Slicing Tomatoes

Territorial seed photo

Slice and dice your home grown tomatoes for sandwiches, salsas or salads!

Slicing tomatoes are a delicious and healthy addition to any meal. There is nothing better than going into your garden and harvesting your very own tomato, still warm from the sun, and using that tomato to supplement your dinner. The flavor, and texture of a home grown tomato cannot be matched by any tomato bought in a grocery store. There simply is no comparison.

Slicing tomatoes do well here in the pacific northwest, and we have selected varieties that have been specifically proven to excel in our climate. That being said, in exceptionally cool and wet summers like 2010 and 2011, sometimes the slicing tomatoes never get enough heat and light to ripen properly. This is where products like plastic covers (that mimic greenhouses) and Walls-of-Water (water filled plastic surrounds) can make a huge difference in holding in and increasing heat around the plant. This can make the difference between harvesting and not harvesting slicing tomatoes in a cool, wet summer.

These are the varieties we tend to carry every year:

Beefsteak: 80 days. This plant produces good yields of extremely large 2 lb juicy tomatoes. The tomato turns red when mature, is solid, and meaty. Excellent slicer, perfect for salads and sandwiches. Indeterminate.

Big Beef: 73 days. 1994 All-America Selections Winner! Plant produces good yields of very flavorful 10 oz red beefsteak tomatoes. The best all around beefsteak tomato. Crack resistant too. Excellent for sandwiches and salads. Disease Resistant. Indeterminate.

Black Krim: 75-90 days. Originally from Crimea on the Black Sea, this heirloom variety is a top choice in the "black tomato" category. Dark, mahogany-colored fruits have deep-green shoulders and weigh 10-12 ounces. Richly flavored and a heavy producer. Indeterminate.

Black Prince: Produces large quantities of rich, dark green to black fruit.  Last year we were picking these well into October and we able to bring some in that we used as late as December.  Very tasty.  Indeterminate.

Black From Tula: 75 days. This plant produces good yields of 10 to 12 oz dark reddish-black beefsteak tomatoes. Tomatoes have a rich tomato flavor and turn to dark reddish black (black tomato) with green shoulders. One of the best of the black varieties on the market. It has the perfect acid-sugar balance. Excellent for salads and sandwiches. A family heirloom from Ukraine, Russia. Certified Organic. Indeterminate.

Brandywine: One of the oldest heirloom varieties, also considered one of the best  tasting varieties.  Regular winner of tomato taste-offs.  Pink color, potato leaf type producing 12 oz to 2lb. fruits.  80 days, Indeterminate.

Celebrity: 72 days. Great flavor in firm, 8-oz., crack-free fruits. Performs well in almost every region and under adverse conditions. Good blight tolerance and foliage cover, resists drought and disease. Determinate.

Champion II: 70 days. Especially bred as a luscious sandwich tomato...solid, meaty slices with just the right sweetness. High yields of large fruit, bigger than Early Girl and earlier than Better Boy. Outstanding performer. Indeterminate.

Cherokee Purple:

Defiant: 70 days. This mid-size slicer has high resistance to late blight and intermediate resistance to early blight combined with great flavor. The 6-8 oz., globe-shaped fruit are smooth and medium-firm with good texture. Deep red internal and external color. High-yielding, medium-sized plants are widely adaptable. Defiant was traditionally bred to inherit the Ph-2 and Ph-3 major genes for late blight (Phytophthora) resistance. Our thanks to No. Carolina State Univ. for their cooperation. Determinate.

Dr. Wyche's Yellow: The only yellow you'll need to grow!  Produces large (4 to 5") fruit with great taste.  Lower in acid but very flavorful and meaty with relatively few seeds.  Even in the cold summer of 2011, planted in early May, this plant produced 15 to 20 large beautifully colored and tasty tomatoes and was still producing in early October. 

Early Girl: 65 days. The earlier, the better. These extra-large, extra-early tomatoes grow on a true bush. The 4” across tasty red fruits are much bigger than Early Girl, and ripen just two days later. The 18” plants are amazingly compact and self-supporting, yet productive. Disease-resistant. Determinant.

Golden Sweet: 60 days. Tall plant produces good yields of deep yellow grape tomatoes. The tomatoes stay firm and crisp and are crack resistant. The tomatoes are very sweet. Grow the red and green grape tomatoes to make a lovely salad. Excellent eaten fresh or used in salads. Indeterminate.

Gold Medal: 75 days. This whopper is unbelievably early for its size. The large yellow fruit have an interior blush of red and weigh over 1 pound, some reaching 2 pounds. They have a classic heirloom look: round and lobed with big blossom ends that some think are ugly. We see the beauty and enjoy the full, sweet, low acid tomato flavor. The indeterminate plants grow well in cool nighttime temperatures.

Goliath: 85 days. Plant produces tremendous yields of large 1 lb to 3 lb red tomatoes. One of the best early giant tomato varieties on the market. The tomatoes ar very flavorful and have few seeds. Larger and more disease resistant than the Whopper Improved variety or other giant varieties. This is really a huge plant that produces giant tomatoes! Excellent for salads and sandwiches. A heirloom variety dating back to the late 1800's. Indeterminate.

Green Zebra: 75-80 days. Green Zebra's sweet and zesty flavor is as appetizing as its appearance is spectacular. Always a ravishing table presentation, the 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 inch fruit have glowing green skin overlaid with olive and gold mottled streaks. Sure to impress when sliced on a plate and intermingled with orange or black-fleshed tomatoes. Indeterminate plants just keep producing these breathtaking fruit throughout the season.

Legend: 68 days. If late blight has been a problem in your garden, you should try growing Legend. Legend has shown strong tolerance of late blight fungus. So even in the most virulent areas, gardeners have a great chance of harvesting ripe tomatoes. Legend not only demonstrates tolerance of late blight, but is also one of the earliest maturing slicing tomato we know of. Legend produces amazingly sweet tomatoes, with just the right amount of acid flavor. The big 4-5 inch fruit are glossy red, with a uniform round shape. Please keep in mind that being tolerant of blight is just that: tolerant-not immune. Bred and released by Dr. Jim Baggett at Oregon State University. Determinate.

Momotaro: 70 days. Momotaro is one of the most popular tomato varieties in Japanese markets and for good reason. Named after a hero in Japanese folklore, it will also be the hero of your garden. An unsurpassable fresh eating tomato. Its flavor is an intricate and harmonious combination of sweet and tangy, that has won Momotaro several tomato tasting contests. The radiant, dark pink slicers weigh 6-7 ounces. Momotaro is durable, heat tolerant, and crack resistant with good storability. Indeterminate.

Mortgage Lifter: 95 days. As the story goes, a tomato farmer facing bankruptcy selected a tomato that produced so well, he was able to sell one crop of fruit and pay off the mortgage. We're not sure that would be the case today, but Mortgage Lifter certainly produces an abundance of 1-2 pound fruit. Not the prettiest in the world, but meaty and full of heirloom flavor. Indeterminate.

Moskovich: A very early variety also doesn't mind colder springs.  Produces mid sized red tasty red fruit on a somewhat smaller shrub.  60 days. Plant this one now!

New Girl: 62 days. New Girl is an early variety well worth growing for your first tomatoes of the season. It has excellent flavor and disease resistance. The fruits are 4-7 oz., and hold their ripeness and flavor on the vine very well. Indeterminate.

Old German: 85 days. More than once, our trial farm employees were caught standing in the field with both hands cradling a half-devoured Old German, tomato juice dripping down both arms. Indulge in one of these treasured heirlooms and experience the true meaning of pleasure! Routinely weighing in over a pound and a half, Old German was one of the largest fruit in our trials. It is both delicious and beautiful with succulent, meaty fruit and golden streaked, reddish skin. Indeterminate.

Oregon Spring: Northwest origin.  Oregon Spring is a compact plant with early tomatoes which are fleshy, frequently seedless and exceptionally fine flavored.  Enjoy their full-flavored succulence in July, when others of this size and quality are not available.  This exciting tomato is a cross between Russian Severianin and Starshot that is earlier than either parent.  60 days.  Determinate.

Paul Robeson: 90 days. This famous tomato has almost a cult following among seed collectors and tomato connoisseurs. They simply cannot get enough of this variety’s amazing flavor that is so distinctive, sweet and smokey. 7-10 oz. fruit are a black-brick color. Named in honor of the famous opera singer star of ‘King Solomon's Mines’, 1937. Paul Robeson was an Equal Rights Advocate for Blacksin Russia as well as all around the world. This Russian heirloom was lovingly named in his honor. We are proud to offer such a wonderful variety.

Persimmon: 80 days. This heirloom tomato that dates back to the mid-1800s is right at home in short-season gardens. One of the best-tasting yellow tomatoes in our taste tests. Healthy, indeterminate vines bear big beefsteak-size fruit with few blemishes for an heirloom.

Siletz: 70-75 days. Siletz is one of the most reliable slicing tomatoes you can grow. Coming in just ahead of Oregon Spring, with a nice flush of 4-5 inch deep red fruit that weigh 7-10 ounces. The flavor-packed red tomatoes are nearly seedless. Expect several bursts of ripe tomatoes as the season progresses. Vigorous plants are determinate. Bred by Dr. Jim Baggett of Oregon State University.

Striped German: A wonderfully flavored large multi colored fruit.  These can reach 2 or more pounds!  Slightly longer season, so plant in a warmer site.  I have had great luck with this type even in the past cool summers.  I make sure to get it in the ground in April (with cold protection) so it has enough time to ripen.  The reward is some of the sweetest tasting tomatoes you can imagine. Indeterminate.

Stupice: Czechoslovakian heirloom has earned a devoted following in the Pacific Northwest.  Early, prolific variety with exceptional flavor.  Glossy red 2 – 3” fruit grow on compact 2 to 4 foot vines.  Potato-like foliage.  Even though vines are small, we recommend a trellis or other support for best production.  65 days.  Indeterminate.

Sweet Italian: 85 days. Italian Sweet Beefsteak heirloom tomatoes are huge, luscious, old fashioned tall plants with fruits about 8-10 oz. Potato leaf pink-skinned heirloom tomatoes have excellent sweet Italian tomato flavor. This one stands out as exceptional for flavor and texture and is one of our top three slicers. Delicious! Indeterminate.

Taxi: 80 days. The best bright yellow tomato for short season gardeners. This determinate variety grows to about 2 feet tall and 2 feet across. Expect heavy yields of mild, non-acid tomatoes for 3-4 weeks. Great for the lunch box and salsas.

Yellow Brandywine: A yellow version of the popular heirloom Brandywine.