Wild Galapagos Tomato - Bring the Wild Home
This is one of two wild tomato species endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and the only one that is edible! This small grape sized yellow-orange tomato was found growing right along the seafront, just feet from the ocean in rocky, exposed and in almost soil-less conditions.
The fruit is intensely sweet, complex and resistant to many tomato pests. We found that the flavor of many other small-fruited tomato varieties paled by comparison. This tomato grows in clusters and will be producing faster than you can harvest.
Our customers in Texas report that the Wild Galapagos tomato is the only tomato that keeps producing throughout the heat of the summer! With a daily high of 110°F for over 40 days, the Wild Galapagos was the only tomato to keep going, giving about 2 pints of tomatoes every other day from 2 plants. On the other end of the scale, our customers from the northern tip of Idaho and southern British Columbia and Alberta, Canada say that this is the first tomato to flower and set fruit and is also the last at the end of the season!
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.
More Information
For seed count & planting details, click here.
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 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.
Learn More
- Wild Galapagos Tomato
- 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!
Customer Reviews 5 (8 Reviews) Write a Review
Wild Galapagos tomato seed
Good germination rate (85%+ indoor). Can't wait to get these in the ground and to harvest.
Germinating well indoors
Have just bought and started these inside in a tray, and thought I'd note that they sprouted right alongside my romas, at about the same rate, in 6-8 days. It's my first time growing them and I'm excited to see how they do! I'm hoping to grow them supported on cattle panels in our children's garden this summer.
Prolific
Really really prolific. You'll need to work hard to keep up.
Very wild
This tomato will sow itself. One fruit left behind after the first frost will be sure to start a new crop next year. One plant spreads over a very large area, and is truly wild - you have to work hard to keep up with it. It seems to grow as you watch and keeps producing tomatoes until the first frost kills the plant.
Grew like weeds and produce gobs of delicious yellow fruit
I bought the Galapagos wild tomato seed from you last year and planted them this spring. They grew like weeds and produce gobs of delicious yellow fruit. This is an amazing variety that I did not happen to see when I visited the islands some years ago. It is so nice to be able to grow these. Thank you so much for offering them. We enjoy them right off the vine or in salads with a light olive oil type dressing. We have had some cold weather here already but the plants are still producing!
Wild tomato indeed!
Quite prolific, and the plant itself is delightfully unruly; thrived in my sub-irrigated boxes even in the dry Colorado climate. Seeds save particularly well, also. As a bonus, if you have too many unripe ones come first frost, they make excellent green tomato relish.
Beautiful
I have had this plant since summer. It has had the same height as some of my plants. It has branched off. The fruits ripen pretty fast. I have saved some seeds but have not eaten one yet. I grew this one indoor in a 3.5-inch square pot.
Wild Man of the Jungle!
I bought your seed for my 2015 garden and grew 3 plants. The one that had a great deal of room went about 6 ft. in every direction even though I tried to stake it. The crop was unbelievably productive. So, I fermented some with just water & salt in jars and we are now enjoying them. So, my advice is: you need a lot of space or they'll interfere with whatever is trying to grow nearby. I am in Zone 3.
