Moldovan Green Tomato

The 'Moldovan Green' has become a very popular tomato lately for obvious reasons: it produces huge, delicious, strikingly beautiful fruit. Many people are intimidated by a tomato that ripens to green, worried they will pick it too soon and never be able to tell when it is ripe, but this variety gives itself away with a yellow blush and a suppleness to the skin that make its readiness clear as soon as you encounter a ripe fruit. Once you do, you'll want to use this tomato for everything: sauces, salsas, salads, sandwiches, etc. Experimental Farm Network considers it one of the most flavorful tomatoes of all. If you want to try an interesting heirloom tomato worthy of crafting an entire dish around (even if only a pitch perfect Caprese salad), give 'Moldovan Green' a try.

Days to maturity: 75-85

Seeds per pack: 25

Planting / harvesting notes

Start seeds 6-8 weeks before the last frost and transplant into garden well after the danger of frost. We recommend you prune the suckers that form in the crotches of the branches by the main stem. Water tomatoes at the soil level, keeping the leaves dry. Stake tomatoes so that their leaves and branches are kept off the ground, for good airflow between plants, and for easier harvest.

Seed keeping notes

Tomatoes are generally self-pollinating, though we isolate different varieties by 35-50 feet, in hopes that flying insects will not cross pollinate them unexpectedly. Tomato seeds are ripe when the fruits are ready to eat! Cut the fruit at the equator and squeeze or scrape out seeds from each of the cavities. In a cup or bucket, add a little water (1/2" is probably plenty) to your seeds and pulp to keep them from drying out, and allow them to ferment away from direct sunlight. Ideally, you will stir the concoction every day for 3-5 days. In the end, add more water to fill the vessel, stir one final time, and allow to settle. Pour off the floating material and then strain the seeds through a strainer. Sometimes, you will need to add more water and pour off the floating material several times until the water is clear and you can see the seeds sunken at the bottom. Squeeze dry the strained seeds in a towel, and then lay out to dry on a labeled screen or paper product in a ventilated place away from direct sunlight for a week or two.