Tommy Toe

Bob Lowe · August 9, 2012

Does anyone grow this heirloom variety in the northern hemisphere? This tomato comes highly recommended by the Diggers (returned servicemen) Club of Australia where it won "Best Tasting Tomato' at a gourmet taste test in Victoria.

jennifer28 · August 9, 2012

Hi
They are very commonly grown in the southern apalachian region of the united states. There is some info about them here :
http://www.heirlooms.org/catalog.html
Although they mention yellow pear as a kind of tommy toe and I don't care for that one at all. I'm in Connecticut which is the northeastern united states and I've grown a red cherry tomato called a red tommy toe that I quite like.

**carolyn137** · August 9, 2012

I used to think that Tommy Toe originated in Australia and when a friend was there and picked up a pack of seeds for me I thought that was great.

But it turns out that Tommy Toe originated in the US and there's a red version and a yellow version, the one most grown is the red one which is Tommy Toe:

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Tommy_Toe

I thought it was OK, nothing special, and there are other red cherries I like better.

The back story here is that when David Cavagnero was the garden manager at SSE many years ago there was a lot of exchanging of seeds between Diggers and SSE and I just have to assume that David sent seeds of Tommy Toe to Diggers.

Note in Tania's link that Tommy Toe has been listed in the SSE Yearbooks since, well, short term memory here, sigh, but I think it was either 1985 or 1995 and I'm too lazy to go back and look now.

habitat_gardener · August 10, 2012

I've grown it several years and I love it! It's good at any stage of ripeness, unlike some other cherry (and larger) tomatoes that taste right only if you get them at the right moment. I also like their relative firmness. I've been noticing that my favorite way to eat them is to bite a small hole, suck out the juices, and then enjoy the sweeter/balanced flavor of the rest of the cherry tomato. I don't get tomato-spattered clothes, and I get 2 different flavors. I've grown a lot of cherry tomatoes and I keep coming back to this one.

ContainerTed · August 10, 2012

I grow Tommy Toe Red and Yellow every year. Why??? Because of the same reasons that someone thought enough about it to name it "Best Tasting". It has Brandywine taste that comes one or two bites at a time.

DEEEEEEELISHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!

bluebonnets · August 11, 2012

This year is my first year to grow Tommy Toe (I want to say "toes") and I didn't expect much but I was delighted! Loved the flavor, strong plant, produced well. I've got to grow it again.

August 9, 2012	#1
Bob Lowe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: New Zealand Posts: 4	Tommy Toe Does anyone grow this heirloom variety in the northern hemisphere? This tomato comes highly recommended by the Diggers (returned servicemen) Club of Australia where it won "Best Tasting Tomato' at a gourmet taste test in Victoria.

August 9, 2012	#3
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I used to think that Tommy Toe originated in Australia and when a friend was there and picked up a pack of seeds for me I thought that was great. But it turns out that Tommy Toe originated in the US and there's a red version and a yellow version, the one most grown is the red one which is Tommy Toe: http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Tommy_Toe I thought it was OK, nothing special, and there are other red cherries I like better. The back story here is that when David Cavagnero was the garden manager at SSE many years ago there was a lot of exchanging of seeds between Diggers and SSE and I just have to assume that David sent seeds of Tommy Toe to Diggers. Note in Tania's link that Tommy Toe has been listed in the SSE Yearbooks since, well, short term memory here, sigh, but I think it was either 1985 or 1995 and I'm too lazy to go back and look now. __________________ Carolyn

August 10, 2012	#5
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I grow Tommy Toe Red and Yellow every year. Why??? Because of the same reasons that someone thought enough about it to name it "Best Tasting". It has Brandywine taste that comes one or two bites at a time. DEEEEEEELISHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!! __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

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August 9, 2012	#2
jennifer28 Two-faced Drama Queen Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital Posts: 955	Hi They are very commonly grown in the southern apalachian region of the united states. There is some info about them here : http://www.heirlooms.org/catalog.html Although they mention yellow pear as a kind of tommy toe and I don't care for that one at all. I'm in Connecticut which is the northeastern united states and I've grown a red cherry tomato called a red tommy toe that I quite like.

August 10, 2012	#4
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	I've grown it several years and I love it! It's good at any stage of ripeness, unlike some other cherry (and larger) tomatoes that taste right only if you get them at the right moment. I also like their relative firmness. I've been noticing that my favorite way to eat them is to bite a small hole, suck out the juices, and then enjoy the sweeter/balanced flavor of the rest of the cherry tomato. I don't get tomato-spattered clothes, and I get 2 different flavors. I've grown a lot of cherry tomatoes and I keep coming back to this one.

August 11, 2012	#6
bluebonnets Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: TX Posts: 178	This year is my first year to grow Tommy Toe (I want to say "toes") and I didn't expect much but I was delighted! Loved the flavor, strong plant, produced well. I've got to grow it again.