Green Tomatoes (& pink & purple & striped...)
America's love affair with growing tomatoes began in the early 1800's and to this day it is probably the one vegetable most likely to be grown in every vegetable garden. Despite originating in South America, we were introduced to tomatoes through the Europeans. Pomo d'oro, the old Italian name for them that you may have seen on jars of tomato sauce, translates to "golden apple", which suggests that their early tomatoes were probably yellow in color. While Americans prize the large, round, red beefsteaks generally found in grocery stores, tomatoes offer a rainbow of colors including, purple, pink, orange, green, striped, black-skinned, black-seeded, yellow and red. They are not all round either. Many of the larger tomatoes like Zapotec are fluted or rippled. Most paste tomatoes tend to be oblong or carrot shaped. There are even tomatoes that look more like their cousin the pepper than like a traditional tomato. These are almost hollow inside with a think, hard wall, making them perfect for stuffing and baking. If you can't figure out what Golden Pear looks from its name, check out the photo on the right.
Arguably, the poster boy for heirloom tomatoes is the Brandywine. Whether it is an Amish variety or not is still in question. What's not in question is that it always ranks at or very near the top in taste tests. Some people have difficulty growing Brandywines and other heirlooms , especially if they are used to hybrids that have all kinds of disease resistance bred into them. Heirlooms can be a bit more temperamental, but with a minimum of TLC you will find they are not too much work for the payoff. Saving seed from your favorite tomatoes will help to acclimatize them to your growing environment. Seeds grown out repeatedly in the same area will eventually develop the characteristics to help them thrive. That's how they've lasted this long. Acclaimed tomato collector and editor of the tomato newsletter "Off the Vine" Dr. Carolyn Male gives advice on "Saving seeds from your heirloom tomatoes". Linked from that article in Kitchen Garden's archives is another great overview of select heirlooms, "Tomatoes with a Past" by Ruth Lively.
Other people argue that heirlooms mature later than hybrids and/or yield less. While there are hybrids bred to improve these two traits, I have not found heirlooms to be greatly lagging. You'll find two excellent argument for both sides of the coin at Heirloom
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