Tough as nails, these plants are always one of the first to have ripe fruit, and are the last to stop producing fruit in the autumn. They will tolerate several light frosts without protection. They really do not stop until a hard freeze. Fruit quality is consistently good. Very resistant to cracking. Impervious to extreme heat, drought, pests and disease. Will produce even in partial shade. Having grown this beast in the Midwest and Northeast, and in wildly different soils on my property in New York, I feel comfortable suggesting that anyone anywhere can achieve success with this tomato. If they have the space for it.

Grown by Farmacie Isolde.

Packet contains at least 15 seeds.