Raya Rey

[Fred Hempel]

We have decided to release a new OP Beefsteak called Raya Rey for the New Year!

We have been growing this tomato for a long time. It has been a staple in our mixed medium and mixed "heirloom" boxes for years.

In the winter of 2014/2015 the line was still segregating and we were able to select plants that were TYLCV resistant in the field of our collaborators at Heirloom Farms near Todos Santos, Mexico.

Additional selections for plant performance (disease resistance and vigor) were made at The Chef's Garden in Ohio in open field trials, where it has also been used in their "Toybox" mix.

This tomato was named yesterday -- and the name is a tip of the hat to both Heirloom Farms and The Chef's Garden, as we consider them both tomato-growing royalty. Without them, this variety would not exist.

Raya Rey is an indeterminate OP variety that produces slightly flattened medium-sized fruits starting about 70 days after transplant.