It’s a bit odd to say we have “new” heirloom tomato varieties, since by definition heirloom plants are ones that were in our grandparents’ gardens, and have not been hybridized. So I guess I should say they’re new to the Friends School Plant Sale.

There will be eight new varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year.

Plum Lemon was collected from an elderly seedsman at Moscow’s Bird Market during the August 1991 coup. The fruit is 3″ long with a pointed end–really resembles a lemon. Meaty, sweet refreshing flavor. Indeterminate, 72 days. Organically grown.

Federle is a beautiful 6-7″ long paste tomato. Rich full flavor, unlike most other banana pepper-shaped tomatoes. Productive plants. Very few seeds, excellent for processing, especially good for salsa. Indeterminate, 85 days. Organically grown.

Moonglow has medium-sized bright orange fruits. Solid orange meat, few seeds and wonderful flavor. A Seed Savers favorite. Indeterminate, 80 days. Organically grown.

Isis Candy Cherry is known for gorgeous fruits that are marbled with red. Rich flavor is a complex blend of sweetness and fruitiness. Each fruit has a spectacular cat’s eye starburst on the blossom end. The plants are loaded with 1.5″ fruits on short trusses in double rows of six to eight. Indeterminate, 70-80 days. Organically grown.

Mexico Midget is an early and very prolific plant that continues producing throughout the entire growing season. Round, half-inch fruits give an incredible flash of rich tomato flavor, great for salads or selling in pints. Indeterminate, 60-70 days. Organically grown.

Esther Hess has 1-2″ yellow cherry fruits. Tangy. We can’t find good information on how many days until fruit.

Black Cherry has dark, purplish cherry-sized fruits the color of ‘Cherokee Purple’. Flavor is wonderful, very rich and sweet. 65 days, indeterminate.

Omar’s Lebanese features huge pink fruit, which can grow as large as 3-4 pounds! One of the largest tomatoes you can grow. The mammoth fruit have a superb flavor; sweet, perfect tomato taste. Good yields on vigorous plants, good tolerance to disease, a rare family heirloom from Lebanon. Perfect for anyone who wants to grow huge, tasty tomatoes. Indeterminate, 80 days.

We will also have all of the varieties we had last year, with more available if they sold out early. (Who knew the Bloody Butcher would be such a hot seller?) We’ve also signficantly increased the number of Sweet 100s, for those of you who love that tomato.

Photos courtesy of Seed Saver’s Exchange, our seed source.