Tomato Bush Italian Roma Organic Seed (Lycopersicon - lycopersicum)

heriloomItalian Roma is an heirloom paste and canning tomato from Italy. Growing up to 200 fruits per plant, you will have plenty of fruit to cook for sauces and to eat fresh in salads and sandwiches. The oblong-shaped Roma tomatoes are very firm and meaty without a lot of water or seeds which makes them so good for cooking. If you want paste tomatoes, you may have trouble deciding between the Roma and the San Marzano. If you have room, grow them both! The Roma is a more compact bush type that fruits all at once (good for making that big pot of sauce), and the San Marzano is a climbing pole type that must by caged or staked - it is indeterminate and will give you a more drawn-out longer harvest period. This packet plants: 20 plants (after thinning).

When to plant outside: Generally started indoors, tomatoes can also be directly seeded outside! Sow in spring, after the average last spring frost and when soil temperatures reach 60 degrees. In warm winter/hot summer areas of the south, southwest, and parts of California, they can also be planted in early fall for winter harvest.

When to start inside: 6-8 weeks before the average last spring frost.

Special Sowing & Germination Instructions: when planting seedlings outside, bury the roots and stem up to the first set of leaves horizontally. Curve the stem above the ground to a vertical position. The stem will sprout roots and develop a strong root system.

(To view a commonly asked question about growing tomatoes, click here.).

(To view a fact sheet on tomatoes, click here.).