~ BUSH TOMATO Seed ~
Vine tomatoes are on another page. For an explanation of the differences between bush & vine plant types, and choosing tomatoes for outdoors growing, click here.
Here we have special tomatoes chosen for home growers - varieties that germinate well in cold conditions, start to set fruit early, and yet are still very productive over a long period, with a really good 'tomato' flavour.
Sowing Information
IMPORTANT: Our tomato seed is tested and germinates really well, but you must provide heat for them to go.
Tomatoes are easy, but come from a warmer climate and so need heat to germinate. We test every single batch using the ISTA standard of 25 degrees C - and all will germinate well in 14 days if you provide this. At lower temperatures they will take longer or fewer will grow.
Without a heated proagator, beware that warmth during the day is not enough; they also mustn't get cold at night - they don’t want to risk germinating if there’s still a chance of a late frost. Often on a windowsill (or greenhouse or polytunnel), even if warm during the day, the temperature can fall enough at night to inhibit germination. So take them away to the centre of the room after supper and replace in the morning.
The other danger is cooking them, if using heat mats without a thermostat, or trays with lids, then even a brief period of unexpected full sun can raise the temperature high enough to kill the seeds if there’s not much airflow. If using these then do make sure there is plenty of ventilation.
Once germinated, the seedlings will happily grow on at lower temperatures of 18C-20C , so they don't need to be in the propagator for long.
Our SUPER-EARLY BUSH TOMATOES:
We have found some very quick-growing varieties, some from Russia. In our trials these had flowered before our others had grown their third leaf! Not only does this help get a better crop in a short summer, but you have more chance of them fruiting before blight strikes. We have listed these in approximate order of ripening.
As always, the earlier varieties have a slightly smaller yield. Grow more than one to cover a longer season.
Urbikany (Early salad type)
A great success from our trials of early Siberian tomatoes, this one has a high yield of 2-inch, perfectly round red fruit. Large seed get the plants off to a vigorous start.
They fruit much earlier than normal tomatoes, and you get a good crop for your salads throughout the summer. The large sprawling bushes only grow about 3' tall, but definitely need several stakes or strings to support the weight of all the tomatoes. We use this as a salad tomato; its juicy with a good balance of sugar and acid.
Tall Bush, juicy and sweet, very early, with very heavy crops over a long period.
20 seed, organic. £
Aurora (Early sauce type)
This variety comes originally from Siberia, so as well as fruiting very early, it also germinates well at low temperatures.
It make just loads of round red tomatoes with thick flesh, & is particularly good for cooking down into a rich sauce - everyone here takes home the tomatoes after deseeding them and freezes them for use overwinter.
The medium-large bushes don't sprawl too much but do need a little bit of support - perhaps a 3ft cane to tie it to. Good juicy fruit, with an excellent flavour.
22 seed, organic. £
Buckflats Wonder - NEW
A really attractive med-large red salad tomato that was bred by Andy Pollock in northern Canada. It has a good flavour and what is special about this one is that he selected for years for the fruit not to be damaged in light autumn frosts.
Like any tomato, it still needs warm weather to grow well, but this one is helpful if you are in a marginal area where autumn can sometimes come early.
This is a short-vine plant; grow as a vine, but dont expect it to get too tall. Great for an extended harvest in short-season areas!
20 seed £
Grushovka (Early Pink)
An old favourite, back by popular demand. This is a really good producer of big pink tomatoes - halfway between a plum and an ox-heart type - with an excellent flavour.
The plants grow to around 3 or 4 foot tall and are easy to manage, they just keep on producing huge numbers of fruit all summer. We have bags and bags of tomatoes off these every time we grow them.
The heart-shaped fruit are shocking pink and have a good balance of sweet and acid. Like a giant plum tomato - good for sauces, but also very pretty in salads, or for making a lurid pink gazpacho soup.
Very prolific, medium sized pointy pink fruit, very tasty.
18 seed, organic. £
Latah (Super-early Salad type)
This is the one for your earliest crop. It might just be the best early tomato ever. It’s a super-early variety that tolerates short or cool summers, covered in 1 inch spherical red fruit on a sprawling bush.
Latah is our most popular bush tomato, and it really is remarkable. The leaves are very far-spaced on the stem - the plants look a bit odd – and this lets in more light to reach the fruit so they ripen even earlier.
The fruit are mostly roundish but some are a bit ribbed, with the occasional odd shape too. The plants are quite untidy. To be honest, you can't really train them or support them in any way – but if you let them get on with it they really will make ripe tasty tomatoes earlier than you thought possible. Fantastic flavour, balanced acid and sweetness, this is just great raw, & nice cooked too.
Absurdly early red tomatoes, on a very untidy sprawling bush.
20 seed, organic. £
“ I live in the northern part of Norway (Helgeland) , and was excited to see how your seeds worked here. I was especially satisfied with the "Latah" tomato, which was not only my earliest to ripen last year, but also the best in taste ( I had 12 other varieties of tomato ) This is truly one of the best tomatoes I have ever tasted...” - Andreas Taraldsen
“I was a little wary of the claims that tomatoes are so early. But I can say that it is true. I planted my seeds the third week in February. Had the first flowers appearing on 30th April, and picked and ate my first tomato on 20th June.... The taste is wonderful, they are very sweet, if you like a sweet tomato you will really enjoy them. Their resistance to blight was fairly good as opposed to other varities that I grew, and they fruited heavily, for a long time. I was very impressed, and will definitely be growing them again next year. Thank you for introducing them to me”. - Nick Steadman
House Tomato - NEW!
An amazing heirloom variety bred in Russia, then brought to Canada in the 1890s. This dwarf tomato plant has been bred for growing in pots on a windowsill - it makes a short and sturdy bush about 1ft tall that is heavily laden with round red cherry tomatoes.
It actually does better in a pot than in the ground, as it is so short and stocky. Back in circulation thanks to the work of Jenn Stotland and Annapolis Seeds (who specialise in northern-adapted varieties), and now being produced by us on our farm in Wales.
unique early mini pot tomato, delicious.
approx 20 seed £
