Description
(Solanum lycopersicum)
This is the truly old-fashioned “potato leaf” version of the Hillbilly. The origins of this big beefsteak go back to the late 1800s.
Older heirloom tomatoes require more isolation distance than modern varieties to prevent cross-pollination. Today’s “regular leaf” or “cut leaf” varieties didn’t come into widespread use until the 1930s, suggesting the potato leaf Hillbilly is likely older than the regular-leaf version.
Modern regular-leaf tomatoes have “perfect” flowers that are far less likely to cross, allowing isolation distances as close as 50 feet for home garden seed saving. Potato leaf varieties need 80 feet or more for home seeds.
These big, beefy bi-color tomatoes are famous for warm flavor, for excellent taste, and as the perfect burger slicer.
Irresistibly tasty 1-pound-plus yellow fruit have red streaked skin and marbled flesh. Hillbilly fades from yellow at the stem to red at the blossom end.
Indeterminate plants produce sweet, juicy beefsteak type tomatoes that are low in acid and exceptionally tasty in sandwiches and salads.
How to select:
Choose young, firm tomatoes with just a hint of “give” on the blossom end.
How to prepare:
These are grown for hamburger and sandwich slices, dicing for salad, tacos and the like, and for an occasional decadent, juicy snack, with flavorful juices running off our chins as we smack our lips… uh, sorry, lost it for a moment just thinking about these awesome beauties.
Get some seeds and grow yer own.
85 days, Indeterminate.
Germination rate 93% – March 2021
Minimum 40 seeds
