Hillbilly Tomato

Hillbilly Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) - There are a couple of old heirloom Hillbilly varieties that have circulated throughout many seed circles of North America. These reportedly originated from West Virginia in the late 1800s. Some growers have also misidentified the Flame as a Hillbilly strain. Detailed research seems to indicate there is no link to the Hillbilly. There appears to be a potato leaf beefsteak version and a heirloom-regular leaf strain which have both been grown for many decades. It is the medium-large sized, bicolour tomato source that we have acquired from Mariam, a local garden enthusiast from the North Mountain of Nova Scotia. The seeds were given to Mariam’s ‘hillbilly’ husband as a 60th birthday gift over 20 years ago from her sister who acquired them from a friend who grew them near Oklahoma City, USA. This Hillbilly strain produces a constant supply of fruits on indeterminate vines with  a regular heirloom leaf type. Texture makes a great slicer and canning tomato. The yellow oblate fruits are streaked with red blush on the blossom end. Easy to prep this one for freezing. This is a very prolific producer of sweet and juicy fruit that ripen around 83 days. The first fruits tend to be slower to ripen before the plants finally deliver high yields for the rest of the growing season. We noted that plants are quite hardy to extreme weather of early fall and that fruits persist on vines through our wild Maritime wind and rain events. 

Indeterminate growth.

80-85 days to maturity.

25 seeds per packet. 

Planting Instructions: Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost. Sow ¼ inch deep and keep the soil warm. Transplant seedlings into 1" cells or 3–4" pots at the 1–2 leaf stage. Harden off plants for 4–5 days once the danger of frost has passed. Transplant outdoors when day and night temperatures consistently stay above 10°C.