Speckled Roman/Striped Tomato Seeds - (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
- SKU:
- V1186
- Seed Count:
- Approx 25 seeds per pack
- Days to Maturity:
- 75-85 days
- Type:
- Indeterminate
- Size:
- Plum
- Color:
- Red
- Days to Germination:
- 5-7 days @ 75-95F
- Light Preference:
- Full sun
- Plant Spacing:
- 12"
- Status:
- Heirloom, Non-Hybrid, Non-GMO seeds
Description
Speckled Roman/Striped Tomato
Gorgeous, medium sized, oblong orange red fruits with wavy, yellow stripes and excellent flavor. Looks like a novelty tomato, yet offers serious flavor, production and color. Adds interest to any dish with its vibrant color and stripes.
Very crack resistant. Heavy production until frost.
This is an exceptional variety, probably the best salad tomato around. The excellent flavor, sweetness and good firm yet meaty texture make this ideal for creating sauces too. Makes a wonderfully unique dark red, very rich sauce with fruity overtones!
The breeder of this tomato is John Swenson, a marvelous seedsman. Speckled Roman was a fortuitous cross, in John's garden, of Antique Roman and Banana Legs, and the plants have the distinct nipple of the latter. He stabilized the cross, and the rest is history - and gardening pleasure.
History
Tomatoes were grown as a crop in Mexico and Peru in pre-Columbian times, but the early history of domestication is not well known (most likely in Mexico). In Europe, tomatoes were grown as ornamentals (thought to be poisonous) and became popular as a food only in the 18th century.
Uses
Raw or cooked the tomato is one of the most widely used and versatile foods from your garden. Use fresh in salads, sandwiches, and salsas. Cooked in sauces and stews. Can be stuffed, dried, puree, paste or powdered. The uses are endless!
Growing Tip
Tomatoes take about 3 - 4 months from direct seeding in the garden to start producing fruit; about 70 days from transplanting 6 - 8 week-old plants to start fruiting; and about 40-50 days from the flower opening to producing ripe fruit.
Tomatoes suffer more transplant shock than other vegetables, but you can minimize this by hardening them off for a week or two first. This means setting them outdoors in their pots in a protected place so that they get some warm sun, a little gentle wind, and even some cool (not freezing) nights. This will help them adjust to some of the stresses of real life before having their roots transplanted into the ground.
Tomatoes begin the ripening process by producing ethylene, a natural growth regulator, and releasing it. The fruit ripens from the inside out, meaning the center matures and turns red before the color reaches the outer skin. Faint white lines crossing each other at the bottom or blossom end of the fruit show that ripening has begun. Soon afterward, the blossom end starts turning pink – indicating ethylene is being produced. When the pink blush reaches the stem, the fruit is about 75% ripe. The pink color deepens to red, starting from the blossom end and working its way upward.
Harvest Tip
A tomato’s flavor increases as it ripens, due to the increased nutrients and sugars pumped into the fruit by the plant. For a home gardener, harvesting when there is just a touch of pink at the stem end or when the fruit is completely red gives the best flavor. The fruit will be fragile, won’t tolerate shipping and must be used or cooked within a few days to enjoy peak flavor.
Once the tomato is ripe, test by giving it a gentle pull or twist. If it slips easily from the vine – with little to no effort – it is ripe, juicy, and delicious!
Ripe tomatoes can be injured by cool temperatures and must be stored at room temperatures, never refrigerated to avoid chilling injury, which leaves pockmarks or pits on the skin leading to early rotting.
If you need to harvest early due to weather or the end of the season, those fruits with a pink blush at the blossom end will ripen with almost full flavor. Those with the faint white lines can still ripen but won’t have the full flavor.
Learn More
- Growing Tomatoes 101
- Determinate and Indeterminate Tomatoes - What's the Difference?
- Heirloom Tomato Growing Tips
- Heirloom Tomato Leaves - Potato Leaf vs Regular Leaf
- Blossom End Rot - What To Do
- Fermented Tomato Conserve
- Sicilian Eggplant and Tomato Sauce
From the soil to the seed to the food you eat - we'll help you grow your best garden!
5 Reviews
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Speckled Tomato is a Winning Choice
The Striped/Speckled Roman Tomato is a great variety and a winning choice for growers who want medium-sized fruits with great flavor. Their Roma-like shape and flavor is highly a-peeling because they are extremely easy to peel. They have more flesh, fewer seeds and less juice, which makes them great for salsas and other recipes that are enhanced with fresh tomatoes. The striped skins are eye-catching and very attractive for any garden. These tomatoes are easy to grow.
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1 word
OUTSTANDING !!!!!! Flavor and taste, out of 6 different types, this was the VERY best
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Absolutely Delish!
Heavy performer, beautiful fruit! It made fantastic bruschetta. I didn't give it five stars because it is not very disease resistant - the plants lower leaves all wilted. Didn't seem to affect performance, however.
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My best plum-type this year
In the past, I have grown striped Roman, and I found this variety to be much the same. Great producer, excellent skin that did not crack but some were affected in my garden by some type of small black spots which I just cut off. Solid inside, and excellent taste and color. A keeper.
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SOOOO GOOOD !!
These are really really good tomatoes love them!!