Tomatoes and Other Edibles 2025
Interested in tomatoes or other edibles? Buying local? Supporting a local charity? You can do all that and more by supporting our Birthright Plant Sales.* Located in Victoria, BC, we sell tomatoes and other edible plants at our May plant sales and by order for local pick-up. Looking for specific varieties? Feel free to browse this page for your next favourite taste sensation!
We’re taking pre-orders for the 2025 season starting in February! Pre-orders can be picked up at one of our three plant sales in Langford, Oak Bay, or Sidney (see below) or from Peggy’s Greenhouse in Langford. This is the best option for those wanting specific varieties from our Edibles page or who are looking to plant earlier than our scheduled plant sale dates.
We’re updating our listings this month. If you’re interested in any plants with uncertain numbers, please check back in February or feel free to contact us to get on our wait list. We have a few new varieties of tomatoes and other veggies this year, plus the old standards! Take a peek to see what treasures we have in store for you.
Garden Babies for Birthright Plant Sales 2024
We’ll have plant sales at the following locations this coming May. The Langford sale, at Peggy’s greenhouse, offers the greatest selection and variety. If you’ve placed a pre-order and would like to collect it at one of our sales, please be sure to let us know so we can have it ready for you!
- Peggy’s Greenhouse in Langford: May 10 10AM – 2PM 550 Langvista Drive
- St. Elizabeth’s Church in Sidney: Time and date still to be be determined. 10030 3rd Ave
- St. Patrick’s Church in Oak Bay: Date still to be determined. 9AM – 1PM. 2060 Haultain St.
Most of our sales take place in the spring, but we welcome orders throughout the growing season. Please contact us if you’d like to order plants or arrange a browsing session (once the weather warms up).
*Our Garden Babies for Birthright Plant Sales raise valuable funds so that we may continue the pregnancy support service of Birthright Victoria. Offering friendship and support to women experiencing unplanned pregnancy…because we care.
Ordering Info
Please use our contact form to order plants or book a private browsing session once the weather warms. Include your phone number as a back-up contact and list the plants you’d like and numbers wanted. We’ll get back to you with an itemized invoice, payment options, and pick-up information.
Please take note that a few varieties on this page will not be available unless pre-ordered. If you see “Seeding by special order only” in the description, you must pre-order in February (or early April for squashes) if you wish us to grow this variety for you.
Edibles: Tomatoes, Veggies, Fruits, and Herbs
On this page, you’ll find growing tips, pictures, and descriptions of all our edibles, including an extensive listing of tomatoes and other vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
You can also see our 2025 Shrubs and Ornamentals listing here. And our complete listing for Perennials, Ground Covers and Rock Plants, Grasses, Basket Stuffers and Annuals here.
Vegetables
Most vegetables are annuals, maturing and bearing fruit all in one growing season before dying off with the arrival of winter.* Unless noted in the description, assume the vegetables below are annuals. Vegetables generally need fertile soil, regular watering, and a sunny location in order to thrive. Feed your plants well in order to gather a plentiful harvest. Amend the soil with compost, manure, or other organic material. Vegetables also benefit from regular fertilizing or slow release formulations.
*A few of our plants, such as Arugula Wildfire, are perennials. Perennials do not die off with winter, instead growing larger over time and producing tasty edibles each spring or summer. Another of our veggies, Perpetual Spinach, is a biennial. Biennials live just two years before setting seed and dying in the second year. Most veggies which go to seed become bitter as a result. We offer young plants to ensure you have a good harvest this year, followed by babies in coming years. Tip: take a picture of biennial plantings so you can recognize young seedlings in future years.
Most vegetables are heat lovers. There are a few exceptions, such as the cool season greens and lettuces. You’ll want to note which plants need warmth for a healthy start. Pay attention to your night-time temps and either avoid planting out too early or arrange protection for early plantings.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are cold-sensitive vegetables. Don’t put them out too early, or you may lose them! Generally, you should wait for night-time temps of 10 degrees C or warmer before planting. Plan on planting out in early to mid June, depending on the weather. Young cucumber plants can also be damaged or even killed by stormy, wet and windy weather. Planting cucumber seedlings under cover using clear plastic domes can provide additional protection.
Though you can grow cucumbers in the ground, all of the varieties listed here do extraordinarily well in medium-large pots. Give them a fence to climb, and they’ll reward you with straight fruits!
The following varieties, with the exception of Beit Alpha and Tasty Green, are open-pollinated or heirloom. Please see our section under tomatoes for more information on these terms and how they affect seed saving.
All of our cucumbers come two plants to a pot unless otherwise noted. Don’t try to separate them as they are sensitive to root disturbance. They will grow happily together either in the ground or in a medium-large pot. Cost is $2 per 2 inch pot or $4 per premium pot.
Premium pots contain 2 seedlings growing in larger, deeper pots. We’ve experimented with premium pots in recent years for those needing later pick-up and have been very pleased with the results. Seedlings grown in premium pots are generally larger, healthier, and able to remain in their pots for a longer period of time before transplanting. Please specify regular or premium pots when ordering.
Beit Alpha
Middle Eastern type producing masses of smooth, blocky fruits with dark green skin. Best picked young (6 inches). Tender and sweet. Burpless, with a long shelf-life. F1 hybrid not suitable for seed saving. Up to 16 pots.
China Jade
An heirloom from northern China with jade green flesh. Long, slender, thin-skinned fruits have a sweet and nutty taste. Does not require pollinators to set fruit! A favourite with reviewers. Up to 20 pots.
Improved Long Green
Productive white-spined variety. 7-8 inch fruits are tender and crisp. Best eaten fresh or sliced into salads. Up to 20 pots.
Jibai Shimoshirazu
New for 2025! This Japanese variety gets rave reviews for its sweet, crisp taste. Vigorous and very productive. Deep green fruit is best harvested at 7-8 inches long. Well adapted to heat and resistant to disease and powdery mildew.Up to 10 pots.
Lemon Cucumber
Yellow lemon-sized fruits are both productive and sweet! These unusual cucs grow equally well in containers or in the ground. Heirloom. Up to 20 pots.
Long English Telegraph
Heirloom variety with slim, dark green fruits. Vigorous, highly productive vines. 14 inch fruits have a mild taste and few seeds. A superior selection well-suited to containers and greenhouse cultivation. Train it up a trellis for long, straight fruits! Up to 30 pots.
Spacemaster Trailing
Heavy yields of large, uniform, 7-9 inch fruits on bushy but dwarf vines. With its trailing habit, this variety is ideal for containers or hanging baskets. Harvest when young for pickling or grow to full size for slicing. Heirloom. The last of our seed: 1 or 2 pots.
Spring Burpless
This almost spineless slicing variety grows 8-12 inches long. Disease-resistant. Crisp and bitter-free. Heirloom. Up to 9 pots.
Suyo Long
A productive heirloom from Northern China with long, ribbed fruits producing pretty, fluted slices. Up to 18 inches long. Mild, super crisp, sweet, and burpless. Up to 16 pots.
Tasty Green
New for 2024! A Japanese slicing cucumber with slender, dark green fruits up to 9 inches long. Tasty Green is an early, heavy-yielding variety with small white spines. Burpless and resistant to mildew. F1 hybrid. Up to 20 pots.
Greens and Lettuces
Harvest in spring through early summer, and then again in the fall, if you’ve planted a second seeding. Unlike many of the heat-loving veggies, most greens and lettuces prefer cool weather and bolt (go to seed) in hot summer weather. When that happens, they become tough and bitter tasting.
All of our greens and lettuces have a minimum of four plants to a pot unless otherwise noted. Cost is $3 per pot.
Arugula Wildfire
Perennial sweet flavoured variety with a mild peppery kick. Slower to bolt than other varieties. Upright habit keeps the leaves off the ground. We’re hoping to have 6 pots for 2025.
Blue Curled Scotch Kale
An attractive kale which pairs well with our scarlet variety. Add young leaves to salads or cook mature ones as greens. Blue-green crinkled foliage is very cold-hardy and rich in vitamin C. 8 pots.
Scarlet Kale
A curled red kale producing loads of delicious frilly leaves. Winter-hardy. Best grown in the frosts of spring or fall to optimize colour and sweetness. High in both nutrition and flavour. Prefers rich soil. 4 pots.
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
Looseleaf. This heirloom variety produces large, frilly, light green leaves. The taste is delicate and tender, with no bitterness. Slow to bolt as well as tolerant of light frost. 6 pots.
Buttercrunch Lettuce
Butterhead. Soft, dark green leaves surround tender hearts which do not become bitter in hot weather. 14 pots.
Darkness Lettuce
Looseleaf. Dense, frilly leaves with deep red edges. This variety is especially good for low-light conditions. 5 pots.
Lollo Bionda Lettuce
Also known as Green Coral Lettuce. A very decorative variety closely related to Lollo Rossa. This one grows into a perfectly round head of frilly leaves. With a refreshingly crisp, tender flavour, Lollo Bionda adds a punch of colour, texture, and volume to salads. We’re hoping to have 6 pots for 2025.
Lollo Rossa Lettuce
A beautiful frilly green variety with stunning red edges. Compact looseleaf which holds up especially well in summer heat. 10 pots.
May Queen Lettuce
Butterhead. Delicate European heirloom with tender yellow hearts blushed rose. Not heat tolerant. We’re hoping to have 4 pots for 2025.
Outrageous Red Lettuce
New for 2024! Looseleaf. Medium to large magenta heads are mild in flavour and slow to bolt in summer heat. The fiery red leaves make a great accent in your garden or on your plate! Heirloom. 10 pots.
Tom Thumb Lettuce
New for 2024! This dwarf butterhead will fit within the palm of your hand! Dating back to the 1830’s, this is the oldest and smallest North American lettuce still in cultivation. The small heads have creamy yellow centers with medium green, slightly crumpled outer leaves. Ideal for container or cold frame cultivation. 5 pots.
Perpetual Spinach
Technically a chard, although it looks and tastes like spinach. Unlike true spinach and the lettuces, this green does not bolt with hot weather. Biennial as well as free-seeding. 1-2 good-size plants in each pot. Availability not yet known.
Onions
Biennial or perennial bulbs closely related to garlic and chives. Blue-green hollow leaves emerge from underground bulbs. Both the top growth and the bulbs are edible. Full sun, in loamy, well-drained soil. Although biennial onions are most common, the two varieties listed here are perennial forms.
Egyptian Walking Onion
An unusual perennial onion which produces small bulbils at the top of its flowering stalks. The bulbils weight the stalk down, eventually causing it to fall over, and the bulbils then replant themselves on their “walk” across the garden. Easy to propagate: just break off the topset of bulbils and replant no more than 1 inch deep. Full sun in a bed you don’t mind being colonized. $3. 3 pots.
Multiplier Onion
Heritage perennial onions with small bunching bulbs which divide and multiply over time and can be used like shallots. Top growth can be used in place of green onions. To harvest, pull or gently dig up the cluster in dry weather. Collect the larger bulbs for kitchen use and gently replant smaller bulbs to maintain your planting. These are starter plants which should be left to grow for the season before harvesting next year or lightly this fall. Availability not yet known.
Peppers
Peppers are another of the cold-tender veggies, preferring night time temps of 12 degrees C or warmer. There are two main types of Peppers: Sweet and Hot. We grow mostly sweet varieties, but have added a few hot peppers for 2024.
All of our peppers come one to a pot and are priced at $5 each unless otherwise noted.
Hot Peppers
This small selection of hot peppers runs the gamut from the mildly hot Anaheim to the fiery Datil. Hot peppers range in size, shape, and colour and are at their sweetest when fully ripe. Many have a complex, often fruity flavour to balance their heat.
Anaheim
Vigorous, bushy, and upright plants produce mildly hot, crisp but crunchy, 6 inch peppers over a long season. The thick-walled fruits are usually harvested green but can be left on the plants to mature to a dark red. Excellent for roasting or smoking. An heirloom from southern California whose mild fruits make a good substitute for those who prefer their hot peppers less fiery. Plants grow 18-24 inches tall. 5 pots.
Buena Mulata
This chameleon-like hot pepper ripens from a stunning purple to pinkish-yellow, orange, brown, and finally a deep red. Harvested at the purple stage, they are mildly hot but not as sweet. When fully ripe, they are sweet and meaty, with the heat of a cayenne pepper. Long, narrow pods grow on extremely productive plants, especially if harvested young. (The peppers lose most of their beautiful purple hue when cooked.) This heirloom variety comes originally from African-American folk artist Horace Pippin’s collection. 6 pots.
Datil
Small 3.5 inch fruits ripen to a brilliant orange-yellow. Not for for the faint of heart, this pepper is described as “blazing hot, with a vicious heat” equivalent to a habanero or a scotch bonnet. The flavour is sweet, complex, and fruity. Large, bushy plants to four feet produce prolific yields of blunt-shaped, fiery little peppers. 5 pots.
Nadapeno
New for 2025! A crunchy, flavourful Jalapeno without the heat for those who like their peppers less hot! Very early and prolific variety used for pickling, stuffing, poppers and salsa. 4 pots.
Sugar Rush Peach
Sweet, tropical flavour meets spicy heat! Very prolific yields of 3-6 inch, wrinkled fruits on large, fast-growing bushes. In ideal conditions, plants may reach up to 5 ft in height! Equivalent heat to a strong Serrano pepper, although pickling may partially tame that heat. A great snacking pepper for those who like their peppers hot! 5 pots.
Sweet Peppers
Sweet peppers also come in a broad variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Most are not your typical Bell peppers found in the grocery aisle. In our experience, these other varieties are both more productive and easier to grow than Bell types.
Ajvarski
6 to 7 inch tapered but broadly wedged fruits which ripen from green to red. Incredibly fragrant and tasty. This outstanding roasting pepper grows on 2 foot stocky plants. 5 pots.
Corbaci
Very long 10 inch fruits are curved and twisted. This heirloom hails from Turkey and has a rich flavour ideal for snacking, pickling, or grinding to make paprika. Easy to grow and extremely prolific. 5 pots.
Cubanelle
Also known as Cuban Sweet Pepper. Preferred by many cooks to Bell types. 6-8 inch thin-walled peppers are especially suited to quick frying. Sweet with a touch of heat. Prized both for their rich flavour and pretty colours. Best picked when yellow-green. These peppers reach picking size and colour earlier than many other varieties. Prolific, easy-care plants to 3 ft. 5 pots.
Italian Pepperoncini
Narrow 3-5 inch pickling pepper with superb flavour and just a little heat. Compact plants with prolific yields of thin-skinned red fruits. Also excellent fresh eating. 5 pots.
Jimmy Nardello
A fine Italian variety brought to America in 1887 by the Nardello family. Long, thin-skinned frying peppers ripen to a deep, shiny red and earn rave reviews for their rich flavour. Compact, prolific plants. 6 pots.
Lipstick
Early ripening, very sweet medium pepper with thick red flesh. Peggy’s best medium/large pepper for productivity, fast ripening, and ease of growth! 8 pots.
Marconi Rosso
An Italian Ram’s Horn variety with flavourful, thick-walled, juicy fruits. The very sweet peppers ripen from dark green to dark red and average 7 inches by 2.5 inches. More curved than a Bull’s Horn pepper, this variety is known for it’s fantastical shapes as well as its superior flavour. Great for grilling, stuffing, pasta sauce, or fresh eating! Compact, productive plants to 2.5 feet. Heirloom. 6 pots.
Paradicsom Alaku Sarga Szentes
Bright yellow-orange, flat, ribbed, pumpkin-shaped fruits. Tremendous Hungarian flavour. Flesh is thick, crisp, and juicy. Fast growing, vigorous plants. Rare. 3 pots.
Mini Bell Mix
A mix of tiny bell peppers in yellow, red, and chocolate. Productive and cute! 3 pots.
Red Bull’s Horn
Large red frying pepper tapered like a bull’s horn. Thick-walled and juicy. A bit slow to mature and colour but worth the effort. 3 pots.
Rewia
This oblong bell pepper turns a gorgeous tangerine shade when fully ripe. A Polish variety with thick-walled, sweet, juicy fruits on tall, productive plants. The medium-sized fruits grow quickly but require patience to fully ripen. 3 pots.
Squash
Like cucumbers, squashes are cold-tender and should be treated accordingly. In fact, squash and cucumbers belong to the same plant family. Don’t put them out too early, or you may lose them! Generally, you should wait for night-time temps of 10 degrees C or warmer before transplanting. In our climate, that means planting out in late May to early June, depending on the weather. Young squash plants can also be damaged or even killed by stormy, wet and windy weather. Plant squash seedlings under cover using clear plastic domes to provide protection for early plantings or wicked weather.
Summer Squash
Zucchinis are the most well known of the summer squashes, but there are intriguing other summer squashes. The patty pans, also know as scallopini, provide an abundance of cute little fruits. Patty pans mature more quickly than zucchinis and are more tender and less watery. Steamed and bathed in butter, they make an especially tasty summer treat. Harvest when young up to 5-6 inches. If any get away from you, you also have the option to grow them on as winter squash.
You can grow smaller, well-behaved squashes like the patty pans and lemon squash in large pots, but zucchinis will do better in the open garden.
All of our summer squashes come two plants to a pot unless otherwise noted. Don’t try to separate them as they are sensitive to root disturbance. They will grow happily together either in the ground or a large pot. Cost is $2 per 2 inch pot or $4 per premium pot.
Premium pots contain 2 seedlings growing in larger, deeper pots. We’ve experimented with premium pots in recent years for those needing later pick-up and have been very pleased with the results. Seedlings grown in premium pots are generally larger, healthier, and able to remain in their pots for a longer period of time before transplanting. Please specify regular or premium pots when ordering.
Lemon Squash
A petite summer squash that looks like a lemon. Extremely productive, with excellent insect resistance. Both attractive and tasty. We’re seeding this variety by special order only. Contact us by early April if you’d like us to start plants for you.
Benning’s Green Tint Patty Pan
This pale green heirloom scallopini grows on a productive, semi-open bush. Up to 10 pots.
Sunburst F1 Patty Pan
Early maturing bush plants which are equally prolific and pretty. Bright yellow fruits look like tiny flying saucers. The best of the patty pans for productivity, hardiness, & beauty. Up to 20 pots.
White Scallop Patty Pan
Heirloom. Flat fruit with scalloped edges. One of the best tasting and highest yielding varieties around. Not available 2025.
Zucchini Fordhook
Classic, dark green zucchini. Vigorous as well as productive. Space-saving bush variety. Heirloom. Up to 25 pots.
Zucchini Romanesco
Productive heirloom with long, ribbed Italian fruits and a pleasant, nutty taste. Especially prized for its large, edible flowers which can be breaded and fried. Up to 25 pots.
Winter Squash
These squashes mature into the fall. Their skin is much tougher and they require more room than the summer squashes. Young winter squashes need the same protection from cold, stormy weather as the summer squashes.
All winter squash seeds are edible. Clean, pat dry, and season with olive oil and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer, then roast in a 235 degree oven for 15 minutes for a nutritious treat.
Our winter squashes come two plants to a pot unless otherwise noted. Don’t try to separate them as they are sensitive to root disturbance. They will grow happily together. Cost is $2 per 2 inch pot or $4 per premium pot.
Premium pots contain 2 seedlings growing in larger, deeper pots. We’ve experimented with premium pots in recent years for those needing later pick-up and have been very pleased with the results. Seedlings grown in premium pots are generally larger, healthier, and able to remain in their pots for a longer period of time before transplanting. Please specify regular or premium pots when ordering.
Table King Acorn Squash
We’re in process of replacing this compact Acorn Squash with another compact variety. More info coming soon.This one you could grow in a very large pot!
Table Queen Acorn Squash
An early acorn squash with green skin splashed with orange. The sweet, yellow flesh deepens to orange with storage. Long, prolific vines produce 4-5 fruits each. This reliable heirloom is both vigorous and a good keeper. Up to 20 pots.
Spaghetti Squash
Yellow or cream oval fruits to 10 inches. Cook and scrape the flesh into spaghetti-like strands, then serve under pasta sauce as a gluten-free replacement. As with other winter squashes, these vines need space to wander. We expect to have a minimum of 8 pots for 2025.
Tomatilloes
Resembling green or sometimes purple tomatoes, tomatilloes hail from Mexico and are used in savoury dishes such as salsa. They add a spicy zip to sauces and other dishes. Grow in the same conditions as tomatoes. Harvest when fruits fill out and begin to split their papery husks. Vines are vigorous and require staking.
Our Tomatilloes are in gallon size pots for $7 each.
Green Tomatilloes
The classic tomatillo used in salsas and other savoury dishes. Fruits ripen from green to yellow green on tall plants which may benefit from staking. We expect to offer 14 pots in 2025.
Purple Tomatilloes
Also known as Jamberries, purple tomatilloes have a slight sweetness which makes them suitable for preserves as well as their more common usage in salsas and sauces. Both the skin and flesh are a deep purple which does not fade with cooking. Less tart than their green counterparts, they make a beautiful salsa (recipe below). Plan on staking the large and vigorous vines. We expect to offer 14 pots in 2025.
No-Cook Purple Tomatillo Salsa
- 225 grams (8 oz) purple tomatilloes, husked
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 1-2 serrano peppers (or replace with 1 Sugar Rush Peach hot pepper)
- 1⁄2 cup loosely packed roughly chopped coriander (cilantro)
- 1⁄4 cup red shiso (perilla), rough chopped
- sea salt to taste
Thoroughly wash the bitter film off the tomatilloes with warm, almost hot water, then quarter each of them. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse till semi chunky.
Suggestions for use:
- Mix with mayonnaise or ketchup to use as a dip for french fries
- Stir into scrambled eggs or add to omelets and frittatas
- Replace tomato sauce for a chunky tomato salsa on a homemade pizza
- Add salsa as your secret ingredient to soups, stews or chilis
- Add breadcrumbs and feta cheese to salsa, then stuff into eggplant halves
- Add cucumbers, jalapeños, tomatoes and vegetable stock to salsa. Purée into gazpacho
Tomatoes
Tomatoes Terminology
A bit about tomato terminology. The two big terms in speaking of tomatoes are ‘determinate’ and ‘indeterminate.’ Determinates, also known as ‘bush’ tomatoes, tend to be shorter with less vigorous growth, setting all their fruit early and in a limited time period, meaning the fruit also ripens in the same short time period. Plants often die off by midsummer, freeing space in the garden for other planting. Determinates are ideal for when you need lots of tomatoes for soup or sauce, not as ideal for continuous harvesting throughout the summer. Because of their more compact size, these plants are especially suited to container gardening.
Indeterminates, also known as ‘vine’ tomatoes, continue to grow throughout the summer, resulting in tall, robust, and sometimes unwieldy vines. They set fruit more gradually and have a longer growing season. Although they also can be grown in containers, indeterminates need strong stakes rather than simple tomato cages. These varieties will continue to set fruit until frost kills the vines.
A third and less common category are the Semi-determinates. These plants are more compact than indeterminates while still producing fruit throughout the growing season. Semi-determinates also do well in containers.
Other Terms for Tomatoes
Other terms you may encounter: open-pollinated, heirloom, hybrid (F1), paste, Roma. Open-pollinated seeds are both more variable and adaptable, while still tending to breed true to the parent plant. Heirloom plants are open-pollinated varieties whose seed has been passed down through several family generations to preserve valued characteristics. They are often highly prized for superior flavour. Hybrid plants, often labeled F1, are created by controlled cross-pollination of different varieties to breed for certain qualities, such as increased disease resistance or longer shelf life. Hybrid seeds do not breed true-to-type and often lack the vigour of their hybrid parents. If you wish to save seeds, choose only open-pollinated or heirloom varieties and avoid F1 or hybrid designations.
Paste tomatoes are especially useful in making sauces. They have denser, dryer flesh and fewer seeds, making for a meatier, thicker sauce. Roma tomatoes are a particular variety among the paste tomatoes, with an elongated, egg-like shape. Other paste tomatoes include Amish Paste, Oxheart, San Marzano, and smaller varieties such as Black Vernissage, Principe Borghese, and Chocolate and Yellow Pear.
Seed Saving: Tomatoes and other Veggies
Most of the tomatoes and other vegetables on this page are heirloom or open-pollinated to enable seed saving. Seed saving is useful both to save money and to have a ready supply of rare or hard to find varieties. In times of pressure on seed houses, such as we experienced in 2022, seed saving was a godsend!
Saving seeds varies in difficulty. Tomatoes and peppers are among the easiest, while members of the cucumber and squash family are more complicated. This is largely because the latter cross-breed within species, resulting in seed and future fruit very different from the first year’s fruit. In order to save seed from cucumbers or closely related squashes, you must plant them far enough apart to prevent cross-pollination. A practice easier done in larger gardens than in the average home garden!
When saving tomato and tomatillo seeds, harvest only from ripe fruits on healthy plants. Separate the seeds from the pulp and wash well to remove sticky juices. Tip: place seeds in a small strainer, add a drop of dish-washing fluid, and gently mash with your thumb or fingers. Rinse often and add additional fluid as needed. When the seeds are clean and no longer sticky, spread them to dry in paper towel-lined, shallow containers. Label and store fully-dried seeds in paper packets in a cool, dry place. For pepper seeds, follow the same procedure, but you won’t need to wash off sticky juices.
Although you can grow your own tomato and pepper plants from seed, we recommend you start these heat-loving summer annuals early and under lights in order to have large, well-formed plants ready for planting out in May.
Tomato Growing Conditions
Tomatoes are another of the cold-tender veggies. Depending on the variety, they should not be planted out until night time temps are reliably above 7-10 degrees C. Look for words like ‘early,’ ‘cool season,’ or ‘cool climate,’ to select the most cold tolerant varieties.
Unless otherwise noted, our tomatoes are in gallon pots at $7 per pot.
Please take note that a few tomatoes on this page will not be available unless pre-ordered. If you see “Seeding by special order only” in the description, you must pre-order in February if you wish us to grow this variety for you.
Cherry Tomatoes
Small sweet fruits best suited to eating out of hand or adding to salads.
Black Cherry
These cherry tomatoes resemble large, dusky purple-brown grapes, with the rich flavour black tomatoes are known for. Vigorous vines produce large clusters of one inch fruits throughout a long growing season. Indeterminate. 8 pots.
Blondkopfchen
New for 2024! An heirloom from Eastern Germany translated as “little blond girl.” Indeterminate plants produce huge numbers of small, grape-sized fruits in clusters of 20-30. As deliciously sweet as they are abundant! The vigorous vines are large and sprawling, so give them plenty of space. 6 pots.
Blush Tiger
Golden yellow tomatoes with a pink blush seem to glitter and shine. Flavourful as well as beautiful! Bred by Artisan Seeds, well-known for their gourmet tomatoes. A very productive variety, although more cold-tender than some of our other cherry tomatoes. Unusual feathery foliage. Indeterminate. Open-pollinated. 6 pots.
Chocolate Pear
Huge crops of pear-shaped fruits over a very long season. Unusual variety is deep red swirled with green and brown hues. Rich tomato flavour. Good fresh eating as well as cooking tomato. Vines are vigorous, fast growing, and very bushy, so give them a bit of room. Heirloom. Indeterminate. 3 pots.
Gardener’s Delight
Heirloom vine with old fashioned tomato flavour. Long trusses of 6-12 crack-resistant one inch fruits. Indeterminate. 11 pots.
Gold Nugget
Early, prolific cool-climate cherry tomato. Compact, determinate plants to 2 feet. Ideal for containers. Open-pollinated. 16 pots.
Honey Drop
New for 2025! Small golden fruits grow in succulent clusters on indeterminate vines. A sweet, very tasty early tomato. Heirloom. 8 pots.
Pink Bumblebee
Another variety from Artisan Seeds. Stunning fire engine-red tomatoes with golden striping and sweet flavour. Indeterminate. Open-pollinated. Vigorous vines yield crack resistant fruit over a very long season. Tolerates cool nighttime temps and hot days. 9 pots.
Red Pear
Coming in 2026! More information coming soon.
Sunrise Bumblebee
Another award winning variety from Artisan Seeds. Luminous swirls of red and orange. Sweet, fruity taste. These are seriously beautiful tomatoes! Indeterminate. Open-pollinated. Crack-resistant fruits. 9 pots.
Sweetie
Early, very vigorous heirloom vine with rich flavour. Crack-resistant 3/4-1 inch, shiny red fruits. Indeterminate. More tolerant of cool, wet conditions than many other tomatoes. 11 pots.
Tiny Tim
Dwarf, very bushy heirloom producing masses of 1 inch scarlet fruits on tidy determinate plants. Only 12-24 inches tall. Recommended for containers or hanging baskets. 16 pots.
Yellow Pear
Cute as well as productive! Tasty fresh, but even better as a sauce tomato. Especially recommended for grilling. This vigorous vine demands greater space than usual. Earlier maturing than many cherry tomatoes. Heirloom. Indeterminate. 3 pots.
Small to Medium Tomatoes
A mix of small to medium fruits well suited to salads. Many are early, cold-hardy varieties. This listing also Includes some smaller but prolific paste varieties!
Black Vernissage
Productive, vigorous small paste tomato. Dark reddish-black flesh. Complex, rich flavour considered superlative in sauces. Heirloom. Indeterminate. 2 pots.
Costoluto Fiorentino
Italian heirloom beefsteak with medium, deeply fluted red fruits on vigorous vines. Beautiful sliced. Indeterminate.